First and foremost it not original, it follows a bleak version of fantasy that been around for a very long time." A war of the Roses" where magic at this point in the book magic may, or may not be nothing more then stories. Now that does not mean I did not enjoy. I did enjoy and will recommend it to people who have only watched the show.
I like the world that Mr Martin, has written and the charterers that he has set up for a long story. And I am not about to stop reading till the end. Sometime it does seem a bit long winded to just get to the great parts of the stories. I may feel this way due to the fact I don't read Fantasy books very often and if you can not tell a complete and wonderful story in 800 pages you need to get a better editor.