A Song of Ice & Fire Fans discussion

I am a brand new reader, having somehow completely walked through the last 15 years oblivious to the existence of these books. I just finished A Game of Thrones last night and have already dived deep into A Clash of Kings.

I have no shame in admitting it was the upcoming HBO show that prompted me to check out the books, and I'm glad it did because AGoT is one of the best books I've read in years.

Anyone else new to the series?

I am! I bought the book in January because the ebook was only $5 and I heard it was good. I read it soonafter and then heard about the series and I'm pretty stoked about that! I'm almost a quarter way through the second books now, but I am reading other books at the same time so it is taking a while.

Yup, me too. I started a few months back. I have read the first 3 books and they just keep getting better. I decided to take a break and check out another series that a lot of people rave about, The Malazan Book of the Fallen. Waiting until A Dance with Dragons comes out before I start A Feast for Crows. These books are absolutely wonderful. I love the characters, they seem so real and I have found myself more than once being very upset when something bad happens.

I guess I wouldn't say I'm "new" to the series at this point (though I am newer than some), but I'm in the same boat in that it was the HBO series that prompted me to read A Game of Thrones. I likewise didn't know about these books until several years ago when the whisperings of HBO making plans to produce the show began to get out.

Stephen, me too. Khal Drogo, for example. I expected to hate him because of how they painted him as Viserys was selling Dani off to the Khal, but he wound up being a treasured character for me.

I read a lot of books, and have been reading fantasy for over 25 years. I have not loved a book or series this much in a very long time. It's a beautiful thing!

Welcome GOT newbies. I miss Drogo :(. I can't wait for the series. 16 more days. ADOD comes out July 12 *Does the happy dance*

I loved how in GOT, it was almost like all the kids grew up and you were right there with them. I especially like Danearys (sp?) and how she grew to be such a strong young woman. I like all the kids the best. Most of the stills I've seen for the show look just like I pictured in the books, so I think its going to be really good.

I think I envy you all that are new to the series. I read GoT 3-4 years ago, and the moment I finished it I ran off to the bookshop to buy the next two. So welcome to Westeros and enjoy the ride (and the angst for the yet unpublished books to complete the saga).

You guys need to see that link about Dance With Dragons. It is on this group thread. It is hilarious. :) There is nothing that says us old timers can't go back and read the series. :)

Oh, definitely! I have already planned to read them all, starting from page 1. I've read the link, it's fantastic!

Are you talking about the Taiwanese video one? I didn't watch it or read the thread because I was afraid it might have spoilers... then again, I already stumbled on a fair amount of spoilers all by myself (on a different site) so I guess it wouldn't make much of a difference.

Krista, I'm the same way about avoiding spoilers, and actually stumbled onto one unintentionally the other day. Now I'm just keeping my head down and refusing to look! :D

No this isn't spoilers. You should see the link. It is funny.

It seems there are some links around. The one I read and enjoyed was this one: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_....
No spoilers.

The link doesn't work.

Try this one, straight from GRRM's "Not a blog", it is the same article: http://grrm.livejournal.com/205328.html

His blog hasn't been working for me today. Maybe a lot more traffic than usual or something.

For those that couldn't read it, this is GRRM's post. Ironically, it's not written by him.

A reader named Christian Johannesen has pointed out that in my announcement of the publication date of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS, I wrote: "Barring tsunamis, general strikes, world wars, or asteroid strikes, you will have the novel in your hands on July 12."

Christian goes on to say:

"March 11, 2011: Big Tsunami - Ohh No! I hope release date hasn't gotten pushed back again!!!!!!!......

"March 11, 2011 NFL CBA talks break down. Seems like a general strike in the NFL is eminent.

"March 19, 2011 On top of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the US along with 20 other countries attack Libyan forces loyal to Gadhafi. World War?

Please remove the asteroid strikes from your update before you become quadrupley prophetic. I'm too young to die."

To which I can only reply:

(1) I am writing as fast as I can. Finished a Meereen chapter yesterday, hope to finish another one today, and

(2) WATCH THE SKIES!

I am also new to the series and only came to know of it's existence because of HBO.
I starter in February and I am now halfway through A Storm of Swords. I was reading other books but decided to put them on hold while I don't finish A Feast for Crows. I am only disappointed to know that the fourth book apparently has no Daenerys appearance in it =/
and I like her so much!!!
This is the best book series ever!

That is true there is no Dany in Feast of Crows but it is still important to read because there is valuable plot information.

That's a shame...I like her.
I just saw something that I can't believe! Jon Snow's point of view doesn't appear either? Why did GRRM do this to us? Maybe we still see him from Sam's POV but still...
I don't think I will enjoy the fourth as much as I enjoyed the others, but I hope I am wrong.

I liked it even though they didn't have my favorites. I liked Brienne and she is in it.

Yes, I think her POV might be fun. Jaime's is quite nice up until now. Cersei's might be fun too, knowing what kind of creepy things happen in her mind.

You know, Rodrigo, you do need to read Feast For Crows because I will just say something unexpected and interesting happens between Jaime and Cersei.

I am a very curious person so now I must read it!
I am on page 459 of A Storm of Swords but there are a few tests coming so I might have to slow my reading a bit. I hope by the end of the month I will be reading the next book though. Wish me luck!

Good luck!

Rodrigo wrote: "That's a shame...I like her.
I just saw something that I can't believe! Jon Snow's point of view doesn't appear either? Why did GRRM do this to us? Maybe we still see him from Sam's POV but still....."

This was because the 4th and 5th books were originally going to be one book. It got too big, so GRRM split them in two. He decided to take out certain POVs altogether. The 5th book takes place at the same time as the 4th, only it will cover Jon, Dany, Tyrion (I missed Tyrion the most!), Arya etc...

Call me crazy or stupid, but it seems that a thread titled "New to the Series" isn't really the right place to load up on spoilers on book #4.

Oh, but nobody's saying what happens, just what POVs are used, right? That's the argument I see coming. Well, if you've read ASOIAF, you know that which POVs will or will not appear in any given book could very easily spoil what does happen. Or doesn't happen.

That is all.

I agree with Chris. A little spoiler marking goes a long way...

So the 4th and 5th happen at the same time? I'm going to get confused!
Well, I don't think this talk about POVs spoils anything but sorry anyway.

How is it not spoiling anything? Knowing someones POV is around means you know they aren't dead by that point. So then anytime they are in a sticky situation, you don't worry because you know they'll survive. I'd call that spoiling, without a doubt.

The fourth and fifth books were supposed to be one book so the time line is still the same in those books. The author just split the intended one book into two books. It even says so in the Epilogue of A Feast of Crows.

Dawn wrote: "How is it not spoiling anything? Knowing someones POV is around means you know they aren't dead by that point. So then anytime they are in a sticky situation, you don't worry because you know they'..."

Sorry about that, folks. I guess b/c people were talking about the lack of certain POVs in book 4 that meant they were up on everything so far. New to the series can simply mean you learned about them recently, not that you're necessarily on book 1. (I'm new to the series, but I've blown through all 4 books) I honestly did't think that I was spoiling anything, but I apologize for upsetting anyone.

I'm not upset, it's not spoiling anything for me as I've read them all. But I'm just trying to think of others out there, who might have read the first book and loved it, and then wandered into this "New to the series" thread, only to find that it spoils other parts of the series for them. Like I said, better safe than sorry is all :)

I'm only just starting book three, so I don't know yet who survives that book. I didn't pay much mind to the character listings, but I can see how noting the perspectives might give hints to those who haven't read that far yet on survivors. It's tough in discussions like this sometimes to keep things on the down low so as not to spoil future plot points for others, but I'm not offended by anything that's been mentioned here yet.

Dawn wrote: "I'm not upset, it's not spoiling anything for me as I've read them all. But I'm just trying to think of others out there, who might have read the first book and loved it, and then wandered into thi..."

Again, I was simply responding to someone else's mention of a LACK of POVs' in book 4. The fact that books 4 & 5 are split up (and the MAIN character POV's within) is something GRRM himself has talked about in interviews. It's a not really spoiler-ish, is all I'm sayin'

@Eneida Are you still on the first book? Because I didn't enjoy her in the beginning but then she develops a lot and I came to like her.
Sorry guys, it's my fault. I started this discussion about POVs.

The series was recommended to me by a co-worker. Didn't even know it existed. A few days after getting into "A game of thrones" I found out about the Show. I'm 3/4 of the way done with "Clash of kings". Not sure if I want to see the show or not as I don't want the tone of the show to overshadow how I view the characters in my head.

I eager to see the show. I try to keep the book series and the tv series separate.

I've tried that with other books turned to movies/shows and it doesn't work for me. I'm a little tempted to see the show, though, because I like the actor that will be playing Tyrion.

I think if you go in with the mind frame just to enjoy the show, I think you will do better.

I'm also new to reading the series (just finished Game of Thrones 2 hours ago) but started getting interested in it when HBO was filming a new series. I'm still pretty gutted by what happened to a certain character towards the end, but overall I really quite liked the book :)

If it is who I think it is, his passing was quite fitting.

Just bought the book today and I just dove in. I am really diggin it so far, and after reading the reviews and what you guys are saying, I know I am in for a treat. Can't wait.

You will love it.

Is there anything that I need to know going into it? I will admit that I haven't read very much fantasy and I hope this isn't too much of a jump for going into a genre.

For Game of Thrones, you don't need to know anything because it is the first book of the series. Now some people like to read the book straight through. It is told in different points of view. Some people like to read one pov and then go back and read the other povs. I read it straight through.

Hi, Kevin!

Just jump right in, everything that's essential to plot and character development is told to the reader. Happy reading!

Thanks a lot guys!

Hey guys one more thing, as new as I am to the series, I am also new to GoodReads and was wondering if anyone had more information on the Book Swap feature. What exactly is available with that? Thanks for your help!