Praise for
GEORGE R. R. MARTIN
and
A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE

A F EAST FOR C ROWS

“Of those who work in the grand epic-fantasy tradition, Martin is by far the best. In fact … this is as good a time as any to proclaim him the American Tolkien.… What really distinguishes Martin, and what marks him as a major force for evolution in fantasy, is his refusal to embrace a vision of the world as a Manichaean struggle between Good and Evil. Tolkien’s work has enormous imaginative force, but you have to go elsewhere for moral complexity. Martin’s wars are multifaceted and ambiguous, as are the men and women who wage them and the gods who watch them and chortle, and somehow that makes them mean more. A Feast for Crows isn’t pretty elves against gnarly orcs. It’s men and women slugging it out in the muck, for money and power and lust and love.”

— Time

“The complicated machinations as various characters jockey for power and position are only half of the reason to pick up this immensely entertaining series. With his introduction of characters that aren’t as black and white as those typical of the genre, Martin has brought depth and believability to the usually cartoonish fantasy genre.… Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series is that rare, once-in-a-generation work of fiction that manages to entertain readers while elevating an entire genre to fine literature.”

—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Martin’s command of English and of characterization and setting remains equal to the task of the fantasy megasaga.… Good news for readers of robust appetite.”

—Booklist

“What’s A Song of Ice and Fire? It’s the only fantasy series I’d put on a level with J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. It’s way better than the Harry Potter books and definitely not for children. It’s a fantasy series for hip, smart people, even those who don’t read fantasy.”

—Detroit Free Press/Chicago Tribune

“A Song of Ice and Fire is firmly at the top of the bestseller lists, probably because it’s the best fantasy series out there.”

— Detroit Free Press

“George R. R. Martin has created the unlikely genre of the realpolitik fantasy novel. Complete with warring kings, noble heroes and backroom dealings, it’s addictive reading and reflects our current world a lot better than The Lord of the Rings.”

— Rolling Stone

“Martin has created a full, rich and interesting world filled with colorful characters. Some are heroic, some funny, some sinister, and alliances and betrayals come fast and frequently. Beautiful faces as often as not hide ugly minds, and few people are what they seem at first glance. One is just as likely to be tortured and killed at the hands of a priest or nun as a knight or bandit.… The plots and subplots are too tangled to try and unravel here; the intrigue is thick, the action brutal and the sex and violence worthy of at least an ‘R’ rating. This is a series for adults, not children, and readers expecting clean-cut Harry Potter will find themselves less than comfortable in Martin’s world. But if you’re looking for a thick and delicious book to curl up with on rainy and cold fall evenings, this is just the ticket.”

— Portland Oregonian

“Mainstream readers … have a great treat ahead of them in Martin. A Feast for Crows is a fast-paced, emotionally complex, masterfully written adventure.… Most fantasy writers follow the battle-of-good-and-evil model of their great predecessor, J.R.R. Tolkien. Not Martin. He draws his protagonists from several warring families and shows what’s happening through their eyes, switching with each chapter and telling their stories so compellingly that we root for them all to win—even though if any of them does, it will be a disaster for the others.… Martin’s writing is as good as ever: His imaginary places are as vivid and thoroughly imagined, his characters as consistent and believable, his blood as wet and red. As for the missing characters, like the long, looming winter, they’re coming soon.”

— Newsday

“Another splendid installment.”

— Time Out London

“Featuring a large, well-fleshed-out cast of characters, excellent writing (of the sort that made T.H. White’s Once and Future King a classic), gritty details and a page-turning plot, Martin’s latest novel in his A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series continues to do the genre proud.”

—STL today.com

“For a succinct summation of Martin’s medieval fantasy series, imagine a mix of the literary quality of T.H. White’s Once and Future King , the in-your-face, you-are-there grittiness of a movie like Braveheart and the sort of intricate character development found in a quality television show like Lost .… Vast, complex and undeniably entertaining.… Once in a while, there are books and writers that manage to elevate an entire genre. Stephen King did so with horror. George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series has taken fantasy out of the two-dimensional, black and white realm where it once happily existed and dragged it kicking and screaming into a land of believable characters, ambiguous situations, and bloody, sometimes uncertain denouements.

— Denver Post

“Martin doesn’t disappoint.… A Song of Ice and Fire is a thrilling fantasy series.… Martin’s world and characters are so complex that one wonders whether there can ever be an answer to all the riddles.”

— Daily Californian

A S TORM OF S WORDS

“One of the more rewarding examples of gigantism in contemporary fantasy … richly imagined.”

—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“George R. R. Martin continues to take epic fantasy to new levels of insight and sophistication, resonant with the turmoils and stress of the world we call our own.”

— Locus

“Martin creates a gorgeously and intricately textured world, peopled with absolutely believable and fascinating characters.”

— Cleveland Plain Dealer

“High fantasy doesn’t get any better than this.”

—Portland Oregonian

“A riveting continuation of a series whose brilliance continues to dazzle.”

— Patriot News

“Enough grit and action to please even the most macho … a page turner.”

— Dallas Morning News

“The latest and the best in a powerful … cycle that delivers real people and a page-turning plot.”

—Contra Costa Times

“Like a cross between a complicated game of chess, a quirky Stephen King tale and Braveheart , Martin’s epic advances his series with gritty characterizations, bold plot moves and plenty of action.”

— St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“The third volume of what is shaping up to be one of the major fantasy works of all time … even the minor characters are realistic and engaging. This is one of the major fantasy events of the year, and the series as a whole is likely to achieve the same status as the works of Caball, Tolkien and Eddison. If you are a fantasy fan and you’re not reading Martin, you’re cheating yourself of some of the best the field has to offer.”

—Science Fiction Chronicle

“Martin’s magnum opus is a powerful and stunning achievement. Don’t miss it.”

— scifi.com

A C LASH OF K INGS

“A truly epic fantasy set in a world bedecked with 8,000 years of history, beset by an imminent winter that will last ten years and bedazzled by swords and spells wielded to devastating effect. Here he provides a banquet for fantasy lovers with large appetites.”

—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Martin amply fulfills the first volume’s promise and continues what seems destined to be one of the best fantasy series ever written.”

— Denver Post

“High fantasy with a vengeance.”

—San Diego Union-Tribune

“Rivals T. H. White’s Once and Future King .”

—Des Moines Register

“So complex, fascinating and well-rendered, readers will almost certainly be hooked by the whole series.”

—Oregonian

“The richness of this invented world and its cultures lends Mr. Martin’s novels the feeling of medieval history rather than fiction—except, of course, that he knows how to entertain.”

—Dallas Morning News

A G AME OF T HRONES

“Reminiscent of T. H. White’s The Once and Future King , this novel is an absorbing combination of the mythic, the sweepingly historical, and the intensely personal.”

—Chicago Sun-Times

“I always expect the best from George R. R. Martin, and he always delivers. A Game of Thrones grabs hold and won’t let go. It’s brilliant.”

—Robert Jordan

“Such a splendid tale and such a fantistorical! I read my eyes out.”

—Anne McCaffrey

“Martin makes a triumphant return to high fantasy.… [His] trophy case is already stuffed with major prizes, including Hugos, Nebulas, Locus awards and a Bram Stoker. He’s probably going to have to add another shelf, at least.”

— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A vast, rich saga, with splendid characters and an intricate plot flawlessly articulated against a backdrop of real depth and texture.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“The keen and complex human characters and the convincing force of their surroundings operate as magic … setting George R. R. Martin’s first fantasy epic well above the norms of the genre.”

— Locus

“It is perhaps the best of the epic fantasies—readable and realistic.”

—Marion Zimmer Bradley

“The major fantasy of the decade … compulsively readable.”

— Denver Post

“George R. R. Martin is one of our very best science fiction writers, and this is one of his very best books.”

—Raymond E. Feist

“We have been invited to a grand feast and pageant: George R. R. Martin has unveiled for us an intensely realized, romantic but realistic world.… If the next two volumes are as good as this one, it will be a wonderful feast indeed.”

— Chicago Sun-Times

“I would be very surprised if this is not the major fantasy publishing event of 1996, and I’m already impatient for the next installment.”

— Science Fiction Chronicle

“A colorful, majestic tapestry of characters, action and plot that deserves a spot on any reader’s wall … the pages seem to pass in a blur as you read.”

—Albuquerque Journal

“George Martin is assuredly a new master craftsman in the guild of heroic fantasy.”

—Katharine Kerr

“ A Game of Thrones offers the rich tapestry that the very best fantasy demands: iron and steel within the silk, grandeur within the wonder, and characters torn between deep love and loyalty. Few created worlds are as imaginative and diverse. George R. R. Martin is to be applauded.”

—Janny Wurts

“A dazzling fantasy adventure … with a great cast of characters that weave a tapestry of court intrigue, skullduggery, vicious betrayal and greathearted sacrifice.”

—Julian May

“Terrific, incredibly powerful, with phenomenal characterizations and exquisite writing.”

—Theresa Medeiros

“The characterization was superb, the story vivid and heartbreaking … when is the next one coming out?”

—Linda Howard 1R5oj7mUN0FYo35AbAEAykhCVYTdkBd/TK2pPNEQjX1pN9XltQ/oACzxotrmjl9H