Disclaimer: I have not played the Song of Ice and Fire RPG this was ported from, only played with what is in this book.

If this were a freshman term paper I would call it a 70% C-.

First the good: Very interesting take on tying players into a larger purpose. Overall a good mechanical system. Good ideas on incorporating sorcery, and thematically good choices for a ~high middle ages+fantasy world. The house management and warfare rules are good, without soul-crushing amounts of fiddly detail.

Now the bad: Felt exactly like someone copy pasted bits and pieces from somewhere else to make this. Lots of tables that would be much more useful together are separated. For example, personal weapons costs/weight listed on page 113, all mechanical information on pages 136-137. Some tables don't match between different sections. Defense holdings have different stats in chapter 5 vs. chapter 10. There are items missing descriptions or stats (Sand Steed), and descriptions missing items (Telescope). This badly needed one more diligent editing pass. Also the "pretty" font in some headings is nearly illegible.

There are also many areas where more detail and thoughtfulness would have helped enormously. For instance, the troops one's house can raise have different options of abilities to improve, with no real explanation for why or how they are useful. It's great that my on-foot peasant levy can improve their animal handling ability, but to what end? Also, hilariously, rules as written cavalry units are tied for slowest on the battlefield, with most infantry moving double their speed.

The final verdict: I got excited by this, I played with it for a game, and then I realized that if I wanted it to actually work I would have to edit and rework about 40% of the book. There are a lot of good ideas here, but I am really glad that I got this in a bundle, I would have been disappointed at paying full price for it. The shortcomings would have been much less frustrating if it didn't have so much potential. There are plenty of simply mediocre RPGs, but one that could have been great and missed sticks out much more.

A missed opportunity. The system is quite good - versatile, straightforward, and blending character-scale "micro" and battle/kingdom-management "macro" with seamless ease. A rarity.
However, 70% of the rules are written for classic grimdark trash - i.e., glorified narcissistic perverts, pseudo-medieval warfare based on machine-gun tactics, and other popular delusions passed as "combat realism". A treat for abusive players, sunday warriors, and closeted Nazis. Others? Not so much... Shame.

I'm really happy to see this game re-released with more support for the fantasy elements that make RPGs a fun escape. I always enjoyed the system, and the polish on intrigue, warfare, combat, and magic makes it even better. Plus, the House system gives a great foundation for players to have a common goal or org.

I'm off to build a House that can take over the world in my homebrew setting!