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Fantasy.
Fiction.
Science Fiction.
Thriller.
HTML:NOW THE ACCLAIMED HBO SERIES GAME OF THRONES??THE MASTERPIECE THAT BECAME A CULTURAL PHENOMENON
Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King??s Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert??s name. There his family dwells in peace and comfort: his proud wife, Catelyn; his sons Robb, Brandon, and Rickon; his daughters Sansa and Arya; and his bastard son, Jon Snow. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse??unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season.
Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances. Now Robert is riding north to Winterfell, bringing his queen, the lovely but cold Cersei, his son, the cruel, vainglorious Prince Joffrey, and the queen??s brothers Jaime and Tyrion of the powerful and wealthy House Lannister??the first a swordsman without equal, the second a dwarf whose stunted stature belies a brilliant mind. All are heading for Winterfell and a fateful encounter that will change the course of kingdoms.
Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Prince Viserys, heir of the fallen House Targaryen, which once ruled all of Westeros, schemes to reclaim the throne with an army of barbarian Dothraki??whose loyalty he will purchase in the only coin left to him: his beautiful yet innoc… (more)
majkia: Both feature war-torn landscapes, confusing and conflicting motivations for main characters, and focus on complex characters whose loyalties are strained and oftentimes change.
saturnine13: If you like gritty, faux historical fiction, how about another with an asian flavor? Shogun, like A Game of Thrones, concerns the byzantine political intrigues of a multitude of different characters painted in moral shades of grey, generously heaped with gruesome action and heart-breaking romance. While Shogun lacks dragons, it does have the added interest of being mostly based upon real events and people.… (more)
The only word is fabulous! Not for the faint of heart, for those who cannot handle numerous characters, or anyone who isn't capable of devouring hundreds of pages of sweeping epic fantasy. Don't be mistaken though, this isn't Lord of the Rings. This is a tumultuous battle for the throne with plenty of betrayal ind intrigues. A word to the wise, you should never get too attached to any character with this kind of subject matter. Even with that in mind though, I can't help but have my favorites.
After a long time of laziness and denial, I finally got around to reading this supposed "best fantasy book ever", and I have to say that I'm not as blown away as I wish I could have been. It was well written, interesting, very readable, and definitely enjoyable, but I would not call it mind-blowing or a masterpiece by any means. In particular I found this book to be disappointing compared to my favorite fantasy novel Mistborn, mostly because I was unable to find any characters I truly loved. Martin's attempt to make every character's life precarious makes it hard to fall in love with any of them, and by the end of the book I realized that I no longer even liked any of them. Still, a powerful and very well-written book. ( )
This is not a review--only a preliminary comment. Martin's detailed descriptions of how characters look is fascinating. Coming up, I will compare some of his descriptions with those found in Dickens, King, and others. ( )
Haven’t watched the series which i felt made the story even better! A long read and sometimes tough but once i got into the flow of it, it was a really exciting read. The different point of views from different characters aided the story incredibly and pushed the plot along well. This also made me personally feel more connected to the characters. I will most definitely be reading the entire series after this book!! ( )
There's honestly nothing I can think of that could improve it in any way. This is a book that made me shout at it, that made me giggle and cry, that made me gasp, that made me tremble and hate and love. It's seamless; I'd say it's unputdownable, except that sometimes I found I desperately needed to put it down because I was overwhelmed with the wonder of it, only to pick it up again half an hour later.
"We should start back," Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them. "The wildlings are dead."
Quotations
"The common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends", Ser Jorah told her. "It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace." He gave a shrug. "They never are."
Bran thought about it. "Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?" "That is the only time a man can be brave," his father told him.
The blood of the First Men still flows in the veins of the Starks, and we hold to the belief that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man's life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.
A ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is.
Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word.
"Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you."
A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.
Let them see that their words can cut you, and you'll never be free of the mockery. If they want to give you a name, take it, make it your own. Then they can't hurt you with it anymore.
"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."
Death is so terribly final, while life is full of possibilities.
Last words
The other two pulled away from her breasts and added their voices to the call, translucent wings unfolding and stirring the air, and for the first time in hundreds of years, the night came alive with the music of dragons.
If you are combining a translated copy please check carefully as in some languages this book was split into two volumes. In some languages there is a single volume edition and a split edition - you should only combine the single volume edition with the English edition.
Languages known to have multiple-volumes - French*, German*, Italian*, Portugese, Romanian and Swedish*.
Languages marked by an asterisk also have a single volume edition. This is the single-volume edition "A Game of Thrones". DO not combine with the omnibus edition containing "A Game of Thrones" and " A Clash of Kings".
Fantasy.
Fiction.
Science Fiction.
Thriller.
HTML:NOW THE ACCLAIMED HBO SERIES GAME OF THRONES??THE MASTERPIECE THAT BECAME A CULTURAL PHENOMENON
Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King??s Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert??s name. There his family dwells in peace and comfort: his proud wife, Catelyn; his sons Robb, Brandon, and Rickon; his daughters Sansa and Arya; and his bastard son, Jon Snow. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse??unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season.
Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances. Now Robert is riding north to Winterfell, bringing his queen, the lovely but cold Cersei, his son, the cruel, vainglorious Prince Joffrey, and the queen??s brothers Jaime and Tyrion of the powerful and wealthy House Lannister??the first a swordsman without equal, the second a dwarf whose stunted stature belies a brilliant mind. All are heading for Winterfell and a fateful encounter that will change the course of kingdoms.
Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Prince Viserys, heir of the fallen House Targaryen, which once ruled all of Westeros, schemes to reclaim the throne with an army of barbarian Dothraki??whose loyalty he will purchase in the only coin left to him: his beautiful yet innoc
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Haiku summary
Long suffering Starks, betrayal is always near, beware Lannisters.
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