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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)
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)
kay.emme: Both are set in rich, fictional universes with a large cast of diverse characters. In each book, chapters focus on different character(s) story lines with overlapping and connecting events between characters. Lastly, both are complex and epic in scope, but are engaging, gripping, enjoyable reads.… (more)
fantasy fiction, series (first installment of A Song of Ice and Fire) - much easier to read with some familiarity of all the characters (so many characters, and it's not always immediately clear who the nicknames refer to); after the prologue and first chapters, it's not hard to read but because the characters are so much younger in the novel (Dany is 13 when her brother traffics her into marriage to 30 y.o. Khal Drogo) the sex scenes are somewhat distasteful, but also plenty of grisly murders, white walkers, and other things that make up this fictional world are distasteful in general. Overall a fun start to the epic tale in which memorable moments can be relived--Arya's receiving the gift of Needle, Bran's climbing "accident" and subsequent amnesia, Tyrion's short stay in an open-sided Aerie prison cell, Ned's asking too many questions and putting trust in people he shouldn't, Dany's dragon eggs. It's easy enough to skim over the lengthy food descriptions, battle scenes, etc. if those aren't your thing. I don't particularly feel the need to read the rest of the books though.
2024 december bingo challenge: blue cover, isolated setting [includes prologue] ( )
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. Yes, I watch the television show also, but these books are AMAZEBALLS. Very few books that I read get the Amazeballs Award. Although there are SO many characters, I love that each chapter gives the reader a glimpse inside each of their world's. There is so much that is different from the t.v. show, that this is worth the time to read it. This is George R.R. Martin's original ideas for his characters. ( )
This is not the first volume in a series, as it turns out; it's more of a very long first chapter since there was no resolution to the major storylines. This is a wide-ranging, but tightly written Fantasy novel that is likely to appeal to any fantasy reader who isn't intimidated by the 15-odd page appendix of names and dynasties. ( )
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".
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.
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Haiku summary
Long suffering Starks, betrayal is always near, beware Lannisters.
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(4.35)
So I finally tried Game of Thrones (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)
Wikipedia in English (15)
15
Overall a fun start to the epic tale in which memorable moments can be relived--Arya's receiving the gift of Needle, Bran's climbing "accident" and subsequent amnesia, Tyrion's short stay in an open-sided Aerie prison cell, Ned's asking too many questions and putting trust in people he shouldn't, Dany's dragon eggs. It's easy enough to skim over the lengthy food descriptions, battle scenes, etc. if those aren't your thing. I don't particularly feel the need to read the rest of the books though.
2024 december bingo challenge: blue cover, isolated setting [includes prologue] (