A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1

I spent quite a while staring at the blank screen in front of me to come up with a fitting description of A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin. Should I compare it to the classic Lord of the Rings for its impressively epic scope? Would it be best to focus on the honest, often painful humanity of the many characters - so rare in a fantasy novel - that personalizes each point of view? Perhaps I could impress other customers here with the sheer brilliance of a plot that weaves so many seemingly disparate stories together to form a believable alternate universe in which not only politics, intrigue, war, adventure and romance can coexist plausibly, but magic as well. How could I do such a work justice? I might as well get this part out of the way first. Obligatory Synopsis: in a fantasy continent that bears a familiarity to Middle Ages England, Winter is coming. Winter in this world means a sort of mini ice age that will last for seven years before receding. In the always-frosty Northern area, the races of nonhuman beings are gathering to advance with the snows; there are hints that there is an ancient, evil power behind their forces. At the same time in the South, political infighting for the Throne has begun. Overseas, the daughter of the dispossessed former King is maneuvering forces of her own for a bid for the throne. All this is told through the various stories of both "good guys" and not-so-good guys. For starters, AGOT can't be accurately compared to any other book or series in the Fantasy genre (not without insulting it). The nearest thing of its type is the laborious Wheel of Time series by Jordan - see what I mean? And yet this first in the Song of Ice and Fire series is fathoms above that aimless, droning style. Martin has perfected what Jordan had arguably introduced; the multiple characters' points of view telling the vast saga on an intimate, up-close scale. Never did I feel that I was being strung along, but rather lead by increments toward an incredible revelation somewhere up ahead. Martin builds the suspense masterfully in each book. But by far the most striking thing about the Song of Ice and Fire is the "rules" that the author breaks. Martin is not afraid to tell the tale from the point of view of some very unlikable, even immoral characters. He is bold about revealing facts from a character's past that challenge one's impressions and assumptions about their ethics. He does not lay all his cards on the table up front, but rather unexpectedly reveals details that later change the whole picture and twist the plot admirably. And his most unusual move: this author even allows "favorites" to die occasionally (no names here...)! These risks pay off well to serve the story as a whole, bring a sense of true humanity to the people of this world and drive the reader on to the next series installment. It's just too bad that I can't magically transplant my sense of admiration for AGOT onto this page. Hopefully, you are intrigued enough to give it a try; it would be a shame to miss what IMHO could be the best series of the decade. -Andrea, aka Merribelle

If you're going to consider reading `The Song of Ice and Fire' series, then be prepared for an investment. These books aren't for casual readers, but rather slower and more methodical ones. Requiring a great deal of your time, attention to detail, and the memorization of various characters' political and social associations. The amount of content the book contains is equal to the level of commitment you are willing to give. This may sound intimidating to some people, but Games of Thrones is able to deliver a very deep story targeting a mature audience because of this, though this also means the book's level of comprehension and adult content may become a deal-breaker to some people. Persevere and you'll enjoy one of the best fantasy epics in quite some time. As I previously said, the narrative of A Game of Thrones can be quite cumbersome to comprehend at the very beginning, and the faint synopsis doesn't exactly paint a very big picture of what's to come. So I've decided to provide a brief synopsis of my own. With the murder of King Robert Baratheon's Hand `Jon Aryn', his Majesty himself has requested that his old friend Eddard Stark, head of House Stark take up the role at his side in King's Landing to help him properly govern the realm. Of course taking up this honorable task would mean Eddard, `Ned' must leave the sanctity of Winterfell and his family. But he soon realizes that treachery and deception have consumed the nobility, no one can be trusted, everyone is trying to seize power by any means necessary; particularly the cunning Lannister family. The book doesn't just follow the character Ned, but rather a large collection of personas, some intertwine with the central story arc involving Ned, others involve their own. Daenerys Targaryen, one of the last of the feared House Targaryen, is forced into a marriage with a savage Dothraki warlord in order to gain in army for the means of reconquering her rightful throne. The last major story arc involves Ned's bastard son `Jon Snow' and his indoctrination in the enigmatic `Night's Watch', where desertion is punishable by death. While the plot of A Game of Thrones is truly an epic piece of fiction-writing, it would be nothing if the characters weren't believable. George R. R. Martin has established himself as a very strong character-driven author, one who focuses on the problems of these people and how they affect them. While there are characters which are not affiliated with Eddard Stark, the majority of the major characters can be allocated into the two major noble families: the Starks and the Lannisters. The Starks characterize honor, duty, diligence, and integrity, making them the primary protagonists. They're opposed by the ambitiously materialistic Lannister family, who seem like Martin's equivalent of the Borgia's. Though if there's a weakness in the characterization department, it would be that not enough is done with characterizing the Lannister family. The Stark family makes up the bulk of the story's protagonists, but they aren't exactly perfect. They can be rude, selfish, jealous, and even bratty at times, they're delightfully flawed characters. With the exception of the great character `Tyrion Lannister', we're given very little insight into the life of the family aside from their obvious immoral tendencies. The Lannisters, while morally vague, come off feeling much less defined. I really wish more could have been done with them when compared to the excellently characterized Stark family. In a seemingly endless miasma of betrayal and deceit, the only beacon of hope comes in the form of family. The Starks, particularly the Stark children felt like the real heart of the book for me. Their precious innocence helps invest the reader in the story even further, especially since they're among the victims in this malicious game that the adults are playing. It only reinforces the insurmountable stakes and that nobody is truly safe or completely innocent. Even the world itself feels like a character that helps ground the reader in the author's fiction. Martin's `Seven Kingdoms' are vividly brought to life with intricate detail that makes it really pop off the pages. Its geography, political structure, and the dominant noble houses are all elaborated upon in surreal detail that really gives the reader a feeling of place. Less reliance on more fantastical elements like elves and dwarves gives Martin's world a pinch of reality that most authors tend to avoid. With the exception of the `White Walkers' and the extinct dragons, all mystical aspects are kept at an all-time low, favoring words and steel over mysticism and spells. The outcome is a fantasy world that surprisingly, comes off as genuinely plausible. The Seven Kingdoms feels like a realm that very much could have existed. It's an interesting divergence from the typical high fantasy settings. There's going to be the inevitable comparison between Martin's work and the legacy left behind by Tolkien as the great forefather of fantasy writing. The notion of comparing the two is entirely misguided, simply because Martin's writing is completely different from Tolkien's in nearly every angle. Tolkien emphasized the ongoing struggle between good and evil, the thrill of high adventure in a fantastical world, and the triumph of great heroes over terrible villains who would do the world harm. Martin on the other hand is much less black and white with his delivery. There are obvious characters you can label as `dishonorable', while others stand atop a pedestal as paragons of altruism. But are these characters truly evil for trying to secure the benefit of their family and future generations to come? And are these characters considered good if they're ensuring the stability of the realm by dishonest methods? Martin chose to forgo typical fantasy conventions of magic and obvious morality in the favor of characters who feel genuinely believable in all the most despicable ways. They're not the great heroes Tolkien illustrated; they're morally ambiguous human beings. That's the defining characteristic which separates these two giants of fantasy, the selfless heroes and the morally grey humans. Comparing these two juggernauts is completely irrelevant, for Martin isn't trying to replicate Tolkien but rather make his own beast. Yet, I never like to jump on a bandwagon and proclaim with the rest of the world that a novel is absolutely perfect. Of course these critiques are personal ones and admittedly border on flat-out nitpicking. The first is the absolutely insane overabundance of minor characters. I'm not referring to the central characters that the various chapters shift between; they're all perfectly characterized and fascinating. I'm referring to the endless onslaught of characters that overcrowd the book, but serve little importance in the greater scheme of things. Every story arc is jam-packed with so many characters that range from semi-important to useless. I usually wouldn't mention this, but with a book of this magnitude it really became an issue with me, though it may not for other people. The second issue is the lack of a proper climax to the story. I'm all for having an intriguing plot over a mindless slog of action scenes, but with a book of this size, it would have been nice to have it end with a bang. It's little things like these that stand out when the rest of the book is just so good. When Hollywood absolutely bastardized the final Harry Potter novel by splitting it into two movies in order to fill their glutinous craving for money; I became somewhat of a skeptic to segmenting visual adaptations of popular literature. Creating a television show made me raise an eyebrow, "instead of making a movie they're going to milk it with a whole season of episodes" I thought. After reading A Game of Thrones, I realized that making a television show out of the book isn't just a good idea, it's absolutely mandatory. This book and its sequels have so much content in them that a movie would never do the plot and its various characters justice. It's the perfect source material for an epic fantasy television series, which is great considering we don't exactly have many of those. A Game of Thrones is the start of something special. The beginning chapter of an epic tale that needs to be read by everyone of age who can truly appreciate its complexity. Read the book first before you watch the show, only then can you truly appreciate George R. R. Martin's natural talent for weaving such incredible stories.

This is a great book, but I'm sure that you're here reading reviews because everyone has told you about how amazing Game of Thrones is. So, let me tell you what the big deal is with this book. There's so much going on in the pages of the first book of this series, that it's difficult to know where the review should start. I won't spoil any of the story because part of this series' magic is Martin's astounding ability to surprise his readers on nearly every page, but allow me to give you a bit of a breakdown of the basic pre-plot. (I hear lots of people ask what GoT is about, only for a fanboy to give them a long-winded, spoiler-riddled answer that turns off the person asking) In Martin's world there are two major known continents, Westeros and Essos. Westeros is a continent that is ruled by the King on the Iron Throne. In the history of Westeros, there have been a great number of wars fought for The Iron Throne. A Game of Thrones begins with focus on the Starks of Winterfell. Ned Stark is the lord of Winterfell, and also an old friend of the king, Robert Baratheon. When Robert's Hand of the King (like an adviser who, more or less, does all the decision making for the king) dies, Robert visits Winterfell with his entire court to beseech Ned to become his new Hand of the King. This is a big deal for Ned, but when his wife Catelyn hears rumors that the previous Hand of the King was murdered by someone in Robert's court, The Starks begin to grow suspicious of the treachery hidden in the machinations of the Iron Throne and the Kingdom. When they begin to dig deeper, they open up an entire world of corruption, intrigue, betrayal, and double agents. What follows is an exploration of a fantastical fantasy world, plagued by the same very human folly that is destroying our own world. I don't want to say much more than that because (again) a lot of this book's charm is in its ability to surprise and shock the reader with great storytelling. Now, I understand. This book and series is certainly not for everyone. It's a long book with a plethora of complex and nuanced characters in a world of Fantasy. However, the storylines and themes are so all-encompassing and kaleidoscopic, that there is also something here for everyone. If you like murder mysteries, chivalric romance, magical happenings, political thrillers, high-octane action, brutally engaging war scenes, medieval fantasy, really ANYTHING, there's something here for you. In short, if you haven't read the book or seen the show, I can't recommend it highly enough. Before I checked it out, I was so sure that there was no way it could live up to everyone's hype. But once I saw it for myself, I was hooked by the first chapter. The hype is accurate, and I honestly believe this book and series may be one of the greatest things to happen to the human race. Check it out!

FIRST PUBLISHED BACK in 1996, the opening volume of the fantasy epic called A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE is immediately captivating, enthralling, entertaining, and even shocking. This is epic fantasy at its best. Well, for some of the book, anyway. It is also immediately obvious why and how this book (and in fact the whole series) has become one of the most watched, and most loved TV shows ever made. I won’t say that it was written just to be adapted, but the genius of the author has created a fictional world so well populated with amazing characters, who in turn love each other and hate each other with such passion that at times the book simply sizzles. At certain points in the book some characters are seen to be doing unmentionables to each other, and when discovered by innocent parties, take further measures so extreme in order to protect themselves you may well find yourself in such shock that you literally wont be able to put the book down. Long term fans of the genre will make immediate comparisons to other giants (!) of the field, and the first name to spring to mind will, of course, be J R R Tolkien, with his breathtaking LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. On a superficial level, Martin’s books are longer (by a looooong way) and yet despite the extra length and time involved in writing and reading them, he has failed to gift the reader with the quality of prose, and downright beauty, that is the trademark of Gandalf, Frodon, Elrond and company. Humour has a minor role in the book, but only with certain clans. I am thinking of the Lannisters here, folks, but only the loveable and highly durable Tyrion (the imp) demonstrates qualities of this nature worth mentioning. And of course he uses humour as a defence mechanism in order to cope with the situations and compromises he finds himself in on a daily basis. For the rest of the cast, life is much, much, much too serious to be caught laughing. And it’s only going to get worse. Winter is coming, you see. One of the plethora of strong features of GOT is character development, and they oftentimes grow and develop right before your eyes. Obviously time passes in this book but i found it immensely satisfying seeing how some of the younger generations of the book’s populace cope with, and grow into, roles they find themselves in. Some under duress, some at the hands of fate and some, Gods forbid, at the result of their own engineering. There is the subtle hint of dragons making an appearance in the story, but having just reached page 604 out of 780 I do believe that the reader is running out of time and words if they are going to be blessed with the presence of these magnificent creatures in the first book of this epic fable. Of course there is a lot more going on than just the re-emergence of dragons; like i just mentioned, Winter is Coming, and even though that is a saying strongly favoured by the Starks, it may well turn out to be a metaphor that affects the entire world that Mr Martin has so wonderfully crafted. The pace of the book ebbs and flows. It started off well, with several major emotional shocks hitting the reader full in the face early on. By page 300 I was ready to declare my personal love for Catelyn Stark (I still am) but then things slowed down and i found myself forced to carry on the exploration of this fantastic world i have become lost in. And for every page i forced myself to read, i found myself resenting the time doing so, and not spent playing hide and seek in Middle Earth with Sauron and company. But then the pace of the book picked up again, new characters came to life and a multitude of betrayals took place which made my investment more than worthwhile. Some of the locations described in the book are truly breath taking. Some of the ideas, too, are good enough to make you yearn to become one with the book and morph yourself right there. This book is incredibly deep. Characters that are presumably killed off are spoken of with such fervour and respect that you may well find yourself hoping against hope that they will be found again. There are many aspect of the book that have moved me, or grabbed my imagination by the throat and not let go. I have attempted to keep this review spoiler free and purposely vague at times. I can fully imagine myself reading GAME OF THRONES multiple times. Not for the beauty of the prose, because that is not its strong point. But certainly in order to relieve the drama, and the excitement, the cliffhangers and the shocks, you could certainly call me a fan. Four stars for a dead set modern day classic. It is not perfect by any means, and i can only assume the story will get stronger as i make progress through the books. Watch this space and I will let you know. Summer is over. Winter is coming. Books rule.

With the hit TV show airing for the past three years on HBO, the book series A Song of Ice and Fire has absolutely gone viral. Those who haven't read it or ever heard of it now wish to read it and those that want nothing to do with the books eagerly await the TV series or ask those who have read the books what happens next. A Game of Thrones, although the title for the TV show, is only the first book in a seven part series of which only five books are currently released. When George R.R. Martin first published A Game of Thrones very few people outside of the die hard fantasy fiends thought of picking it up. Topping close to 1,000 pages, with extensive geologies, hundreds of characters, and a plot thick with political intrigue it is a difficult book to sit down and get through. The character set ups alone can be daunting since GrrM has this particular interest in making every character a round character. However, once you are past that hurdle, the book is an absolute diamond among recent fantasy novels. The story, the characters, the landscape, the hints at magic, the political channeling throughout, the dialog, the creatures, the cities, all of it is enrapturing and once you take a hold of this book it will be difficult to put down. GrrM captures the essence of humanity and shows us the process of being as dynamic as reality. The characters are loved and hated all at once, the story makes us question our own judgment, and the events tear at our hearts or harden them. A TV show cannot properly convey such depth since something like that takes quite a deal of time and energy, but Martin is sure to make us feel this way within the story itself. It almost needs no introduction after the sensational HBO series, but it does require some guidance for those who have not heard of it despite the cultural giant it has become. The Stark family take the front stage in this book and win our hearts with their old world pride, honor, and dignity. They are from a cold, harsh land, the first major castle and town south of the infamous Wall which is the land's metaphorical boogeyman behind the closet doors. Eddard and Catelyn Stark along with their children, including but not limited to a bastard son, are swept into the political way of life when their King, Robert Baratheon, requests Eddard to sit on the High Council as Hand of the King. Essentially, Eddard, or Ned, will help rule (more like just plain run) the kingdom's affairs in far off, southerly, King's Landing. What follows is an ever-flowering rose that is hardly fragrant and hardly polite. The world shifts and the Game of Thornes begins. Absolutely worth the read, beyond any shadow of a doubt. My only recommendation is that if you are NOT the strongest reader or you are leery of beginning the book what with the flood of characters to digest then watch the first couple episodes in the TV series. That will help to insure that you will know exactly who is important and who isn't in the grander scheme of things. Though I usually do not make such a recommendation, it will help if you feel that you need it. Otherwise, plow through and I promise that those that are important will definitely shine as you pursue this absolutely groundbreaking, unforgettable beginning to an ever-evolving tale.

If you like the HBO series, you will not be disappointed here. This first book corresponds to the 1st season of Game of Thrones. It is nearly exactly the same with a few interesting differences which I liked, and there is more details on the history of Westeros. The sex scenes in the book are somehow more graphic than the show but nothing that an adult can't handle (not for kids)! So I am not a big reader. I hated it when I was forced to read in school and have done a good job of avoiding serious reading save for magazines and news articles. It probably has to do with the fact that I am a slow reader. When I learned there was a book series that the TV show was based on I was interested to look into it. But when I saw just how long the books where, I just knew darn well I wouldn't read it. But the further I got into the show, the more interested I got in the maybe giving the books a try. Finally I downloaded the Kindle sample and it didn't take long to be hooked. For those that haven't seen the show but are interested in the books: The setting is a place and time like medieval Britain. The story follows a handful of great and formerly-great houses in their struggle with love and honor and power. It is a fantasy, but that is not the major part, at least not in this first book. The characters are humans and their life-struggles are those of all humans. The fantasy element is somewhat on the fringes but is there, so it may be more accessible to those weary of learning fantasy worlds like Tolkien's, like myself. The sex and violence is quite graphic and Martin's descriptions of battles is wonderfully vivid, something Tolkien skimps on in The Hobbit; I haven't finished the Lord of the Rings so I can't comment on the comparison there. If you are someone like me who got bogged down in the first book of the LOTR series, this is much easier to read and more engaging throughout. There are multiple stories line occurring all at once and Martin switches between them with every new chapter so it takes some getting used to but they are now hard to follow. The prologue was very confusing (and I've seen the show) so get through it because it sets a scene and you will understand it later. And WARNING, as I was warned prior to watching the show or reading the books, Martin has no loyalties to characters. You will love Martin one minute and curse him the next. If you want a story where the main character/hero triumphs of evil, honor over dishonor, do not read this book. But that is what makes the story so interesting: it's like the real world we live in, evil often triumphs. As for the Kindle edition: I have the both the Kindle and the paperback editions. I always have my phone on me but not always the hard copy so they serve 2 different purposes. I am someone how does like the feel of a book (I know, I know. I said I don't read... Nonetheless). As far as I can tell there are no differences. Even the art at the beginning of each chapter is the same. I switch seamlessly between the two. So in summary, I loved it. I would recommend it to everyone, even to adults who don't read much. It's a great story covered in sex and war… what's not to love!

Thoughts on Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book One [Audio book, Unabridged] [Audio CD] George R.R. Martin (Author), Roy Dotrice (Reader) Ok... most of my buds know I am a big fan of the HBO series. On Amazon here: Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season And while I own the paperback version ( A Song of Ice and Fire, Books 1-4 (A Game of Thrones / A Feast for Crows / A Storm of Swords / Clash of Kings) , I haven't been plowing through it as fast as I want to (wacky things like, the farm, MS, and life keep getting in the way.) However, Sally and I on our recent trek to Toronto for Pinballapalooza (to support the Stratford Festival's production of Tommy: http://www.stratfordfestival.ca/OnStage/productions.aspx?id=20233&prodid=47004 ) we started listening to A Game of Thrones on Audio book. I cannot heap enough praise on the production of the unabridged edition of this book in Audio book form. Roy Dotrice does a phenomenal job of reading and imbuing each character with a distinct voice. This is very impressive for a series with so many characters. The audio itself is well recorded, crisp and clear and picks up the different intonations of Dotrice perfectly. This is the kind of audio book I like - unabridged, the entire original book. Read word for word. With appropriate vocal modulations to help you keep characters straight when listening. I found it much easier to keep track of who was doing what where from the audio book than I did the HBO series (which cuts "a bit" too much in some parts.) I have listened to some of the "fully dramatized" versions of audio books. Most notably I listened to the BBC's dramatized versions of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. I have not enjoyed them as much as the straight unabridged versions, as in order to "fully dramatize" there are usually sound effects, music, and worse modification of the text of the book to fit the story into more of an audio-play format. Given I am a fan of the original source material, whenever there is something dropped or added from the text, it jars my suspension of disbelief and takes me out of the book. Roy Dotrice treads a fine line. He does give each character a unique voice, and "acts" the books. But there is not any distracting music or sound effects, and Mr. Dotrice sticks to the source word for word. His narration of the book is spot on and absorbing. What's more, my wife, who is not as much of a Fantasy fan as I am, also found it absorbing and can't wait for the next chapter and next book. The number of books in the series is another big plus. Mr. Dotrice has recorded not just the first book, but the first five books in the series all unabridged. My wife and I look forward to listening to all of them. It is our hope he continues and does books 6 and 7 as soon as George R.R. Martin completes them. If you like fantasy novels, character driven stories, or stories told from a character (or different characters' perspectives), I highly recommend Game of Thrones. If you want to watch some great drama on TV, try the TV version (or try Battlestar Galactica or The Walking Dead). If you want to listen to a great story told well... try the audio book version. They are all good and worth owning and reading, watching, or listening to.

I was going to rate this book 4/5 but then I realized that if a book is worth a five it should be given a five regardless if it has flaws. I'm not out to prove which books are 'technically' but which books are the best. Therefore this book is a great book and a must read for any adult despite small flaws. Five/Five stars, Ten/Five stars, Twenty/Five stars. The Good: As in my review title I think this book is hands down one of the most intelligent fantasy books I've yet read apart from the Lord of the Rings series. The corruption, the plot twists, the betrayal, the treason, the death, the war, the love, the struggle, the brotherhood, the symbolism, the character detail, the world detail, and the gigantic scope set up for this series is all top notch. It's almost Shakespearean tragedy, in a way, done in a contemporary style. I don't know if I've known in any other modern fantasy so many real and deep characters. I feel like I can empathize most and visualize them completely (even ones without a written point of view). Martin also does an incredible job of keeping the reader on track with the separate story-lines as each comes back to itself after an absence. So on and so forth, all the wonderful comments made by every other five-star reviewer. The Bad: Unfortunately there's one thing Martin seems to have a continual habit of doing in this book (and I hope not the rest in the series) which is forgetting his point of view - just for little sentences here and there. I'm almost certain there is at least one time in each chapter where he writes a sentence explaining something (a thought, a look, some detail, etc) that the current point of view could not know. Maybe I'm just picking nits or looking too closely, not looking closely enough, but over and over this writing flaw nagged - never very much, like I said one sentence in a chapter maybe two, but it was consistent through the entire novel. Also small parts of the world I couldn't visualize completely: how do they measure years when seasons are multiple years long? or how does a world have such variable seasonal patterns? Are there miniature seasons that occur to follow a complete annual pattern underneath the greater climate change? Obviously I'm not asking Martin to provide a scientific answer to his world climate, but little things fit easily enough - change in harvests, other celestial bodies, etc that make the world make that much more sense. The former especially can be used merely in passing but provide a major world-explaining detail. The last complaint I have (which other reviewers have mentioned) is that though the bulk of the story is very adult and a major theme seems to be loss of innocence, the sex in a number of cases seems very adolescent. I believe Martin makes an effort to be mature and succeeds at least once or twice (Catelyn's sex scenes and how he writes of Lord's bastards) sometimes it falls flat and tears me out of the story (most often concerning Daenerys). However it is fully possible I hold my standards higher than most. These three details I choose to point out are ultimately negligible in face of what actually makes this book so good. They are nitpicks and can be easily overlooked/forgotten within the same page they occur. Read it, it's worth the money especially if you buy it used. I'm going to read the series in its entirety but I would be just as satisfied having read only this first novel.

Otrzymałem inną okładkę niż ta pokazana na stronie produktu. Zrobiłem zwrot i wymianę, ale nowa książka przyszła ponownie z tą samą inną okładką. Zdjęcia produktu są mylące, a cały proces zwrotu i wymiany był stratą mojego czasu.

Da dove cominciare. Questo è il primo libro di una serie decisamente lunga, soprattutto detto e considerato che ogni libro conta più o meno sulle 800 pagine. Tuttavia ciò non dovrebbe far desistere dall'intraprenderne la lettura, anche perchè è una delle più belle saghe degli ultimi tempi. Mi sono trattenuto dallo scrivere "saghe fantasy", tuttavia, perchè sarebbe una definizione inappropriata e riduttiva. In effetti, se mi chiedessero di cosa parla "A Game of Thrones", mi troverei in difficoltà nel rispondere. In linea di massima, è un gioco di potere. Un gioco di potere in cui, o meglio, attorno a cui, si intrecciano amori, tragedie, incesti, tradimenti, sottili giochi d'inganni ed epiche battaglie, vicende umane delle più varie e drammatiche. Insomma, un mondo in piena evoluzione, vivo e pulsante, in cui si dipana la vicenda. Un'altro dei grandi punti di forza di "A Game of Thrones" è la quasi totale assenza di cattivi assoluti o buoni assoluti. Anche se esistono dei rari estremi, ogni personaggio è disegnato in scala di grigi, e ognuno dipinto con una complessità affascinante. Per questo è impossibile un punto di vista univoco nell'interpretare questa vicenda, caratteristica che non fa che dare maggior valore al tutto. Prima, inoltre, accennavo al fatto che la classificazione di fantasy era riduttiva. A questo proposito la spiegazione è che, pur essendo ambientato in un mondo completamente inventato, si discosta dai canoni del fantasy classico perchè, a parte i draghi, non presenta le tipiche razze magiche/fantastiche dell'immaginario, e la magia è una componente limitatissima. Per concludere, alcune osservazioni finali. La versione kindle da me acquistata è davvero ben fatta, non ci sono errori di impaginazione o sbavature varie. Per quanto riguarda la lingua, infine, l'inglese di Martin non è eccessivamente complesso e con una discreta padronanza dell'inglese si comprende abbastanza facilmente tutto. In caso di difficoltà, comunque, c'è il dizionario integrato nel kindle che sopperisce alle mancanze del lettore. Inoltre, io personalmente ho preferito la versione inglese a quella italiana (ho la prima metà in italiano in cartaceo, ma poi ho acquistato il kindle e mi conveniva maggiormente questa versione completa in inglese, più economica rispetto alla seconda metà in italiano). Libro, e serie, consigliatissimi e promossi a pieni voti.

I came to George R.R. Martin quite recently, after having bought "season 1" which roughly correspond to Game of Thrones (there is a little bit concerning Arya at the end in the TV series which in fact is from book 2). This volume has already attracted hundreds of reviews, most of which are extremely positive, and I can understand why and definitely share the feeling. Rather than paraphrasing what others have already mentioned perhaps a couple of years ago, I would like to insist on what a huge and superb job George R.R. Martin has done in creating a whole fantasy world. This is what has prompted some reviewers to compare him to Tolkien. I am not even sure that the term "fantasy world" is entirely appropriate, however. This is because, at times, you get almost the impression that this is just as much "alternative history" as fantasy: there is only a little magic - no wizards - at least in the first volume, although there are dragons, walking dead, extraordinary wolves and mention of other non-human creatures living beyond the Wall. The world that he has created is loosely based on bits and pieces aggregated from the Ancient history and the Middle Ages in Europe, and in the United Kingdom, in particular, and, to a lesser extent, Asia. Here are a few examples: - The maps of Westeros, the land of the Seven Kingdoms, make you think of a somewhat modified version of Britain. You can recognize the general shape, although it has been modified quite a bit and distances have been multiplied by a factor of eight or ten because Westeros is a whole continent, as opposed to a big island - The analogies go further. The Wall seem to have been loosely inspired by either Hadrian's Wall or Antonin's Wall, which was further to the north . The Night Watch seems to be loosely inspired by the Military Orders of the Middle Ages, at least with regards the vows that the applicants have to pronounce in order to join, renouncing whatever property (land in particular) and family and with pronouncing vows of celibacy. The recruitment mode is a little different, although Military Orders did also in some cases accept criminals who were ready to join them to do penance and atone for their crimes. Regarding knights, however, those who joined the historical Orders generally did so of their own free will, as opposed to being send or somewhat forced to join the Night Watch - The society of the Seven Kingdoms resembles the 15th century, given the castles and the equipment of the knights (plate armour, helmets, jousting and so on...), and the civil wars that take place once the King has died reminded me of the War of the Roses. The conflict seems to be just as bloody and treason is just as common. The only difference is perhaps that, up to now, noble families do not seem to change sides as frequently as they did during the War of the Roses, although this is only the first book, and there is plenty of time for this to happen in subsequent volumes - There are also other historical references. The name and description of the Dothraki suggests a parallel with the Thracians of Antiquity and perhaps also with the Skythians, although their eyes could suggest a reference to Asian steppe nomads (pick your choice: they were dozens of them between the Huns around AD 350 and the Mongols almost a thousand years latter. Both the Thracians and the Scythians sacrificed their warlord's horse during his funeral so that he could ride it in the underworld, although only the latter used horse archers. The reference to "arakhs", the swords, or perhaps more accurately the kind of sabres used by the Dothraki, also points to the Rhompaia of the Thracians, although there are differences. The historical rhompaia (which was also used by the Dacians) was a two-handed sword made of straightened scythe held and a long handle that could make up to half the length of the weapon. The blade was particularly sharp and the weapon was dreaded by Roman legionaries because it could loop of limbs. For those wanting to read more on the Thracians, and check some of the staements above, try "The Gods of Battle" by Chris Webber - Other, but somewhat less precise, allusions to historical references include the Forest people (not Elfes, as in Tokien's Lord of the Ring, but more probably inspired by pre-Celtic populations of the British Isles), The First Men, mostly in the North, who seem to have been inspired by the Celts and the Andals. I initially thought that the latter may allude to the Angles, Jutes and Saxons, because the word was close to "Vandals", who were also Germanic, although the Andals and the the mention of Stormkings who ruled before the Targaryens, could also allude to the Danes and the Targaryen conquerors, who invaded Westeros almost three centuries before the beginning of this story, would then allude to the Normand Kings of England. The Free Cities, on another continent, which, combined with the character of Illyrio, made me think of independent Greek Cities in something like 500 BCE. In addition to being a very entertaining romp and adventure story where, for the time being at least, three stories happen in parallel, I found the characters rather well drawn and well through, contrary to what some reviewers seem to have experienced. There are, of course, "goodies" and "baddies", but they are not caricatures. As another reviewer mentioned, the characters are various shades of grey, which makes them somewhat more realistic, rather than being painted in black or white. Even Robb replacing his father as the Warden of the North at the age of fourteen is not as far-fetched as it may first seem when you take a look at the 15th century in the English Kingdom. A historical character such as the Duke Richard of York (the future Richard the Third) fought his first battle alongside his brother Edward, the Yorkist King, at age fourteen. Shortly after the victory, his brother actually put him in charge of the North of England. At the time, of course, you were old by the time you were 40. You were married at 15 and you had had your first children by the time you were 20. All this is also perfectly well rendered in this book. So, in addition to all of the other praise and qualities that others have found in this book, I particularly appreciated the attention to details and how the author recreated a society based on the Late Middle Ages and made it as realistic as he could. Highly recommended and I can only hope that the next volume is just as good as this one.

Vale a pena. Bem pequeno, não recomendo para quem prefere letra grande ou tem dificuldade de ler texto relativamente pequenos; para uma pessoa com essa dificuldade ou alguém com mais idade, melhor outro formato. Em relação a história: uma das maiores obras de todos os tempos, tranquilamente, o autor é um gênio; para quem gosta do gênero, vai se apaixonar e querer ler todos os outros desta franquia.

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