A Game of Thrones

Book 1 of A Song of Ice and Fire

By: George R.R. Martin

Narrated by: Roy Dotrice

Length: 33 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

One of The Times’ 25 Best Audiobooks.

HBO’s hit series A Game of Thrones is based on George R. R. Martin’s internationally best-selling series A Song of Ice and Fire, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. A Game of Thrones is the first volume in the series.

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

It will stretch from the south, where heat breeds plot, lusts and intrigues, to the vast and savage eastern lands, all the way to the frozen north, where an 800-foot wall of ice protects the kingdom from the dark forces that lie beyond. Kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords and honest men...all will play the Game of Thrones.

Winter is coming....

©2011 George R. R. Martin (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

" A Game of Thrones grabs hold and won’t let go. It’s brilliant." (Robert Jordan)

"Colossal, staggering... Martin captures all the intoxicating complexity of the Wars of the Roses or Imperial Rome in his imaginary world...one of the greats of fantasy literature." ( SFX)

"Fantasy literature has never shied away from grandeur, but the sheer-mind-boggling scope of this epic has sent other fantasy writers away shaking their heads… Its ambition: to construct the Twelve Caesars of fantasy fiction, with characters so venomous they could eat the Borgias." ( Guardian)

Masterful story masterfully told

Roy Dotrice's narration does full justice to Martins' varied, complex and human cast of characters.
I can't wait to read the next one!

The first instalment of a newer kind of Fantasy

Any additional comments?

"A Game of Thrones" - so long as you're ready to bear the weight of a vast number of names and lengthy descriptions of... well, everything, this is certainly not a book to pass up.
Roy Dotrice seems an strange choice, when you begin - he has a gruff tone that feels a little odd.. His talent, however, is made plain the instant he begins to read character dialogue: he imitates and impersonates well, and copes so excellently with the multitude of characters this particular book present that, midway through, the audiobook itself starts to feel a bit crowded. I'd say, therefore, that he takes some getting used to - except it only takes a few seconds, so no worries there.
As for the book itself, well, High Fantasy isn't for everyone, it must be said. This book is not immensely thick when you hold it in your hand, and the audiobook is far outstripped in length by other works, like Robert Jordan's "The Eye of the World." Yet it remains a heavy undertaking, dense with both its eagerness to show off a rich, medieval-esque fantasy world, and a thick, convoluted plot that requires you pay close attention to the many, many details.
This is not light-reading - anyone taking on this series, like many from the same genre, is taking on a quest as much as the characters in the story are. But by the Seven Hells it's well worth the effort.

Beautifully composed dialogue

George is a man born in a time not his own, thankfully I am alive in his timeline to appreciate it.

Voice actor is just too old

Most of the main characters are under the age of 16, and unfortunately they all sound like old men and women due to the poor voice acting. It also doesn’t make sense how members of the same family can have different accents, Tyrion has a completely different accent to the rest of his family. Also the accents for the regions don’t make sense, the northern characters speak the queens English, while characters further south have more northern accents. Peter Kenny would have been perfect for this role.

Even with the poor voice acting, the book itself is incredible.

Great Book with a excellent performance by Roy Dotrice

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Totally enthralling

Such a complex and interesting plot, and so well set up to deliver in following books. The story, the voice over and the author’s gift for storytelling bloom! I highly recommend! Even better with noise cancellation AirPod Pros or similar. Soooooo excited for A Clash Of Kings!! 👑

incredibly immersive

I was transported. a great production. listened to this whilst watching season 1 gave me a deeper understanding of the world of Westeros and the motivations behind the characters.

Fantastic but..

Buy the whole first book don't buy just the first half!! Because you will not be able to purchase the second part.

Amazing

Still the best book I've ever read or listened to. The narrating can be a bit irritating especially the voices used for characters. Other wise a good listen.

loved it.<br />to1p7

loved it. very exciting & gory. watched all the seasons so far. cant wait for other seasons