I am so excited! I don't watch the TV series, but I do have all the novels which I have wanted to read for a while. Great pick for a discussion, I'm looking forward to it!

Suzanne, the HBO series is soooo good. Normally I'd say stick with the book but the series is a masterpiece and so worth watching. I'm planning to start at Season 1 and watch every episode in preparation for the next season to start in April.

OH MY GOD I am coincidentally reading this book right now anyway! Perfect!

bought kindle

Its funny, i bought the book last summer and couldn't seem to get into it. I recently watched the HBO series and now I'm addicted. Looking forward to discussing the book with everyone.

the HBO series is a great visual companion to the books as it really brings to life the graphic nature of the story. I reread the first chapters of AGoT and find that I am still motivated to have a go at the series once more. The characters in the beginning could never know whats to come, and a lot does. I am curious what
may be remarked on with regards to the naivete' or wit of the characters introduced thus far and those
that follow.

I started reading this book and quickly felt lost amid all the characters, their names and nicknames. The author introduces 30 characters in the first 38 pages of the book. I felt like maybe I needed to take notes as to who was who…

Martin’s writing style and descriptions are good, but so far I find no main character, or a couple of main characters. It bothers me somewhat that the younger characters are so young, the girls of 11 and 13 are betrothed and/or married off to adult men, or women brutally raped.

I do like finding a phrase here and there that has meaning beyond the story:
Page 47 – “…half of them don’t dare tell me the truth, and the other half can’t find it…”
Page 57 – “…all dwarfs may be bastards, yet not all bastards need be dwarfs…”
Page 98 – “…different roads sometimes lead to the same castle…”

So far, the most intriguing characters for me are the rebellious Arya, and Jon, her bastard brother.

Reading on…

The age of the girls and their treatment is disturbing to our modern censes, but its use is to give credence to the barbarity of the story, the same applies to the raping of the woman. ( men are raped as well, GRRM does not discriminate when it comes to the treatment of his characters) This guy has been writing for a long time and he uses many tricks, one of them is strength in numbers, hence so many names to remember, its just a case of slight of hand to keep us guessing. The books have maps and lists of families with some of their histories use them they help. remember GoT is just the first book, there are five on store shelves and at least 2 more coming. I don't want to spoil anything but I like Arya as well, Jon is deep. As always think about naivete' and wit.

Crystalline, taking notes is not a bad idea! I am horrible at names and I had the benefit of having someone at my side while watching the series at first to help me understand what was going on until I started to be able to remember on my own who was what. The lists of the major players at the back of the book can be a huge help but I've generally found that keeping a notepad beside me and jotting down important stuff helps, especially in these books. I have read all the books out so far and watched all of the HBO shows out at this point (Chris, I'm right with you about re-watching everything before the next season is out) but really what helps most is familiarizing yourself with the main families. The individual characters in these books come and go rather quickly, but which family they come from can usually help (but not always) show what their major motivations are. I really like how unpredictable this plot line is as opposed to the standard good guy/bad guy > conflict > good guy wins formula of so many fiction books or series.

I've just started reading the book (a quarter of a way through the first "Bran" chapter) and I just got to the scene where Robb finds the litter of Direwolves.... I have to say, there's things here I didn't realize were there the first time around.

I read "A Game of Thrones" last summer (I have read all 5 published volumes of "Ice and Fire"), and am currently watching Season One of the HBO series on DVD (a big thank you to my daughter). I have to say, that if I had not read the book, the TV series would make much less sense (to me anyway). It is a fascinating series; though the setting is fantasy, the plot is political intrigue. The marrying of children was a common practice in medieval times, and continued in some Asian countries up until the 20th Century. These marriages were usually arranged between the families, and as in "Thrones," were often made for political and/or financial reasons; the wishes of the boy and girl were seldom considered.

So far, and this has continued through book 5, my favorite characters are Arya Stark (female) and Tyrion "The Imp" Lannister (male). In the TV series, I especially like the actor who portrays Tyrion.

Speaking of actors, most of the characters are well acted; you really despise Joffrey and Cersei.

As I said, I first read this volume last summer, so some of my comments may not exactly match Chris's breakdown of the chapters.

Arya and Tyrion are also my favorite characters .

I get the feeling Arya and Tyrion are two of the most lucid and humane characters in the story, so it's very easy to like them.
I like to think GRRM himself has something of a soft spot for those two characters.

I just met Dany and her cruel brother. I am enjoying this novel very much, it's right up my alley. I don't read much fantasy, but I love stories like King Arthur, which GOT is reminding me of. I am a complete virgin to these novels, I have not watched any of the series. I also like the writing style, it transports me into the story. I appreciate writers that can do that. I can clearly visualize the characters and I am looking forward to getting to know them better.

I have seen interviews with GRRM and he has admitted Tyrion as being his likely favorite character.