Best Fantasy since Tolkien

[airshipjones]

I have been reading George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. The breadth and depth of the story is amazing. There is a great history to the world and characters and their families. The characters are wonderful, the story has twists and turns that *nobody* could predict. And nobody is quite what they seem. 'Good' characters are shown to have fatal flaws, and 'bad' characters are shown to be more than the reputations they have. And the magic is mostly subtle, leaving one uncertain if it is real. And the magic which is undenialably real has horrible consequences.

There are some real shockers in the books too. Many main characters die. George isn't afraid allow the intertia of events to have consequences, logical if not predictable, that are also fatal.

My only upset is that the fourth book isn't out yet, and won't be available until August.

I highly recommend the series though.

Comments

[bishounengirl.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, Martin is wonderful. What frustrates me most about the lack of book 4 to read, actually, is that the date has been pushed back so many times... first it was April 2003, then August 2003, then April 2004, now it's August again... *tears hair out*

I need to reread the other three, nevermind when the fourth is coming out, just because I've only read them once and I have to reread anything I care about really absorbing well.

I'm very fond of Tyrion. Hope his POV continues to be necessary to telling the story, because I fear he'll be gone as soon as it isn't anymore.

[airshipjones.livejournal.com]

Yes, Tyrion is wonderful. His life has gone through so many ups and downs, and I wonder what he will do next. I do have to say that Samwell is growing on me though. And the third book does add quite a lot of dimension to Jaime as well.

[colleenk.livejournal.com]

It would be interesting to see what Martin does with Jaime. You know, a friend of mine likes the series so much, he talked people into publishing them in Chinese. He even found people to translate them. Now that's a serious fan.

[airshipjones.livejournal.com]

What would be fun would be to get them re-translated back into English from Chinese by different interpreters. You get such interesting reading of the story that way.

[ocicat.livejournal.com]

Loved 'em - and man, that series is so harsh. Nothing goes right for the good guys - nothing goes right for the bad guys. If someone is in trouble, and a resuce is coming... you know that things are about to go seriously wrong. Or if the rescue actually happens, they will still end up somewhere unspeakably worse.

[airshipjones.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I have never seen a series kill off so many main characters before. And they do seem to go from the frying pan to the fire with regularity. Keeps me reading, thats for sure.

[rosefox]

Even though I'm currently on hiatus from book reviewing, my editor is aware that as soon as Martin gets review copies out, I'm back in business. *) And if you ask very nicely, I'll let you borrow the review copy once I'm done reading and reviewing it.

[airshipjones.livejournal.com]

You're so nice!

Did you get to review his other books?

[rosefox]

Nope, stumbled onto them all by myself.

[colleenk.livejournal.com]

The series is wonderful. Depressing as hell, but wonderful. And you are right - one can never predict the twists and turns, except things will always get worse for the good guys. Feel really sorry for the short twiested guy - guess we all have soft spots for them, don't we? :)

And it's in depressing sagas like this, one truly learns to appreciate characters like Ivan. No matter how hopeless the situation seems, I know I can always count on Ivan to make me smile.

Talked about the character similarities with my friends, then decided that LMB and JRRM both read Richard the Third.

[airshipjones.livejournal.com]

Wait, are we crossing series here. Ivan, as in Vorpatril? As in from the Vorkosigan novels by LMB? I don't remember an Ivan in GRRMs books. Both are wonderful, both have clever dwarfs with huge libidos, but I think that is about as far as the similarities go.

I could go on all night about how wonderful LMB and the Vorkosigan books are. And of course I already have stated clearly how wonderful GRRMs books are.

[colleenk.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was mixing. And there is more to just cleverness and libidos - how about family devotion? The knight complex toward women? The driven need to prove oneself? The sometime self-loathing? Granted Miles got over that one as he grew older.

LMB and GRRM are both wonderful. But LMB generally cheers me up while I would never touch GRRM while in a bad mood. I guess sometimes I just need to believe that life gets better no matter how bad the odds are.

Oh, heck, perhaps I read too much into these books.

[airshipjones.livejournal.com]

I think your points are quite well founded. I think the difference in the stories, besides SF vs F trappings, is that in the GRRM books, there is an interia to the events with often fatal consequenses, whereas in the LMB books, events, and death serve a purpose and only highlights the events in the characters life.

[colleenk.livejournal.com]

You are so right. I get way too attached to the characters. Big no no in GRRM books.

[airshipjones.livejournal.com]

I have to admit, I was thrown for a loop by the Red Wedding. Ouch! I really did like the characters that that died in that bit of nastiness. And I am so hoping that the Freys get theirs. And Vargo Hoat, and a whole list more. Great, now I sound like Arya. Well, Valar Morghulis....

[colleenk.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and a whole list more. I hope that I am safe in assuming that Arya and John Snow are not going to bite the dust any time soon. I wonder if she is going to find her wolf again?

[airshipjones.livejournal.com]

I suspect they are going to survive. I don't know if Arya will get Nymeria back or not. I thought they would get together when she was with Sandor, but that didn't happen. And now she is getting on a ship, so who knows.