George R. R. Martin

A Game of Thrones; Book 1 of Song of Ice and Fire

Giovanna Marulli Borges 

and for the first time in hundreds of years, the night cane alive with the music of dragons.

Rachael Bahr

The surface of the shell was covered with tiny scales, and as she turned the egg between her fingers, they shimmered like polished metal in the light of the setting sun. One egg was a deep green, with burnished bronze flecks that came and went depending on how Dany turned it. Another was pale cream streaked with gold. The last was black, as black as a midnight sea, yet alive with scarlet ripples and swirls.

“The Others take your honor!” Robert swore. “What did any Targaryen ever know of honor? Go down into your crypt and ask Lyanna about the dragon's honor!”

“You avenged Lyanna at the Trident," Ned said, halting beside the king. Promise me, Ned, she had whispered.

Not Lady :( But also one of the first moments that shows how ruthless she really is - poor Sansa has a long road ahead of her 

“We have a wolf,” Cersei Lannister said. Her voice was very quiet, but her green eyes shone with triumph.

With clear hindsight, this is very on the nose

There were crows' nests atop the broken tower, where no one ever went but him, and sometimes he flled his pockets with corn before he climbed up there and the crows ate it right out of his hand. None of them had ever shown the slightest bit of interest in pecking out his eyes.

In direct contrast to earlier in his storyline where the crows never showed interest in pecking out his eyes. On the nose, George, very on the nose.

It took to the air, flapping its wings in his face, slowing him, blinding him. He faltered in the air as its pinions beat against his cheeks. Its beak stabbed at him fiercely, and Bran felt a sudden blinding pain in the middle of his forehead, between his eyes.

GRRM spends a lot of time emphasizing the close relationship between Jon and Arya, and how they are different from the rest of the Stark siblings, and I always couldn’t help but wonder what he had planned for them as a unit. Could be that he just meant to illustrate how their paths would diverge so much from everyone else, but all the Stark kids end up on wildly different paths so sometimes I wonder if this was leading to something else, like an incestual Targaryen type relationship. 🤷‍♀️

Jon grinned, reached over, and messed up her hair. Arya flushed. They had always been close. Jon had their father’s face, as she did. They were the only ones. (72)

The memory of her laughter warmed him on the long ride north. (98)

It would have been easier if Arya had been a bastard, like their half brother Jon. She even looked like Jon, with the long face and brown hair of the Starks, and nothing of their lady mother in her face or her coloring…Once, when she was littler, Sansa had even asked Mother if perhaps there hadn’t been some mistake. Perhaps the grumkins had stolen her real sister. But Mother only laughed and said no, Arya was her daughter and Sansa’s trueborn sister, blood of their blood. (143-144)

And Arya…he missed her even more than Robb, skinny little thing that she was, all scraped knees and tangled hair and torn clothes, so fierce and willful. Arya never seemed to fit, no more than he had…yet she could always make Jon smile. He would give anything to be with her now, to muss up her hair once more and watch her make a face, to hear her finish a sentence with him. (179)

She found herself wishing that Jon was here with her now. Then maybe she wouldn’t feel so alone. (220)

Yet when she slept that night, she dreamt the dragon dream again. Viserys was not in it this time. There was only her and the dragon. Its scales were black as night. wet and slick with blood. Her blood, Dany sensed. Its eves were pools of molten magma, and when it opened its mouth, the flame came roaring out in a hot jet. She could hear it singing to her. She opened her arms to the fire, embraced it, let it swallow her whole, let it cleanse her and temper her and scour her clean. She could feel her flesh sear and blacken and slough away, could feel her blood boil and turn to steam, and yet there was no pain. She felt strong and new and fierce.

The old woman smiled at him toothlessly. “My stories? No, my little lord, not mine. The stories are, before me and after me, before you too.”

Sansa sat up. “Lady,” she whispered. For a moment it was as if the direwolf was there in the room, looking at her with those golden eyes, sad and knowing. She had been dreaming, she realized. Lady was with her, and they were running together, and…and…trying to remember was like trying to catch the rain with her fingers. The dream faded and Lady was dead again.

The Greatjon says that won't matter if we catch him with his breeches down, but it seems to me that a man who has fought as many battles as Tywin Lannister won't be so easily surprised.

The old songs say that the greenseers used dark magics to make the seas rise and sweep away the land, shattering the Arm, but it was too late to close the door.

Bethany Jenkins

“Well, my legs may be too small for my body, but my head is too large, although I prefer to think it is just large enough for my mind. I have a realistic grasp of my own strengths and weaknesses. My mind is my weapon. My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer, and I have my mind... and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." Tyrion tapped the leather cover of the book. "That's why I read so much, Jon Snow."

Ariella

“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.”

“When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.”

Kaitlyn Kuehn 

“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."

The kingdom of the royal Stark family faces its ultimate challenge in the onset of a generation-long winter, the poisonous plots of the rival Lannisters, the emergence of the Neverborn demons, and the arrival of barbarian hordes. Reissue.

A Game of Thrones

I really enjoyed this book actually a lot of things going on and a lot of characters but I like how the POV is constantly changing and the main plot was around the Starks and their kids and the story got better when the kings hand died and it all unfolded from there and Robert died then so did Edward and there was some battles they were well written. Also the plot twist was that Joffrey isn’t the true heir to the throne and he’s a child of incest 🫣 and only the previous hand and Edward knew this and that’s why he was killed.

Hana 

"Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assasins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildling carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hang perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflcts: the game of thrones."--Back of container.

Game of thrones

Incredible world and character building. Extraordinary story telling. But the world already knows that. 

Reading the book ads a lot of context to the already well established characters. Loved it! Beautifully narrated by Roy Dotrice.

Adwait Kulkarni

Masterpiece!
Incredible world and character building. Extraordinary story telling. But the world already knows that. 
Reading the book ads a lot of context to the already well established characters. Loved it! Beautifully narrated by Roy Dotrice.

AAAAA

NED

ROB

JON

DANNY

EVERYONE SO GOOD

twas a little boring but good overall. famous for a reason 

Daphne Li-Chen

This is a re-read, but it still holds up. Though it’s a long book, the ensemble cast makes the pacing bearable. Some stories are more captivating than others, but I think that’s the beauty of this many POVs: there’s a plot for everyone. I am particular to Ned’s, Sansa’s, and Tyrion’s plots more than the others, but even that has changed since the first time I read this.

I think GRRM did a good job at establishing the lore and in-world culture. I feel like I understand the northerners vs the southerners vs the Dothraki beliefs. And it’s literally like one big chess board. You’re constantly waiting to see how these characters are going to interact and cross the others’ paths.

I also enjoy how GRRM subverts expectations. In these kinds of stories, we’re so used to good guys winning and bad guys getting what they deserve, but it’s truly refreshing to have a more realistic view of how these events would’ve unfolded. It’s tragic, definitely, but makes for a more exciting plot. Overall, this is a very solid start to a series.

Nik ✨

This is a re-read, but it still holds up. Though it’s a long book, the ensemble cast makes the pacing bearable. Some stories are more captivating than others, but I think that’s the beauty of this many POVs: there’s a plot for everyone. I am particular to Ned’s, Sansa’s, and Tyrion’s plots more than the others, but even that has changed since the first time I read this.

I think GRRM did a good job at establishing the lore and in-world culture. I feel like I understand the northerners vs the southerners vs the Dothraki beliefs. And it’s literally like one big chess board. You’re constantly waiting to see how these characters are going to interact and cross the others’ paths.

I also enjoy how GRRM subverts expectations. In these kinds of stories, we’re so used to good guys winning and bad guys getting what they deserve, but it’s truly refreshing to have a more realistic view of how these events would’ve unfolded. It’s tragic, definitely, but makes for a more exciting plot. Overall, this is a very solid start to a series.

envie,

I watched the series first and then listened to the audiobook and I can confirm that the book is better! Loved every part of it!!

Femke

As the Seven Kingdoms face a generation-long winter, the royal Stark family confronts the poisonous plots of the rival Lannisters, the emergence of the Neverborn demons, the arrival of barbarian hordes, and other threats.

A Game of Thrones, a Clash of Kings, a Storm of Swords, a Feast for Crows, and a Dance with Dragons

Ryan Mateyk

I really wanted to join the masses and love it but it just didn't do it for me! I loved Arya, Tyrion and Daenerys, Catelyn and Jon's chapters were alright, but Sansa was so helpless I wanted to scream, Bran just rode Hodor all day and Ned was just ... I don't know.

Hitori Gotoh

george rr martin is a fantastic writer, offering such nuances and depths to his characters that you can find even within his first book. Watching the show and reading the book are two very different experiences offering new avenues and perspectives on even the biggest of plot points. Looking forward to book two!!!

alyssa 

epic actually if only the misogyny could have been absent. Ned Stark and Catelyn Stark are everything alongwith Arya and Daenerys. 

sani

i cant believe i went thru all of this again.... masochism at its finest

Amna A.

With each chapter revolving around a specific character, I was able to bare through the boring parts of the most annoying Sansa (not that there were many) and anticipate the upcoming chapters concerning the most awesome smartmouthed imp, Tyrion, and the ill fated Daenerys.

Sarah Sammis

It's well written but too long and then to think that there are five or six more of these tomes in this series is just too much for me. I'm not one of those patient and loyal readers that Amazon.com mentions. A Game of Thrones would be a much stronger book if the story were told from half the points of view. Basically the author could have done away from the chapters from the women's point of view as they are the least interesting and least believable of all the chapters. That would probably cut the book's length down to a manageable 400 or so pages.

Sunny

Vicky  Nuñez 

After watching the T.V. show I knew I had to read this book. And to all of those who are eagerly reading it now that the first season has ended, let me tell you: this book does not disappoint. 

I am astounded how much they took into account when making the show. They really stuck with the whole plot-line. But you get more insight into the world, more background & even more of the characters. The character's youth was interesting, I liked it in some ways because it made even more incredible what some of them where going through, but sometimes it was just weird. Nevertheless, it was a great read & I look forward to know what happens in A Clash of Kings.

In A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin has created a genuine masterpiece, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill the pages of the first volume in an epic series sure to delight fantasy fans everywhere.

In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the North of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.
(back cover)

Book One of A Song of Ice and Fire

Pretty much how I expected it to be, but that isn’t a bad thing. I liked the tv show and this was like reading the tv show, ya know? Shoutout to the Starks for putting thoughts to their ridiculous actions.

Eli Alvah Huckabee

In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and sinister forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall.

Laurianne

"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."

Inhale, exhale. I have never watched GoT series, so this review purely comes from the book itself. Let us commence with two major points I'll be discussing.
- writing/world-building
- characters

I wasn't accustomed to a book with so many point of views. But I find this entertaining (though I had trouble memorizing the names and roles at the beginning) and even grow to like it. I love the pacing. Mind you, this is a thick book, but never once I caught myself in boredom while devouring its contents (horrified, yes, at times) The world-building is brilliant, I love every bit of it.

Characters, as I stated above, they are plenty of them. Many gone as quick as they introduced. Of course, I can't analyze every character in depth, but I wish to give my two cents.
I find it amusing that Catelyn kept reminding Eddard how her husband only knew Robert, not the King he has become. Should've used the advice to herself, reminding how little she comprehends Littlefinger's (cunning) character.
Sansa mirroring her father's character, believing in the good of people, unironically costing both destruction in the aftermath. How mercy destroys what they love the most. In all honesty, I don't hate Sansa. She's just a naive little girl, taught to be nice and never to forget her courtesies. She has a lot to learn and I have faith in her character.
Arya, by far, is the smartest Stark and I have so much admiration for the girl. I hope she's safe.
Jon is my favorite character. His emotions feel so real. He is brave and compassionate. I need his chapters to be longer.
The Lannisters, I have so little affection toward them. Tyrion is the only tolerable one. I know Tywin is smart, but I have no desire to talk of that man. Nor of Cersei and Joffrey.
I love Daenerys' dragons, but her chapters horrify me more often than not due to Khal Drogo's brutality, I don't have it in me to discuss it further either.

I can't wait to read the second book already!
5 stars.

Any author would have a hard time contending with story moorings that were this solid. George can build this tree up and out all he wants, but the roots are here. The whole of the story is slow and steady, edited expertly and rewardingly, and curated by someone who definitely seems to possess the greatest attributes of popular writers: George knows exactly how deep an itch he's scratching.

Paige LeBook

里森

Jehan Chawla

I don't know how many times I've re-read this series but each time I discover something new about it. ASOIAF is like my comfort place. There are so many characters I love in these books and the wolves of course. Even for someone who has watched the HBO series, George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones is an engaging and enjoyable read! The strength of Martin’s writing shines through in these pages. Each chapter is well-crafted. His proses aren't excellent but during many parts they shine through bright. As someone who is familiar with the series I know the pacing of the first book is slow but it still didn't hamper my reading. Everyday I looked forward to reading it.Let me just say that I didn't find ANY of the characters boring. Even the characters that I would find an anoying personality type, are deeply engrossing in this tale.This book was raw, gritty, barbaric and downright crass at times...and I loved every damn minute!

Stephen Campbell

Not as great as it was first time round, but it's not the books fault that all I really want is The Winds of Winter.

Is it the best fantasy at this length I have ever read? No. Is it very good? Yes. I don’t know why everyone says it is so violent and so sexual and all that because I read a lot in this genre and I found it pretty mid on both fronts. There aren’t even any swear words… but I digress. If you liked the first season of the show you will find a slightly more expanded world building experience here and more backstory and lore-fill. What you will lack for is character depth and relationship depth, as well as minor characters and strong dialogue which the show writers punched up, because they had to. It was the most iconic TV series of all time. I won’t waste time on explaining the plot. 

A Game of Thrones; Book 1 of Song of Ice and Fire

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