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A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire #1

by George R. R. Martin

A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire #1 Cover

Synopses & Reviews

From Powells.com:

If you're a "read-the-book-first" type, you might want to get started now on George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. HBO has optioned the first book, A Game of Thrones, as a series, and 10 episodes are slated to begin filming in Ireland in fall 2009. (The current plan is to adapt one book per season.) What's more, independent game developer Cyanide Studios has acquired an exclusive option to develop the books as a series of video games, starting with (you guessed it) A Game of Thrones.

Publisher Comments:

Here is the first volume in George R. R. Martin's magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords. As a whole, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Magic, mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill these pages and transport us to a world unlike any we have ever experienced. Already hailed as a classic, George R. R. Martin's stunning series is destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.

A Game of Thrones

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, assassins 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 wildlings 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 hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Review:

"The major fantasy of the decade....compulsively readable."The Denver Post

Review:

"Such a splendid tale and such a fantasticorical! I read my eyes out and couldn't stop 'til I finished and it was dawn." Anne McCaffrey

Review:

"We have been invited to a grand feast and pageant: George R.R. Martin has unveiled for us an intensely realized, romantic but realistic world." Chicago Sun-Times

Review:

"A Best Book of 1996: Martin makes a triumphant return to high fantasy ...[with] superbly developed characters, accomplished prose, and sheer bloodymindedness." Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Review:

"A splendid saga....Inventive and intricately plotted." BookPage

Review:

"Magic...George R.R.Martin's first fantasy epic [is set] well above the norms of the genre." Locus

Synopsis:

A Game of Thrones is a contemporary masterpiece of fantasy.

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 tragedy, 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.

About the Author

George R.R. Martin sold his first story in 1971 and has been writing professionally ever since. He has written fantasy, horror, and science fiction, and for his sins spent ten years in Hollywood as a writer/producer, working on Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and television pilots that were never made. In the mid 90's he returned to prose, his first love, and began work on his epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. He has been in the Seven Kingdoms ever since. Whenever he's allowed to leave, he returns to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lives with the lovely Parris, a big white dog called Mischa, and two cats named Augustus and Caligula who think they run the place.

From the Hardcover edition.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
uncle_loki, September 15, 2007 (view all comments by uncle_loki)
I would really like to recomend the whole series, but I figure if someone decides to read the first book they won't be able to stop. I would put Martin up there with Tolkien as one of the greats. Although their styles are different. Tolkien is very black and white, whereas Martin writes in shades of gray. It is very difficult to root specifically for any one of the royal houses. I had my favorite characters. But the ones I liked did things that bothered me, and the ones I didn't like had a way of garnering my sympathy. I also love the fact that Martin is not afraid to kill off characters. That, mixed with all the political intrigue, made for an edge of your seat kind of read. My only regret is that he is still in the middle of the series. I need to know what happens, damn it!
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faithfullandtrue, August 20, 2007 (view all comments by faithfullandtrue)
i don't even like fantasy novels, but i couldn't put this book down. thank you mr. martin.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780553573404
Author:
Martin, George R. R.
Publisher:
Spectra Books
Location:
New York :
Subject:
General
Subject:
Fiction
Subject:
Fantastic fiction
Subject:
Science fiction
Subject:
Fantasy - General
Subject:
Fantasy - Series
Subject:
Fantasy - Epic
Subject:
Fantasy fiction
Copyright:
Edition Description:
Paperback
Series:
Song of Ice and Fire
Series Volume:
01
Publication Date:
August 1997
Binding:
Mass Market Paperbound
Language:
English
Pages:
864
Dimensions:
6.90x4.16x1.41 in. .89 lbs.

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