Plot Summary
Winter is coming...
Sinister forces are descending upon the Seven Kingdoms, a mysterious land where warm summers can stretch over decades and treacherously brutal winters can last a lifetime. And at the center of this epic adventure is Winterfell, the great kingdom of the north led by the noble Stark family. As winter approaches, Ned Stark, the strong-willed but fair-minded Lord of Winterfell, is offered the prestigious post of "Hand of the King" (the king's most trusted and highly ranked adviser). This sets the stage for an epic tale that finds the Stark family thrust into an awe-inspiring world of political intrigue, sorcery, and a brutal war between the kingdoms. Deftly weaving a multiple storylines, each immensely fascinating in its own right, into a cohesive and immensely compelling story, A Game of Thrones is arguably one of the finest epic fantasy novels to be published in recent years.
Breathtaking in its scope and breadth, A Game of Thrones serves as an excellent beginning to the epic series "A Song of Ice and Fire", a fantastic world of intrigue and mystery that could only have sprung from the brilliant mind of acclaimed author George R. R. Martin. And there's no better way to be introduced to the world of the Seven Kingdoms than through this brilliantly narrated unabridged audiobook adaptation!
"I watched the HBO series first, and then I read the book. I think this (achronological) order was a good choice for me because when I read fantasy novels, I often feel overwhelmed and ultimately give up because I have trouble remembering all the characters. By watching the series first, however, I was able to track all the different characters because I had a picture in my mind of who they were, and I had little difficulty following the long and winding plot because I had a general idea of where it was going. Therefore, my reading experience centered on the hidden nooks that either weren't in the show or, if they were, I had forgotten. I was also able to give some of my attention to the writing, which I enjoyed and is probably what I'm looking forward to most in the next book."
—
Joe (4 out of 5 stars)
Publisher Summary
NOW THE ACCLAIMED HBO SERIES GAME OF THRONES
Here is the first volume in George R. R. Martin’s magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords. As a whole, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Magic, mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill these pages and transport us to a world unlike any we have ever experienced. Already hailed as a classic, George R. R. Martin’s stunning series is destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.
A GAME OF THRONES
Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.
Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.
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About George R. R. Martin
George R. R. Martin sold his first story in 1971 and has been writing professionally ever since. He spent ten years in Hollywood as a writer-producer, working on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and television pilots that were never made. In the mid ’90s he returned to prose, his first love, and began work on his epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire. He has been in the Seven Kingdoms ever since. Whenever he’s allowed to leave, he returns to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lives with the lovely Parris, a big white dog called Mischa, and two cats named Augustus and Caligula, who think they run the place.
About Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice is a Tony Award–winning actor best known for his Broadway performance in the revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before producing and directing some three hundred stage plays. In 1957, he joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theater, an experience that brought him opportunities in radio, film, television, and numerous Broadway productions.