A Game of Thrones: The Story Continues [Export only]: The bestselling classic epic fantasy series behind the award-winning HBO and Sky TV show and phenomenon GAME OF THRONES (A Song of Ice and Fire)

Took me quite some time to finish the beggining of the saga and I'm really not sure if I want to start the second part... In theory I love the idea of switching the point of view with each chapter... but as I really don't like some of the characters, it gets really annoying to read chapters from their point of view and most of my favorites, like the late Khal Drogo, don't get their own chapters... besides I'm really pissed he was killed off already - although I think I should be used to it by now... But on the other hand there are so many more characters who I really want to 'see' again and witness their evolution which is sure to come - then again - What is it with me and the supporting characters? My favorites so far are Theon Greyjoy and the Hound <3 - surely I would definetely stop reading the books if one of them died...

Ich habe lange mit mir gehadert, ob ich das Buch wirklich lesen soll, weil ich großen Respekt davor hatte, was den Schreibstil und den Umfang des Buches anging. Doch nachdem ich mit der Serie gestartet bin, habe ich doch beschlossen, das Buch parallel zu lesen Der erste Band war nicht so spannend, aber er legt meines Erachtens das Fundament für die folgenden Handlungen und Bücher. In diesem Band baut sich alles erst nach und nach auf, man lernt viele Personen und Häuser kennen. Die Bücher habe ich als zäh empfunden

Ein Land, in dem Jahreszeiten Jahre dauern können. Ein König, der seinen Vorgänger mit Gewalt vom Thron stieß – allerdings aus guten Gründen. Die Nachkommen dieses früheren Königs im Exil. Der Lokalherr des Nordens und enge Freund des aktuellen Königs und seine ganze Familie. Die Frau des Königs und ihre Familie. Und viele weitere adlige Strippenzieher, die über das ganze Land verteilt sind. Eine hohe Mauer im Norden, die das Land vor dem schützt, was nördlich davon haust – und das mit dem kommenden Winter immer bedrohlicher wird. Das sind die Zutaten des ersten Teils dieses epochalen Fantasy-Werks von George R. R. Martin. Erzählt wird die Geschichte aus vielen verschiedenen Perspektiven – jedes Kapitel ist mit dem Namen eines Protagonisten überschrieben und wird auch aus dessen Sicht erzählt. Das ist ein Erzählmodus, der es dem Leser erlaubt, die Personen wirklich gut kennenzulernen, und der darüber hinaus auch für sehr viel Abwechslung sorgt. Der Hauptakzent liegt dabei auf den Mitgliedern der Familie Stark, die im Norden des Landes lebt und dort die lokale Machtbasis bildet. Es dauert ein bisschen, bis man einen Überblick über die vielen Figuren und Konstellationen hat, doch spätestens dann zieht einen die Geschichte in ihren Bann, sie nimmt auch etwa nach der Hälfte deutlich an Fahrt auf. In diesem Buch geht es viel um politische Verstrickungen und natürlich um die Frage nach Gut oder Böse. Doch im Gegensatz zu den meisten Werken des Genres wird diese Frage nicht klar beantwortet. Denn alle Seiten haben sowohl positive als auch negative Elemente, es gibt kein reines Schwarz oder Weiß, sondern viele Grauschattierungen. So ist mir etwa Tyrion, der kleinwüchsige Spross der als “Bösewichte” zu identifzierenden Familie, sehr sympathisch, es hat sich bald abgezeichnet, dass er meine Lieblingsfigur werden würde. Einzelne Personen kann man durchaus gleich als eindeutig positiv oder negativ sehen, bei einigen hängt es jedoch in der Schwebe. Es kann sein, dass sich das in den folgenden Büchern ändert, doch an diesem ersten Band hat mich gerade dieser Aspekt fasziniert. Denn dadurch kann ich gar nicht voraussagen, wie sich die Geschichte in Band 2 entwickelt. Romantik ist in diesem ersten Teil kaum zu finden, was mir aber durchaus passt. Kann ja außerdem in den weiteren Teilen noch kommen. Das Buch bietet beste Unterhaltung auf hohem Niveau, meine Erwartungen wurden nicht enttäuscht. Die absolute Begeisterung ist bei mir noch nicht aufgekommen, aber das Potenzial dafür ist auf jeden Fall vorhanden. Vier von fünf möglichen Sternen.

Auf meinem Blog findet ihr meine Kurzrezension zu dem Buch: http://booksaretrueadventures.blogspot.ch/2014/05/kurzrezension-game-of-thrones.html#comment-form

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.

Trotz einiger langer Passagen bei manchen Charakteren, stimmt einfach das Gesamtpaket. Da will man mehr von lesen! >> Dann starten wir nach 4 Jahren mal einen reread!

I'm probably the last person to read this book and watch the TV show for the first time but it was the perfect moment to do so for me.

I've read this book without knowing there even was a TV series named "Game of Thrones" (although the show had already had its second season). It was a Christmas present by my grandmother, and after reading the first hundred pages or so, I was so bored and confused by the amount of characters that I decided to put it back on my book shelf. Well. And then I started again. I don't know why I did so, but then it somehow managed to enthrall me from the very beginning. Meanwhile, I've read all the books and watched all five TV seasons (and, seriously, season 3, 4 and 5 were bullshit), so I now have a different point of view about this book than I had before. The first 200 or 300 pages were mostly about introducing this huge story to the reader, characterizing the protagonists and delving deeper into their souls. I can understand everyone who disliked this, but it's a story not only about a huge fantasy world, but also - and primarily - about characters. Characters I grew to love or love to hate. Actually, the only one I'm constantly annoyed by is Jon Snow, an opinion which has only been supported by Kit Harrington's portrayal in the TV series. However, he does have one of the most interesting stories of the entire book series. The World of Ice and Fire has become a fantasy world of its own, full of huge history and interesting characters, with fascinating locations and cultural aspects. I love discovering cities like Oldtown or castles like Winterfell, the medieval feeling, but also other cultural influences which participated in creating the Essos part, e.g. Braavos, Meereen or Qarth (although they only appear in later novels). And seriously, Martin's characters are awesome. I can relate to every single one of them (apart from Jon, as aforementioned). I don't like each character, yet it's not a question of how much I like them, but how well I can identify with them and if I understand their motivations - and this I do. GRRM's way of structuring his books is very matching, but his writing style still feels kind of annoying. It wouldn't be that interesting to read his novels if not for his characters or his world, because he really isn't the best writer in creating emotional scenes. There were a lot of times which had me feel like "and when did they really mourn or miss each other?", especially with the Stark family. I've been struggling between rating it with four or five stars, but I think the second and third book were a lot better than the first, so I decided to rate it with four stars. It's still a good read, but not as exciting as "A Clash of Kings" or "A Storm of Swords". (Edit: Rounded up to 5 stars. This is a book I keep thinking of as the best introduction to a fantasy series I ever read.)