Book: A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin

I like to think that I don't judge books by their covers. I give most things a go before actually judging them, and generally I go into a book with an open mind. I have to admit however that I was very surprised with how A Game of Thrones panned out, indicating that I did have some kind of preformed expectation of the book in this particular case.

I'm not too ashamed of this, if only because the surprise was so pleasant. The thickness of the book did not imply that it would be a chore to read, the plentiful characters did not imply that it lacked good characterisation and the immense background and universe that the book is set in did not imply that I would have to dredge through tons of descriptive text. In other words, this was no Lord of the Rings.

So yes, in a word A Game of Thrones is brilliantly accessible. I never once tired of what was going on and after getting used to it didn't lost my thread or pace in reading. Okay I admit that I did at first find the plentiful number of characters confusing (with names and nicknames adding to that confusion), but even that wasn't an issue a few chapters in.

A lot happens in this, the first volume of A Song of Ice and Fire, and yet it's clear that we're in it for the long haul - I can only imagine what else we have in store. It's a testament to the book that I want to jump straight into the next part, and I'm already excited with the idea of continuing on my journey through the Seven Kingdoms.