Slow-Paced Beginning: Another major criticism of the story is that it takes far too long for the killings to start; the first character to die doesn't bite the dust until halfway through, and come the climax seven of the original ten are still alive, resulting in Characters Dropping Like Flies and the cast being culled down to two in just a handful of pages.
The TV miniseries:
Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: It's a series based on a George R. R. Martin novella. Black-and-Gray Morality abounds, many of the characters do terrible things for selfish reasons, and everything seems to indicate that the story will end badly. This makes it a very tough sell.