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A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
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A Game of Thrones (1996)

by George R. R. Martin

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: A Song of Ice and Fire (1)

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31,04796049 (4.38)4 / 1437
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Recently added byLetegretsoo, ywingo, rena75, reading_wanderluster, private library, joshp1284, JakeMo, bibliogaga, Vulco1
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English (912)  Spanish (14)  French (6)  Dutch (5)  German (5)  Finnish (3)  Swedish (2)  Catalan (2)  Portuguese (Brazil) (2)  Danish (2)  Italian (1)  Polish (1)  Hungarian (1)  Portuguese (Portugal) (1)  All languages (957)
date ▼ | votes
Showing 1-5 of 912 (next | show all)
I really wanted to love this book as much as I loved the show but it was very hard to get through. If I hadn't watched the show first I don't think I would have made it even halfway through the book. The plot moves painfully slow and there are so many characters introduced so quickly and most of them aren't that memorable. Unless you have a lot of time on your hands I recommend watching rather than reading A Game of Thrones ( )
  bibliogaga | Jun 24, 2019 |
Grand epic tale of Kings and Lords, political intrigue and mysterious omens and happenings
( )
  wyldheartreads | Jun 20, 2019 |
I love this series so so much.
Its been a long time since i first read this and i was really pleased to see it still holds up. Re-reading this reminded me of how much I prefer the books to the show and how invested I am in these characters.

This is a looooonggg book but it didn't feel like a chore to read. The plot is compelling and the world building is truly fantastic.

The only negative is that it really sucks to see your favourite characters die 😂 ( )
  SaraChook | Jun 19, 2019 |
Rubbish! It is amazing with the detail and complexity of plot...but don't expect a damn thing to be resolved after you slave your way through all 807 thin bloomin' pages of miniscule print!

I'm still deciding if I care enough to read the next. If I do, it will be Arya that leads me on.

(I ended up giving the first 4 books I had sitting on my shelf away...so I expect I will not ever read on. Life's too short, there are so many things I really WANT to read.) ( )
  Amelia1989 | Jun 10, 2019 |
Outstanding! ( )
  pinkhouselady | Jun 8, 2019 |
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▾Published reviews
This is a perfect 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.
added by Shortride | editSF Site, Amal El-Mohtar (Mar 15, 2007)
 
▾Other authors

» Add other authors (23 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Martin, George R. R.—primary authorall editionsconfirmed
Altieri, Alan D.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Altieri, Sergio—secondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Burns, JimCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Dotrice, RoyNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hallman, TomCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hiltunen, PetriIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hlinovsky, SatuTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hodgman, JohnForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Macía, CristinaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Thulin, LouiseTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Youll, StephenCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
▾Work-to-work relationships

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▾Common Knowledge
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Series (with order)
A Song of Ice and Fire (1)
Canonical title
A Game of Thrones
Original title
A Game of Thrones
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire ∙ #1)
Alternative titles
Original publication date
1996-08-06
People/Characters
Eddard Stark ('Ned')
Catelyn Stark (nee Tully)
Brandon Stark ('Bran')
Sansa Stark
Arya Stark
Important places
Winterfell, The North, Westeros
King's Landing, Westeros
Castle Black, The Wall, Westeros
Westeros
Storm's End, Westeros
Important events
War of the Usurper
Related movies
Game of Thrones (2011 ∙ IMDb)
Awards and honors
Locus (1997.2|Fantasy Novel, 1997)
Nebula Nominee (1997.1|Novel, 1997)
World Fantasy Award Nominee (1997.1|Novel, 1997)
thisrecording.com 100 Greatest Science Fiction or Fantasy Novels of All Time (19.1)
Premio Ignotus (novela extranjera 2003)
Epigraph
Dedication
this one is for Melinda
First words
"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.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
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".
Publisher's editors
Anne Lesley Groell
Blurbers
Jordan, Robert
McCaffrey, Anne
Bradley, Marion Zimmer
Feist, Raymond E.
Kerr, Katharine
Publisher series
Varraku F-sari (78)
Varraku F-sari (87)
Original language
English
Canonical DDC/MDS
?
▾LibraryThing members' description
Book description
Publisher description for A Game of Thrones;

Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.
Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.
Haiku summary
Long suffering Starks,
betrayal is always near,
beware Lannisters.

(leahdawn)
▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0553573403, Mass Market Paperback)

Readers of epic fantasy series are: (1) patient--they are left in suspense between each volume, (2) persistent--they reread or at least review the previous book(s) when a new installment comes out, (3) strong--these 700-page doorstoppers are heavy, and (4) mentally agile--they follow a host of characters through a myriad of subplots. In A Game of Thrones, the first book of a projected six, George R.R. Martin rewards readers with a vividly real world, well-drawn characters, complex but coherent plotting, and beautifully constructed prose, which Locus called "well above the norms of the genre."

Martin's Seven Kingdoms resemble England during the Wars of the Roses, with the Stark and Lannister families standing in for the Yorks and Lancasters. The story of these two families and their struggle to control the Iron Throne dominates the foreground; in the background is a huge, ancient wall marking the northern border, beyond which barbarians, ice vampires, and direwolves menace the south as years-long winter advances. Abroad, a dragon princess lives among horse nomads and dreams of fiery reconquest.

There is much bloodshed, cruelty, and death, but A Game of Thrones is nevertheless compelling; it garnered a Nebula nomination and won the 1996 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel. So, on to A Clash of Kings! --Nona Vero

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 12 Mar 2015 18:21:03 -0400)

(see all 10 descriptions)

▾Library descriptions

A tale of court intrigues in the land of Seven Kingdoms, a country "blessed by golden summers that go on for years, and cursed by cruel winters that can last a generation." The cold is returning to Winterfell, where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime. A time of conflict has arisen in the Stark family, as they are pulled from the safety of their home into a whirlpool of tradedy, betrayal, assassination plots and counterplots. Each decision and action carries with it the potential for conflict as several prominent families, comprised of lords, ladies, soldiers, sorcerers, assassins and bastards, are pulled together in the most deadly game of all, the game of thrones.… (more)

» see all 22 descriptions

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