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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
4.5⭐️ So good!! A little confusing at first with all the characters but I figured it out after the first few chapters. Couldn’t put the book down at the end, can’t wait to FINALLY start the tv series!!
Wow, this took me a long time to read.. I like the plot and the changing POVs, but I've discovered that I'm simply too old to read fantasy.. His style does not flow with me. I have a feeling I will like the TV show better.. I will never have the time to read all of the series anyways.
I only watched the show after I read the books.
BUT I started reading the books knowing that the tv show was a huge hit.
So my expectations were a little all over the place.
I guess it was better than I expected. As the chapters are broke up my different character perspectives, there definitely were some chapters I enjoyed more than others. But the writing is good and the creativity and imagination is pretty stellar.
BUT I started reading the books knowing that the tv show was a huge hit.
So my expectations were a little all over the place.
I guess it was better than I expected. As the chapters are broke up my different character perspectives, there definitely were some chapters I enjoyed more than others. But the writing is good and the creativity and imagination is pretty stellar.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
boring
Started Hbo and had to read so much for school that I had no more time.
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s such a good fantasy, I will say I’ve read this one and I’m half way through the second and I always thought seasons 1-4 of game of thrones are the best seasons ever and the books have made me notice more flaws (and unnecessarily graphic rape scenes) than I’d noticed before but it’s still great. Everything George does seems so intentional and the character/world building is some of the best I have ever read.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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
I have seen friends and family reading this in years past. As I have seen them reading Terry Goodkind books. Or Robert Jordan. And I am not going to read those latter two, because I fear my lifetime is limited and I still have many real books that need reading.
I have however now read A Game of Thrones because I am not one to sit idly by when the entire world is in the thralls of a hype. So now I also know what it is all about. There be dragons.
I guess this really just is your typical run of the mill fantasy: kings, knights, dragons, aurochs, magic and intrige. I can see how the shifting perspective makes it very eligible for a tv series, because it makes for some pleasant cliffhangers and a narrative that drags you along. And the writing is good. There is a real individuality to the characters and Martin does not lose himself in longwinding exposees on the genealogy of this and that Lannister or such and such Stark. The magic in the book is mild enough to keep the story within boundaries, although it might have been nice to be kept guessing whether there really is magic going on or whether these so called Others are actually there. With Martin there is no such ambiguity.
What strikes me as unconvincing (in a book with dragons, wights and giants) is the age of many of the characters and their maturity and/or the events of their lifetime. Take for example lord Eddard Stark who supposedly is in his early thirties but comes off as a wise old man, what with having fought all these battles in his late teens and early twenties and having so many adages to impart. And how old is Jon Snow again? Fourteen? Okay, okay, pet peeve. But then there is the case of winter coming again for the first time in eight years. I can dig that, but how cold is winter actually? What is the average annual temperature at Winterfell, or the Wall, or more northern still? People's ears and noses freeze off, but trees are still blooming and brothers are sleeping under the stars. I can't get a good fix on that. And I am not even talking about the times where Martin forgets himself and makes the mistake of referring to the past season as if it were only last year.
All that however is just small squabble. All in all this is a gripping read and doesn't disappoint at all if you are looking for a story well told.
I have however now read A Game of Thrones because I am not one to sit idly by when the entire world is in the thralls of a hype. So now I also know what it is all about. There be dragons.
I guess this really just is your typical run of the mill fantasy: kings, knights, dragons, aurochs, magic and intrige. I can see how the shifting perspective makes it very eligible for a tv series, because it makes for some pleasant cliffhangers and a narrative that drags you along. And the writing is good. There is a real individuality to the characters and Martin does not lose himself in longwinding exposees on the genealogy of this and that Lannister or such and such Stark. The magic in the book is mild enough to keep the story within boundaries, although it might have been nice to be kept guessing whether there really is magic going on or whether these so called Others are actually there. With Martin there is no such ambiguity.
What strikes me as unconvincing (in a book with dragons, wights and giants) is the age of many of the characters and their maturity and/or the events of their lifetime. Take for example lord Eddard Stark who supposedly is in his early thirties but comes off as a wise old man, what with having fought all these battles in his late teens and early twenties and having so many adages to impart. And how old is Jon Snow again? Fourteen? Okay, okay, pet peeve. But then there is the case of winter coming again for the first time in eight years. I can dig that, but how cold is winter actually? What is the average annual temperature at Winterfell, or the Wall, or more northern still? People's ears and noses freeze off, but trees are still blooming and brothers are sleeping under the stars. I can't get a good fix on that. And I am not even talking about the times where Martin forgets himself and makes the mistake of referring to the past season as if it were only last year.
All that however is just small squabble. All in all this is a gripping read and doesn't disappoint at all if you are looking for a story well told.