A Song of Ice and Fire

Any idea what stores would have these cards, and when? Would they be in hobby shops, or maybe also bookstores and computer/video game stores?

  • Balut[/quote]

Here’s the publisher:

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/got.html

It seems like they just announced it in March. Who knows when it’ll be done.

Looks like they have some other interesting stuff over there, too. :) It seems like I read a review for their LoTR card/boardgame and it was pretty good. What was the name of that game site? Grrrr!!! I cannot remember. Games unplugged or something.

Just finished Game of Thrones. Wow. I am not one for hyperbole, so I can say with all certainty that that has to be one of the most entertaining books I have ever read. I could spew about it, but much of the praise has been talked about already. I will spare everyone the lovefest. I will say, however, that I almost came to this thread a number of times while I was reading it just to post the word: wow and then get back to the book.

I bought it used along with Wizard’s 1st Rule and the 2nd Thomas Covenant trilogy. I would start those, but dammit I want to know what happens with the Starks, Lannisters, et.al. SO I guess I will venture out today for the other two in the series. The 4th is not out yet, correct?

Thanks to all who recommended it. That was the shortest 800 page book I have ever read. :)

By the end of Storm Of Swords so much is clearer. I won’t spoil it but if you did not finish the book you did yourself a huge disservice.

No, I am definitely going to finish them all. I am simply debating whether I should read some other stuff I have or continue with the 2nd and 3rd book right away. I do not mind the way so many things were left open-ended at all. That fact makes me all the more eager to simply continue on with the series.

Yeah, Game of Thrones is great. It makes you realize how crappy so many other fantasy novels are.

The Wizard’s First Rule series is a guilty pleasure of mine. At some point I realized they are really as much romance novels as fantasy novels, which likely explains Goodkind’s amazing sales success since more women read nowadays than men. Once I knew that, I skimmed over the lovey stuff and pages of one character longing for the other.

Yeah, that’s exactly how I felt when I first read AGoT. I remember my friends going on and on about how great it was, and just kind of blowing it off, until I actually sat down and read it. Then I couldn’t stop until I read the next one, and the next one.

Man, A Storm of Swords. There must be a good three or four times I actually stopped reading because I was SO tempted to call up friends and just go “WHOAH!! DID THAT JUST HAPPEN??”. What’s great about Martin is that all of his books have some parts like that. His books are so entertaining because he’s not afraid to break any standard fantasy novel conventions and cliches.

Personally, I’d love to see A Song of Ice and Fire turned into a grand strategy game for the computer. Something like a modified Europa Universalis type game, only with the Starks, Lannisters, Baratheons, Martells, etc.

  • Balut

That is exactly what I thought. Therein lies my quandry. Do I devour the other books in the series or space them out amongst other stuff which I will only be comparing to Martin’s work? The whole time thinking ahead to the next book.

Martin, Donaldson, Goodkind, or maybe Tad Williams. I started Wizard’s First Rule since I had it already, but once the weekend comes and I am at the bookstore…I can here the “M” section calling my name everso faintly even as I type.

Blaze through the rest of Martin, then go read that other stuff and turn it into parody as you realize how much weaker the writing is. And scoff. Loudly.

  • Balut

Hey, balut. I want you to know I did not plaigarize any of your post, especially the first line. We must have been typing simultaneously.

Just wanted to provide this discaimer since it is such a hot topic over in the games forum.

LOL, thanks for the disclaimer. I honestly couldn’t care less unless somehow money was involved :P

  • Balut

Has anyone tried the CCG out? I think it has been released, but I have not seen it in stores yet.

You can say that again. A couple of events in the third book are just stunning. One in particular–anyone who read the book knows which one–was like being punched in the stomach, considering everything that had taken place before. Anything could happen in this series.

Lannister truly shitting gold was my personal favorite

:twisted:

That’s actually pretty interesting - when I spoke to my friends about that BIG event in particular in the 3rd book, I described it as akin to being “punched in the stomach”. I guess that event just knocks the wind right out of you, it’s so unforgettable. Probably one of the most memorable moments in any book series. It’s even better when you think about past events and see the foreshadowing of it, and how it, too, follows Martin’s ruthless internal logic.

  • Balut

Just stop it!! I am 100 pages into Wizard’s First Rule and do not think I can make it if you guys do not quit it with the praise and hints of things to come.

Must…have…GRRM…fix…ackkk!

Yeah, you can sort of see it coming, but can’t really believe that Martin’s actually going to do it. Then it happens anyways, and is still shocking. What a fantastic series. Like it so much that I was stupid enough to blow over a hundred bucks on a first edition of A Game of Thrones. Interesting how that book has gone up so much in value.

Dang - My book is worth some money then. I forget what site it was that
steered me into Game of Thrones when it was first released but I can only say “Bless you”.

On a different note - anyone else have favorite characters? For the series mine has been the “Dwarf”. But in the last book Jamie Lannister actually started stealing my sympathy as well…once we started getting pieces in his “view” I was amazed at the depth of his character.

Characters I like:

Oberyn, the Red Viper of Dorne.
Jaqen H’ghar.
Syrio Forel.
Littlefinger - this bastard knows exactly what he’s doing at all times.

Characters I hate:

Ser Loras Tyrell, the “Knight of Flowers” - why is it every time he comes up, I picture Leonardo Dicaprio?
Ser Gregor Clegane, the “Mountain that Walks”. I won’t say why because of spoiler reasons.

  • Balut

Characters shift so much that it’s hard to have favorites. Some of the most evil bastards early on have developed into fully rounded people with greater focus. Martin’s a master at changing viewpoints until he gives a complete picture of what a character is truly all about. To me, that’s what makes his episodic chapter structure work so well.

Just great writing. How he keeps so many characters, and storylines going so well its amazing. The previous commment how its not just a straight up evil vs good thing too is so refreshing.

Best character:

‘The Dwarf’. Who couldn’t love the little SOB. :twisted:

The comment a friend said comes to mind . He thought the subtitle for the third book could have been “Dropping like flies”.