A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1)

This book is life-changing good, Lord of The Rings life-changing good, it's that brilliant!

The world building is extraordinary in a mix of medieval fantasy and fiction. Imagine two nations split across the middle by an unscalable and impenetrable wall guarded at all times. On one side (the south) there's a society split between rich and poor / privileged and subservient, including war, politics and betrayal. On the other side (the north) there's a barbarian faction plus a very frightening evil presence, lurking, harassing, always wanting what's in the south.

People fight among themselves without realising what's really going on in either hemisphere, too busy squabbling over land, power and sex. Such is life.

George Martin does an incredible job of logistically coordinating all the families, islands and outliers into separate stories and histories while combining them into a cohesive and exciting adventure for ultimate power over the entire kingdom.

The book is so complex it requires a mammoth page count plus two, three and even more volumes to make it worthwhile. It's a big reading commitment, but never ever enough.

A Game of Thrones enmeshes you in the characters and intrigue and never lets go. It's one of the greatest fantasy works of all time.