A Game of Thrones / A Clash of Kings / A Storm of Swords / A Feast for Crows / A Dance with Dragons (Song of Ice and Fire Series) (A Song of Ice and Fire) Set of 5 books, Pack of 5 Leather Bound – Box set, October 27, 2015

"Some say the world will end in fire,Some say in ice.From what I’ve tasted of desireI hold with those who favor fire.But if it had to perish twice,I think I know enough of hateTo say that for destruction iceIs also greatAnd would suffice."“Fire and Ice”Robert Frost, 1920George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is the story that we need to heed right now.Yes, this is a series with all of the trappings of high fantasy: including knights, fair maidens, sorcerers, giants, and dragons. But unlike most works of the genre, the tropes don’t allow a satisfying escape from the frustrations of the modern world. Instead, they help readers explore character motivations, cultural norms, and political predicaments that speak to our own experiences in life.Martin is well read in history, and many details in his books are inspired by real events and peoples from the Middle Ages. Despite his attention to detail, reenactment is not what motivates him to tell his tale. When discussing his priorities as an author, Martin has repeatedly paraphrased Faulkner, saying: “the only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself.” Indeed, the characters of the story are often challenged by wrenching moral dilemmas, and the choices they make have powerful consequences for their lives and the lives of others. The historical details are a means to teach us about ourselves, and about humanity at large.Accordingly, the conflicts of the story are not just internal. War and political skirmishes feature prominently in A Song of Ice and Fire, as they have in human history. Martin has cited Robert Frost’s poem “Fire and Ice” as an inspiration for his series, and its vision of destruction at the hands of human passion and cruelty epitomizes the challenges faced by the people of Westeros and Essos. Martin himself is a conscientious objector who considers most of the wars of history to have been unnecessary and disastrous ventures. His pacifism is not absolute (he has stated that some wars are necessary, such as World War II), but he nevertheless thinks it is important to consider very carefully the costs of war, without minimizing the spectacular power that military pageantry can have on a people.The titular “ice” and “fire” subtly evoke our collective capacity for rage and desolation, but more obviously they serve as the framing supernatural conceits of the series. Like in many horror stories, the people of Martin’s otherwise realistic setting are caught unawares as inexplicable forces awaken to encroach upon their safety and normalcy. Unlike most horror stories, though, this supernatural presence enters in the midst of heated squabbles, betrayals, atrocities, revolutions, and escalating warfare across the human world. The question that the series lays down is: can we ultimately look beyond our deep grievances and band together against the forces that threaten us all, before it is too late?The central threat is introduced at the very beginning of the story: a mysterious race of beings slowly moving from the permanently frozen lands of the North into Westeros and beyond. Unlike the buggers of Ender’s Game, these are not misunderstood victims of a prejudiced perspective; these are inscrutable, cruel beings capable of extinguishing all life and warmth from the earth. Yet for most of the chapters of Martin’s novels, “the Others” remain but an ominous suggestion, blithely dismissed as a story until it is too late.As this doom approaches, supernatural forces are stirred throughout the lands, allowing certain individuals to foresee future events, to inhabit the bodies of other beasts, to raise the dead, and (representing fire) to awaken living dragons. The people of Westeros and Essos react to these phenomena much as we would react to them: with disbelief, horror, or with religious awe. Yet these spectacular forces do not help any characters in their quest to save themselves from the coming apocalypse—in many cases, they introduce more problems for those who wield them than they do solutions. What can ultimately save the human race from complete obliteration is not any mystical power or prophecy, but a moral vision to unite disparate peoples against the forces that threaten stability from within and without, and the courage to act upon that vision. This is the central human challenge.Given the enormity of this challenge, the scope of the story is necessarily massive. Martin has an extraordinary gift for portraying how factions converge and clash, and how societal and ecological factors shift and interact over time to create a roiling stew of chaotic cultural systems. But, importantly, the feel of “A Song of Ice and Fire” is intimate rather than omniscient. Each chapter provides events from only one character’s perspective, in a tightly limited third person style. From each point of view, internal thoughts are explored, as are memories, dreams, and visions. Martin uses this grand mosaic of subjective snapshots to establish how well-meaning people can end up committing terrible deeds (knowingly or not), how information is easily distorted, ignored, or used to feed competing moral narratives; how the present is haunted by the past; and how the personal realm feeds the political. The ruminative, reflective approach lends a sense of tragedy to the cataclysmic events of the story, rather than simple sensational drama.And, of course, the richly realized lived experiences of these characters often challenge the cliches of epic fantasy and hero narratives. Such subversions are not for the sake of postmodern cynicism, however, but instead to highlight what Martin thinks we humans should be lauding as heroic in a world as epically complicated as our own.The struggles of life can be bleak, confusing, and seemingly without end. Those who persevere in the face of crushing adversity or numb uncertainty are not always rewarded for their actions, but their efforts are important all the same. A Song of Ice & Fire is a poignant hymn of praise to the brave souls who have looked past their everyday human struggles of pride or power and fought for something far more precious. Life. Hope. Stability. A viable future for the coming generations.Also: love. And compassion. And kindness. The TV adaptation never really gets into that.

They have small print but are still beautiful and readable. I love the set!!

Purchased this set for my son's Christmas gift. As a long-time fan of the TV series, he was overjoyed! The last I heard, he was devouring the books in his spare time.

Beautiful covers, quality book. Compact but easily readable, comes with map on first two pages.

I wear a size small or medium in latex gloves for reference. I bought the mass-produced paperback set and got the updated covers. The book set came in plastic wrap. Save for a few dings here and there, and some thin ass pages, the quality is worth what you're paying forI'd bet my hat that the 66$ paperbacks are normal sized books; this would explain the 1000 page difference in page count

These are frickin awesome omfg

Just as expected, love the look of the leather. Only thing I would say is that the print in the book is quite small and clumped together so don’t get if u have bad eyesight.

Great