A Song of Ice and Fire Book 1 - A Game of Thrones
Good guys finish last

// Synopsis: When Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell travels south to help his king rule with an honest hand, conspiracies are uncovered which soon plunge the Seven Kingdoms into civil war. Meanwhile on the forgotten and lightly guarded northern border, the undead Others seem to be stirring after hundreds of years of silence.

// Review: Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time is a dizzying complex story that at times plods. Raymond Feist's Rift and Serpentine Wars on the other hand are action filled page turners that are often shallow. And George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series is an excellent blend of the best of both series. The setting has a middle ages feel with fiefdoms going to war over the intrigues of lords and ladies. The chapters are broken up as POVs of a handful of characters that build up to a dramatic cliffhanger before ending.

/ I think what makes this series stand out is the superb character development. It's easy to quickly settle into a book by figuring out who the good and bad guys are. But except for a couple of characters, no one is completely evil or noble and all of them have significant weaknesses. Over the course of the books you'll find that your feelings for most of the characters change as they continue change, evolve, and mature. Throughout the first 3 books with some characters I kept going back and forth between liking and hating them. It was difficult to completely root for or against all but Jon Snow.

/ I love that GRRM has everything goes with his story. It's no holds barred. Regardless of how developed a character is GRRM is willing to kill them off, which continually keeps the reader off guard and thinking "what will happen next?" The queen once says that "when you play the game of thrones, either you win or you die." While ultimately honor may win out, playing the game well has no room for intergrity. Allegiances are constantly shifting and cunning, boldness, and manuevering is not just necessary for success but survival.

/ I groaned everytime a Danyres chapter came up. Her storyline takes place far away from the rest and only includes 1-2 characters. They always felt like an interrupted break from the main plot. The second time reading it through I found it more palatable because it seems like GRRM is eventually going to have the 3 major threads come smashing into each other.

// Wrap up: Excellently developed characters with deftly intertwined plot threads all well written make for a great read. The only hiccups in my mind are the amount of attention Danyres receives and the graphic sex. A relatively short series (5 books) I highly recommend.

Entertainment rating: 4.5