Game of Thrones Books

MarcusP12

Anyone read these books? having gotten into the box sets, I'm interested to read the books they are based on but see that they are ferociously long....don't tend to be able to set aside hours at a time to relax and read so would be chipping away...is it worth it? is it a torturous read or does it flow easily and suit someone who'd be dipping in for a half hour each day....just thought I'd see what people think before starting...

intheclouds

Well worth it.

Ive read them several times and am currently listening to the audio books read by Roy Dotrice - Ive been almost a year listening to them, there is a huge amount of audio!

GLaDOS

I enjoyed them, main problem is it's been so long since I read the last book I forget half of what's happened.

Wellyd

I'm struggling at the moment with them! They're so huge and it feels like I've been reading A Feast for Crows for all of eternity. There's a lot more to the books than to tv programmes and I really love all the extra back story.

MarcusP12

thanks folks.....might pop into the location bookstore and get a feel for it properly....I'd say i'll give it a shot alright.....started reading the martian last night....very easy to read...wouldn't be bothered about the 900+ pages of GOT if it was that easy but somehow I doubt it will be!

briangriffin

The books go into a lot of detail but I found them 100% unputdownable definitely worth your while buying them youll be hooked after the first chapter, enjoy!

eet fuk

Also, the chapters are written by character and events aren't necessarily described in chronological order, so it's actually ideal for a half hour of reading here and there.

I got through them while riding the bus every day.

theteal

I took an age to read them, mainly in 30-40 minute stints on the commute to and from work. Absolutely worth it.

The only real downside is that you'll find yourself cursing at the TV when you seen some of the very questionable changes they've made!

MarcusP12

theteal wrote: »

I took an age to read them, mainly in 30-40 minute stints on the commute to and from work. Absolutely worth it.

The only real downside is that you'll find yourself cursing at the TV when you seen some of the very questionable changes they've made!

I'd say we'll be well finished with the box sets by the time I get stuck into the books at this rate but I take your point! Half way through series 3 at the moment....

Boskowski

Excellent reads and naturally much deeper and better than any movie or TV series can be. Well written, not big literature I guess but certainly not 500 words Daily Mail quality English either. Good balance. But they are big. You need to enjoy books or you will probably struggle to get through them.

Mr.Nice Guy

I'm one of the few people who has read all of the books and never watched an episode of the TV show.

I enjoyed all of the books. I would recommend giving them a go.

HamsterFace

I read the first and gave up on the second, even though it was highly enjoyable. My reasoning was that I find it hard enough to make time for reading so that when I do read, I'm less inclined to read something that I already know the story to (from the tv show) especially when they're as large as these books.

But it's a silly sentiment tbh because nearly every second book I read is a reread!

Birdie086

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I'm one of the few people who has read all of the books and never watched an episode of the TV show.

I enjoyed all of the books. I would recommend giving them a go.

I am in the same boat as you mr nice guy, read all the books, never watched an episode, my only downfall was I read them too quickly and didn't absorb all the story enough! I must re-read them soon

ZeroThreat

Birdie086 wrote: »

I am in the same boat as you mr nice guy, read all the books, never watched an episode, my only downfall was I read them too quickly and didn't absorb all the story enough! I must re-read them soon

lol I'm in a similar situation, read all the books on kindle late 2014 and have forgotten most of it since

I looked at the first 2 episodes or so, but that's about it. I'll probably have to re-read them all before the next book comes out.

lordgoat

ScienceNerd wrote: »

I enjoyed them, main problem is it's been so long since I read the last book I forget half of what's happened.

ZeroThreat wrote: »

lol I'm in a similar situation, read all the books on kindle late 2014 and have forgotten most of it since

I looked at the first 2 episodes or so, but that's about it. I'll probably have to re-read them all before the next book comes out.

Birdie086 wrote: »

I am in the same boat as you mr nice guy, read all the books, never watched an episode, my only downfall was I read them too quickly and didn't absorb all the story enough! I must re-read them soon

Got fooled by GRRM a while ago when he said there was only 2 books left. Stopped reading them when I realised the TV show was going to pass out the books. Won't be going back to them until the last book has a final publish date, then and only then will i re-read then. Plus I'll probably skip some chapters (yep I am a total heathen)

Great story overall, a little too embellished at times but real worth while in the end. If only he wrote a bit quicker. But I'll read them all once he (or someone else finishes the tale) Until then I will enjoy the TV show.

Frankie5Angels

Wellyd wrote: »

I'm struggling at the moment with them! They're so huge and it feels like I've been reading A Feast for Crows for all of eternity. There's a lot more to the books than to tv programmes and I really love all the extra back story.

I started reading AFFC and put it down about a third of the way through. Left it about 6 months and went back and finished it off. I had ADWD finished in about 4 weeks. Worth the grind through AFFC to get to the ADWD (and it is a grind, in my opinion).

Wellyd

Frankie5Angels wrote: »

I started reading AFFC and put it down about a third of the way through. Left it about 6 months and went back and finished it off. I had ADWD finished in about 4 weeks. Worth the grind through AFFC to get to the ADWD (and it is a grind, in my opinion).

Put my mind to it and finished it yesterday. I'm going to give myself a break for a week or two and then start A Dance with Dragons!

Serafina Pekkala

I love these books and have read them three times. They're really big on detailed world building so if you have a mind for that they're great. If you're likely to get peeved by long descriptions of food, clothing, weaponary etc they might not be for you. I would definitely recommend reading the fourth and fifth books in tandem as they run consecutively in time but are split by character. I got a lot more out of them reading them like that than one at a time, although I would recommend ebook format as it gets pretty cumbersome switching between two massive tomes, and I split the spine of my copy of A Dance with Dragons. There's a good reading order at the boiled leather website.

white apples

For anyone interested, Martin has released an excerpt from the next book, The Winds Of Winter on his website.
http://www.georgerrmartin.com/excerpt-from-the-winds-of-winter/