A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) [Paperback]

NEW Reduced to clear the odd minor cease to cover but perfectly readable

Paperback: 864 pages

by George RR Martin

A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of epic fantasy novels by American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the series in 1991 and the first volume was published in 1996. Originally planned as a trilogy, the series now consists of five published volumes (the fifth was published on July 12, 2011); a further two are planned. In addition there are three prequel novellas currently available, with several more being planned, and a series of novella-length excerpts from the main Ice and Fire novels; Martin announced on his 2011 national book tour that the first four prequel novellas, his "Dunk and Egg" series, will be collected into a book and published by Bantam Spectra after the fourth novella is first published in an original anthology he and Gardner Dozois are editing. One of these earlier excerpt novellas won science fiction's Hugo Award. The "Ice and Fire" series has been translated into more than 20 languages[1] and the fourth and fifth volumes reached the top of The New York Times bestseller lists in 2005 and 2011.[2] Overall, the series has sold more than seven million copies in the USA[3] and more than 15 million copies worldwide.[4]

The story of A Song of Ice and Fire takes place in a fictional world, primarily on a continent called Westeros but also on a large landmass to the east, known as Essos.[5] Most of the characters are human but as the series progresses others are introduced, such as the cold and menacing supernatural Others from the far North and fire-breathing dragons from the East, both thought to be extinct by the humans of the story.

The series is told in the third-person through the eyes of a number of point of view characters.