This book is refreshing. It really is. Perhaps not quite as refreshing as taking a dip into a cool mountain lake after a long hike, of course (though if they did offer a version of this book that came complete with its own mountain lake... aw, yeah... ), but it definitely stands out amongst other books.

Now the first questions that I'm sure you want to ask are "What makes this book so refreshing? Is it the plot? Is it the characters? Is it the cool, minty flavor?" (Okay, perhaps that would be the second set of questions that you ask, the first being: "What is this strange growth on the side of my head? Why does it glow like that? When will the mothership come and remove me from my misery?" Hmmmm.... well, that may only apply to me, so we'll just assume that you asked the original set of questions.)

Ha! Fooled you! You thought that I was going to answer those questions now, didn't you? But, no. Instead, I shall describe the plot (for those unaware of it by this point) and in doing so, increase your curiosity and suspense, as well as attempting to make sure that you will actually read this entire review. Now, onto the book! [Insert trumpet charge here.]

The bulk of the plot follows the Stark family, the father of whom, Eddard, is the Lord of Winterfell, the harsh northern realm of the kingdom. Near the beginning, the king, Robert (and Eddard's friend), asks Eddard to take the position of "the King's Hand" -- the second most powerful position in the realm -- after the previous Hand died under somewhat mysterious circumstances. Eddard's decision throws him and his family into plots, conspiracies, adventures, and anything else the author, George R.R. Martin wants, all while potential invasions (fitting this month's category! What timing!) seem to be brewing both in the land beyond the great northern wall as well as the land across the ocean.

So what makes this book so refreshing? (Oh, you knew I had to come back to that eventually.) The answer: you don't know what's going to happen. I found myself surprised many times the first time I read it. When one reads many books, particularly of this genre, patterns begin to emerge -- but Martin continually takes his characters in unexpected directions, thus keeping the reader interested, and even a little perplexed. Part of why Martin is able to keep the reader on his/her/its toes is that he has a great deal of different characters to follow, such as each of Eddard's children, among others, and each chapter in the book focuses on a different character than the one previous. Doing so makes the book somewhat disjointed at times, but overall, Martin is successful in weaving in and out of different subplots throughout the book, without losing sight of the big picture.

So did I like the book? You might be surprised to learn that I didn't... the first time I read it (and if you weren't surprised... well, I have a fragile ego, so please, at least pretend to be surprised. I'd really appreciate it). But that's actually a good thing, for I was so caught up in the characters that I both wanted and expected certain things to happen, and when the author did something unexpected, it annoyed me. But I was still able to respect the book, and read it a second time, almost a year after I first read it (and after reading Book 2 in the series). The second time around, I was able to appreciate what Martin had accomplished, and found that I liked the book much more than I originally did.

So do I recommend the book? Well, I would, but for one large issue. It will drag you into the story so much that you'll want to read the rest of the series. And that's a surprisingly difficult desire to satiate. You must be warned that the series isn't finished yet, and at this point, there is no way of knowing when it will (or even if, as that's a question on occasion, too). But if you're in the mood for a well-written, incredibly broad-scoped, epic fantasy series, this is one of the best available right now.

Besides, with the HBO series officially picked up for a second season already, Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire will only get more popular as time goes on. And wouldn’t you like to be able to say you know what’s coming?

(Oh, yeah. It’s Winter.)

   -- K. Burtt