Hey is this book any good? should i read it?

A masterful creation of story and world building! There's a fragile peace in the Seven Kingdoms. King Robert of House Baratheon sits on the iron throne, a rite he claimed in the aftermath of battle against House Targaryen, now exiled and nearly extinct. House Stark rules in the North, and the wealthy but subversive House Lannister will do anything to keep its power. The info dump is significant right from the start, and I found myself hastily trying to piece together the puzzles as clues were mentioned. A battle for the throne took place fifteen years prior to the start of the book, and you'll want to get those details straight in your head as soon as possible to understand what's at stake. I often wished I had a timeline to review as I read, but then I learned to let go and allow the story to reveal itself on its own terms. This one is for adults, as much for its graphic depictions of sex and violence as for its subtlety in watching the players manipulate each other. I recommend A Game of Thrones.

Not all it's hyped up to be. This book never engaged me in the story. We broke up at p. 278.

I read this book when if first came out in 1997 (long before it's HBO fame) and totally loved. I waited patiently for two years for the next installment to come and another two years for the next. Originally it was billed to be a series of 6 books altogether. After the 3rd book Martin got a little distracted I guess because it took about 5 years for the next book to come out and then it was only half a book with half the characters and the wait for the next book after that was about four more years and he still has a long way to go. With the HBO thing who knows if he will ever finish it. I do love his writing and have been a fan but my patience is wearing thin. I have actually read this book 3x cuz it's so long between books you have to do it just to remember who's who!

very entertaining. I look forward to the reading the entire series

I bought this book instead of waiting a year to get it at the library. It was completely worth it. I love how the characters in the book aren't just black and white, they're really three dimensional characters. The writing was so well done, each chapter was told from a different person's point of view, but it was done well. When the next chapter was coming, you wanted to hear from the next person. I don't know, it was just a great read. Don't be discouraged in the beginning if you can't completely follow the characters in the story, you get used to the flipping from character to character, at least I did.

I was warned before I started reading this series not to get attached to any characters because so many of them die. And I was not prepared for how true it was! It's such a great fantasy saga though and HBO has done a great job of bringing the books to life. If you enjoy the book, be sure to check out the HBO series.

Some advice for those of you about to read this book: turn to the back first - there is an appendix, listing the characters and their "houses". I didn't realise this until I was halfway through the book so was a bit confused at the beginning as to who was who. Having finally mastered the character lists, I was totally hooked and have now finished book 2 and onto book 3. I have not enjoyed a series so much before, except for the LOTR trilogy. And I don't usually read fantasy novels. I watched the HBO series and thought they did an excellent job, although the one criticism I have is that the graphic brothel scenes (which were not in the book) were unnecessary. As for the age category, my 16 year old daughter is currently reading it and loves it. I don't think it is suitable for younger teens.

It just gets better and better.

It took me a while to get fully sucked in by this novel, but I am now hooked and anxiously awaiting the next book in the series. The author carefully constructs his fantasy world, in detail, and gives life to every character. When I was not fully committed to the series, there were times the detail was a bit tedious. However, now that I am entrenched, I have come to love it. I have not watched the HBO series, but I have plans to. The book was just plain well written. The dialogue, plot and action are all done with equal precision. I will be reading the first three books at least. I have been warned against the later works, but will cross that bridge when I get to it.