A Game of Thrones

A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1

By: George R.R. Martin

Narrated by: Roy Dotrice

Length: 33 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Now the acclaimed HBO series Game of Thrones - the masterpiece that became a cultural phenomenon

Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King's Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert's name. There his family dwells in peace and comfort: his proud wife, Catelyn; his sons Robb, Brandon, and Rickon; his daughters Sansa and Arya; and his bastard son, Jon Snow. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse - unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season. Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances. Now Robert is riding north to Winterfell, bringing his queen, the lovely but cold Cersei, his son, the cruel, vainglorious Prince Joffrey, and the queen's brothers Jaime and Tyrion of the powerful and wealthy House Lannister - the first a swordsman without equal, the second a dwarf whose stunted stature belies a brilliant mind.

All are heading for Winterfell and a fateful encounter that will change the course of kingdoms. Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Prince Viserys, heir of the fallen House Targaryen, which once ruled all of Westeros, schemes to reclaim the throne with an army of barbarian Dothraki - whose loyalty he will purchase in the only coin left to him: his beautiful yet innocent sister, Daenerys.

©1996 George R.R. Martin, (P)2003 Books On Tape, Inc., published in arrangement with Random House Audio Group,a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Locus Award, 1997

"Martin's trophy case is already stuffed with major prizes...He's probably going to have to add another shelf, at least." (Publishers Weekly)

"The first volume in Martin's first fantasy saga combines intrigue, action, romance, and mystery in a family saga." (Booklist)

"Grabs hold and won't let go. It's brilliant." (Robert Jordan)

"This novel is an absorbing combination of the mythic, the sweepingly historical, and the intensely personal." (Chicago Sun-Times)

Not the best narrator

Would you consider the audio edition of A Game of Thrones to be better than the print version?

Not better, just different; if you like audiobooks, it was reasonably well done.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The narrator sounded like an elderly man, and, as such, he made most of the characters sound like old men, even the young male and female characters. He also made minor errors regularly, like calling Prince Joffrey

perfect (if you can ignore the accents)

No one needs to be told more about the merits of GOT as an epic fantasy, especially after being dubbed the American tolkein. I'm more interested in the quality of the reader's performance. He has a pleasant voice (seems a little obvious I know, but go pursue some of these audiobooks a little further afield or Ray Bradbury reading his own work). He reads dialogue particularly well, inserting inflection and expression throughout the. book. The accents do serve that end in that it breaks up the potential monotony. That said, characters foreign to westeros, especially characters like Syrio where his grasp of the language actually impacts his speech, are give the same strange Irish/Welsh hybrid. It might be a small point but it breaks up the suspension of disbelief. The social class of the speakers is always clear, there are three different accents he uses to convey backgrounds/ pompousness/ gruffness. The reader also sometimes changes Joffrey to Jeffrey and Bran to Brian, and other similar conversions into more typical names in our own world.

Despite these little oddities, this as a truly excellent audiobook.

All you hope

Didn't let me down. Worth it! Narration is great. I would like the dwarfs voice a little lower but a small preference compared to all that the book is.

As great as I've heard it would be!

This book was outstanding! I had a little trouble following at the first part of the book, but it all tied together soon enough. The narration by Roy Dotrice was outstanding. I can't wait to start the second book.

yep

this book is an incredible first entry to an even better series. characters are compelling and interesting and the plot is enthralling. I couldn't put this book down. And only took me about a week to get through the whole thing. And I'm a college student, so it's not like I have a crap ton of free time

was awesome!

The book was absolutely great! It was everything I hoped for! You will not want to put this book down!

Good but...

Narrator sounds the same for most of the characters, it was confusing at times. This made it difficult to differentiate between characters.

Books are better than TV!

Second listen after watching HBO TV drama of the same title. Book is a much better story. I've read the entire series so relistening to book one has been even more fun with all of its foreshadowing. It also makes my even less of an HBO fan. The TV drama has gone way way off the the rails in season five. Stick to the books.

Not a disappointment

I have wanted to read the books for years. Finally decide to listen to them. The tale is engaging and places me into a new world.

A bit slow at the onset, but once your hooked...

Where does A Game of Thrones rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I would have to say in the top 5

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the time frame in history.

Have you listened to any of Roy Dotrice’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, but I enjoyed his performance greatly.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It was good enough for that, but the length of the book required many listening sessions, which I looked forward to.

Any additional comments?

Can wait to start Book II - Clash of Kings!