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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
This is a genre novel. A good one, but a genre novel all the way. The characters and story have more depth than than most fantasy novels, and the unfolding of the plot is often unexpected, but all within the well-worn grooves of the fantasy genre. The dialogue is mostly painful and most of the characters are straight from central casting. On the upside, the story is well-told, the pacing excellent and most strikingly, there is some real artistry in writing, which is by turns beautiful and evocative and spare and efficient. I read it on my Kindle, and was shocked to find how long it was when I looked it up on Amazon to order the next - once I was in the flow and invested in a couple of the characters, I couldn't put it down. And despite this being a somewhat negative review, I must admit I will surely read the sequel next time I'm in the mood for some light reading.
5 ⭐️
This story is the blue print for any epic fantasy. The world building and what GRRM’s brain creates is actually insane and mind boggling to me. This very much followed season 1 of the show to a T, I’m excited to see the differences as I continue.
This story is the blue print for any epic fantasy. The world building and what GRRM’s brain creates is actually insane and mind boggling to me. This very much followed season 1 of the show to a T, I’m excited to see the differences as I continue.
This book was crafted well. It is one of the best fantasies I have read.
To think that I finished it in a week the first time I read it
What can be said that has not already been said? The TV series is wildly popular and now people love the books. However I first read it years before it was popular.
I didn't like it. I was hoping for some fanciful adventure with wizards and goblins and impossible odds to overcome. Instead it was some book about political posturing.
Now since the TV series has become popular, I gave it another try because I did not want to watch the R-rated TV show.
Maybe now that I am older and have different tastes, I actually enjoyed the book. Even so much as to appreciate the complexity of the plot and how well Martin keeps the reader engaged in the story. I will try some of the other books.
I didn't like it. I was hoping for some fanciful adventure with wizards and goblins and impossible odds to overcome. Instead it was some book about political posturing.
Now since the TV series has become popular, I gave it another try because I did not want to watch the R-rated TV show.
Maybe now that I am older and have different tastes, I actually enjoyed the book. Even so much as to appreciate the complexity of the plot and how well Martin keeps the reader engaged in the story. I will try some of the other books.
The story was so rich and complex, yet felt so familiar, as most fantasies do. I would recommend this to anyone who grew up with Lord of the Rings and wants to feel even more grown up, aka more politics and more realism mixed with their fantasy and lore.
Game of Thrones is kind of a "thing" right now so I decided to jump on the bandwagon and see what it's all about. I had a really hard time picking a rating because I have really mixed feelings and I'm having trouble articulating my thoughts.
Overall, I like the story/plot. It was interesting and kept me engaged. I also (for the most part) find the characters interesting. I think my main complaint comes with the actual writing.
The setting is of course a fictional world, but it is not so very different from our own medieval world. I think Martin (like so many others) falls into the trap of trying to impress upon the readers a sense of the time period by making everything overly dirty and harsh. Maybe it was- but you don't have to beat us over the head with it! There is way too much gratuitous sex and violence. We get it- their world is black and cruel. People live and die violently. Life is bleak and short. I prefer for my authors to assume that I have some level of intelligence and imagination and let me use it.
Over-sharing was definitely a problem all the way through. I felt that I was being beaten over the head about lots of things- details about the characters or setting, characteristics, symbolism, metaphors, etc. Nothing was ever said only once. Or twice. Everything was over and over. Martin would latch on to a word or phrase and repeat it every chance he got- sometimes so often it became almost comical. There are countless examples, but here's one... One of the main characters is the illegitimate son of another main character. There is never a single mention of him (even after we've known him for 300 pages already) without declaring that he is a "bastard" or "baseborn", as if we somehow forgot in the two minutes it has been since we last read that he is a bastard.
Other reviews talk a lot more about it, but I will add my voice to the fray. I do believe the book comes off as pretty mysogynistic. Again, I think it's the author trying (too hard and in the wrong way) to show the time period: women being treated as sexual objects,slaves, second class citizens (if that), subject to their fathers and husbands, forced to marry young (Age 13?! So disturbing!), being raped and beaten, etc. But, I think it's too much and the female characters are in general disappointingly weak. I might be able to stomach a bit more if I thought the women were fighting for change. I still have some hopes for the next books. Maybe.
To be fair, I think it's not just sexist towards women though. Most of the male characters are also unfairly stereotyped as being completely driven by lust- lust for violence, lust for power, and most of all lust for sex. We are supposed to excuse them because, after all, they are only men and have no self control and should not be held responsible for any lapses in judgement that occur because of their uncontrollable urges. Ugh!
I think maybe the real issue here is that the whole book just needed a healthy dose of editing. At 800 something pages it is certainly not too short and there is so much repetition. Martin created an interesting world with interesting characters, but the writing is not brilliant and at times is simply...not good.
I haven't decided if I will read the next books or not.
Overall, I like the story/plot. It was interesting and kept me engaged. I also (for the most part) find the characters interesting. I think my main complaint comes with the actual writing.
The setting is of course a fictional world, but it is not so very different from our own medieval world. I think Martin (like so many others) falls into the trap of trying to impress upon the readers a sense of the time period by making everything overly dirty and harsh. Maybe it was- but you don't have to beat us over the head with it! There is way too much gratuitous sex and violence. We get it- their world is black and cruel. People live and die violently. Life is bleak and short. I prefer for my authors to assume that I have some level of intelligence and imagination and let me use it.
Over-sharing was definitely a problem all the way through. I felt that I was being beaten over the head about lots of things- details about the characters or setting, characteristics, symbolism, metaphors, etc. Nothing was ever said only once. Or twice. Everything was over and over. Martin would latch on to a word or phrase and repeat it every chance he got- sometimes so often it became almost comical. There are countless examples, but here's one... One of the main characters is the illegitimate son of another main character. There is never a single mention of him (even after we've known him for 300 pages already) without declaring that he is a "bastard" or "baseborn", as if we somehow forgot in the two minutes it has been since we last read that he is a bastard.
Other reviews talk a lot more about it, but I will add my voice to the fray. I do believe the book comes off as pretty mysogynistic. Again, I think it's the author trying (too hard and in the wrong way) to show the time period: women being treated as sexual objects,slaves, second class citizens (if that), subject to their fathers and husbands, forced to marry young (Age 13?! So disturbing!), being raped and beaten, etc. But, I think it's too much and the female characters are in general disappointingly weak. I might be able to stomach a bit more if I thought the women were fighting for change. I still have some hopes for the next books. Maybe.
To be fair, I think it's not just sexist towards women though. Most of the male characters are also unfairly stereotyped as being completely driven by lust- lust for violence, lust for power, and most of all lust for sex. We are supposed to excuse them because, after all, they are only men and have no self control and should not be held responsible for any lapses in judgement that occur because of their uncontrollable urges. Ugh!
I think maybe the real issue here is that the whole book just needed a healthy dose of editing. At 800 something pages it is certainly not too short and there is so much repetition. Martin created an interesting world with interesting characters, but the writing is not brilliant and at times is simply...not good.
I haven't decided if I will read the next books or not.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Finally made it through! A really satisfying read that gives the TV characters so much more depth. It's nice to read the canon story while comparing and contesting it to the television show. I'll probably end up reading the second book.