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)

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.

Great book. Terrible narration.

I've read, watched, and now listened to, all of the Song of Ice and Fire series. I've enjoyed them all equally and separately, with the exception of this narrator's voice. His character narration is absolutely horrible. For such a popular series I expected so much more. I really hope they replace him in future novels and redo the ones he's already done. Maybe try getting the narrator from the Harry Potter series? He did an excellent job.

The Unfinished Business worth 8 credits

The series is (and probably will forever remain) unfinished.
I have just completed listening to the last installation of the series. For me, it was a surprise that the story is yet again unfinished, but this time the end comes as such a shocker since no single plot line is completed. The feeling is that Martin just got tired of writing it, ended the sentence and promised to finish the book next year. Now it is quite obvious he is never going to finish it, and although I enjoyed listening to the 4 books of the series, I feel a bit cheated, especially since each book costs 2 audible credits. I have spent 4 months worth of credits on an unfinished work; I really wish Audible put a note about it in their review of the Game of Thrones???
Of course now I did some research and saw the frustration of the readers of this series about Martin never delivering on his promise and completing it, but when I bought the Game of Thrones I was unaware of it, and now I regret the credits I spent.

surprisingly impressed

I was worried by the previous reviews that warned about the narrator, but found that he did a surprisingly good job in my opinion. He does a different voice for each character (which may or may not align with what the author intended, but this is audio not the written word) and I never had trouble understanding his speech (I did use the level 3 download rather than the usual 2). Enjoyed the book and finished it faster than most I have listened to. Definitely will download the sequel(s).

Could Have Used Some Better Direction

If you could sum up A Game of Thrones in three words, what would they be?

Intense, Addictive, Surprising

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Game of Thrones?

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

In regards to the performance (not related to the actual book/storyline) - I wish someone had thought to correct the narrator when he used an accent or voice that OBVIOUSLY didn't go with the character he was depicting. Theon Greyjoy, for example - he sounds like an old man!!! He's supposed to be a young squire... Robb Stark sounds semi-age appropriate, but Theon sounds ridiculous with his "grumpy old man" voice. Listening to dialogue between the 2 of them is the most frustrating. You can tell that the narrator COULD make Theon sound like he's supposed to - he's just chosen to depict him as an old man instead of the young squire he's written as.

Brilliant

This series is brilliant! The depth is outstanding. I haven’t been this delighted in a book for a long time. This one will be hard to live up to.

What a Ride - Great Experience

My wife was wondering if I would ever get the earphones out of my ears. My dog was wondering why I wanted to take longer walks. A longer ride in the car was preferred to a shorter one. Why? Because I wanted to get back to this book!

It absolutely captivated me. I'm so glad there's another 100 hours to go in this series!

Better the second time around

I initially purchased this book three years ago when I first plunged into the the worlds of Ice and Fire. I loved the story, but had a hard time listening to it. There are so many different characters that it was hard to keep them straight. I would miss the name of the narrator at the start of the chapter and be lost as to what was happening. After book one, I gave up on listening to the story and switched to the print version.

After watching several seasons of the HBO series, I was intrigued to go back to it again. I suspected that there was much more to the story than what HBO showed. So I reloaded the book and began listening.

Wow. what a story. There is so much that I missed the first time around. Knowing the story from having read it once and then watching the series, it is easy to follow the plot and therefore to focus on the details. It is fun to see the connection between the different characters and to know how their different decisions will play out. I love the book much more the second time around. I am now in Book 2 and resigned to spending my summer working my way forward through the rest.

The one area where I struggle now is where the book characters (and the accents that the narrator give them) differs from the HBO series. Arya is not a cute little girl, but a 'horse-face girl." Daenerys is only 14. Rob is 15. Joeffry is 13. Ser Jorah Mormont should be a muscular man. I have to force myself to picture the characters as the author described them rather than as HBO portrays them.

If you've read the books once, I would encourage you to come back and listen to them again.

Awesome!!!

Would you listen to A Game of Thrones again? Why?

Would I listen to A Game of Thrones again? Yes. I already started listening to it again. It was a wonderful book. It can be hard to follow at first because of how many characters there are... but the stories are captivating. My imagination was just soaring the whole time. Very well written, and I was left thinking about it long after I finished it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Daenerys Targaryen. I'm not sure why. Her story just had me on the edge of my seat each time. I would look forward to her story the whole book. The ending had me freaking out. She's such a vital character to this book. Amazing.

What about Roy Dotrice’s performance did you like?

I really liked how I could forget that he was using an olden times voice. He was so good at it, and used such a wide variety of voices for each character, that you get so into it, you forget he's even doing it. I've had friends say that it's annoying and they can't get past it, but if you just wait and get used to it, it's essentially perfect and I couldn't have thought of a better person to narrate it.

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

Yes. If I had time I would have definitely listened to it all in one sitting. I listened to it 8 hours at a time at work. It made the day just fly by.

Any additional comments?

Great book. Can't wait to get the second book in the series in 20 hours when my next credit comes in. Awesome!!!!!!!

The best epic fantasy ever!!!

George RR Martin is a GENIUS!!! I cannot remember when was the last time I felt this excited and enchanted by a book. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!