Hercules40 (a.k.a. PapaG) (USA: AL) (2008/12/02): This is the older cover. angie (USA: TX) (2012/10/05): This series has been on my reading list for years. When the HBO series came out, I read about it in Entertainment Weekly, but refused to see it. Finally bought the book in an airport.
It is amazing. Riveting. Everything you've heard and more. It's also descriptively gory. There's a huge cast of characters and detail woven throughout and the story is told from the points of view of several key characters.
I was frequently the last one off the train because I was right in the middle of a good part and couldn't bear to put it down!
