Brilliantly written, but bloody. It has become cliche that GRRM kills off anybody, including main characters. Nobody is safe, no guarantee of a happy ending. I think us die hard fans are morbidly curious about who might survive to the end. But the unpredictability is part of the attraction.

That, I am prepared for lol

I read the existing books back to back, non stop. I loved them, and didn't care if there were a few slow parts in the 4th one. Can't wait for the rest of the series to come out!

Hope they are all as good for you :-)

I don't find them bad, just stressful. I tend to avoid the books where anyone can die/suffer anytime, but for whatever reason I figured it was time to try it anyway. I'm hooked so far, but still stressed out about it.