I voted for A Game Of Thrones. For those curious, Barnes & Noble's preview of A Game Of Thrones is quite large for a sample. I'd think Amazon would give a similarly large preview.
I was recommended this book awhile ago and read the preview then. I thought the first chapter/prologue was great and the rest of the preview was intriguing, but having had so many books to read at that moment, I decided to read this one a little later, and now would be a good time as part of the club. I especially love the idea of a world where seasons last years, so you may have years of, say, winter. Also, now that there is a television series based off of this book, it'd be interesting to read the book and then watch it.
dreams, thank you for providing a description for the book since I didn't in my nomination (and I've been meaning to say, I love your new avatar). I'd like to add another one that I think describes the book better for those unfamiliar:
Spoiler:
From a master of contemporary fantasy comes the first novel of a landmark series unlike any you’ve ever read before. With A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin has launched a genuine masterpiece, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill the pages of this magnificent saga, the first volume in an epic series sure to delight fantasy fans everywhere.
A GAME OF THRONES
A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE: BOOK ONE
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 forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. To the south, the king’s powers are failing—his most trusted adviser dead under mysterious circumstances and his enemies emerging from the shadows of the throne. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the frozen land they were born to. Now Lord Eddard Stark is reluctantly summoned to serve as the king’s new Hand, an appointment that threatens to sunder not only his family but the kingdom itself.
Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells 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; a child is lost in the twilight between life and death; and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear. Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the Starks hangs perilously in the balance, as each side endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.
Unparalleled in scope and execution, A Game of Thrones is one of those rare reading experiences that catch you up from the opening pages, won’t let you go until the end, and leave you yearning for more.
I've read Wicked and it's a good book. I've actually read a few different books by Maguire and Wicked is the only one I'd recommend. It was his first and best. If it wins though, I'm not interested in reading it since I already have.
As for the other nominations, I admit I haven't heard of almost any of them, not really being much of a fantasy reader, so I can only go by their descriptions here. The other two that caught my eye were The Winds Of Khalakovo and Stardust. The world in The Winds Of Khalakovo sounds intriguing and the story of Stardust sounds fun.