Posted 6 Aug 2008 · Report post A Song of Ice and Fire (Series) by George R.R. Martin.Book suggested for rating by Vespasiano. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 7 Aug 2008 · Report post I received the first four books in this series as a gift a few months ago, and have just completed the first, Game of Thrones. What a thrilling read it was, very much in the vein of Tolkein's Lord of the Rings. What has impressed me thus far, in addition to the riveting action and intrigue, is the wonderful character delineation and development of each of a host of main characters who, I'm confident, will dominate the story as the series progresses. Through them and their actions the themes or honor, justice, courage, familial love, rationality and the destructive forces of irrationality are presented. I look forward to the second book, A Clash of Kings.In researching Mr. Martin, an author with whom I'm not familiar, I discovered that he has received quite a bit of criticism as a "cynical" writer. I'm not really quite sure what this means and, having read only this first book, I don't have enough information to form an opinion. However, I will say that one of the recurring questions Mr. Martin highlights throughout Game of Thrones is whether or not Love is or must always be in conflict with Honor. It will be interesting to see how the author resolves this issue.One final point for now: these are BIG books; however, I found that the first part, thoroughly engrossing, read very quickly indeed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
