Review: A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Narrator: Roy Dotrice
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Yes Book One of A Song Of Fire and Ice
Copyright: 2011(for audiobook recording only)
Publisher: Random House Audio
Buy: Amazon Audio or Amazon Book or 5-Book Boxed Set (Song of Ice and Fire series)

Summery:
This saga is told from the point of view of different characters. This time we followed members of the Stark family: Eddard the lord of Winterfell, his wife Catelyn, and their children Bran, Arya, Sansa, and Eddard's bastard son Jon. Danerys Targaryen who was forced to leave the King's Landing and the throne that is rightfully a Targaryen's before she was even born. Lastly, we follow Tyrion Lannister, dwarf from the family of the wife of the king. When the story starts there have been seven years of summer, and they are coming to an end. At the Wall, which protects the kingdom from the cold wasteland, they are beginning to see the effects of the end summer. At King's Landing the hand of the king has died. King Robert Baratheon comes to Winterfell to ask his old friend Eddard to be his new hand. What follows is full of adventure, plotting, treachery, and deceit.

Feelings:
I could not bring myself to read A Game of Thrones, but have really enjoyed listening to it. I had a hard time getting used to having a male read the voices of young women. Once I got through the first 3-4 chapters I started enjoying listening to Roy Dotrice reading. Something I really didn't appreciated was the night walkers or white walkers. For heaven's sake, they are just glorified zombies, so why not call them such. I have a personal aversion to zombies, and try to avoid them. However, I did like this book. I'm not sure if I will like the books when winter is in full force and night walkers roam free. I will note that the book felt really masculine to me, and I think that is part of the reason I had trouble actually reading the book. Listening to the book, some of the masculine language seem toned down a bit.

I really did enjoy this, and I would recommend it to others looking for something to listen to on a long drive. I would recommend that if you are female and have tried to read the book but couldn't,  go straight for the audio book, which is a much better choice. I will definitely be listening to the next book.

Review: The Haj by Leon Uris

Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: No
Pages: 544
Copyright: 1984
Publisher: Doubleday & Company, Inc.
Buy: Amazon

Summary:
This is from the point of view of a young Palestinian boy, Ishmael, the youngest son of Haj Ibrahim, the muktar of the small village of Tabah in the Ajalon Valley. The story follows Ishmael and his family through Palestine and Israel at the beginning of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The book also details the life of Gideon Asch, a Jewish settler to the settlement kibbutz. This is the story of the relationship between the Arabs and the Israeli settlers. It shows the struggles they go through as the conflict grows.

Feelings:
I think this is an important book for people to read. It details the beginning of the Arab-Israeli conflict from the point of view of a young Palestinian. It is rare to read about this perspective of the conflict. While most characters are fictional, there are some historical characters that play small roles in the story. They play more into the conflict than they do in the plot.

I found that I enjoyed reading this book slowly rather than fast. There is a lot to think about in the book. I highly recommend it.