Hardcover, 896 pages

English language

Published Oct. 18, 2016 by Bantam Books.

ISBN:
978-0-553-80804-9
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4 stars (140 reviews)

Published in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of George R. R. Martin’s landmark series, this lavishly illustrated special edition of A Game of Thrones—featuring gorgeous full-page artwork as well as black-and-white illustrations in every chapter—revitalizes the fantasy masterpiece that became a cultural phenomenon. And now the mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure of this magnificent saga come to life as never before.

A GAME OF THRONES A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE: BOOK ONE With a special foreword by John Hodgman

Winter is coming, and in the frozen wastes to the North, 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 region of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale rife with plots and counterplots, …

46 editions

A bit too predictable and overly descriptive.

2 stars

This book frustrated me for so many reasons, and it's too difficult to not write a book about why because (unintentionally, I presume) I was made to think far too much about it. This review, sadly, is more of a jumble to keep the length down.

So here's a short list of the things I absolutely disliked:

  1. In terms of clarity, switching between names in the narration text (even simple swaps between Ned/Eddard and Dany/Daenerys because nicknames are better used to indicate relationships between people). One of the first moments this caught on was switching between Theon/Greyjoy in the narration (rather than picking one of the two), which made me have to double-check that this was the same person. Also, throwing in nicknames between characters without making it clear to whom they refer (Pimple? Lover?).

  2. Euphemisms for genitalia. All of it. Especially 'manhood'. How sexuality is discussed/used. Anything related to …

Review of 'A Game of Thrones' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I'm not sure what made me pick this up from the library. I don't even know what caused me to even look at the graphic novel section at the library in the first place, because I'm not actually a graphic novel sort of person. Unless you count the occasional Asterix album or similar. I enjoyed it enough to pick up the next volumes as well, and it's fairly quick to get through it. You can tell that it's an abridged version of the story because it's a pretty break-neck pace. Admittedly I never actually completely read it in it's original novel form, although it's been on my shelf for many years. I got stuck about two thirds through and that was probably ten years ago. Might try again soon, though, to get the more detail that the non-abridged work offers and also to try and become a little more familiar …

Review of 'A Game of Thrones: The 20th Anniversary Illustrated Edition [Hardcover] [Jan 01, 2016] George R. R. Martin' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

There's no denying that GRRM is a master worldbuilder- all of the lore behind his world is incredible and echoes in several modern series, video games, and D&D campaigns that I follow. I'm so inspired by his character creations, geography, naming conventions, language, and ability to weave historical events into the plot of his stories.

That being said, I have a huge problem with GRRM. After reading A Game of Thrones , I'm fairly convinced that GRRM had a specific audience in mind while writing this book, and didn't consider how his use of rape and sexual violence as plot advancement would affect his readers. For a world that's so creative, fantastic, and unrealistic, I'm thoroughly disappointed that GRRM would go the lazy writing route of using sexual violence as a plot device. I'm well aware that the historical time period in which A Song of Ice and Fire reflects …

Review of 'George R. R. Martin`s Game of Thrones Colouring Book' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Préambule : cet avis a été écrit il y a plusieurs années, avant l'arrivée de la série TV "Game of Thrones" sur HBO.

A Game of Thrones est le premier volume de la saga « A Song of Ice and Fire » de l'auteur américain George R.R. Martin. Paru en 1996, ce roman a apporté un peu de sang neuf et un souffle nouveau dans le monde de la fantasy. Certains y voient même une véritable révolution, je me contenterais de parler de renouvellement bienvenu et très réussi pour un genre parfois convenu et insipide.

En français, le premier tome A Game of Thrones a été traduit en deux volumes distincts intitulés « Le Trône de Fer » et « Le Donjon Rouge ». J'ai découvert cette saga en français, je crois avoir lu en VF les 5 premiers volumes, qui correspondent aux 2 premiers tomes en VO : A …

Review of 'George R. R. Martin`s Game of Thrones Colouring Book' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

Given the rating that I'm giving this super-popular book, I want to acknowledge that I recognize it as a generally well written book, it simply wasn't for me.

I appreciate the unique take on the idea of what would generally happen to "honorable and heroic" men in the real world. The thing is, I read a lot of history, and so I am very well aware of what happens to "honorable and heroic" men in the real world. I don't need fiction to tell me about it.

I was also greatly disappointed in the fact that the book introduces a great threat to the world in the prologue and then never comes back to it. I really felt a sense of 'bait and switch' with that.

If the author ever finishes the series, I might give it a second chance in spite of everything, but for now I just have …

Review of 'George R. R. Martin`s Game of Thrones Colouring Book' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

That was epic.

I first heard about Game of Thrones from the TV series. I watched Season One, and a little bit of Season Two. To be honest, I really REALLY wanted to like it. But hard as I tried, I couldn't get into it; everything was just so confusing, and there were way too many characters and plot lines to follow. I gave up after the third or fourth episode of Season Two.

Then, people started talking about how much better the book is. I still really REALLY wanted to like it, so I decided to give it a read.

Those people were right. As is typically the case, the book is about a thousand times better than the TV series. There are still lots of characters, and many different plot lines. In fact, there are more sub-plots than there are on TV, but the book goes into so …

Review of 'Le trône de fer' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

вагався між 3 та 4. нуднувате: якби на аудіо, то в тексті може й не подужав би. а ще той хенгкліфер наприкінці першої частини… трійка! а продовження французькою в аудіо не знайшов.

Review of 'George R. R. Martin`s Game of Thrones Colouring Book' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

So, A Game of Thrones needs no introduction. I had no intention of reading it at first and I only watched the TV version recently, but now I’m caught up with that, I can see myself getting impatient between series. It’s already happening just waiting a week between episodes. I’m much more a TV marathon kinda gal. So a few weeks ago, I bought an ebook of the first instalment. Have you seen the size of it? No way would my weakling wrists have coped with that in paper. Yet there is one thing that paper would have been better for. At the back is an appendix of the main families, which would be perfect to flick to when you start to get confused. But Kindles aren’t designed for flicking. They want you to read from beginning to end in a straight line.

The thing is, there are too many …

Review of 'George R. R. Martin`s Game of Thrones Colouring Book' on 'LibraryThing'

4 stars

I have seen the first two seasons of "Game of Thrones" on TV, so that colored my reading of this book. One thing that is probably bad is that now I can only visualize the main characters with the appearances of the actors who play them. I was surprised by how much I still enjoyed reading the book, even though I knew the major plot points. Having watched the TV show, reading the book became a means of getting background on the characters. There was more time for backstory, and events that took place on the show were fleshed out.

I don't know if I can offer a useful review, because I'm not sure how much I would have liked the book without seeing the show. I do enjoy fantasy novels and stories that include a lot of history. But since I read a variety of books, I'm generally not …

Review of 'George R. R. Martin`s Game of Thrones Colouring Book' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Pretty much what I expected since I had already watched the TV adaptation. Medieval setting, hints of lurking evil, politics and intricacies for power, which of course means also military confrontations. On top of that, add some supernatural elements and creatures of the fantasy real and you get a nice balanced story.

Review of 'George R. R. Martin`s Game of Thrones Colouring Book' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This was good. Really good. Better than I expected, frankly.

My initial thought is that if it's about anything, A Game of Thrones is about how the folly of youth becomes the folly of adulthood. The sins of the father (and mother and siblings and distant cousins, bastard or otherwise) are visited upon the son (etc.), and all that.

My first favorite character is Arya. Arya reminds me of my younger daughter, who at the age of six leapt out of a tree and beat down a boy larger than her as he was hitting her repeatedly with a stick. (Thankfully, my daughter has not learned how to use a sword.) Arya is courageous, not just because she's a tomboy who prefers gauntlets to thimbles, but because she makes no bones about it. She is the most interesting of the Stark children. I will admit I was much dismayed when …

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