Oh and George RR Martin's series -- excellent. But, they aren't easy to get into at first. The format is one which switches perspectives, and frequently, so you get into one character and get into a rhythm, than pop, off to a different character for a while, and so on it goes. He rotates them in and out and it can be brutal in places. Bad thing is that the series is not done and there's such a gap between books now that I wonder how I'll ever remember what has happened. :(