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  • A Game of Thrones

  • Book 1 of A Song of Ice and Fire
  • By: George R.R. Martin
  • Narrated by: Roy Dotrice
  • Length: 33 hrs and 45 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (21,544 ratings)
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A Game of Thrones cover art

A Game of Thrones

By: George R.R. Martin
Narrated by: Roy Dotrice
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Editor reviews

Game of Thrones Book One: A Song of Ice and Fire written by George R. R. Martin is an immensely popular fantasy series audiobook narrated by veteran British actor Roy Dotrice. Now also a leading Sky Atlantic TV series by HBO. Listeners are introduced to an addictive plot and unforgettable characters in this first installment. Time feels lost in the harshness of endless brutal seasons, impenetrable landscapes and the constant, unwavering battle for the Iron Throne. The Throne means survival. Dark forces, lust and bloodshed will be used to get to it. Available from Audible now.

Summary

One of The Times’ 25 Best Audiobooks.

HBO’s hit series A Game of Thrones is based on George R. R. Martin’s internationally best-selling series A Song of Ice and Fire, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. A Game of Thrones is the first volume in the series. 

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

It will stretch from the south, where heat breeds plot, lusts and intrigues, to the vast and savage eastern lands, all the way to the frozen north, where an 800-foot wall of ice protects the kingdom from the dark forces that lie beyond. Kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords and honest men...all will play the Game of Thrones.

Winter is coming....

©2011 George R. R. Martin (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"A Game of Thrones grabs hold and won’t let go. It’s brilliant." (Robert Jordan)

"Colossal, staggering... Martin captures all the intoxicating complexity of the Wars of the Roses or Imperial Rome in his imaginary world...one of the greats of fantasy literature." (SFX)

"Fantasy literature has never shied away from grandeur, but the sheer-mind-boggling scope of this epic has sent other fantasy writers away shaking their heads.... Its ambition: to construct the Twelve Caesars of fantasy fiction, with characters so venomous they could eat the Borgias." (Guardian)

What listeners say about A Game of Thrones

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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant, but...

A fantastic book and well worth it, however a bit of a con from Audible to split it into two parts, (needing to pay for each). It is only one book and should be sold as such. It is on iTunes and works out as cheaper there! Wish I'd noticed that earlier.

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511 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Great Story, Difficult Narration

I actually own the paperbacks to A Song of Ice and Fire. And I re-bought the entire series as eBooks for my Kindle. The I purchased the Season 1 DVDs for A Game of Thrones. And the Graphic Novel (Part I). So take it as read that I'm familiar with the books, the story, George R R Martin's writing style, and the cast of thousands that populate Westeros and the lands across the Narrow Sea.

As you might surmise, I love the story. Unfortunately, this audiobook was a struggle to listen to because I just couldn't get on with the narration. Leaving aside the characterisation, for a moment, Roy Dotrice has this bizarre habit of pausing... mid-sentence so you're not sure if the sentence is finished... or if there's another portion... to come. At some points, these pauses almost change the sense of what's being said, and you find yourself having to mentally re-wind to re-phrase the words in your head to get the proper meaning.

In a similar vein - just concerning the narration rather than the characterisation - at some points the narrator's choice of tone doesn't jibe with my own interpretation of the story's tone; the first time we hear the Stark's motto, '"Winter is Coming", we're given it in almost upbeat fashion, rather than the heavy, almost portentous phrase that I have in my head.

However, my biggest obstacle with the narration was the characters' voicings; to be fair, the book has a cast of thousands (probably literally, although I haven't counted), and it would be impossible to form a distinct voice for every single person. But characters frequently sound much older than written (Theon Greyjoy, for example), the cod-Irish accent deployed for some characters is almost unlistentable, and, most disappointingly, Tyrion's accent changes mid tale, from Lancastrian to something that oscillates between Welsh and Irish.

It's a hard job, and I wish Mr Dotrice no ill, but I would've liked to hear Steven Pacey's reading of this instead.

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363 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A truly brilliant fantasy novel

A Game of Thrones is one of the most enjoyable books I've listened to in years so much so I completed it very quickly. Without giving any of the story away, it's worth pointing out that the plot can initially be a little confusing as it switches between different characters but as the book progresses you soon gain a greater understanding of the world that the author has created. Another point is that the storyline may seem slow at first but this is essential so as to establish the characters and set the scene, for not just the rest of the book but the rest of the series. And once it gets going, believe me, it really does get going.

Now for a word on the narrator. If you consider the number of different characters there are in this story, and how he has to make them all slightly different to distinguish them for the listener, I think he does an outstanding job. Of course it's natural you won't like all of his characterizations but his ability as a narrator really fits the the story and brings it to life.

This novel is well crafted full twists and intrigue. I cannot enthuse enough about how good this book is and encourage everyone to download it and enjoy this epic story.

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193 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Frustrating Narrator

Loved the story, but got really frustrated with the narrator, which is very distracting in an audio book. Everyone sounded drunk and weak. Decided to read the rest myself and am enjoying them a whole load more.

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81 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Narrator not very engaging and difficult to follow

I loved the series and have the books but due to time constraints I decided to download the audio to listen to on my laptop or Android as opposed to hauling a huge book around. However, I found the voice of the narrator was not at all what I expecting. I decided to change my thought process and remember the author may sound similar to the narrator age wise and as such I should just get used to it and try to think of it as how the author would have foreseen the story in his minds eye. An hour in and I still find it monotonous... it is like listening to someone reading aloud in a chair over the other side of the room and you just want to tell them to read in their head. That may sound harse but it is truly how I am finding this narration.

I find it very difficult to picture what he is describing let alone which characters voice he is portraying and can't remember anything he has said which should be remembered for later on in the series as reference material. I'm not getting swept up in the storyline or characters as I do when reading it myself. As such I am going to go back to carrying around a big book and deleting the audio.

It may be ideal for some of you but for me... I just don't find the voice of the narrator engaging or suited to this series.

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74 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Review - book one

Great story, but the man narrating the book doesn't suit the role, his voice isn't right.

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69 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

An unexpected surprise

I am new to audible books, and value peoples reviews. I was nearly put off A Game of Thrones, by some poor reviews. I actually like Roy Dotrice, and find his style suits me. It has probably helped that I have seen the first series of the HBO TV production and got to know the characters. I am enjoying the extra detail and background of the characters, which the TV series skated over. I will certainly be purchasing the next instalment of this book and hope to finish it before the next TV series.

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61 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

I was really enjoying it up to the point when

Tyrion Lannisters accent changes from Yorkshire to Welsh, I actually like Dotrices narration its like being told a story by an old man around a villages community fire, but a story teller needs to be more aware of his use of accents. What I think actually happened is Dotrice read the rest of the book and saw that Tyrion Lannister became a hero rather than a Rumpelstiltskin character, he couldn't become the hand of Gofrey and talk like a Clegg from last of the summer wine.

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59 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

I'm sorry Mr Dotrice

I wish I had listened to a sample first, and then I would have avoided downloading this. I'm sorry Mr Dotrice, but your narration did nothing for me - except to convince me to buy the book and read it for myself. My fault, I will not make the same mistake in future. The story sounded wonderful, but after a couple of hours I became so distracted and frustrated with the narration, that I deleted it from my iPod. It may work for you, try the sample.

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58 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Personally I liked Dotrice.... but...

Unless I'm hugely mistaken only half of the book itself has been uploaded for sale. (yes, I know it's split into two parts but the second part ends with 'you have reached the end of a download but not of the book' message and, having asked friends, they've said the two parts of the audiobook only get to 2/3rds of the book itself. No answer from audible twitter on what the score is. Maybe there's another part to be uploaded later? Who knows.

Anyhow: I liked the narrator but found it similarly hard to work out who was who etc. I put it down to the naming convention in the book itself, I was enjoying what I was listening to anyhow...

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43 people found this helpful