A few years ago, I was a passionate fan of the series, I must admit. I have read almost all of the classical "Fantasy" books in the 90's.
Back then, it was cool to read all the Lord of the Rings rip-offs, Wheel of Time, many AD&D books, Dragonlance, Shannara, and many others. But as I grew older, those cliche's didn't work any more and I began to yawn when I walked along the shelves of many libraries.
"Oh, another magical stone, jewel, talisman gone missing? Yawn...
"Oh, please, not another shining hero slaying evil gods and overlords with ridiculous plans to conquer the world." Yawn...
"Ah yes, the elves are living in the woods, the dwarfs under the mountains and the Trolls trashing with big clubs..." Yawn...
I began to read more history books and horror literature, with only a fantasy book now and then.
And in 2002 I bought the first book of Game of Thrones. At first it looked like many other books in my collection and the reading was only...ok. But at the end of the first book, somehow the author has gripped me and I loved his dark and grim tales of Westeros. I loved the historical touch of Martin's world, the ambivalent characters, the gritty world building and the sinister threat in the background.
I loved the Song of Ice and Fire, until the last two books came out. The third book was fantastic in my opinion and I still count it in the list of the best books, I have ever read in the fantasy genre. But the fourth and the fifth book couldn't hold the high standard of the first three books. They were boring and the story didn't make any progress. Today I wouldn't recommend the books anymore.
But fortunately, today there are authors like Scott Bakker, Steven Erikson, Joe Abercrombie, Paul Kearney. They write intelligent and thrilling fantasy, without repeating the old cliches of Elves and Dragons.