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4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
12/20/2022: Updating with the news that 6 years after finishing this book, I have finally started watching the show. Except now I'm past where the first book ends, so I'm in that weird place of "Do I stop watching the show to catch up on the books or just watch the show and finish the books later?" Decisions, decisions.
---------
12/17/2016:
I did it. I finished A Game of Thrones.
What this should mean is that I will reward myself by finally watching the show. What it actually means is this:
There are a crapload of really great reviews out there on this book already, so I'm going to keep this review only as long as the cup of coffee in front of me lasts. Note: I go through coffee the way a child of the 80s/90s went through Kool-Aid (thanks for the flavored sugar water, Mom!).
1. I Will Remember You (Will You Remember Me - Do Do Doot Doot Do)
I don't know what the deal is, but my memory has become terrible. Old age? Brain is at max capacity? I don't know. What I do know is that I read this book over a span of THREE MONTHS. This is no indication of how good or bad the book is. I started reading on an airplane (the perfect place for me to read - no interruptions except for a beverage delivery) in September and then picked it up when I had the time afterwards. I would have to restart most books if it took me this long, but I was always able to pick this up from where I had left off because it's memorable. Martin has done a wonderful job of creating a completely new world that is fantasy but feels very real. I was easily transported to each location. And there are many locations. With each chapter comes a different character and usually a different location. I loved the chance to experience so many different places and characters. Speaking of characters...
2. Ball of Confusion (That's What the World is Today - Oooh Hey Hey)
There are a billion names in this book but not necessarily a billion characters.
Example: Lord Westerling, Lord Banefort, Ser Garth Greenfield, Lord Estren, Ser Tytos Brax, Mallor the Dornishman...and three Lannisters besides Jaime, Lord Tywin's own nephews, two of his sister's sons and one of his dead brother's...
Don't be discouraged by all the names! The trick is to pick through the ones that really matter. In this case, there are two names you should know/recognize. All those other names are not there for your benefit. They are there because if this dialogue were really happening, that is how they would actually relay the news. If you get lost on the names, there is a handy guide located at the back of the book. It's useful. Use it.
3. Although We've Come to the End of the Road (Still I Can't Let You Go)
There are two reactions when you reach the last page of a 800+ page book.
Reaction #1: WHAT THE HELL?! I WILL NEVER GET THOSE (INSERT # OF) HOURS/DAYS/MONTHS OF MY LIFE BACK.
Reaction #2: THERE HAD BETTER BE ANOTHER 800+ PAGE BOOK IN THIS SERIES FOR ME TO START IMMEDIATELY. AND THEN ANOTHER. AND ANOTHER. AND ANOTHER. AND ANOTHER. AND ANOTHER.
I'm clearly in the #2 category. I would have been devastated had the book just ended as is. Or if I had hopped on the Game of Thrones train early on and didn't have another one waiting on my bookshelf. By the end of a large book, you should care enough about the characters and their "world" that you want to stay on the journey with them. Which reminds me...
4. Another One Bites the Dust (and Another One Gone and Another One Gone)
Don't get too attached. Any one can go at any time. And you aren't going to have a sweet, lingering scene of them on their deathbed with weeping family kneeling at the bedside. There were a few times I had to reread the few sentences I was given to make sure I had actually read what I thought I read. SPOILER ALERT: If you ever wonder if it's a joke, IT'S NOT.
---------
12/17/2016:
I did it. I finished A Game of Thrones.
What this should mean is that I will reward myself by finally watching the show. What it actually means is this:
There are a crapload of really great reviews out there on this book already, so I'm going to keep this review only as long as the cup of coffee in front of me lasts. Note: I go through coffee the way a child of the 80s/90s went through Kool-Aid (thanks for the flavored sugar water, Mom!).
1. I Will Remember You (Will You Remember Me - Do Do Doot Doot Do)
I don't know what the deal is, but my memory has become terrible. Old age? Brain is at max capacity? I don't know. What I do know is that I read this book over a span of THREE MONTHS. This is no indication of how good or bad the book is. I started reading on an airplane (the perfect place for me to read - no interruptions except for a beverage delivery) in September and then picked it up when I had the time afterwards. I would have to restart most books if it took me this long, but I was always able to pick this up from where I had left off because it's memorable. Martin has done a wonderful job of creating a completely new world that is fantasy but feels very real. I was easily transported to each location. And there are many locations. With each chapter comes a different character and usually a different location. I loved the chance to experience so many different places and characters. Speaking of characters...
2. Ball of Confusion (That's What the World is Today - Oooh Hey Hey)
There are a billion names in this book but not necessarily a billion characters.
Example: Lord Westerling, Lord Banefort, Ser Garth Greenfield, Lord Estren, Ser Tytos Brax, Mallor the Dornishman...and three Lannisters besides Jaime, Lord Tywin's own nephews, two of his sister's sons and one of his dead brother's...
Don't be discouraged by all the names! The trick is to pick through the ones that really matter. In this case, there are two names you should know/recognize. All those other names are not there for your benefit. They are there because if this dialogue were really happening, that is how they would actually relay the news. If you get lost on the names, there is a handy guide located at the back of the book. It's useful. Use it.
3. Although We've Come to the End of the Road (Still I Can't Let You Go)
There are two reactions when you reach the last page of a 800+ page book.
Reaction #1: WHAT THE HELL?! I WILL NEVER GET THOSE (INSERT # OF) HOURS/DAYS/MONTHS OF MY LIFE BACK.
Reaction #2: THERE HAD BETTER BE ANOTHER 800+ PAGE BOOK IN THIS SERIES FOR ME TO START IMMEDIATELY. AND THEN ANOTHER. AND ANOTHER. AND ANOTHER. AND ANOTHER. AND ANOTHER.
I'm clearly in the #2 category. I would have been devastated had the book just ended as is. Or if I had hopped on the Game of Thrones train early on and didn't have another one waiting on my bookshelf. By the end of a large book, you should care enough about the characters and their "world" that you want to stay on the journey with them. Which reminds me...
4. Another One Bites the Dust (and Another One Gone and Another One Gone)
Don't get too attached. Any one can go at any time. And you aren't going to have a sweet, lingering scene of them on their deathbed with weeping family kneeling at the bedside. There were a few times I had to reread the few sentences I was given to make sure I had actually read what I thought I read. SPOILER ALERT: If you ever wonder if it's a joke, IT'S NOT.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ok... the book wasn't honestly all that bad, but it's long as hell, and I just don't have the energy to keep going. Maybe I'm in the wrong headspace. I don't know. But I just cannot dredge up any care for what the people in this book are going through, though I am not completely sure why. I got through like, 200-250 pages, and... I just can't, y'all. I'm tired. I'm exhausted. This is not a cry for help. (Blinks twice)
Anyway. I think this may be a simple case of this book just not being for me. Fantasy's not a genre I'm incredibly enamored by, and longer books, especially, are something I... don't much like. The fact that I finished SJM's Throne of Glass series should probably be counted as an outlier, but my excuse for that is that the first couple books weren't super long, so there I could take my time and get used to the characters and figure out who I liked and didn't like. Here, not so much. I do like Bran, though. From the little bit that I read, he seems like a pretty chill dude. Everyone else is kinda meh. Also, some of the relationships were....... questionable. I'm just gonna say that. Questionable. It's an understatement. Anyway. I might revisit this book sometime in the future if I decide to give it another shot, and the only real reason I'm giving it 1 star is because I DNFed it, and that's the tier I reserve for books that I DNF. The bits that I did read, though, I'd give... 2.5 or 3 stars, depending on my mood. I suppose I have to say 3 stars, because Goodreads deals in integers.
Anyway. I think this may be a simple case of this book just not being for me. Fantasy's not a genre I'm incredibly enamored by, and longer books, especially, are something I... don't much like. The fact that I finished SJM's Throne of Glass series should probably be counted as an outlier, but my excuse for that is that the first couple books weren't super long, so there I could take my time and get used to the characters and figure out who I liked and didn't like. Here, not so much. I do like Bran, though. From the little bit that I read, he seems like a pretty chill dude. Everyone else is kinda meh. Also, some of the relationships were....... questionable. I'm just gonna say that. Questionable. It's an understatement. Anyway. I might revisit this book sometime in the future if I decide to give it another shot, and the only real reason I'm giving it 1 star is because I DNFed it, and that's the tier I reserve for books that I DNF. The bits that I did read, though, I'd give... 2.5 or 3 stars, depending on my mood. I suppose I have to say 3 stars, because Goodreads deals in integers.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
não dei 5 estrelas porque eu já sabia de tudo que o acontecer por causa da série mas pqp tio george é um deus da escrita