My Rating: 5
Considering I have been a loyal fan of the drama on HBO since the beginning, it is kind of embarrassing to admit I just recently started reading the books in the Game of Thrones collection. Better late than never, right?
When I picked up the first book in the series, A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire), I was seriously intimidated by the sheer size of the thing- 800+ pages. I was even further intimidated when I saw the detailed map at the beginning of the book, and all of the family trees and histories in the appendix of the novel. This one isn't for the faint of heart.
Although the book seemed to be large and in charge, I never once felt like the content was “too intelligent” or over my head. In fact, the writing style was surprisingly engaging and not at all what I imagined/feared, making me upset that I hadn't started it sooner. However, I am happy that I watched the series first and was familiar with the characters, as there are a lot. A LOT (repeated for emphasis). Once you understand who everyone is/how they are related/who are allies/who are enemies, etc., the book becomes extremely enjoyable.
Each chapter is in a different character’s perspective, which makes it much more fast-paced and interesting. I found it amazing that the author was able to distinguish each character so clearly, creating complex people and personalities along with their detailed back stories and histories. He obviously spent a lot of time planning for this story, and it is well done.
Overall, A Game of Thrones is definitely worth reading if you are a fan of the show or just curious in any way. The book is long and tiresome at certain points, but for the most part intriguing and worth the length. Now to see if I can muster up the energy to read the rest of them…
-Busy Brunette 
Labels: Fiction, Rating 5
