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"Winter is Coming!" I just finished George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones. Thrones is the first volume of a planned 6 series story arc that is sure to keep me reading for the foreseeable future! The prose is excellent and tThe writting is crisp. The characters fully developed and the action believable. This is Fantasy at its highest form. I don't know why it took 7 years to come to my attention!

From the Amazon.com Book Review:
Martin's Seven Kingdoms resemble England during the Wars of the Roses, with the Stark and Lannister families standing in for the Yorks and Lancasters. The story of these two families and their struggle to control the Iron Throne dominates the foreground; in the background is a huge, ancient wall marking the northern border, beyond which barbarians, ice vampires, and direwolves menace the south as years-long winter advances. Abroad, a dragon princess lives among horse nomads and dreams of fiery reconquest. There is much bloodshed, cruelty, and death, but A Game of Thrones is nevertheless compelling; it garnered a Nebula nomination and won the 1996 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel. So, on to A Clash of Kings! --Nona Vero

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