A Song of Ice and Fire (1,2 and 3)

George R. R. Martin

I've probably spelled names wrong...sorry. Where to start? I first read book one (A Game of Thrones)after watching season 1 of the television series. I planned to read book two before the start of season two, and wound up reading books 2, 3, and currently, half of book 4. As there are synopses everywhere, I'll only be talking about my opinions.
First, generally, really amazing storytelling. As annoying as it can be sometimes to read a whole chapter of someone's thoughts which sound like they will turn everything to rights and make the world a better place only to die, it's in a way 'realistic.' Even the first guy to charge and die in a war had hopes and dreams, and I think George captures that (Although he focuses on Nobles). While I appreciate the twists and turns, it does get old after a few times of plot twists.
Book 1: Incredible action packed, and a lot happens: SPOILERS A boy gets pushed out of a window, the main character dies, and a rude bastard child, and unrightful heir from an awful family is on the throne. And Dragons were born across the narrow sea while in the North, the cold winds are rising, and the Other's seem to be waking from their sleep.
Now I read books 2 and 3 is quick succession so I'll try my best to keep them straight.
Book 2 wasn't very eventful, but I was able to read it more quickly because it was all new to me. It seemed to be a lot of set up. Rently, Robb, Dany, the Greyjoys, and Stannis all claim king-hood of some sort. Not much happens with the dragons. A few chapters but Dany is just wandering around and destroys some temple by accident kind of. Rently *spoiler* dies uneventfully, through Stannis's Witch's powers.
I never really liked the whole Stannis story line. Didn't really care much about the onion knight. We didn't really know anything about him from book 1 and book two opened with Stannis' Maester, who after a long chapter about how old he is, dies. But you have to admit, he has a stronger claim to the throne than Rently, so I put up with the chapters.
I had a harder time putting up with Theon's chapters, because he pretty much ruins everything and gains nothing. I don't remember if it was book 2 or 3 but he destroyed so much. I suppose, as everything happens for a reason in books(supposedly), then it was at least a way to get Bran across the wall, where he needs to go to be...trained, and to make sure that Sansa and Arya had no place to return to when they became in a situation to flee.
Book 3, compared to book 2, was AMAZING. Book 2 seemed like nothing happened compared to book 3. Book 3 really get's back to the heart of the series where no one is safe and being smart and noble isn't a guaranteed win. Also, a lot more happens in the North, with the wildlings trying to get across the wall, running from the Others. Sam kills an other using an obsidian dagger, which was amazing. So happy when the weak do something useful. Book 3 reminded me why I was reading this series. Dany does some amazing things and I have pretty much nothing bad to say about book 3.
Book 4 threw me. It's in a different format than the first three books and I had a really hard time getting into it. Were faced with more new characters, 3 or 4 people from the Iron Islands, and 3 or 4 people from...oh I forget, the hot sandy place in Westeros...Where marcella is. Basically, a lot is happening, which I don't care about, and the characters I do care about seem to be non-existent. I do like book and really all of them for capturing Cersi's complete...insanity. She has a huge anger management problem. She, to use a phrase from the book, knows how the game is played, but she's trying to force the game into something else, one where she is Supreme ruler, and while she's good at it (Already being in power in the first place helped) but she's losing it. And I really really want to see her fail. She's not in control as much as she thinks she is, and that's intriguing.
I guess that's one of the series good points. Even though some characters seem to die without any point to their life or new characters being introduced too quickly, book 4 (or was it 3) from what little finger says, really got me thinking (And maybe I should have been thinking it in book 2, which is really been hit on the head in the tv series) that power isn't always where it seems. Cersi seems to be in power but...I'm sure there are a lot of people who could easily kill her when she no longer benefits their needs.
In conclusion to this...random, unfocused entry, A song of Ice and Fire is one of the best series I've read in a while. The last I read like it was the Engineer's trilogy and a lot of what I loved about that series is reflected in here, except the world of Westeros is so much more complex and it's not just a few characters calling the shots. One stupid character (*cough* Theon *cough*) could up and destroy everything, changing everything. It's quite a dynamic read. I recommend it. But...take your time reading it. The sequels take a while to come out apparently.