A Game of Thrones
New York, Bantam Books, (August) 1996.
1 vol. (160 x 235 mm) of 663 pp. Paperback, in publisher’s illustrated dust jacket and slipcase.
An ‘Advance Reading Copy’ intended for specialist booksellers and critics, entirely out of trade, issued as a pre-original, uncorrected copy.
Signed by George R.R. Martin.
We apologize for the imperfect translation generated by Deepl for the purposes of the show.
Winterfell stands, majestic fortress of the North and capital of House Stark. It is from here that Lord Eddard Stark must set out to answer the call of his friend, now King of the Seven Crowns, Robert Baratheon. The fate of his king – the fate of the master of the Iron Throne and the continent of Westeros – is in danger: in the North, dark beings are on the prowl, and on the other side of the Wall and its Night’s Watch, winter is coming… Readers enter A Game of Thrones with a relatively long prelude, in which members of the Night’s Watch come face to face with supernatural beings – and this is the only real fantasy element to be found for almost 500 pages, since the first instalment of A Song of Ice and Fire is so similar to a historical saga such as Maurice Druon’s Les Rois maudits – which George R. R. Martin clearly admits to having been inspired by.
He began writing it at the end of 1995, and within a few months had produced an enormous manuscript of 1,200 pages, which he managed to condense into a first volume, ready at the beginning of the summer: a tour de force, given the number of characters and plots in this first volume. ‘When you play the game of thrones, you must win or perish, there’s no middle ground‘: the tone is set, and the various courts and factions are veritable snakes’ nests, each one seemingly more devious than the last, with dangers as plentiful as they are unexpected. Boundless imagination combined with the precision of a watchmaker: this is what made the novel such a success when it was published, and it was sent to a number of specialist reviewers in the summer of 1996. The reviews were rave reviews, and the success was immediate.
A very rare pre-publication press copy, one month before the official publication and distribution of the book.
Perfect condition.
