A Song of Ice and Fire
George R. R. Martin
26 people recommended it in 17 threads, 2011–2025.
What people on Hacker News said
Martin does a great job at building a fantasy world while keeping humans true to their human nature. The combination of morally ambiguous characters that follow their own motivations with the fog-of-war (in the sense of making decisions with incomplete information) sets the motion for a really intriguing plot.
Of course it's expected that the sub-plots have to be trimmed of the minutiae, but the complexity and ambiguity is part of what makes ASoIaF so amazing.
I never really liked fantasy but this series is wonderful.
A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1 - Great book, wonderful universe.
I find reading George R. R. Martin very easy, because it doesn't require analysis; but then, a friend of mine couldn't get through the first book of Song of Ice and Fire, because he found the vocabulary tedious.
And I really disliked all the fighting scenes from the show - in my mind they were so much cooler.
Where it comes up
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- Ask HN: What's your favorite book you've read? 2025 · 1 recommendation
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- Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021? 2021 · 1 recommendation
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- Ask HN: Best books you read in 2012 2012 · 1 recommendation
- The Best Science Fiction Books (According to Reddit) 2011 · 1 recommendation