Book-a-book of the Month Club discussion

Discuss the story/plot here

I have yet to see what about this book makes this appeal to non-fantasy fans. I am guessing it is mainly a result of the TV show. This book is good, but SOOOOOOO fantasy. And, not even "fun" fantasy, just dark courtly politics and battles.

I am enjoying this, but when someone says "I don't even like fantasy, but I love A Game of Thrones", I can now officially say that I don't get it!

Matthew wrote: "I have yet to see what about this book makes this appeal to non-fantasy fans. I am guessing it is mainly a result of the TV show. This book is good, but SOOOOOOO fantasy. And, not even "fun" fantas..."


I think those people must also like historical fiction because that's what this reads like to me. Yes, it's way fantasy, but it also reads like a Philippa Gregory, Margaret George, Colleen McCullough or David McCullough. The historical (even though it isn't!) detail is fantastic. Martin really paints a picture of the world.

Kandice wrote: "Matthew wrote: "I have yet to see what about this book makes this appeal to non-fantasy fans. I am guessing it is mainly a result of the TV show. This book is good, but SOOOOOOO fantasy. And, not e..."

Interesting - I am generally a historical fiction fan, so I will have to check out those authors.

I don’t know if you guys know this, but this series was based on the events of the War of the Roses. Lannister = Lancasters, Starks = Yorks. I don’t know enough about the English royal history to enjoy that aspect, but I’ll venture it’s one reason why it feels like historical fiction.

To be honest, I like that it has a mix of historical fiction in it. I enjoy political intrigue in a fantastic setting better than either genre on its own.

Michelle wrote: "I don’t know if you guys know this, but this series was based on the events of the War of the Roses. Lannister = Lancasters, Starks = Yorks. I don’t know enough about the English royal history to e..."

Now that you mention that, it sounds familiar. It makes a lot of sense too, because the political maneuvering seems so realistic, it really feels like history instead of fantasy.

Matthew wrote: "Interesting - I am generally a historical fiction fan, so I will have to check out those authors...."

I love, love, love historical fiction and they are some of the best! The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers is one of my all time favorite books. If you are at all interested, I can't recommend it enough.

Michelle wrote: "I don’t know if you guys know this, but this series was based on the events of the War of the Roses. Lannister = Lancasters, Starks = Yorks. I don’t know enough about the English royal history to e..."

Very cool! Thanks for the insight, Michelle!

Kandice wrote: "Matthew wrote: "Interesting - I am generally a historical fiction fan, so I will have to check out those authors...."

I love, love, love historical fiction and they are some of the best! [book:The..."

Added to my TBR - looks like quite a beast, though, at 900+ pages!

Thanks for the recommendation, Kandice!

I don't usually tell people to read my reviews, but in this case, there are no spoilers (if you don't know what happens already...) and I really gush about it!

Kandice wrote: "I don't usually tell people to read my reviews, but in this case, there are no spoilers (if you don't know what happens already...) and I really gush about it!"

Shameless self promotion! I LOVE IT! 😃😃😃😃😃

I am still working on this one.
I think because I already know what happened. It is easy for me to set it down and not grab it again.
I am about 40%. I am going to try to get going with it and get it done.

Vicki Willis wrote: "I am still working on this one.
I think because I already know what happened. It is easy for me to set it down and not grab it again.
I am about 40%. I am going to try to get going with it and ge..."

Good luck! I can definitely see this sort of thing happening if you already watched the show.

I don't know what to do with this. I am still at 40% and it is August. Obviously this isn't the book/series for me.
I do want to finish it. Not sure if I should try to read 20 pages a day til I am done, or not read anything else until it is finished.

What do you guys do in this situation? I am not the type of person to DNF, especially when I am a few hundred pages in.

Vicki Willis wrote: "I don't know what to do with this. I am still at 40% and it is August. Obviously this isn't the book/series for me.
I do want to finish it. Not sure if I should try to read 20 pages a day til I am..."

I made sure to read a chapter a day and that got me through pretty quickly.