Well 22 days after starting this behemoth I am finally finished. I heeded all the warnings and tried not to get too attached to any one character because I heard that George Martin would kill a character in a heartbeat. With that being said, sometimes I did find myself thinking "What's the point of the back story if the person is dead three pages later?" I just let it go and let the story take me away. You have to suspend a little bit of disbelief. For instance, apparently in this world siblings can procreate with one another and their kids have no genetic defects. *shrug* I do love these pseudo-historical, political, adventure stories, though, so I just filed my medical knowledge in the back of my brain and kept on reading. I don't know if I will finish the entire series because it will definitely take a substantial time commitment. I may just have to read one book from the series per year because I'm not sure if I'm ready to invest that kind of time in 2013.
I'm late reading this book so I think most people already know the synopsis, but basically the title tells you what it's about. A fight for who is the right and just king of the realm. Who should rule from the Iron Throne? Within the battle for the throne there are a million subplots and side stories. This story truly has it all. Love, betrayal, war, murder, sex, child abuse, castles, mystical animals, knights, incest, kings, queens, and even zombies (although they aren't called zombies in this context). I can't even begin to discuss the intricacies in the book, but if you have some time to dedicate to the series I would recommend it.
EDIT: Okay I just read the synopsis for the rest of the books on Wikipedia. I just don't see myself dedicating the time needed to the seven book series. I couldn't even get through all of the Kushiel books so who am I kidding? The only seven book series I read in its entirety was Harry Potter. Let's keep it real.
