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This was an unusual pick for me, as I'm not usually a great lover of anything slightly medieval.

However, as a lover of fantasy, it perked my interest, and soon I was hook, line and sinker in love.

But, here comes the warning. The story is long (and when I say long, I mean, read lord of the rings series a few times and you might start to come close), extremely complex (I'm talking at least 20 different characters, who each have individual chapters assigned to them, in random orders) and very detailed. And not always in chronological order.
But if you can keep up with all those little quirks, you get a story that you hope will never end. And it may feel like it doesn't.

Backstabbing, throne robbing, incest and dragons. Enter the world of the seven kingdoms and it's various nationals.

We have the current king, his wife, who hates him and children.
We have the queens family, her brother and father. Who believe they have the real power as long as the king is compliant, and they'll hold onto it no matter the consequence.
We have the last kings daughter, her brother, and their epic hatred of the man who stole their legacy. And the detriment to get back that throne in any way possible.
We have the current kings brothers, neither of whom are happy playing second fiddle to a man who is always drunk.
We have the kings closest confidants, all of whom are simply waiting for the moment to seize their own opportunity of greatness.
We have the wall, a huge structure designed way back when, to keep out "creatures" from times long past. Who have decided now might be a good time to rise again.
We have the people living on the other side of the wall. The grass didn't seem that much greener on the other side, until the killers of old started to rise, and now they want asylum, whether it's given or not.
And let's throw in every other breathing entity, and their claim, and who they have to kill to achieve it.
And let's not forget giant wolves and dragons.

An impossibly intricate tale, of hate, love, death, betrayal and every emotion in between.
Everyone wants something. Everything comes at a price. And no one can be trusted.

"So many vows ... they make you swear and swear. Defend the king. Obey the king. Keep his secrets. Do his bidding. Your life for his. But obey your father. Love your sister. Protect the innocent. Defend the weak. Respect the gods. Obey the laws. It's too much. No matter what you do, you're forsaking one vow or the other."

If you can keep up with the twists and turns, the rises and falls from power, you'll never find a story quite like it again.

"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."

I still need to finish A Dance With Dragons, are you caught up in the series and if so, what did you think of the ADWD?

Personally the middle part, specifically Stannis and this army in the snow, was slow and I stopped reading the book for months as a result. But once I picked it back up and put in the effort, the rest of the book was as excellent as I've learned to expect from George R. R. Martin. I liked it a lot.

This is definitely on my list to read; however, I will have to save it for the summer months when I'm not so busy. Possibly a beach/ vacation book?

msdaniellerhudy wrote:This is definitely on my list to read; however, I will have to save it for the summer months when I'm not so busy. Possibly a beach/ vacation book?

Definitely a holiday book! I read at least 2 hours every night, sometimes more during the day, and I was on for months with these books. I think that comes with such a complex story, well worth it once you get into it though!

-- 13 Sep 2013, 14:16 --

K08nr01 wrote:I still need to finish A Dance With Dragons, are you caught up in the series and if so, what did you think of the ADWD?

I loved ADWD. The series gets more and more twisty as you go on. I won't give anything away, but lets just say there's a lot of twists I didn't see coming. I'm now left waiting for the newest book to be released, which I think will be called Winds of winter, with a barely contained impatience, just so I can see how things pan out. He leaves it on such a cliff hanger!

Well, they are definitely on my list! I'm probably going to ask for the series for Christmas from my parents. Books are something I always ask for, and this series looks too good to pass up!

I just finished A Dance With Dragons and loved it, just like the rest of the series. It's so complex. I don't know how Martin keeps it all straight! All those characters and places! You never know what's going to happen next, which is both great and infuriating!

hnardi8 wrote:I just finished A Dance With Dragons and loved it, just like the rest of the series. It's so complex. I don't know how Martin keeps it all straight! All those characters and places! You never know what's going to happen next, which is both great and infuriating!

Well I think this is half the reason it takes so long in between Novels, he has to keep up with all the details. And if there's on thing Mr Martin is, it's detailed! A few points in the series I've got confused, had to go back, read a bit again and then though "Ohhhhhh.... That's who he's on about!". Frankly he's a blooming genius. And the ending to a dance with dragons!? I'd say you couldn't make this stuff up... But clearly he does! So excited for the next one.

Becky-boo wrote:And the ending to a dance with dragons!? I'd say you couldn't make this stuff up... But clearly he does! So excited for the next one.

Ha! That made me laugh! And I too am so excited for the next one. I just don't know how I'm going to wait so long. Well worth the wait though!

hnardi8 wrote:

Becky-boo wrote:And the ending to a dance with dragons!? I'd say you couldn't make this stuff up... But clearly he does! So excited for the next one.

Ha! That made me laugh! And I too am so excited for the next one. I just don't know how I'm going to wait so long. Well worth the wait though!

Well since his books are usually almost as big as me, and take quite a while to read, I can almost forgive him for the waiting period. Almost.

I read the first three books and have been hesitating about reading any more. Part of this I put at the feet of another fantasy writer of enormous books, Robert Jordan. Because he died. He died before he finished and as someone who had been following his story for so long a part of me died. And then I looked at Ice and Fire and looked at George RR Martin. The man does not look in the best of health. So I'm waiting until the series is done before I start going back through it, because I do not want to devote so long to the series only to have to read the last few books written by someone completely different.

gipps wrote:I read the first three books and have been hesitating about reading any more. Part of this I put at the feet of another fantasy writer of enormous books, Robert Jordan. Because he died. He died before he finished and as someone who had been following his story for so long a part of me died. And then I looked at Ice and Fire and looked at George RR Martin. The man does not look in the best of health. So I'm waiting until the series is done before I start going back through it, because I do not want to devote so long to the series only to have to read the last few books written by someone completely different.

That's a valid point but since the start of the HBO version of the show Martin's sped up his writing and has most of the next book already done and an ending in mind so even if he croaks at least the books will end with his predetermined plot line.