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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 (21,670 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

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    17,380
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    3,038
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    688
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Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
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    16,587
  • 4 Stars
    1,526
  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    122

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story but narration is a bit overcooked

The story is great. The narration is too much. When the narrator tries to sound like old women it’s just annoying to listen to.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

Reader mispronounces a number of words and seems to change characters accents sometimes from sentence to sentence. Otherwise very good

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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

The story

I liked the story and will listen to the sequel, was a lot of fun, I came from watching the shows to now finally listening to the books

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, questionable narration.

The story is absolutely riveting, unfortunately Roy Dotrice, the narrator, makes some questionable decisions while voicing some characters and at times makes laughable mispronunciations. If you don't focus too much on it he does an acceptablet job. I highly recommend to any fan of medieval/fantasy.

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

Great story, terrible narration.

What made the experience of listening to A Game of Thrones the most enjoyable?

The story line is exactly as good as I expected to be and the writing is good, particularly considering the style/type of books this series is.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

From the first word, I found the narrators voice irritating, although I persevered and eventually tolerated it. There are frequent examples of him pronouncing a name one way, then another, and their is no consistency in his pronunciation. He manages to mostly stick with the same accents for most characters, but the portrayal of Tyrion's voice is borderline offensive. Many of the Lannisters have Welsh accents, which is fine, however a couple of the major characters from the family do not and this is off putting. The portrayal of women is horrible, shrill and disrespectful in every way. I looked up the narrator and found that, in general, people love him and his bizarre style. I don't understand that in the slightest and only continued with the book because I had wanted to listen to it so badly. If this had been a less famous title I would have returned in at the first chapter.

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7 people found this helpful

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

A great story spoilt by the narrator

I am so disappointed by how distractingly poor the narration of this book is, I was really looking forward to listening to the entire series but I’m going to give up.

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4 people found this helpful

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

perhaps it is time to re-record

It is a shame to condemn the poor man and as an overal narrator he is not bad... except for the dialogue. Is it possible to get past the fact everyone, especially the young people, sound like like they are in their 70s and that the various regional accents appear so randomly chosen , but it is unfathomable how significant characters suddenly change accents part way through... most notably turning Welsh?

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A great review but.......

Why has Roy Dotrice decided to voice Tyron (one of the most articulate, intelligent and interesting characters) as a cross between Alan Bennett / Compo from last of the summer wine and a Chuckle brother?

Jon Snow is not much better....it's such a shame as it is massively distracting.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Great story and wonderful telling

I've so enjoyed listening to this story - I've welcomed every traffic Jam. It stopped reading at chapter 56 so need to re-download it

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1 person found this helpful