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A Game of Thrones

Book 1 of A Song of Ice and Fire

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A Game of Thrones

By: George R.R. Martin
Narrated by: Roy Dotrice
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About this listen

ONE OF THE TIMES’ 25 BEST AUDIOBOOKS

HBO’s hit series A GAME OF THRONES is based on George R. R. Martin’s internationally bestselling series A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. A GAME OF THRONES is the first volume in the series.

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.

The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.

 Action & Adventure Dark Fantasy Dragons & Mythical Creatures Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Historical Royalty Mythology Game

Critic Reviews

‘A Game of Thrones grabs hold and won’t let go. It’s brilliant.’
Robert Jordan

‘Colossal, staggering… Martin captures all the intoxicating complexity of the Wars of the Roses or Imperial Rome in his imaginary world… one of the greats of fantasy literature.’
SFX

‘Fantasy literature has never shied away from grandeur, but the sheer-mind-boggling scope of this epic has sent other fantasy writers away shaking their heads… Its ambition: to construct the Twelve Caesars of fantasy fiction, with characters so venomous they could eat the Borgias.’
Guardian

‘Such a splendid tale. I couldn’t stop till I’d finished and it was dawn.’
Anne McCaffrey
All stars
Most relevant
The timber of Roy Dotrice's voice matches the mood and tone of this complex plot. George R R Martin has me suspending belief from the get go - even though the fantasy genre is not my preference. I purchased the rest of the available books upon hearing the first chapter! I must admit, I had seen the series prior to listening to this and found it complemented and extended my enjoyment of this fine tale! My family had difficulty getting my attention, while I found it to pause and quit the narration.

Perfect Match - voice and mood

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I was hooked. I found the narration really enhanced the experience.
I'm going straight on to book 2

I finally succumbed to GOT

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a great telling of the book and couldn't have chosen a better voice for the book

amazingly told by Roy Dotrice

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Some of the narration was a little off. Having watched the show before listening to the book, some of the names where pronounced differently so it was a little annoying but really the only issue. Great to keep me entertained and interested.

Great to listen to!

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I loved the story (and it is my first interaction with the books, I have watched the series and enjoyed that, and explored the wiki site, but have had difficulty with paper books the last few years due to a condition). If I could have read it on paper I may have done so instead. I have listened as far as book 4 though (starting book 5 now), so clearly I think it is worth it.

The accents are slightly odd or grating at times, but I can understand it, and that is the narrator's call really. The occasional mispronunciation is worse though. And it gets worse as you go into later books:

Caitlin for Catlyn
Peter for Petyr
Brian for Bran
Direwood for dire-wolf
Tragarian for Targaryan

And more. In book 4 it seems bad enough (just general words that are clearly wrong) one wonders if it was all proof checked? It isn't just that it can make following the story harder at times than I'd like from an audiobook, it interferes with suspension of disbelief too - it isn't only that I am brought out of the story by the thought that something wasn't right, it's that by book 4 Catlyn and Petyr are ALWAYS Caitlin and Peter, which feel like names out of place in GRRM's world.

As long as that slightly maddening thing is something you can cope with, or something you can endure to enjoy the story (like me) enjoy.

It is still worth it for me.

Great book, slightly painful narration, worth it I think.

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