I really enjoyed this book a lot. All the different characters one is able to follow is great.

Still reading the book...and loving it so far. I do not find the book to be overly descriptive at all. He weaves the details in very well so as not to be boring.

I didnt find it to be draggy in the beginning... Got hooked right away and read it in a few days. I enjoyed the pacing and descriptive quality. Made it seem more real.

1

I loved it. A bit too descriptive at times, but still enjoyable. Great character development. (I love Jon Snow!)

A Game of Thrones is a very densely written book filled with plenty of descriptions. At times the description can almost be overwhelming. There are multiple characters, each with their own unique and memorable personality. Certain characters provide the point of views for the chapters, offering different views of the events that take place in the book. While the chapters do focus on particular characters and their own stories, the book seems to mainly focus around certain events that take place. Because of the book’s descriptive aspect and length, this book seems to be a long read. The story takes a while to pick up. This book had about 85 pages before something major happened. This is not bad for a book of this length, but that amount of set up can be taxing on some people. The book greatly picked up speed after that point. The plot is never fully revealed until the actual event occurs. This is further enhanced by the changing point of views, since you are always switching from character to character. There was sex and violence in this book and plenty of it. Persons not liking books with an overabundance of either of these probably should look elsewhere. I enjoyed the book, but it took a long time for me to read. I typically do not like books dripping with description. The longest haul was actually the first 85 pages. The set up felt unnecessarily long to me. But then again, I prefer stories that jump right into the story. Once I got over the 85 page hurdle the book seemed to read a bit faster. The other thing that struck me about the book was the excessive attention to detail with the different houses. The amount of names given out gave me a headache, even with the appendix for a guide. It reminded me a lot of Tolkien.

I think it was well written, the plot very engrossing. I'm definitely signing up for the rest of the series. However, it seems to me that the author is seeking to portray some very particular views about women, which butted up against my modern, feminist sensibilities. Some of the imagery is a bit "teenage fanboy", in my opinion. Also, the characterization of the females was a bit troubling. I know that Martin is striving to portray a certain medieval mindset and value system, but I didn't like the drastic over-sexualization of the young girl characters. It may be a modern conceit that 13-year-olds aren't married off to men twice their age, but if so, then I'm all for progress. And it seemed that the grown women were all desperately obsessed with their children, especially their sons. I guess it's all about dynasties.... Loved Daenerys, Arya, and Jon (though I wanted to smack him at times). I think Sansa might grow on me. Tolerated with varying degrees of patience Eddard, Tyrion, and Bran. Hated and despised Catelyn with the fiery passion of 1000 suns.

One of the best series I have ever read. This book is just the beginning. It might seem a bit dull at first, but you will be hooked if you read through the first 100 pages. The story telling and variation in the characters is what makes this series so great!

Too good!! Although this sort of book takes patience to read because of changing perspectives which is a benefit because the reader grows attached to some of the characters and boring because the reader must wade through the other characters to get to the ones they like (also, the series is really just one BIG book so be prepared for many a sleepless night reading or wondering what comes next.)

Did watching the HBO television series make me like this book more, or less? I still haven't been able to come to a conclusion. While I appreciated to be able to put faces to the many, many names (and even then I still sometimes was confused), it made the "slower" parts that bored me in the television series harder to read through. I quite enjoyed being able to read the story through many characters perspectives. Sansa, Ayra, and Jon being my favourites. However, there were parts of the story that seem to drag for me (Catelyn) which made reading those chapters a little slow going. I guess my biggest issue with this book is it's size. It is long! I don't think the book would be better condensed, but perhaps breaking them down into more books? It's just too much book for me to handle.