A Game of Thrones is a massive fantasy novel with a richly detailed world and complex characters, but it suffers from overly long and sometimes ambiguous prose. The reviewer appreciates some of the creative elements, like the heart tree and a well-described surgical operation, but finds the writing often falls short of the hype.
A Game of Thrones is a book that has garnered significant attention and hype, but the reviewer finds it difficult to live up to the expectations set by its marketing. The novel is set in a detailed world with various houses, political intrigue, and a mix of good characters and dark themes. The story includes elements like prophecies, dragons, and a young protagonist who witnesses and survives traumatic events. However, the reviewer finds the writing to be stodgy and overly long, with many passages that feel ambiguous or poorly constructed. The prose often includes lazy writing and repetitive descriptions, which detract from the overall reading experience. Despite these issues, there are moments of brilliance, such as a well-described surgical operation and a unique heart tree, that show Martin's potential. The reviewer appreciates these elements but feels that the book could have been much stronger with tighter editing and more polished writing.
Quick quotes
The best books are those about which all previous impressions (if any) are dashed during the reading.
It doesn't work. If we had been given earlier references to Will's knowledge of how to compare at a glance the relative sharpnesses of swords and razors, then we might forgive this sort of sloppiness.
The reader is not stupid, and passages like these read like overkill.