"Song of Ice and Fire" series by George R R Martin

I posted some of this info in a Lord of the Rings thread a while back, but I wanted to start a dedicated thread on these books.

Has anyone ever read any of the "Song of Ice and Fire" series by George R R Martin? The books are "A Game of Thrones", "A Clash of Kings", "A Storm of Swords", "A Feast for Crows", and he is working on the next book right now.

It's a very good fantasy series that is very different from LOTR or other fantasy that I have read. The world he creates is really interesting. The magic is not so much in your face the way it is with so many other fantasy books --- it's more in the background and usually kind of sinister and mysterious. It has more of the feel of a historical novel about war and politics in medieval times, with different noble famlies fighting it out, but it is an imaginary world and there are some magical elements. The characters are more complex than in LOTR, with everyone having both good and bad aspects and complex motivations. It's also a lot more graphic than LOTR, with murder, rape, torture and all kinds of other more adult-themed stuff. It's very different from LOTR, but I highly recommend it.

great epic fantasy. my favorite series. i was disappointed with book four, mianly because it only had half the characters. then martin said that's because it would have been too long to print, then here i am three fucking years later and no part two of book four. ive forgotten everything that happened in the series. i am going to have to read an online summary by the time book five actually comes out. i really hope it includes every characters. the imp missing really really held back feast for crows.