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)

Marvellous.

I never picked up the books, although I don't know why now, as I was absolutely thrilled by the audio version. Roy Dotrice is a gifted narrator, with an amazing range of voices at his disposal. Game of Thrones itself is so... alive and descriptive, that combined with Dotrice's voice, I now have entirely new world in my head with lots of fully fleshed-out characters. And some dead ones, as Martin doesn't hesitate to kill off people that I'd come to like. I love his writing, he has a great vocabulary and I am seriously considering spending $38 dollars on the sequel, rather than wait another month for my second credit.

Waiting for the next book

Loved it, longed for it, was dissapointed at the end. There was no closure!! I don't want to have to wait for the next book to be published. It's just not fair!!!

Terrific narration, fast paced book

This is an amazing story that just grabs you and drags you under. Wonderfully read by the father of the actress who played Jane Banks in the movie MARY POPPINS. The characters are more like stock fantasy or science fiction characters than what I usually like but the plotting is terrific. I recommend it for the beach or a drive or a commute...or for people who like good stories. Not much to contemplate, but sometimes a good story is enough.

Absolutely Wonderful!

This first installment of the "Song of Ice and Fire" series is one of the best listens I've had the pleasure of enjoying since I started with Audible. The characters are aptly described without going into such minute detail as to become boring. The storyline is completely unpredictable and keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what will transpire next! I absolutely love the narrator of the story! His change of accents and tones gives the story an added flair that only enhances the experiance.
Now starting into my 3rd volume, I am saddened and dissappointed to learn Mr. Dotrice will not narrate all of the series but rest assurred the story will be worth the listen even if the narrator changes (no offense to Mr. Dotrice!)

C'mon George R.R! I'm Waiting!

It is an unpleasant shock to come to the end of the last published novel in a series when you know the author hasn't finished writing the series. What if he has a heart attack, or someone runs him over? I mean, what about ME?

While it is getting difficult for me to keep track of all these characters and I sometimes have to go online to figure out who someone is (or was), the saga continues to fascinate me. The author has no problem with killing off major characters, which kind of adds to the suspense. (Is he going to off Aria? He wouldn't DARE! Would he?)

The narrator charms me less. He has only three or four "voices," and many of his female characters whom you would expect to have more refined voices due to their noble birth and upbringing sound like Irish fishwives (or maybe Irish fishhusbands).

Drumming my fingers. Waiting for the next installment.

Read these first

I read this book and then went on to read the next two in the series. I thought they were so good that I went back and read them again. This is the best fantasy that I have ever read and I will now be buying the audio versions.

One of the best fantasy epics I've ever read...

For anyone who enjoys authors like Robert Jordan, Tolkien, or L.E. Modesitt Jr., this book is meat and mead. The dark realism of Martin's setting is detailed, but not boring. The characters are very well developed and very unique. A bright point in this story is Martin's ability to make the reader feel for the characters. My only complaint is that Martin seems to rush through the first half of the book naming places and people and gives very little substance regarding where they are or who they are. Also, I too had trouble with Roy Dotrice's narration at first, but once I was used to it it only added to the mood of the story. I give this book five stars, and will be adding a hardcover copy to my ever-growing library of books I love.

I like Brian** but not Jeffery**

If you're even remotely contemplating listening to this you should! If you are a fan of the show and worried about knowing the story already, there’s no need to – it won’t ruin any of your enjoyment of the book. George RR Martin packs so much into his characters, plot, and even the landscapes, that you will be guaranteed to still find the novel just as gripping as someone who has never seen the show.

This is the second time I've listened to this audio book and found it just as engaging as the first time (having also seen the show in between readings). The characters are so rich, and the plots so in depth and unpredictable that the ending caught me by surprise – it came so quickly despite the run length of 30 hours. There wasn’t a single moment that I checked the time remaining because I was impatient for the book to “hurry up and get on with it”, like so many other novels.

**Brian and Jeffery are part of the reason I’m marking down the narrator, Roy Dotrice. He does have a great voice for the book, it matches well with the period and feel of the novel, and generally he does well with such a mammoth amount of text. But he is just so lazy and inconsistent I can’t help but mark him down – especially knowing how far off the rails he goes in later books. He mispronounces names often – some seem to be him misreading the names - Bran/Brian and Joffrey/Jeffery for example (both happen quite close to the beginning of the book, though it happens with others throughout) – but with a few it’s as though he just didn’t worry about remembering how he pronounced them last time – even if it was in the same paragraph. Hodor, for example, is by turns “Ho-door”, “Ho-deer”, “Ho-duh”, “Ho-daar” (all of these happen in the narration, so it is not merely character accents). It’s a minor annoyance, though, and not too distracting – unlike the way he holds character’s voices after they stop talking. By this I mean he will be using Robb’s voice to say something, but keep using it to say “Robb said to his mother”. It’s not as noticeable/distracting with the characters he’s voiced similar to his narration style, but for crones or heavily accented characters, like our favourite Imp, it can be quite distracting. It takes me out of the story for a moment once I realise that the character has stopped talking and it is now narration. He also has a habit of slipping into acting during the narration, grunting or laughing or groaning while reading a description of the character doing these things – but he will only do it randomly. The inconsistency of the technique blurs the distinction between characters and narration further, and removes the listener for the story a little.

Overall these are minor distractions, though, and Roy Dotrice has given voice to Westeros well.

Game of Thrones is a fantastic read, and a bargain for 1 credit! Do yourself a favour and give it a shot. You’ll be amazed at how often you start making time to listen.

AWESOME (no thanks to the narrator, tho...)

I echo others in all the ways describing the story and the overall pleasure of the book itself. HBO's version did a great justice to the original book, and even though I am reading it well after its publication and after the series, I am not disappointed. Thank you, Mr. Martin. Equally, I echo those who felt that the narrator chosen, may not have been the best choice! Mr. Dotrice does not, unfortunately do the book any good as he tried to 'act' his way through it all. It was not good narration. Sometimes, readers just want to be read to to. There was no need to read the novel as a script or a screenplay,since at the time it was written it was not a script or a screenplay. It was just an awesomely wonderful fantasy novel. It was distracting also, because the actor mispronounced so much of what was written...Sansa-Sancha and Joffrey-Jeff/Jeffry? Catelyn-Cataahlyn? Thank goodness I knew the characters! It was shameful! In any case, the story is wonderful, utterly mind-blowing and if you like the genre (and even if you don't) THE BOOK IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Roy Dotrice Enhances a Great Novel

Phenomenal novel (and series...though it'd be nice if Martin would, you know, keep writing it). I'd read the books several times before downloading the audio and found all kinds of new emphasis and insight in the performance. I've seen criticism of Dotrice's reading in other reviews, but think it's fantastic. I'm looking for other books read by him now.