I've read this book without knowing there even was a TV series named "Game of Thrones" (although the show had already had its second season). It was a Christmas present by my grandmother, and after reading the first hundred pages or so, I was so bored and confused by the amount of characters that I decided to put it back on my book shelf. 
 Well. And then I started again. I don't know why I did so, but then it somehow managed to enthrall me from the very beginning. Meanwhile, I've read all the books and watched all five TV seasons (and, seriously, season 3, 4 and 5 were bullshit), so I now have a different point of view about this book than I had before. 
 The first 200 or 300 pages were mostly about introducing this huge story to the reader, characterizing the protagonists and delving deeper into their souls. I can understand everyone who disliked this, but it's a story not only about a huge fantasy world, but also - and primarily - about characters. Characters I grew to love or love to hate. Actually, the only one I'm constantly annoyed by is Jon Snow, an opinion which has only been supported by Kit Harrington's portrayal in the TV series. However, he does have one of the most interesting stories of the entire book series. 
 The World of Ice and Fire has become a fantasy world of its own, full of huge history and interesting characters, with fascinating locations and cultural aspects. I love discovering cities like Oldtown or castles like Winterfell, the medieval feeling, but also other cultural influences which participated in creating the Essos part, e.g. Braavos, Meereen or Qarth (although they only appear in later novels). And seriously, Martin's characters are awesome. I can relate to every single one of them (apart from Jon, as aforementioned). I don't like each character, yet it's not a question of how much I like them, but how well I can identify with them and if I understand their motivations - and this I do. 
 GRRM's way of structuring his books is very matching, but his writing style still feels kind of annoying. It wouldn't be that interesting to read his novels if not for his characters or his world, because he really isn't the best writer in creating emotional scenes. There were a lot of times which had me feel like "and when did they really mourn or miss each other?", especially with the Stark family. I've been struggling between rating it with four or five stars, but I think the second and third book were a lot better than the first, so I decided to rate it with four stars. It's still a good read, but not as exciting as "A Clash of Kings" or "A Storm of Swords". (Edit: Rounded up to 5 stars. This is a book I keep thinking of as the best introduction to a fantasy series I ever read.)