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)

XLNT portrayals!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this series and approached the audio version with a bit of trepidation. This is a LOT of listening, so the actor doing the portaryals had better be up to the task. Mr. Dotrice does a SUPERB job! His accent and inflections are beyond wonderful! Dick Hill had been my all-time favorite reader -- now he must share his "title" -- this series would be worth buying just to enjoy the readings. The story itself is among thte best in the fantasy genre, even in spite of some unnecessary digressions the author sometimes takes -- they are usually so intriguing that the story is all the richer for it. PARENTAL WARNING: there is a goodly amount of very graphic sex and violence -- all very appropriate to the story, but you must decide if your adolescent reader is ready for it. The earthiness adds to the reality of the tale: so realistic, you'll wish you were reading history instead of fiction.
Oh -- and unlike MANY fantasy writers today, these characters actually develop!! And you don't waste time with "reluctant heroes" that can't quite seem to grow into their role. (Robert Jordan, take note. There is more action in any single chapter of Martin's books than all of Jordan's over-padded tomes combined!)

Time

A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I just finished a listening marathon of the 5 volumes of A Song of Ice and Fire (volumes 1-5). Trust me, it was a long marathon! If the story of the 7 kingdoms was not good, I would not have finished it...or have I. I normally do not like a series where you have to follow each book or clarity is lost or the story confusing. This is a must for this series in order to understand who's who and why things are happening as they are or why someone who appears dead lives. From this final volume, it would appear that there are more volumes to follow. This makes me sad. I wish this had been the last and things were more or less wrapped up as opposed to so many story lines dangling. There is much repetition. There are lots of twist and turns as you follow political and plots and schemes as well as character evolvement.

While I would like to know how it ends (if ever), I don't know that I will invest the time and Audible credits to continue. Do I regret my investment? No.

I must address the narrator, Roy Dotrice. He has a good voice and reads well. Listening to the five volumes in tandem, I found myself hearing different people with similar voices. This did not really bother me much, it's really just a nit. What was not a nit were the voices of women. They are just not right. Oh, the accents are good but they don't sound really feminine. The voice of the girl queen is especially off. She sounds old and scratchy. With so many characters to voice, the narration might be better served with at least one other person (a woman) added.

With roughly 201 listening hours, each book must be quite hefty. I mention this as a warning to those who do not like really long books.

Hard to get into,

The world the book creates is extremely detailed and is a little difficult to get into at first. There's so many characters and places and historical events that it can be really difficult to understand just who is who; but it gets easier as the book goes on. It's an amazingly rich world and a great story if you have patience enough to get into. Definitely more of a "sit/drive and listen" book than a "listen while doing other things" book.

Absolutely surpassed my expectations

I had read this series several years ago and with the HBO miniseries coming out I decided to re-familiarize myself. I was hesitant to listen to this as an audiobook because of the multiple characters, places, families and names to keep straight- but my fears were groundless! The narration was excellent and I found I had no trouble at all following the story or keeping track of the characters. Roy Dotrice was a marvelous narrator. My only comment - more an observation than a complaint- was that his voice for some characters was somewhat throaty or phlegmy at times and I found it slightly distracting. But overall the story is so engrossing and his talent for voices so varied that I can only give this book my highest recommendation.

I can't decide if I care enough to finish this ser

I read these books up until the 4th in the series when I decided that it wasn't worth my time to read. Since audio versions offer a totally different experience I was ready to try again. And I have decided I just can't or don't care. The production of this audio version is superb. Those who become attached to the characters will find it delightful high fantasy. I just think I asking not invested enough to continue on.

Entertaining and unique

I really enjoyed this series. I have all three books and I just finished listening to the entire series for a third time as a refresher in anticipation of the fourth books release (November '05). It's mostly swords, with just enough sorcery to plant is squarely in the fantasy realm.

The settings and lives of the common folk are dark and squalid, which gives it a particularly historic and believable feeling, unlike so many fantasy novels that are apparently set in Southern California. Another aspect of uniqueness and believability is in the fact that, without giving too much away, so many of the main characters are killed off over the course of the series. The good guys don't always come out on top - and may not have been all that good to start with - and while some villains are truly evil, others just have motivations that are at odds with the protagonists. All of this lends to rich believable character development (while they live).

The narrator does a tremendous job of giving unique voices to individual characters. Several of the major characters have unique tonal qualities and speech patterns that allow the listener to readily distinguish one character from another just by the sound of their "voice". Most narrators attempt to do this, but this guy is good!.

Awesome!

Having only seen the show, this really happened me understand better certain characters, with their inner struggles making them more interesting.

AWESOME

1 word...AWESOME...already listening to 2nd book in series. It was action through and through. Roy Dotrice is one of the best narrators out there. his seamless transitions of voices are masterful.

Please don't let the negative reviews scare you!

Having read the three currently available books in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, I was very excited to introduce them to my wife via Audible.com. After reading the negative reviews about the reader, I was leery; I did not want a bad reader to ruin one of the best fantasy sagas of all time. We gave it a shot anyway, and are extremely glad we did.

First let me say, in my opinion, this work of fiction is one of the most captivating, wide scoped and all encompassing works written. Martin's mix of fantasy and reality is what makes this series stand out. Unlike many other writers of this genre, Martin never lets you forget these are "real" people, with "real" feelings and needs. You will not find the knight in shining armor here; everyone has a past, everyone has a secret, no one is safe.

As for the reader, he, like many of the characters in the story, grows and matures as they do. His telling has added to the story, not taken away. I think perhaps a few of the negative reviews are more a reflection of the complexity of the story, rather than Roy's telling. If anything, I think the editor of the audio could have done a better job. If you remember that each chapter in this book is not numbered, but rather is titled by the name of a character who's perspective we are about to take, you'll be much better off. Sometimes, there is no pause between the end of a chapter and the beginning of another (it just sounds like the start of the next sentence). Since the chapters are not traditionally titled, this can lead to confusion.

This is not a story that one can passively enjoy. It is one that demands your attention and focus. Roy, appropriately, demands the same. Remember my little hint regarding the chapters, and you'll be fine!

Cheers to a fabulous story, and a telling to remember.

Captivating

Wasn't sure I'd like this but decided to give it a try to see what all the fuss was about. Hours later I still couldn't hit the pause button. It's well written and the story just makes you want to keep listening. Bad things happen to good people but that's Mr. Martin's style (this is my second listen). Worth registering cause you pick up extra details.