A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin

Advantages: Stunning Fantasy Epic. No Cliches!
Disadvantages: Your Favorite Character Might Die on the Next Page

..."corpse handler" stories, he depicted a future where convicted criminals were subjected to braindeath, with their cerebral cortex replaced by the implantation of a 'corpse-controller'; and their bodies became the ultimate slave - unless one was able to obtain the divice that could [see the eponymous shortstory] "Override". Top notch thinking-person's Science Fiction. His Fever Dream is considered by many to be the ultimate vampyre novel, conveniently ...
...to rest, inspired more than a few sleepless nights, and many man-years of speculation.His novella, Sandkings, won the Hugo Award, science-fiction's highest, and was used as the basis for the initial episode of the new Outer Limits. Mr. Martin disappeared from the literary scene for a few years, though occasional short stories appeared, and were collected in such compilations as Portraits of His Children, and one of his better short stories was made ... Read review

Advantages: Fantasy at it's best; mysterious, colourful and epic.
Disadvantages: The sex scenes

...graded in comparision. Fantasy has a deeper meaning to me them fireball touting wizards and heros with magic swords, George Martin delievers a fantasy world that has a great blend of the historic War of the Roses and abstract magic, which is never really explained and so retains it's mystery. A game of thrones draws you in quickly, using point of view chapters, generally leaving the end of each chapter on a cliff hanger. The shift between character ...
...George Martin's world is a huge and varied place, different cultures are aptly introduced and delved into powerfully, and you can only marvel at the epic nature of the book. Characters are developed well, but there is a distinct lack of sympathy kindled for the less likeable characters, for example house Lannister. One could argue that the Starks are main focus of this book however, and that later books cover different characters. Every character ... Read review

Advantages: Fantastic story, great characters
Disadvantages: A lot of characters, hard trying to remember all the names

...or involved in. In a very clever way, Martin alllows the story to knit together without giving too much away, so when certain events happen (and boy, do they happen!), they come as a surprise, or even as a shock! Martin certainly pulls no punches and is not afraid to deal with moral issues that are not normally written about in fantasy novels. I suppose a minus could be that there are a lot of characters...some people may think too many characters. ... Read review

Advantages: Intricately plotted; fantastic characters
Disadvantages: Sudden death of beloved characters always a possibility

I'd read a few books edited by George R R Martin before this came out (the Wild Card series, in case you're curious). Then the first book of the Game of Thrones came out, I had nothing to read, so I thought, why not? And boy, was I ever glad that I did. The plot is quite incredibly well done. Well, I set 'plot'; there are a large number of plotlines weaving their way through the books, many of them incredibly deep (plots within plots within plots). ...
...each other - this is a world where feuds go on for generations, and really do affect who you can speak to and what you can do. The second plot is that, in the frozen north of the realm, there is an ancient something stirring; and the powers that might stop it are all too busy stabbing each other in the back to actually do anything about it. The books are populated by characters that seem to come alive; each chapter is dedicated to one character, ... Read review

Advantages: mindblowing scope
Disadvantages: hard to put down! graphic and disturbing in parts, but that added to it!

...incidentally, before i explode!!), without a doubt the best set of fantasy novels since the lord of the rings. this set of books is set in an alternate world, with a kind of medieval feel to it (the period is never actually specified). it tells the story of the conflict between the five great families of "the seven kingdoms" (the land in which it is set). there are supernatural elements to it, and despite containing the typical fantasy fodder of ...
...in this book, martin creates a whole new world of incredible detail, inventing a whole fascinating history for the world in which he sets his story. the characters are incredibly well developed - this book has no real heroes or villains; there are no characters who are completely black or white. all the "good" characters have their flaws and weaknesses, and martin can evoke sympathy and understanding for his "bad" characters too. this book is incredibly ... Read review