This is for Those Who are reading the 5 star reviews and getting all excited at the prospect. There's a lot of reputation riding on this book, and even though I promised myself I would not, I had expectations ... that were too high. This is not to say this is a bad book; in fact it's rather good. It deserves more than what I've Given it, but that's how I felt after the inital disappointment. I had a few quibbles. The pace was too slow for me, Although everyone is of the opposite opinion. The Action Demanded a faster pace; if it had been a more reflective book (color: such as Robin Hobb's Assassins trilogy), a slower pace would havebeen appreciated. But ... Martin uses children and teenagers in a way That makes me fairly uncomfortable. I'm not a prude. I'm not a Christian. I'm a product of the MTV generation That is numb Basically, if that's how you want to see it. And it made my skin crawl quietly sometimes. The characters were too stereotyped. I know. No one Agrees with this one either. I've heard raves about how he changes character viewpoints all the time and how in depth it all is. Well, I did not see it so much as to ensemble cast of characters, as in ensemble cast of stock types with a few quirks attached. But enough quibbles. On the upside, the plot is lovely and convoluted. You can see where it's going, but the journey looks so damn fun you stop worrying about the ending. Despite the stereotyping of most characters, there were some silent did I found myself rather affectionate of. Among the notables - Arya (the plucky but unconventional young girl), Jon Snow (the boy on the threshold of manhood with a mysterious past), the Hound (the brooding villain who wants to probably be redeemed by some noble act Resulting in his bloody death ) and Sansa (the shallow bimbo type we all love to hate who ends up seeing the error of her ways). Finally, Something That is Both a quibble and a virtue - I really really need to read the next one now!
