Dear A Song of Ice and Fire - fans,
the following review is merely my opinion, and not intended to slander the series, be it in written or visual form.

I will spare anybody who reads this details about the actual story - because I might just have been one of the last ten people who haven't read or watched more of this than myself.

This said...

What A Game of Thrones is, is a solid and well written start to a fantasy series which often feels more like historical fiction. The central male characters seem to have as much depth and complexity as you could wish for, and the world itself feels well thought out and logical in its limitations and rules. It is quite easy to get into and lost in, and, though sometimes on the brutal side, an entertaining read.

What A Game of Thrones isn't (to me), is the Holy Grail or the Philosopher's Stone of Fantasy fiction, nor the reinvention or redefinition of the genre as such. As often happens, the female characters seem to get less depth and more function in the way of moving the storyline to crucial points by their actions. Sansa and Catelyn Stark have yet to show that they are more than the rather unthinking motivators of the downfall of their own family, and Cersei Lannister-Baratheon needs to prove herself an intelligent king's mother rather than merely a (more or less) cleverly-scheming puppet of her father. Arya so far has failed to be anything but the tomboy, and to contribute to the story at all (which is a pity). Daenerys feels very much based on Kriemhild, from The Lay of the Nibelungs, which might turn out quite interesting or a horrible collection of clichees about warrior queens - lets see if there will be a Hildebrand to slay her when everybody else has perished in her thirst for revenge.

The return of the dragons was a bit on the obvious side of things, though I never thought of them as mammals before which need to be suckled. But then, it makes such a great and slightly disturbing final tableau.

I do intent to read on (in the hope that Mr Martin might finish the series pre-humously), in spite of all my criticism. My fear is that I merely have heard too much praise before reading so that I'll always expect more than the series can possibly offer.