title: A Game of Thrones: The Illustrated Edition: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book One
author:  George R. R. Martin 
description: "The major fantasy of the decade . . . compulsively readable."<i>Denver Post</i><br /><br />"We have been invited to a grand feast and pageant: George R.R. Martin has unveiled for us an intensely realized, romantic but realistic world."<i>Chicago Sun-Times</i><br /><br />"A Best Book of 1996: Martin makes a triumphant return to high fantasy . . . [with] superbly developed characters, accomplished prose, and sheer bloodymindedness."<i>Publishers Weekly</i>, starred review<br /><br />"A splendid saga . . . . Inventive and intricately plotted."<i>BookPage</i><br /><br /> "Magic . . . George R.R.Martin's first fantasy epic [is set] well above the norms of the genre."<i>Locus</i><br /><br />"Such a splendid tale and such a fantasticorical! I read my eyes out and couldn't stop 'til I finished and it was dawn."Anne McCaffrey<br /><br /><br /><i>From the Paperback edition.</i>
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  PRAISE FOR  
   **A GAME OF THRONES**
  
  “Reminiscent of T. H. White’s _The Once and Future King_ , this novel is an
  absorbing combination of the mythic, the sweeping historical, and the
  intensely personal.”
  
   _—Chicago Sun-Times_
  
  “I always expect the best from George R. R. Martin, and he always delivers. _A
  Game of Thrones_ grabs hold and won’t let go. It’s brilliant.”
  
  —Robert Jordan
  
  “Such a splendid tale and such a fantistorical! I read my eyes out.”
  
  —Anne McCaffrey
  
  “Martin makes a triumphant return to high fantasy . . . [his] trophy case is
  already stuffed with major prizes, including Hugos, Nebulas, Locus Awards and
  a Bram Stoker. He’s probably going to have to add another shelf, at least.”
  
  — _Publishers Weekly_ (starred review)
  
  “A vast, rich saga, with splendid characters and an intricate plot flawlessly
  articulated against a backdrop of real depth and texture.”
  
   _—Kirkus Reviews_
  
  “The keen and complex human characters and the convincing force of their
  surro