• 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
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (144,228 ratings)

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A Game of Thrones  By  cover art

A Game of Thrones

By: George R.R. Martin
Narrated by: Roy Dotrice
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Editorial review


By Seth Hartman, Audible Editor

A GAME OF THRONES IS A MASTERFUL START TO AN EPIC DARK FANTASY

I wasn’t properly introduced to A Song of Ice and Fire until my freshman year in college. My roommate at the time was a bona fide superfan of the series—when I told him that I hadn’t yet given it a try, he could barely contain his excitement. A week after this discovery, I had already watched the first season of the television series and was hungry for more. Instead of binging the remaining seasons, I elected to crack open the first book in order to get the "definitive" experience. Even at the time, I could already tell that this series would leave a strong impact on me.

A Game of Thrones mostly follows House Stark, a noble family controlling the northern portion of the great kingdom of Westeros. Ned, the Lord of House Stark, is asked to join his old friend King Robert Baratheon in court as his new right-hand man. Shortly after arriving in the royal capital, Ned begins to unravel a conspiracy involving Queen Cersei Lannister and her family. Far to the North, Ned’s bastard son Jon Snow joins the Night’s Watch, a group of banished soldiers tasked with defending The Wall, a massive chunk of ice that keeps the mysterious White Walkers confined. To the East, a young girl named Daenerys Targaryen, the last of her line and heir to the previous regime, begins her bid for the throne with little more than a couple of dragon eggs.

While this series becomes increasingly complex book to book, the first entry is delightfully streamlined. Rather than introducing a million characters and locations, A Game of Thrones focuses on the three major families in the series, devoting a lot of time to fleshing out the main cast. On my first read, I was struck by the subversive nature of Thrones. Despite its setting, this is not a triumphant tale of knights and dragons. Rather, George R.R. Martin has created a world of betrayals and backstabs, one that values information and subterfuge far more than swords and shining armor. Veteran voice actor Roy Dotrice brings his highly adaptable voice to the audiobook, giving even more color to Martin's writing.

Continue reading Seth's review >

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)

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What listeners say about A Game of Thrones

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Love the book, hate the voice

See above, the narrator just seems to try to hard at putting the different characters in voice. Author is quite the fashionista: spends a lot of time describing clothing.

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loved this book

I kept hearing people talking about this series so I decided to try it. I could not stop listening one of the best books I've listened to in a long time!

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Great Book

This book is amazing! Roy Dotrice does a very good job narrating. I would recommend this series to any fantasy fan!

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Vivid.

His performance was amazing. His voice, his acting all amazing. The way he talked made it feel like I was there. He made the story come alive.

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Awesome, thorough and intriguing story.

Anything positive that can be said of a story. Assume that here, love this overall.

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Loved it

absolutely loved it and how the show stayed close to the first book was just beautiful

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great story

I will listen to them all then watch the series and it was interesting all the way through

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so good

well dune narrator did a great job with the book. loved it better then the show.

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Excellent story

Loved listening to the narrator for this book. It was my first audio book, and it was great. I've seen the show plenty, and am now going through the books. Loved reading the extra details the show left out, it brings more arc to the characters.

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Great story to sry the least

There is much to love about this story. Too much to try and relate here but I found it truly gripping and hard to put down.

A lot is being said about the voice talents of the narrator, honestly the guy is far from perfect but no where near as bad as some describe. It's true some characters have a bit of a piratey sound to them... but so what? I would venture that if silly things like that are your only beef with this audio book... especially those who had to stop listening over said silliness, then most likely you are probably just hard to please in general. People who can only enjoy things when they are "perfect" are unlikely to enjoy this read... or most other things.

Don't miss out on a wonderful story just because some people require things to be "just so" in order to be enjoyable. The guy speaks the same English you and I do and the fact that he can't mimic voice a female perfectly or that some characters sound a little like pirates are basically childish reasons to not listen to this book.

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