A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R. R. Martin

I am not ashamed to admit that it takes me about 2 to 3 weeks to read each book in this epic fantasy series, because each tome is really heavy (literally and story-wise) and clock in at around 800 pages (on average)!  And George R. R. Martin has not even finished writing them. These books are excellent, and you do not have to like fantasy in order to enjoy reading them.  However, they are strictly for the 16-17 and up audience, and even then I would tread cautiously; just because I myself have been reading the books since I was 16 does not mean that everyone can or should.  These stories have everything in it, and by that I mean everything.  There are many themes and situations that may be disturbing to some readers.  The series is basically about a country on the edge of war; a usurper king has an unstable rule over the seven lands of Westeros, and plots and intrigues are rife throughout the kingdom and across the sea in the Eastern lands.  Triggering events pit people against each other even as new bonds are forged and old ones are renewed.  The story is told by various different characters, and the relationships among the different families and the histories of this world are vast and complex.  At a certain point, the reader just has to “go with it” and keep the books near at hand in order to refer to them about previous events.  Great storytelling and complex characters make for an engrossing, thrilling read!