Martin, George R. R.  
  
  
    "Long ago
 in a time forgotten
 a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime
 trouble is brewing. The cold is returning
 and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell
 sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell
 a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty
 here is a tale of lords and ladies
 soldiers and sorcerers
 assassins and bastards
 who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots
 tragedy and betrayal
 victory and terror
 the fate of the Starks
 their allies
 and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance
 as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones."--