I loved this book and I have high hopes for the rest of the series (even though I know about the controversy regarding the fifth book). The world feels real and so do the people in it. The "high fantasy" element is quite toned down in this book, yes the world does have dragons and magic but its not over done and taken for granted.
One look at G.R.R. Martin's website (www.grrmartin.com) makes me appreciated the way the man thinks. A avid medieval history enthusiast, collector of 54mm knights & scale models of castles. He crafts the world he creates in his own recroom for us to read about. I know I've been light on the plot, characters, events because I don't want to spoil anything. With the upcoming HBO series, I would whole heartily recommend anyone who wants to watch the show to read the book first.
Sean Bean will be a great Eddard Stark and I'm sure HBO will acquit themselves well (as they are known to do). The TV series will be great but I can't help but think if I watched the show first it would take some of the magic away from the book when and if I decided to read it. It started to happen just having seen the trailer. In my minds eye, I had a younger Brian Cox as Eddard, but after the trailer Sean Bean took over. I had someone else maybe a younger Christian Bale,as seen in Henry V w/Kenneth Branagh. The imagery we project to the characters makes them more alive rather than something we equate to an actor on a tv series.
The pacing can be trying for some, it wasn't for me. I loved the political intrique, the personal quarrels both internal and external and as each chapter is a different point of view of a different character the book never lagged for me. I kept wondering how "Bran" was doing after I hadn't read about him for a few chapters, so the characters started to take on the importance of real people.
So if the trailer for the HBO series peaked your curiosity at all, go out and read this book!
