Book · 1996
A Game of Thrones
by George R. R. Martin
Ned Stark's family gets pulled into a succession war for the Iron Throne while an unkillable winter creeps south.
What does Reddit think of A Game of Thrones?
r/Fantasy owns 13477 of this book's 19018 mentions, and increasingly the conversation isn't about Ned Stark or Winterfell; it's about George R.R. Martin himself. The top-upvoted excerpt (↑1679) is a parody of Martin waking up to fan pressure, "dark wings, dark words" and all — the joke format is itself the review. Multiple threads (↑1666, ↑1051) push back on lumping Martin with Brandon Sanderson just because both write long, popular, unfinished-adjacent series; one commenter calls wanting Sanderson to finish it for him "wild." The cultural-touchstone framing shows up unprompted too: one comment (↑973) puts the series alongside Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter as fantasy's "Big Three," company that gets granted, not argued for. Even the Jaime/Cersei scene gets defended on plot grounds rather than dismissed as gratuitous (↑903). What's mostly absent from this sample: anyone actually relitigating whether the books are good. That argument seems to have ended years ago.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Succession war for the Iron Throne
- · George R.R. Martin's writing pace as its own fandom subject
- · The recurring Sanderson comparison as an irritant
- · Cultural status alongside Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter
Common praise
- + Gets grouped unprompted with Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter as fantasy's "Big Three," company that doesn't need arguing for (↑973).
- + The Jaime/Cersei scene gets defended as plot load-bearing rather than dismissed as filler (↑903).
- + Even the parody threads about Martin's pace (↑1679) function as affectionate ribbing, not abandonment; people are still invested enough to joke about it.
Common criticism
- − The dominant live complaint isn't about the books, it's about the wait; multiple threads treat "when will it finish" as the actual topic (↑1679, ↑1666).
- − Commenters push back specifically on fans wanting Brandon Sanderson to finish the series for Martin, which implies real frustration with the pace even where the pushback wins the argument (↑1666).
- − One comment complains about ASOIAF-versus-GoT acronym confusion going unexplained in threads, a small but real barrier for newer readers (↑871).
Who it's for
You don't mind waiting years for the right ending over a rushed one — that's the exact fight happening in this data, and r/Fantasy defends Martin's pace even while joking about it. New to fantasy and only know it as "the Game of Thrones books"? Expect people to assume you know what ASOIAF stands for; one commenter specifically complains when others don't spell it out (↑871). If graphic content is a dealbreaker, know that scenes like Jaime and Cersei's get defended here as plot-necessary, not filler you can skip past.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
- r/Fantasy 13,477
- r/suggestmeabook 3,183
- r/booksuggestions 1,508
- r/printSF 370
- r/RomanceBooks 244
- r/YAlit 145
- r/horrorlit 64
- r/TrueLit 28
Which Reddit comments matter for A Game of Thrones?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“George R. R. Martin awoke to the sound of the old Maester knocking at the door. A raven had arrived, he said, bearing dark news. Dark wings, dark words, George thought, clambering out of bed like a crab. He misliked all of this. Winter was coming, and good news were scarce, George knew. "The fans…
“Sanderson and GRRM have completely different writing styles and vibes imo, I dont know why people compare them beyond being popular fantasy authors. People wanting Sanderson to finish ASOIAF is wild to me too.
“I know Brandon is joking but the main reason they went to George was because Miyazaki is personally a huge fan, having read a lot of George's works outside of ASOIAF. He even recommended Fevre Dream to all his employees since he liked it so much
“People like to lump GRRM and Pat together because they both have insanely popular (and notoriously unfinished) series, but I honestly view them differently. GRRM is admittedly a procrastinator and a people pleaser, and seems to also perhaps have some ADD. He’s very upfront and humble about his iss…
“I spent ages researching this a few years ago and came up with the following: 1. *Varney the Vampire* (1845) by James Malcolm Rymer & Thomas Prest: 667,000 words 2. *Atlas Shrugged* (1954) by Ayn Rand: 645,000 (you may argue about whether it's SFF or not, but it's listed in *The Encyclopedia of Sci…
“Maybe an unpopular opinion but I usually don't want to actually read sex scenes in fantasy unless they're important to the plot (like the Jaime/Cersei one at the start of ASOIAF that kicks off a major plot arc for example.) I've read so many deeply awkward fantasy sex scenes it's put me off. If I w…
“It’s a very popular series that many people love and many people dislike/dnf. Personally I’ve taken asoiaf off of any of my lists, if Harriet can get the WoT finished after RJ literally dies I can’t in good conscience recommend a series that a living author has given up on finishing. The slog is …
“The only one that stood a chance would have been if GRRM finished ASOIAF, nailed the landing, and did it before/during the TV run so the show finished on a high note. That didn't happen, so there isn't any modern fantasy that will be considered on the same level as LOTR.
“The Ancient Advanced Civilisation. I don't care if it's Numenor or Lindon in LotR, Valeria in ASoIaF, Dwemer and Ayleids in Elder Scrolls, Protheans in Mass Effect... just love me an ancient civilisation.
“*A Song of Ice and Fire*. There’s nothing worse than no ending at all.
“When it comes to nicknames GRRM is probably the best in the game. The Laughing Storm, the Young Wolf, Bittersteel, Bloodraven, Kingslayer, Lightning Lord, there’s so many awesome nicknames in ASOIAF. Like Gregor Clegane is a monster that should be locked away and never see sunlight again, but The Mo…
“My hot take on your hot take: ASOIAF will go down as a classic, KKC will get forgotten.
“**Last King of Osten Ard** and **Age of Madness** have been great ongoing series without much of a wait between entries. While I'm not about to give up reading ongoing series, I do wish that I had gotten to read **The Winds of Winter** and **A Dream of Spring** when I was a more passionate **ASOIAF…
“A Song of Ice and Fire. Love the books, but can't seem to finish the series. Same with the Kingkiller Chronicles.
“The list placements of both ASOAIF and Kingkiller Chronicle have suffered over the last decade as people have accepted that both series are unlikely to ever have an ending. They are still featured on many lists, but 10 years does take a toll. Kingkiller Chronicle is harder hit by this (and rightfu…
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Readers also mention
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Guides featuring A Game of Thrones
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
A Game of Thrones — frequently asked
Will A Song of Ice and Fire ever actually be finished?+
Nobody in this data claims to know, and the joke has become the discussion itself. The top-upvoted excerpt (↑1679) is a parody of George R.R. Martin waking up to fan pressure. Elsewhere, commenters explicitly reject the idea of Brandon Sanderson finishing it for him (↑1666), which suggests patience for Martin specifically, not just for a conclusion.
Is A Song of Ice and Fire really comparable to Brandon Sanderson's work?+
r/Fantasy pushes back on this pairing directly. One comment (↑1666) says the two authors have "completely different writing styles and vibes" and finds it strange that people keep lumping them together just because both write long, popular series. The comparison gets made constantly and rejected just as often.
Does Reddit consider A Song of Ice and Fire one of fantasy's essential series?+
Yes, treated as settled rather than argued. One comment (↑973) places it alongside Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter as the genre's "Big Three," the three names a random person would recognize if fantasy came up at all, without hedging that claim.
Is the sexual content in A Song of Ice and Fire considered gratuitous?+
Not per the one directly relevant excerpt here. A commenter who says they generally dislike sex scenes in fantasy specifically exempts the Jaime/Cersei scene, calling it plot-important since it "kicks off a major plot arc" (↑903). That's one opinion, not a sub-wide verdict, but it's the only judgment on the content shown in this sample.