Congrats, I'm so happy for you. Finally, everything is as it's supposed to be :)

OK, so an actual, real comment, instead of me and babyraven getting all navel-gazey about being loooong-time fans. Congratulations, George! Have a lovely holiday with good company and good food. (roast gorilla, perhaps?)

A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings have both recently been in the top 20 books listed in the local newspaper (south of England) and I noticed that they were also on the Waterstones bookstore's top 50 on their website as well.

Congratulations, and happy Fourth to you, as well!

Congrats!!

Having recently read all four, well deserved! Cannot wait until Dance With Dragons!

I can remember in 1999 shopping at the Jack London Square Barnes and Noble in Oakland. "Clash of Kings" had just come out in hardcover. What made me buy the book was a little one sheet about why there was a delay of three years or so between books. From what I recall of the one sheet, the second book almost didn't get written. I made my purchase right there. Always wanting to start a series from the beginning, I ordered the hardcover of "Game of Thrones" from the store. Who would've known that I would be getting a first edition of this book three years after its publishing at cover price. I say this to corroborate your musings about not being a bestseller above. Now those books, along with the other two in the series, are some of the most well read pieces in my library. Congratulations and thank you for creating a realm based on characters who seem to follow their own self-interests, helping readers like me understand that even their most hated characters have logical reasons for their actions.

Congrats, George!

(P.S. your books/your godliness will always be Number One in my heart if SanSan gets some good, hard reality. Sansa needs some grounding in reality and Sandor needs love. THEY NEED EACH OTHER. That is all )

<3 Isobel

A very deserving distinction! I've been a fan of yours since I picked up the mass-market "Fevre Dream" all those years ago. I hope you make piles of money, and piles more of new fans. Well done, Ser.

Now, now ... Clifford's a very nice dog, I'm sure he and Emily Elizabeth will be glad to share the spotlight with you!*grins*

Congrats on crowding the list!!

I expect that DWD will shoot to #1 like nobodies business :)

Congratulations, you deserved it!

Congratulations! I used to work at a bookstore and actually have an advanced reading copy of Game of Thrones but it took nudging from a friend to actually get me to read it. I'm so glad I did. Can't wait till you come to Indy in a few weeks.

Not being a fantasy reader, the supernatural prologue put me off... I shelved it for a couple of years til I was at a loose end, book-wise. Then the viewpoints sucked me in and I was telling everyone about A Game of Thrones.

The sparing use of the supernatural gave me a gentle helping hand into the genre. I think the balance of power in stories is such a delicate thing. I would sooner read about Tyrion and his complexities than of dragons bathing armies in fire.

I appreciate it is ultimately a song of Ice and Fire and many would disagree with me... but I love the game of thrones. I would play it til and unsullied or the others came a-knocking... and then I would pretend I wasn't home.

To what extent do you attribute the success of the books to the sparing use of traditional magical elements? I feel - despite the slow start you mention - it allowed you a larger potential fan base. It kept the power of the story firmly in the hands of the biggest potential monsters out there - people!

My daughter turned me onto the series on HBO and then of course I had to read books to see how close the series were to the original (remarkably close) and if there was something else that I could learn. It has been a non stop adventure. The style of writing is amazing, something that I could describe only as old English with a modern tri-state area twist. I have been searching for years for a good fantasy read, I have read a lot of fantasy fiction back in high school in the former USSR, but in the US, it was difficult to find something truly magnificent. I could not get into LOTR or the Harry Potter, most of the fantasy fiction followed one character who always came out on the top and that was the only way to keep any series going. You have done something so magnificent, not being afraid to kill off major characters to give depth to suffering of those who loved them, and still the story moves forward and reader becomes more entrapped and captivated to find out how would the life go on without those loved ones. Amazing! I can not wait for a book signing in NY on the 14th (am I right?), I want my own dedication and I already know what it will say.
Hope you had a great holiday!

This is my favorite book (series) ever you deserve it!

Very well deserved George! I have really enjoyed all of your books. Just pre-ordered DANCE and I will be very happy to see that book make the TIMES bestseller list as well.

After years and years of trying to get my friends to read the books (often succeeding, often not), I'm happy to see that the series is finally getting the attention it deserves! I hope everyone who watches the show picks up the books too, but even if they don't I'm still glad that so many more people have been able to enjoy the story.

It was the recommendation of a friend that got me started. We played D&D together and both read scifi and fantasy. He told me about this great new book that he had just read and highly recommended I pick it up... as long as I didn't mind starting a series with only the first book out (yeah, my Game has the shiny silver cover). I have eagarly awaiting each new book, tho this month is the first time I have ever scheduled a vacation just to read a book.

oh that's awesome! congrats!

RJ's ACOS had just published earlier that year in 1996. Once I finished that, I was starving for more long-ass fantasy series, the ones where the books had at least 500 pages. I was attracted by the very shiny, silver color of this new book called "A Game of Thrones". I have re-read that book yearly (actually the paperback version) since then. Thank you so much for the joy you bring me every year.

I was also a fan of "Beauty and the Beast". Sadly, I never paid attention to who wrote TV series back then. I remember being able to sum up that series as "lyrical".

Thank you thank you thank you! And a well-deserved congratulations.

Congrats! I expect to see "Dance" on that list this month!

Aw, congrats! You deserve it. I just introduced two more friends of mine to the TV series last night, and they loved it. I'll keep roping them in for you!

I'd pick you over Clifford any day. :)

I wish I'd heard about the series when it first came out. At least I got in under the wire before I knew about the HBO show... not that there'd be anything wrong with that... And introducing me to Game of Thrones is one good thing that a potentialmaybebutsortanot boyfriend has left with me. :)

Congratulations! That's a great accomplishment.

I personally purchased Game of Thrones in paperback 4 times in the past couple months to share with friends and encouraged a few more who bought on their Kindles. I love the series so I'm glad to share. Keep up the great work GRRM, I can't wait for Dance!

Good things come to those who wait, eh? :)