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)

amazing book

an amazing book with a great narrator! Roy's voice has such great range that even when 3 or 4 characters are speaking with eachother you can always clearly tell who is speaking.

Roy Dotrice brings the characters to life!

much better than the show! there's a lot of detail that is cut from the tv series. very much worth the listen.

Awesome book!

Great story and great listen. I agree with other reviews the narrator is definitely annoying. However, it could not have been executed any better! It is this style of narration that is annoying. I would prefer to simply hear the story read with or without an accent but in one solid voice. I'm sure others prefer this more annoying style where the narrator changes his voice and exaggerates every character.

BOOK 1

Great book series and great TV series on cable they did a great job writing this book series

game of thrones is amazing

if you feel like you wanna give game of thrones a try do it. it's length can be intimidating and its characters and lore very expensive and scary at first but once you get a hold of all the characters and everything its one of the greatest stories you'll ever read

Love the book and Roy!!!

AMAZING!!! Love the book and the performance! Two thumbs waaaayy up!!!!!! Highly recommend this book!

A great listen!

This audiobook is a great start to a vast and epic story. I think Roy Dotrice is an awesome narrator. His voices are well fit and greatly add to Martin's characters. His voices are distinct and recognizable. It is clear that he puts a lot of careful thought and creativity into his voices.

I think what I like best about Martin's writing is the opportunity to step inside the minds of so many well developed characters. The setting for this story is very large and complex, but you get to see struggles from all sides and many view points. Characters find themselves in outward struggles with other lords and houses as well as inward struggles with family and duty. Aside from the fantasy/science fiction aspect of the book, much of the story feels like it could be "real life" in the place and time it takes place.

I started with A Game of Thrones and enjoyed it so much I downloaded A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords shortly after and have not been disappointed. Once I was done with them, I started listening to them all over again.

I hope Martin can finish up the series (supposedly 6 books when complete) and I hope Dotrice is able to narrate all of them. I've heard that the next book, A Feast for Crows, is due out this July and I can't wait to see it on audible!

Great Book!

It was really long, but well written and very in-depth. Can’t wait to start the next!

Entertain EPIC Tale

This first installment in the Game of Thrones series is wonderful! Once you start, you can't stop. One thing I must point out is that there are MANY characters in these books and the story is told from many different characters' points of view, so it is imperative that you pay attention to them all. Some characters may not have a lot of information given about them, but because this series is SO big and each book is quite long, you will find after the initial character development, these people coming back in the story . The way George R.R. Martin writes, you will come to love and sympathize with some, characters and truly despise others. In my opinion, that is great writting.
The ONLY reason I did not give 4 stars in the "overall" category, is because I feel like there are several other narrators that would have consistently read well throughout the book and overall given a much better performance.
Other than that, iI woukd have given 5 stars for this imaginative work of literary art!

Great book

you get used to the voices quickly and start enjoying the book, just give it a chance.