Extremely well written. I never knew what to expect next, but it was smooth and not dramatic for the sake of drama. One of the best books I've read lately. Very well done!
I started reading after watching a few episodes of the HBO show Game of Thrones. The book was better, though the show was extremely well done in terms of staying true to dialogue and events. I enjoyed the detail and the way Martin writes. A lot of fantasy novels end up being dry or slow, and this book is neither. I noticed Robert Jordan praising this novel on the back cover and I laughed aloud because, though Jordan had a wonderful series, it was the slowest series I've ever read and I ended up stopping because it was so painful to continue. Martin has wrote the best fantasy novel I have read: an intriguing idea and well executed.