A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
I feel much better! All traces of sore throat and cold are gone and I've been happily staying at home by the chimney avoiding the heavy snowfall outside. I LOVE snow, but it never really lasts around here - it's not cold enough yet. Has it been snowing in England too?
I've finally sent off my last 3 Christmas cards so if you haven't received a card from me already, it should reach you within a week or so. I've received two cards so far from lux_astraea and scent_of_autumn, which were great so thank you so much guys!! :D
I have to say, I love reading fantasy books. I read quite a variety of book genres, but fantasy is my personal favourite and when I tell people about it, I often heard A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin's epic fantasy series mentioned as their favourite. I'd never got round to reading it before, but I picked it up at the local library (in French) and liked it so much that I bought the first two books on Amazon and just had to tell you guys about it!
So I recently finished reading A Game of Thrones
, the first in the series (there are 7 in total) and I was thrilled! No spoiling here, only an overall review...
The books are set in a Middle Ages type world of kings, nobles, political intrigue and supernatural. It focuses mostly on the Stark family, the Lords of the North of the Seven Kingdoms and how the father, Ned, leaves to help the king reign and is caught up in a web of plots concerning the throne and his feud with the Lannister family. One of the strengths of the book is that it has multiple viewpoints, mostly Ned and his children, which each have their own story to tell and each have their own direwolf. And if you think this book is the classic fantasy series with the good guy beating evil against all odds and where the villains aren't too bright, then think again!!
The author does a great job of giving us lots of conflict and intrigue as well as multilayered plotting and GREAT female characters! The writing is good, with lots of character development and great descriptions. I also love the world he's created which if you're a fan of medieval history/legends like me, you'll also enjoy and even more since there is very little magic in the books keeping the whole world very believable. I personally loved the direwolves as I'm always a sucker for animals in books... Anyway, I highly recommend the first book as it also has just the right amount of love, sex and swearing! :D
I hope I've convinced fantasy readers to give this book a chance if they haven't already and to those who've read it - do let me know what you thought! I'm currently reading the second book (A Clash of Kings) and taking my time since book 5 won't be released till next year... The wait actually makes me feel like it's the HP series all over again!!
Also, Amazon's recently released their Best Books 2008 series. If you're looking to buy fantasy books for the holiday season, here's Amazon's Best SciFi/Fantasy Books 2008
It features both the Editors' Picks and the Customers' Favourites of 2008.
So there's my review. At the moment, I'm reading The Constant Gardener by John Le Carré, which is captivating and I'll then be finishing A Clash of Kings.
What are you guys currently reading? Any recs?
I've finally sent off my last 3 Christmas cards so if you haven't received a card from me already, it should reach you within a week or so. I've received two cards so far from lux_astraea and scent_of_autumn, which were great so thank you so much guys!! :D
I have to say, I love reading fantasy books. I read quite a variety of book genres, but fantasy is my personal favourite and when I tell people about it, I often heard A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin's epic fantasy series mentioned as their favourite. I'd never got round to reading it before, but I picked it up at the local library (in French) and liked it so much that I bought the first two books on Amazon and just had to tell you guys about it!
So I recently finished reading A Game of Thrones
, the first in the series (there are 7 in total) and I was thrilled! No spoiling here, only an overall review...
The books are set in a Middle Ages type world of kings, nobles, political intrigue and supernatural. It focuses mostly on the Stark family, the Lords of the North of the Seven Kingdoms and how the father, Ned, leaves to help the king reign and is caught up in a web of plots concerning the throne and his feud with the Lannister family. One of the strengths of the book is that it has multiple viewpoints, mostly Ned and his children, which each have their own story to tell and each have their own direwolf. And if you think this book is the classic fantasy series with the good guy beating evil against all odds and where the villains aren't too bright, then think again!!
The author does a great job of giving us lots of conflict and intrigue as well as multilayered plotting and GREAT female characters! The writing is good, with lots of character development and great descriptions. I also love the world he's created which if you're a fan of medieval history/legends like me, you'll also enjoy and even more since there is very little magic in the books keeping the whole world very believable. I personally loved the direwolves as I'm always a sucker for animals in books... Anyway, I highly recommend the first book as it also has just the right amount of love, sex and swearing! :D
I hope I've convinced fantasy readers to give this book a chance if they haven't already and to those who've read it - do let me know what you thought! I'm currently reading the second book (A Clash of Kings) and taking my time since book 5 won't be released till next year... The wait actually makes me feel like it's the HP series all over again!!
Also, Amazon's recently released their Best Books 2008 series. If you're looking to buy fantasy books for the holiday season, here's Amazon's Best SciFi/Fantasy Books 2008
It features both the Editors' Picks and the Customers' Favourites of 2008.
So there's my review. At the moment, I'm reading The Constant Gardener by John Le Carré, which is captivating and I'll then be finishing A Clash of Kings.
What are you guys currently reading? Any recs?