Regular marked price: $16.00Discount Price: $10.88
Cost Savings: $5.12 (32%)Price fluctuation possible.
How soon does it ship: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, very first served.
Shipping? Absolutely FREE if you qualify for Super Saver Shipping.
Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780553381689
ISBN number: 0553381687
Label: Spectra
Manufacturer: Spectra
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 704
Printing Date: May 28, 2002
Publishing house: Spectra
Release Date: May 28, 2002
Sale Popularity Level: 12670
Studio: Spectra
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Here is the very 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.
Amazon.com:
Readers of epic fantasy series are: (1) patient--they are left in suspense between each volume, (2) persistent--they reread or at least review the previous book(s) when a new installment comes out, (3) strong--these 700-page doorstoppers are heavy, and (4) mentally agile--they follow a host of characters through a myriad of subplots. In A Game of Thrones, the very first book of a projected six, George R.R. Martin rewards readers with a vividly real world, well-drawn characters, complex but coherent plotting, and beautifully constructed prose, which Locus called 'well above the norms of the genre.'
Martin's Seven Kingdoms resemble England during the Wars of the Roses, with the Stark and Lannister families standing in for the Yorks and Lancasters. The story of these two families and their struggle to control the Iron Throne dominates the foreground; in the background is a huge, ancient wall marking the northern border, beyond which barbarians, ice vampires, and direwolves menace the south as years-long winter advances. Abroad, a dragon princess lives among horse nomads and dreams of fiery reconquest.
There is much bloodshed, cruelty, and death, but A Game of Thrones is nevertheless compelling; it garnered a Nebula nomination and won the 1996 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel. So, on to A Clash of Kings! --Nona Vero
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
A Game of Thrones, author George R.R. Martin must be from another planet indeed. A planet that still workships the Gods of Old, steel and knighthood.
This masterpiece is so well written that it amazes me. How in the world a normal person can plot such an intrincate story?, so many characters? How does Mr. Martin creates such elavorate personalities? It's a rollercoaster of intrigue and excitement.
I read somewhere that "A Game of Thrones" was the equivalent of "The Sopranos in medieval times", well, somehow it is. Prepare yourself to get engulfed in the world of The House of Starks and Lammisters, the Black Brotherhood that watches "The Wall" up north. Beyond this wall, a terror is rising. "The Others" cold and souless creatures are moving forward.
Prepare to experience treachery,secret whispers, magic, dragons, rape, murder, poisoning, honor, pain, diplomacy and betrayal at it's best. Prepare to loose yourself page after page inside one of the best new epic fantasies of our time.
Mr. George R.R. Martin at least from my point of view can stand proud side by side with Mr. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.
The very first of six. Read it and enjoy!!!!
P.S. - Some say it's too long to read...I say bring more.
Cheers!!!!
Rated by buyers -
Well,
This book is not for the casual read. If you like books to be finished on the last page, then the very first book in the "Song of Ice and Fire" series is not for you. However, if you love good stories that seem to end too soon than I encourage you to give this a chance. It's true, the series is not finished yet and you'll be waiting for the last two books but what a journey to that point.
I have to admit, I was a skeptic. With so much praise being given, I had put of reading this book for too many years. It did not win me over easily. Oh! But the tangled web it weaves only becomes more captivating with every turn of the page. Yes, it lacks magic (in this book) but remember, this is the forerunner of a much larger story. It sets a stage. That's the goal. Martin excels here in a way that Melville did with "Moby Dick" and if the comparison sounds far-fetched than hear me out. The characterization is impeccable, but the details are astounding. At points I felt mired in them and cursed them, but the it's dressing for the world-- the frame of this beautiful picture. You wouldn't want it to be different.
Something of a technical detail that I think is worth mentioning is that the chapters aren't broken down by theme or plot element, although both are intricately wound within the divisions. Instead, Martin chooses to separate his work by addressing individual characters while much of the action happens in the background in relation to them. I felt that this was a refreshing and welcome twist to a genre that seems hackneyed at times.
All in all, this book cannot do without the highest rating. It's too compelling, too well written, and too encompassing to be slighted. It does have faults, but within this magnificent scope and compelling story they are easily overlooked.
If you are a fan of fantasy and are reading this then I urge you to try this one book. You will not regret it.
Rated by buyers 
-
I had -as many readers, I suspect- good expectations for this book. It seemed the perfect holiday series of novels.
I am not generally scared by n-logies amounting pages in the thousands -I just finished Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, which I heavily recommend, by the way-.
So I started reading A Game of Thrones... Well, I fount it boring, bland, commonplace, linear (yes, despite the zillion subplots; they all sound the same). Skipping chapters, which I rarely do, gave me the impression the same white noise would go on for 6000 pages.
It never hook me up. I couldn't find any reason to keep reading.
I know a lot of people praise Martin's original mix of soap opera and fantasy, but it just doesn't work for me. There is no intelectual depth, just plain dull soap opera narrative.
There might be some bright memorable moments and universe details, just like it happened in Dying Light, but we're not talking about a 300-page novel where those bright details compensate the sometimes boring narrative and overall bland story, we're talking about a 6000-page monster saga...
Well, there are plenty more interesting books to read out there.
Rated by buyers -
I'm not going to go too deeply into a review. There are 1500+ reviews already to give you a feel for the book.
FOR KINDLE READERS
One thing that I thought I should point out since it was a little confusing for me - this version 'A Game of Thrones/A Clash of Kings' is a release of the 1st two books in the series. The page count in the product description (800 +/-) is wrong or at least misleading. It's really 1800 or so pages.
Also, at the end of the very first book (around segment 14000 in the kindle) there is a 'cheat sheet' with the main characters broken down by their families. I would like to have known that before I hit the page after I had finished the book. Sorry I don't have the exact location, but maybe there's a way to track it down through the table of contents.
Rated by buyers 
-
The problem with George RR Martin's A Game of Thrones is that it is a good book. No, that's not a typo- the problem with this book is that it is genuinely different from most fantasy offerings, highly entertaining, and well developed. Of course with such achievements comes praise, hype, and hoopla. Before long the hype actually surpasses the book's merits and expectations going in are so high that no book, regardless of how good it really is, can measure up.
And that pretty much summarizes my own foray into The Song of Ice and Fire saga. 12 years and 1,500 reviews late, I've finally begun my tour of the series by ordering and reading A Game Of Thrones. With so much praise that's been heaped upon the story (and the series in general) throughout the years, my expectations were understandably high. Even still I found the very first book to be enjoyable, entertaining, and definitely worthy of the attention it receives.
To begin, Bantam Spectra is only partially correct in labeling this book Fantasy. The truth of the matter is that the prose is easily as much a study in drama (and oftentimes borders on historical) as it is a fantasy effort. Sure there is mention of some mythological races, a few undead corpses, and even some baby dragons in the mix, however GRRM does not present this work in the fashion so commonly associated with the genera.
It is well documented that GRRM takes the approach of telling his tale by breaking it into chapters each focusing on a specific character somehow entwined in the greater whole. In my opinion, doing so created a double-edged sword (no pun intended). On the one hand the massive and character-riddled plot feels more personal and the different viewpoints showcase Martin's ability as a master storyteller. After all, he manages to convincingly depict an 8-year-old cripple just as well as a young woman's (oft brutal) sexual encounters. There's no question interweaving a story in this fashion is a testament of skill and confidence on the author's behalf. On the other hand, some characters just click better than others. I personally found Tyrion to be very interesting as well as Eddard Stark but they are merely a small sample of the greater whole that is the cast of A Song of Ice and Fire. As a result, readers will often find themselves slogging through chapters that deal only with lesser-liked (or hardly relevant) characters in effort to return to the story arc they are most interested in. I should note that this criticism seems to be more prevalent in the later books than this particular entry.
Overall, I found the general consensus of this book to be pretty spot-on. While I realize that being one of 1500 reviews, its unlikely my opinion will have much impact, but I did want to share my take on account of the fact that I am a fervent reader of fantasy fiction who, like many others, grew tired of the same formulaic plots that seem so common in most fantasy these days. The line between good and evil is blurred in Martin's series so effectively that it doesn't take long to start to sympathize with the goals and aspirations of each of the groups involved. I'm deeper into the series at the time of this review's writing and sometimes I still get the overwhelming feeling that perhaps I'm rooting for the wrong side!
Considering the level of expectation that the positive reviews of the past 12 years have generated, I was sure I would be let down. Yet GRRM delivered and now I too have become a member of the hordes eagerly awaiting the release of A Dance With Dragons.
Find other books like this one:
