Your favorite book of the 5

[The Imp]

Which did you like the best? You may, of course, post as to why you chose the book you did. There will be another thread to pick the LEAST favorite.

I hope this poll thingy works.

 

[soulsinging]

ASOS. The first two were pretty good but left me frustrated in a lot of ways and I almost gave up. But I soldiered on and even though I'd had some spoilers, ASOS blew me away. Loved Tyrion's revenge and Arya and the Hound as partners (brief as it was). The humanizing of Jaime was a joy to read... the scene where he loses his hand read as horrifying as if he'd been castrated. The battle at the Wall was almost as thrilling as the siege of King's Landing, maybe more so in that 300/Alamo sense of hanging on against tremendous odds. Petyr's wheeling and dealing was as intriguing as ever, and finally Sansa starts to open her annoying eyes and gets out of the castle. Not to mention justice for Joff. All around, I've rarely read a book that covered so many plots so ably as that one did.

Just wish I'd stopped there... because the magic has definitely dried up.

 

[Needle]

This was a tough choice. I finally settled on SoS, to me the most rewarding of the 5. It was hard not to go with aGoT because it is the on that started the addiction, had it not been great I would never have read further.

 

[The Imp]

This was a tough choice. I finally settled on SoS, to me the most rewarding of the 5. It was hard not to go with aGoT because it is the on that started the addiction, had it not been great I would never have read further.

I made the choice between those 2 and picked AGOT.

For me, AGOT was unlike anything I had ever read before. ASOS was probably a better book overall, but just for the sheer "amazingness" of the writing and story i went with the one that started the ball rolling.

 

[Gry Wnd]

ASOS

It's not remotely close.

The events/results that take place in that second half of the book:
Jon- Lord comander- and the fight at wall
Sansa- Lysa through moon door
Arya- kill the tickler after escaping red wedding-boat to Bravos
R/C -the red wedding
Dany- Beowas' hilarious fight, and the betrayel then Meerene sack
Davis - saves Edrick and tells Stannis then gets him to go to wall,
Joffrey - dies!
Tyrion- EVERYTHING! Every conversation he has with his father and Sansa, to the weddings, to the trial -the fight!- then the "thrum"

That right there is a 1000 unrelenting pages of entertainment, that you cannot stop reading. Best. Book. Ever.



Lord Tyson Lannister did not, in the end, **** gold

 

[Brian G Turner]

A Game of Thrones - set the scene, solidy written, progresses well, does not let you sit comfortable for a minute.

Was not keen on ACOK or ASOS as they spent a lot of time on characters who weren't actually doing anything within the original story arc defined in AGOT, ie, Arya and Dany - yeah, they're doing stuff, but none of it affected the main Westeros plotlines. (And things like the Red Wedding I read on chons before the book which completely spoiled the impact!) AFFC was far, far, too focused on peripheral characters IMO and showed the series lost.

Would rate ADWD second because it finally gives a sense of different characters and plotlines coming together, plus POVs are focused on main characters with minor ones for context.

 

[Ghost of Harrenhal]

A Game of Thrones - set the scene, solidy written, progresses well, does not let you sit comfortable for a minute.

Was not keen on ACOK or ASOS as they spent a lot of time on characters who weren't actually doing anything within the original story arc defined in AGOT, ie, Arya and Dany - yeah, they're doing stuff, but none of it affected the main Westeros plotlines. (And things like the Red Wedding I read on chons before the book which completely spoiled the impact!) AFFC was far, far, too focused on peripheral characters IMO and showed the series lost.

Would rate ADWD second because it finally gives a sense of different characters and plotlines coming together, plus POVs are focused on main characters with minor ones for context.

I would pretty much agree with this completely. I somehow managed to spoil the Red Wedding for myself too. Even so, I don't think ASOS was as perfectly timed and executed as AGOT and I have bad memories of ACOK being very cold and grim (I think it was the addition of Davos, the murder of Renly, Dany struggling to survive with a broken Khalasar, etc.). AGOT was definitely my favourite, AFFC was a chore for me to get through.

 

[Gry Wnd]

I would pretty much agree with this completely. I somehow managed to spoil the Red Wedding for myself too. Even so, I don't think ASOS was as perfectly timed and executed as AGOT and I have bad memories of ACOK being very cold and grim (I think it was the addition of Davos, the murder of Renly, Dany struggling to survive with a broken Khalasar, etc.). AGOT was definitely my favourite, AFFC was a chore for me to get through.

You are so both completely wrong I'm flabergated at your craziness. ASOS forever!

I get why "imp" can say the first of it's kind is better but damn you guys are nuts.

And I Bran you are the only one who thinks ADWD is second best..


Asos
Agot
acok
ADWD
Affc


Hands down

 

[X'Nedra]

ASoS gets my vote!

For all the reasons soulsinging and Gry Wnd outlined
I am a Dani fan so it was good to see her story progress heaps. The only disappointment is that little douche didn't suffer a more slow and painful death than he did - choking on poison is too good for him!

 

[Rykker]

My favorite part asos was the Nights Watch going beyond the wall, the battle on the Fist, the retreat and battle against the wildlings at the wall.

 

[redmeat]

I went for AGoT as I really enjoyed the Machiavellian machinations in that one, which seemed so absent from the rest of the series.

 

[Perpetual Man]

I chose AGoT as well.

It was the first in the series. It set the scene for what was/is to come.

It was different than virtually any other fantasy novel out there, in many ways grim and stark (if you excuse the pun).

The stunning removal of Ned from the board when it seemed as though he was the main character was almost like having your own head taken off. Right to the point the axe fell you just knew he was going to be saved and then... he wasn't.

More than anything else this showed what the series was going to be.

And although there were shocking events in later books, some making you re-read passages because you could not believe what you had just read, they were still not as shocking as that moment in AGoT because that was the moment when it was shown that anything could happen to anybody.

 

[xLORDSNOWx]

I voted ASOS because even though AGOT was a good book for all of the reasons already mentioned, ASOS made the "series" a classic, IMO.

 

[No One]

I voted ASOS because even though AGOT was a good book for all of the reasons already mentioned, ASOS made the "series" a classic, IMO.

Same here. AGoT is a close second and of course ASoS couldn't have been so great without the first two books, but there you have it.

 

[viZion]

I chose AGoT for the reasons Imp mentioned.

 

[Trey Greyjoy]

As others have mentioned; ASOS is when I realized I was reading something VERY special. When I saw that Jaime got a POV, I was blown away.

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

Definately ASOS for me. AGOT did get the ball rolling and had me saying 'Whoa, this is something totally different.' But ASOS is definately my favorite.

 

[cape_royds]

#1: Storm of Swords: Red Wedding, Jaime's redemption, Joffrey and Tywin assassinated, Viper vs. Mountain, events at the Wall and beyond. Excellent stuff.

#2: Game of Thrones. Bran out the window, Ned gets chopped, the wolves, the dragons.

#3: Clash of Kings. Might have rated higher, but I found some of Arya's wanderings a bit dull, and Daenerys spent way too much time stuck in Qarth. But Tyrion's reign as Hand was superb.

#4: Feast for Crows. This book has grown on me with repeated readings. The Jaime and Cersei chapters are very good. And I actually started to look forward to Sansa chapters.

#5: Dance with Dragons. Latest and least. I'm disgruntled with Aegon the Unlikeliest's unexpected arrival upon the scene. Daenerys is more stuck in Meereen than she ever was in Qarth. Over-long travelogues on the Rhoyne.

I'm hoping that this book also grows on me with repeated reading.

 

[Boaz]

Somehow I missed this thread before...

Although each book has great characters and memorable moments, A Game of Thrones is my favorite. Imp and Brian pretty much said it all... It is the foundation. It sets the pace. It is unapologetically different from Tolkien. It is low magic. It features an epic political struggle.

I love all of that, but when Jaime pushed Bran and Ilyn went for Eddard, I knew all bets were off. The traditional and well used formula was no longer in effect. And I know would not have liked it as much if I was thirty years younger. The themes are different from The Belgariad and Riftwar.

The introduction of Jaime's POV in ASOS and the explanations of his actions was the biggest moment of ASOS for me.. not Edmure's wedding nor Joffrey's. I will say that those were monumental chapters... Robb and Joffrey! But it was Jaime's realization that he was the villain of the story and his subsequent resolution to become the hero that captivated me. He is my favorite character. He's still not a hero, nor probably ever will be... but he's irresistably intriguing. He, alone, makes ASOS the second best book.

A Clash of Kings features Tyrion as the central character. Yes, Jon and Dany are important, but they're on the periphery and I figure they'll get to KL or the main action eventually. Tyrion runs the government and prepares against enemies within and without the capital... and finally, he commands the defense against Stannis. Plus, Catelyn's last chapter really begins the Jaime story... and it may be my favorite chapter in the series.

The fourth best is A Feast for Crows. It's not that the story stalled as much as people say, it's the fact that it only had one of my two favorite characters... Tyrion was omitted. And this was compounded by a plethora of new POVs in Dorne, the Iron Islands, and of Cersei. It is not that I disliked them, but it was a new investment of mental, emotional, and psychological energy that I was not ready to give. I knew the level of commitment for the first three books and I expected only one or two new POVs for AFFC... and I got at least seven, I think. Aeron, Areo, Arianne, Asha, Brienne, Cersei, and Victarion. But I must say that my second favorite chapter in the books is Brienne's fifth in AFFC... that is where Septon Meribald talks of broken men, outlaws and war. Powerful stuff.

The last book on my list is the latest book in the series. Even more new POVs and reintroductions of old POVs that have been missing since ACOK and ASOS. I fully believe it is the sheer number of POVs that slows down the story... It takes so long to get back to characters that it is impossible for me to keep it all straight. I'm excited about Connington and BFS getting POVs.

And yet, I have to say that the multiple references to bestiality was disturbing. Chiswyck's story of the Mountain's rape of the tavern girl in ACOK was disturbing too, but it was there to display the rapacity, depravity, and brutality of the Mountain and his men. But the bestiality did not accomplish this for Varamyr nor for Ramsay. I, for one, already detested Ramsay as a rapist, liar, murderer, torturer, thief, and complete sociopath... bestiality was unecessary. And in the case of Varamyr, he was supposed to be receiving sympathy from the readers and BAM! there was this mention of wolf mating.... I felt it was meant to be more titillating than enhancement of the character. I like dark fantasy, but not bestiality.