A Game of Thrones

Honestly, I approached this book and the entire series as a skeptic. I had seen and heard enough people talk about how explicit the TV adaptation is so I wasn't sure how I felt about trying to actually read the books. Now that I've read it, I'm really glad I gave it a chance. I'd like to hit just a few of my thoughts about the book and its contents without revealing any spoilers:

1. The sex. Yes, there is some explicitly written sex in this book. Let's just get that out there and say it. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying or has a completely different opinion on what the words “explicit sex” means. It's not just innuendo or implied, it is descriptively written in several times. That being said, I never found the sex to be so pervasive as to ruin the book for me and it usually doesn't last more than a few paragraphs which I was extremely thankful for because I could easily skim down a few paragraphs, make sure the sex was over and continue on with the book. If this isn't something you feel comfortable doing, than don't read this series. Just don't let people make you think that this is 50 Shades of Grey or anything like that because it's not even close. Sex is probably 2% or less of this book so I think most people can just move past it without a problem. Yes, it is disturbing at times and there are some really touchy issues such as rape and incest but in my opinion it is a lot like ready Middle-Age history where all of these things also happened on a fairly regular basis. If I had written it, I wouldn't have included it but George R. R. Martin did and I still didn't have a probably skipping over it and enjoying the actual story.

2. The characters. George R. R. Martin made some pretty great characters and some pretty hateful characters too. I mean you really hate some characters in this book and I love that. Having each chapter be from a different character's point of view is phenomenal and also very confusing at times but the more you read and familiarize yourself with who is who the better it gets. The characters are really what makes this book such a great read in my opinion and they become even better as the series progresses. Also, I am a huge fan of the fact that the author is not afraid to have even lovable characters die gruesome deaths because I don't want to only read fairy tales where the good guys always win. Knowing that any character I like might die at any moment kept me on my toes and always wanting to know what will happen next and if someone does die, I can't say I ever felt cheated by their death (i.e. people don't just magically drop dead for unexplained reasons).

3. The story. So many different stories are happening across so many different characters that it can feel really overwhelming but it is worth it. Keep your smartphone handy and keep http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Chapters handy so you can read chapter summaries in case you've set the book down for a while or if you've forgotten who someone is. Trust me, it's a lifesaver. The story in this book is good but I found it lacking in some areas. Can't say much without giving it away but I will say that it gets better in the books that follow.

If you like fantasy, deep characters, a lot of action and political wit than read this series. It's great. 4/5

50 days.
That's how long it took me to read this book. There were weeks where I didn't pick it up, read a different book or two, but then there days where I couldn't put it down and spent every free second reading about the wonderful characters in this story.
Yet, no matter how long it took me to read this, ever minute I did spend reading it was worth it. It is an epicly fantastic fantasy story. There truly is a reason why A Song of Ice and Fire is so popular. Part of me wants to move on to book two. However, I think I'm going to stick to the TV show and actually get some reading done this year.

The writing, characters and dialog are great. I just did not enjoy the overall plot of the book. It felt short-handed. As other people have pointed out, the author took a typical fantasy story, removed the fantasy/epic elements, and replaced them with... nothing.

The story arcs go nowhere. Having seen the tv-series, read/listened what other people have said, this is true for the following books as well. The author said in an interview this was somehow on purpose, to “break the mold”, but it felt empty to me. Still a good story, just not a great one. My greatest complains are with the latter books, if they follow the tv-series, which I was having problems following in the 3rd season and can no longer bear in the 4th.

The whole book felt as a prelude of things to come. Which is fine, as long as Martin don't kill every single plot thread, and start another, to just kill them again before they end. Kill as many characters as you want, just don't make their deaths in vain!

Among the more ore less minor plot problems I had:
- the Imp's trial outcome when captured by Lady Stark. For one thing, there was this whole scene that basically was just skipped in the book. In one moment he was talking, the next he was free. This plot device is not uncommon, and he uses many times in the book. This is not that bad, the offender here is the might is right part. He gets to go free if he wins a duel. Not only that, he can pick a fighter for him. Again, not that unusual in fantasy/medieval stories, but a very poor device. I was hoping Tyrion to use his wits to escape, not this 'deus ex machina' (the invocation of an ancient nonsensical rule that saves his dwarf ass).- master-sword Syrio Forel duel with the kings guard. I might have missed something here, because this felt like a "Really" moment. So, you're facing four armed opponents, and you are so good of a sword fighter that you probably could defeat them blindfolded. You manage to defeat and disarm three of them, yet you still keep using your wooden sword. Really?- Arya reports to her father what she heard and he ignores her. There was this whole scene, maybe chapter, where she lost herself in the castle caverns, with the dragons skeletons, and overheard sensible information that at the very least should not be ignored as a child's avid imagination. She was able to remember enough details that her could have used somehow. At any rate, this was wasted scene.- Sansa talks to the Queen about her father plans to smuggle herself and her sister out of Kings Landing. Another wasted opportunity to connect some dots here, something like Ned finding out and saying "Oh Sansa, so all of this was your fault!" :-). Well, or at least she feeling like that.

And the major one:
- Ned Stark's death. I have no problem with killing the "hero". I have a big problem with the "business as usual" attitude that follows. Yes, there was a war that followed. But there was already a war going on. And that war went nowhere. I want revenge, I want the unexpected, I want something awesome and magical to happen. I want that freaking Stannis Lord of the Light shadow baby assassin monstrosity to do something. Mundane drama I can get in other genres and, the reason I don't read them, in real life.

I finally got around to reading A Game of Thrones, despite the fact that the series still wasn't finished when I started, because the television series was starting. [a:Sam Chupp 11847 Sam Chupp http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1219698183p2/11847.jpg] really wanted to watch it, and I didn't want to see it without having read the book, so I gave in and started reading.He had repeatedly warned me that it was really dark, and indeed it is. I think he said that there are no wholly good characters. So far, at least, that isn't quite true. It may be something that becomes more accurate as the other volumes unfold. There are certainly no simple characters, or plots—but then, I remember enough of Martin's earlier work (on the Wild Cards series and such) that I wouldn't expect anything else. People aren't simple, or purely black and white, so why would characters in good fiction be that way?The best way I've found to maybe tell protagonists from antagonists so far is to use the chapter names as guides: the people whose names are used as chapter names are either protagonists or survivors. I'm not sure which. Catelyn and Tyrion are the only people from the “older” generation who have chapter names. No, wait—I just thought of someone who kills my theory. I can't say because that would be a spoiler.I did find several incidents in this first book disturbing. I don't like it when bad things happen to children or animals. Cersei would be a fun character to play, although I suppose she'll get her comeuppance at some point (or I hope she will). I've tried thinking of her as a woman protecting her children, but that's not helping.If you're easily disturbed, don't read the book (or watch the television series, apparently). Just - don't. You won't be happy with the opening scene, and it sets the tone for the rest of the book. But if violent war and political scheming, incest as a dynastic strategy, and very occasional creepy supernatural happenings are okay with you, it's a very well-written book.

Préambule : cet avis a été écrit il y a plusieurs années, avant l'arrivée de la série TV “Game of Thrones” sur HBO.A Game of Thrones est le premier volume de la saga « A Song of Ice and Fire » de l'auteur américain George R.R. Martin. Paru en 1996, ce roman a apporté un peu de sang neuf et un souffle nouveau dans le monde de la fantasy. Certains y voient même une véritable révolution, je me contenterais de parler de renouvellement bienvenu et très réussi pour un genre parfois convenu et insipide.En français, le premier tome A Game of Thrones a été traduit en deux volumes distincts intitulés « Le Trône de Fer » et « Le Donjon Rouge ». J'ai découvert cette saga en français, je crois avoir lu en VF les 5 premiers volumes, qui correspondent aux 2 premiers tomes en VO : A Game of Thrones dont je parle ici et [b:A Clash of Kings 91973 A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2) George R.R. Martin https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386092380s/91973.jpg 3272005], le deuxième volume de la saga. Depuis, j'ai recommencé ma lecture de la saga en VO et j'ai relu plusieurs fois les 6 tomes parus à ce jour : je connais donc mieux les termes VO qu'en VF, ce sont donc ceux-là que j'utiliserai dans cet avis si je ne me souviens pas de leur traduction dans la version française.L'action de A Game of Thrones se déroule dans un monde médiéval-fantastique mais la dimension fantastique y est d'abord très discrète, au profit des intrigues entre les différentes factions qui dominent Westeros, le continent au centre du récit. Ici, pas d'elfes, d'orques ni de gobelins, mais des humains qui ne croient plus à la magie depuis la disparition des derniers dragons.Quinze ans après la rébellion qui a mis fin au règne du roi fou Aerys II et à la domination de la dynastie Targaryen sur les Sept Royaumes, le roi Robert Barathéon fait appel à son ami d'enfance Eddard Stark, Lord de Winterfell dans le Nord, pour l'aider à gouverner son royaume après la mort de Jon Arryn, leur mentor et ancien titulaire de la fonction de Main du Roi (un rôle ingrat que l'on pourrait comparer à celui de Premier Ministre). La mort (naturelle ?) de Jon Arryn et le départ d'Eddard Stark pour King's Landing, la capitale des Sept Royaumes sont le point de départ d'une histoire parfois surprenante et souvent passionnante.La saga A Song of Ice and Fire a pour particularité de narrer l'histoire à travers le point de vue de différents personnages. Chaque chapitre commence en effet par le nom du personnage qui en sera le narrateur. Dans ce premier roman, on dénombre ainsi le point de vue de 9 personnages qui se partagent 73 chapitres :- Will, un ranger de la Night's Watch (Garde de Nuit) que l'on suit uniquement dans le prologue, qui paradoxalement est le chapitre qui contient le plus d'éléments de fantasy classique- Eddard Stark, Lord de Winterfell, chef droit et honorable de la maison Stark qui domine l'ancien Royaume du Nord désormais intégré dans les Sept Royaumes- Catelyn Stark, née Tully (une autre maison noble de Westeros), épouse aimante d'Eddard Stark, mère attentive de ses cinq enfants légitimes, et soeur aînée de Lysa Arryn, veuve de Jon Arryn- Sansa Stark, fille d'Eddard et Catelyn Stark, une demoiselle tout juste âgée de treize ans qui rêve d'amour et chevalerie- Arya Stark, l'autre fille d'Eddard et Catelyn Stark, un véritable garçon manqué, l'exact contraire de sa grande soeur Sansa- Bran, deuxième des trois fils d'Eddard et Catelyn, un garçon de sept ans qui veut devenir chevalier et rêve d'aventure en escaladant les tours de Winterfell- Jon Snow, fils illégitime d'Eddard Stark qui a toujours refuser de révéler l'identité de la mère de l'adolescent- Tyrion Lannister, un nain, frère de la reine Cersei et fils de Lord Tywin Lannister (l'un des hommes les plus puissants du royaume)- Daenerys Targaryen, seule survivante de la dynastie Targaryen avec son frère aîné Viserys, exilée dans les Cités Libres, loin de Westeros et de la haine du roi Robert BarathéonL'alternance entre les différents personnages narrateurs présente à la fois des avantages et des inconvénients : certains chapitres sont moins intéressants que d'autres (selon ce qui s'y passe mais aussi de l'intérêt que l'on a pour tel personnage ou tel autre) mais le récit est bien construit et le suspense habilement mené, jusqu'à un final qui révèle son lot de surprises. Le scénario est très riche et les personnages ont une vraie profondeur à laquelle nous ne sommes pas forcément habitués dans les romans de fantasy.J'ai particulièrement apprécié les intrigues à la cour entre les différentes familles proches du Trône de Fer, il est très facile de se prendre au jeu et de prendre parti pour telle ou telle faction. A ce petit jeu, je dois avouer avoir un petit faible pour la famille Lannister, de brillants intriguants qui sont un peu présentés comme les « méchants » de l'histoire, même si la notion de « gentils » et de « méchants » n'existe pas vraiment dans l'univers de George R.R. Martin : rien n'y est tout blanc ou tout noir, tout y est gris et nuancé. Hormis Tyrion et Daenerys, tous les narrateurs appartiennent au « clan » Stark, ce qui fait de cette famille les principaux protagonistes de ce roman. Dans les romans suivants, d'autres personnages n'appartenant à la maison Stark vont apparaître et nous faire découvrir d'autres points de vue comme le font déjà merveilleusement les excellents chapitres de Tyrion Lannister dans ce premier épisode.Autre point fort de ce roman et de la série A Song of Ice and Fire : avec George R.R. Martin, aucun personnage n'est immortel, mais je n'en dis pas plus pour ne pas gâcher la surprise de celles et ceux qui voudraient découvrir ce roman après lu cet avis.A Games of Thrones est un excellent roman, une pièce maîtresse dans la bibliothèque d'un amateur de fantasy. Ce n'est que le premier volume d'une série, encore inachevée à ce jour, qui devrait en compter sept : nombreux sont les fans qui maudissent George R.R. Martin pour l'attente insoutenable entre les tomes successifs. L'intérêt de ce premier volet, outre sa qualité intrinsèque, est évidemment de poser les fondations, solides et prometteuses, pour la suite de la saga. Je l'avais découvert il y a quelques années et j'avais été totalement emballé, le situant au niveau du Seigneur des Anneaux. Je l'ai relu trois ou quatre fois depuis et mon plaisir ne s'est pas émoussé. Si vous aimez la fantasy et que vous cherchez une oeuvre passionnante et riche, je vous conseille vivement de vous jeter sur ce roman qui sort des sentiers battus.

Well, I made it through about 500 pages, and that should count enough.

Political intrigue usually fascinates me, but this book is a turd. Books that give equal air time to multiple characters are ambitious, but all those characters have to be written well. I kept going for 500 pages because I really liked one character, Jon, but even his story went dry too so I said to hell with it.

I don't really understand why this serious is so popular.

I tried reading this before the HBO series came out, and found it a hard slog. It's incredibly slow to start, and there are so many different characters to keep track of it's hard to bond with any of them. Embarrassingly, I had to watch the series before I tried this one again, but it was much better once I had an idea what the hell was going on - and the rest of the books were so much better! Three stars for getting me into the series and for general competence.

I kept hearing so many good things about A Game of Thrones and with the new HBO series airing they hype was building up. I decided to read this epic fantasy masterpiece and very quickly got bored. One of the problems I had with the book is the amount of characters, there are way too many to really enjoy the story. The only character I even remotely cared about was Tyrion Lannister because he was the only one that actually felt real to me. Everyone else is stiff and before you get attached to them you are off to the next character. There is no real build up to anything thrilling until the end of the book and by that time I was just hoping for it to be over and done.

I am not a die hard fantasy reader and unless you are a die hard I don't think you will enjoy this book. I think if you invest the time to read the next few books in the series it might get better, but this first book was nothing more that a super huge introduction to the characters and the world they live in.

I have been doing really well with my good reads challenge this year, having read 49 of the 52 books I hoped to achieve over the course of 2017 and so I decided to invest some time and read one of those really big books that I've been putting off for a while and one that I've always thought of as somewhat of a challenge, Game of Thrones, the first of George R. R. Martins' A Song of Ice And Fire series.

I have been a viewer of the HBO show for the past few years and so I wasn't coming to the story fresh, I had a full and open awareness of exactly the story I'd be reading and so I was waiting for all the big plot points throughout and there were no surprises in store. The only surprise I found was that whilst I'd expected quite a wordy and highly overwritten book I found instead one that was much more accessible than I'd expected and written in a style that would lend itself to a variety of readers and not just those who enjoy high fantasy tales alone.

I had anticipated that I might struggle to find the characters I'd loved within the pages, lost among long and complex descriptions of their houses allegiances and lots of background that the show had chosen to discard and instead I found that this book had some serious pace. The chapters were long but really very engaging and the action moved along at a pace that surprised me. Each chapter is written from a different character's perspective and so we hear the voices of the characters we love in turn from Eddard, Tyrion, Jon, Daenerys and Arya along with others we hold such affection for. Often when authors attempt to write from multiple points of view we sometimes lose the essence of the characters but Martin does a wonderful job and each holds their own voice and individuality and make it an exciting and gripping book to read.

There is no secret that Game of Thrones has become one of the most read books of all time since the release of HBO's groundbreaking series and often we will find that huge fans of the show, such as myself, will never choose to delve into the written version preferring instead to follow the action on screen but it would seem that millions of fans have found joy in the written versions too and it is with that in mind that I decided to explore the books. I sought to find more than I had in the screen version, to expand my understanding of the world and background of the Seven Kingdoms and the families therein. It didn't let me down, I loved every second of reading this book. It is a hefty book at nearly 800 pages and yet it didn't once feel like a chore to get through. I flew through it, when I wasn't reading it I wanted to be, not because I needed to know what happened next but just for the sheer joy of the character's narration and the world Martin has built that I longed to be back in.

It seemed strange to be back at the start of the story again, many of the characters within have been on so many journeys since then that you almost forget where they started out. You have differing opinions about so many of them now and some have been long departed due to gruesome ends and it's been nice to go back and relive their stories again. I for one had forgotten how much I adored Lord Eddard Stark, what a magnificent character he is and how important a part he played in starting the Game of Thrones. All the clues for what will follow are there, especially regards the huge plot reveal that was made at the end of Season 7 of the show regards Jon Snow. It makes you view him somewhat with more respect and sympathy when you understand the secret he held of his sisters.

I am quite sorry to have finished this book, thrilled to know I have so many more to go in the series and keen now to go back and review the first season of the show again. It's been a wonderful read and this may very well be one of my favourite reads this year.

Wow. I've finally started reading this series and I enjoyed this first installment immensely. I binged on the television series a couple of weekends ago when HBO was free for a few days. The book is even more entertaining. I'll keep reading. Maybe I can time things so that I catch up by the next time HBO is free for a weekend.

Okay, this did make me recollect a lot of season one :)

Forgot that Danny had killed Drogo herself. Fierce.
Thought I would be bored to read about a show I've already watched, but nope.
The books are always better than the movie, or in this case, the TV show.
Very interesting to read from character's perspective. To know more about the Robert's rebellion and Rhaegar. Although the dialogue was the same, what the character is thinking and going through was described, which the show couldn't capture.

Can only wonder how amazed D&D would have been to read this story, and to want to make a series on it. Then again, who wouldn't.

Actual vote: 4.5 stars

Martin è senza dubbio un bravissimo scrittore.
Delinea i personaggi in modo cosi dettagliato che sembrano veri, umani, con i loro pregi e difetti, doppiogiochisti, onorevoli, orgogliosi o umili. Ti ci fa affezionare o te li fa odiare, ma come se fossero persone, quindi quello che sta simpatico a me può non stare simpatico ad un altro e via discorrendo. Di questo libro mi è piaciuto quasi tutto, in primis la scrittura o lo stile, per intenderci. Ciò che non mi è piaciuto non sono le morti che già sapevo perché ho visto la serie TV (anche se fino all'ultimo speravo che non accadessero), bensì i POV di alcuni personaggi prettamente noiosi o paranoici. Tutto cio, però, lo considero relativo. Mi spiego: anche in quei capitoli dove mi sono rotta le scatole succedeva qualcosa o veniva spiegato qualcosa di importante, infatti per questo li ho apprezzati. Ciò che mi ha fatto tentare il suicidio più volte è il modo in cui alcuni personaggi metabolizzano gli eventi (avete visto che sono veri? Vi prego, ditemi che non sono l'unica a pensarlo). Ad esempio, Sansa! Spero che si dia una bella svegliata prima o poi perché è tutta un “Joffrey mi ama e anche la regina mi ama” oppure “ripeti a memori tutto quello che ti hanno insegnato a dire in queste situazioni”. Oppure Catelyn! Miiiii! “Devo essere una Stark”. I personaggi che dicono questo tipo di frasi (“devo comportarmi da...devo dimostrare di essere qui, là e insà”) mi stanno sulle balle. Cara Catelyn non sarai mai una Stark, ma un l'insopportabile e rompipalle Tully! Oppure Bran... Martin, ma ti pare?! Non era meglio fare morire lui e tenere in vita Khal Drogo?! Perché devi storpiare un ragazzino che da paralizzato è inutile come una nutria e mi fai morire Khal Drogo per una morte stupida?! vabbe tralasciamo, tanto è inutile parlare con Martin... Insomma il tutto per dire che i personaggi sono vivi e sono legati da intrighi politici di tanto di cappello.
Consigliato? Assolutamente si! Anche a chi non è amante del fantasy dato che di Fantasy ha relativamente poco. Passatemi il concetto. Gli elementi fantasy in questo libro non sono portanti. I personaggi sono umani e la trama si snoda tra intrighi di corte, non attraverso un sistema magico.

Did I enjoy the book? I can't honestly say; I found it worrisome, more than anything else. I worried about the characters (others might complain about Eddard Stark, but I love a good, honorable man), I worried about the misogyny (which others have written about more eloquently in their reviews than I am able, at this time, but apparently you can't have a “Game of Thrones” review without mentioning the misogyny- and the sex; don't forget the sex), but I mostly worried about how in the world Martin was going to wrap it all up into one cohesive story, in a stand-alone book.

That was my main problem. I feel like every book in every series should stand on its own; this one did not. Rather than reading it like the epic fantasy/courtly intrigue novel it is, I always felt like it was a mystery: one where the audience can see most of the twists literally HUNDREDS of pages before the characters, but a mystery nonetheless. As such, it feels unresolved. I'm a little bitter about the thousands more pages I'm going to have to read, in order to find a resolution, when the first book offers very few satisfying moments of its own.

After the disappointing end to the show I finally decided to pick up the original story and damn... I'm so glad I did. I was anticipating to like it as I loved the show so much before it fell from grace but I'm still pleasantly surprised by how good Martin's writing and imagination is. The hype behind ASOIAF is truly justified so far from the first book alone.

As I read I couldn't help but still be in anguish and worry as I followed certain characters take their gradual steps towards their fate. I knew everything that was coming as the first season follows the first book to a tee but I still couldn't help but feel for the mourning characters I love.

The heightened detail that George shares in the book is mesmerizing and I've never read anything like it. The characters that I hated and love from the show only had me love and hate them even more.

Can't wait to continue on my journey through the series and maybe if I take my time The Winds of Winter will be close once I reach A Dance of Dragons but somehow I don't think it will take me long.