I will not talk about the TV series in this post but soon I might because I love the casting especially of Jon Snow and Daenerys (haha! Fangirling). The show of course is based from the book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin.

"A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge."

"Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you." 

I'm sure most of you already know the plot of the series especially those who watch the HBO mini series. In case you don't, the story takes place in a land called Westeros where several families living there seems at war to claim power, control, justice and the iron throne. There are nine (9) great houses or families who are the primary players in the political, economic and military affairs of Westeros. The first book introduced histories of some of the families like House Stark, House Lannister and House Targaryen. The series is an epic fantasy novel that, if I'm not mistaken, the author is firm on ending with a seventh novel. The last published book is A Dance with Dragons which is the fifth book in the series.

I already had an idea of what this series is about before I started reading. I checked some reviews and a lot of my Goodreads friends rated the book with five stars. I was quite excited because I missed reading epic and historical fantasy novels. The last epic fantasy novel I think I read was Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay which I really liked. From then on, I look forward to reading such genre when it comes to novels and fantasy books. I understand the book is long! But that's an understatement because it's too long, monstrous! I didn't expect it would be an 800 plus pages book when I checked paperbacks in the bookstores. It's okay though. I'm not afraid of reading thick volumes. (Ayt, Harry Potter fans? ☺)

Alright, my thoughts about the book? (This is not a detailed review! haha Mind you, there are already lots of great reviews about the books in the series. This is just me telling you about my current favorite series. Oh yeah, not a review... haha) It is epic like its genre! Quite boring sometimes. Took me two weeks to finish but not because of lack of interest. I liked the amazing plot and characters. Strong female characters are also present which I really liked. But what drove me to really finish the book are the character development and the themes of love, sexuality, violence, revenge, politics, justice, honor and fantasy. The chapters are presented with various points of view that I think make it easier for readers to understand what's going on with different characters in different settings. My favorite characters are Daenerys, Jon Snow, Arya, and Tyrion, the Imp. The only drawback for me is when the author killed an important main character. He developed an outstanding character then killed it! What? I heard about the habit of the author of killing off characters, major or not. The thing is I didn't see that coming. It disappointed me. But overall, the story is incredible. I highly recommend it. If you haven't watched the TV series yet or read the books, then you are already left out of this epicness! Seriously, read the books then watch the TV series later. Books before movies or tv shows right? ☺