A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin > Reviews > in the game of thrones you win or you die

Author's product rating:   

Would you listen to it again?	Absolutely
Story	Outstanding
Characters	Outstanding
Listenability	Once you start it, you won't be able to switch it off!
How does it compare to audio works by the same author?	Excellent

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

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

this is the first book in george rr martin's "a song of ice and fire" series (which he really needs to hurry up and finish, 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 knights and dragons, it manages never to fall into cliche.

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 detailed - some of the details add to the realism of the plot (what characters are eating, drinking, wearing..), whereas some evoke fear and horror (martin leaves very little to the imagination where battle scenes are concerned!) he is also fairly ruthless in the treatment of his characters - unlike many fantasy writers, deaths occur fairly unpredictably - there is no character you can be sure will survive till the end!

i would *highly* recommend this book to anyone over the age of about 15 (it can be disturbing in parts, and contains some sex references and quite a lot of strong language)

i'm not sure how many times i have read and re-read this story.. my copy is getting extremely battered though! i would also whole-heartedly recommend the other books in this series.