George R.R. Martin

[jaysmiter]

I am currently reading through his Song of Fire and Ice series (I'm on the 4th book) and was wondering if anyone else has checked these books out before and would like to have a bit of a discussion regarding them?

If you haven't, and are remotely interested in the Fantasy genre (this isn't like Orcs and Elves fantasy, more of a medieval fantasy...just a little bit of the fantastic mixed in with a lot of political intrigue), you should definitely give this series a chance...

[PensFanInDC]

Maaaan can that guy write about food. Ive read the 4 he's got out now and I have yet to pick up some of his other work. Good stuff but its been so long since Ive read anything about whats going on up north (Jon, Bran etc.) and with Daenerys that Im lost and would have to re-read them all just to catch up. Not sure Ill grab the 5th book.......but then again Im in it this far.

Rumor is that Game of Thrones is set to be a series on HBO....

[jaysmiter]

Maaaan can that guy write about food. Ive read the 4 he's got out now and I have yet to pick up some of his other work. Good stuff but its been so long since Ive read anything about whats going on up north (Jon, Bran etc.) and with Daenerys that Im lost and would have to re-read them all just to catch up. Not sure Ill grab the 5th book.......but then again Im in it this far.

Rumor is that Game of Thrones is set to be a series on HBO....

I've heard that rumor, as well...it would make for an incredible HBO series...the way every chapter is broken down by character...could very easily be converted into a show. Interesting characters, except a ton of the series (at least so far) is such a downer...

It gets frustrating sometimes because of how screwed over the likable characters get.

[PensFanInDC]

Maaaan can that guy write about food. Ive read the 4 he's got out now and I have yet to pick up some of his other work. Good stuff but its been so long since Ive read anything about whats going on up north (Jon, Bran etc.) and with Daenerys that Im lost and would have to re-read them all just to catch up. Not sure Ill grab the 5th book.......but then again Im in it this far.

Rumor is that Game of Thrones is set to be a series on HBO....

I've heard that rumor, as well...it would make for an incredible HBO series...the way every chapter is broken down by character...could very easily be converted into a show. Interesting characters, except a ton of the series (at least so far) is such a downer...

It gets frustrating sometimes because of how screwed over the likable characters get.

Advice to new readers: Dont get attached to ANYONE!!

[jaysmiter]

Maaaan can that guy write about food. Ive read the 4 he's got out now and I have yet to pick up some of his other work. Good stuff but its been so long since Ive read anything about whats going on up north (Jon, Bran etc.) and with Daenerys that Im lost and would have to re-read them all just to catch up. Not sure Ill grab the 5th book.......but then again Im in it this far.

Rumor is that Game of Thrones is set to be a series on HBO....

I've heard that rumor, as well...it would make for an incredible HBO series...the way every chapter is broken down by character...could very easily be converted into a show. Interesting characters, except a ton of the series (at least so far) is such a downer...

It gets frustrating sometimes because of how screwed over the likable characters get.

Advice to new readers: Dont get attached to ANYONE!!

Seconded.

[Easton]

He's my favorite author. And yes, don't get attached.

I love ASOIAF series especially because it's fantasy, but not in the traditional sense, like you said, Jay. It has magic involved, but it's much more limited than most of the fantasy books out there today. It has more historical fiction to it, with much of the political intrigue inspired by the War of the Roses.

It's much more refreshing to read something like this than the constant Good guy against bad guy, Lord of the Rings spin offs that seem to be coming out in droves. Most of the GRRM's characters are gray; he does an excellent job of not making anyone the hero or better than the rest. They each of their faults, just like real people.

[jaysmiter]

He's my favorite author. And yes, don't get attached.

I love ASOIAF series especially because it's fantasy, but not in the traditional sense, like you said, Jay. It has magic involved, but it's much more limited than most of the fantasy books out there today. It has more historical fiction to it, with much of the political intrigue inspired by the War of the Roses.

It's much more refreshing to read something like this than the constant Good guy against bad guy, Lord of the Rings spin offs that seem to be coming out in droves. Most of the GRRM's characters are gray; he does an excellent job of not making anyone the hero or better than the rest. They each of their faults, just like real people.

That's the thing...I'll try not to get into too many spoilers here (mainly cause I just started Feast for Crows and don't want anything spoiled for myself) but a character like Tyrion is a perfect example of that. And there are other characters, as well, that you start off liking then hating or vice versa. There has only been a few characters that I have stayed constant with through the first 3...Jon and Bran being two of them. Cersei another...

[jaysmiter]

Oh, and the other thing...personally, I think GRRM blows Tolkien's writing out of the water. Don't get me wrong, Tolkien is a fantastic author; however, he never really had a sense for tension and drama at least in regards to LotR. The novel that Christopher Tolkien pieced together from JRR's works "Children of Hurin" was decent in terms of pacing and drama, but GRRM is consistently gripping, every chapter just leaves you wanting more and more.

[steve784]

Advice to new readers: Dont get attached to ANYONE!!

Just finished book one. Definitely gotta agree with that one.

Spoiler:

I was stunned when they beheaded Stark.

[Psychlone]

Is there a clearcut protaganist in this series?

[crayz]

I think I started reading this years ago...and just never got through it

[PensFanInDC]

Is there a clearcut protaganist in this series?

Not really.

It's one of the coolest parts about the series. It's all perspective. Now, there are clear cut bad guys though.

To all who have read the series:

Spoiler:

I think Melisandre is the real protaganist. I mean, who the F cares if you're king when there is an evil coming from the north that will destroy all of mankind? She's only worried about stopping that evil. She doesnt care who the king is or will be.

[jaysmiter]

Is there a clearcut protaganist in this series?

Not really.

It's one of the coolest parts about the series. It's all perspective. Now, there are clear cut bad guys though.

To all who have read the series:

Spoiler:

I think Melisandre is the real protaganist. I mean, who the F cares if you're king when there is an evil coming from the north that will destroy all of mankind? She's only worried about stopping that evil. She doesnt care who the king is or will be.

That's a pretty good point, PFiDC...

Spoiler:

I would say that there are a few true protagonists in the series. Jon Snow, Tyrion, and Dany, with Jaime, Arya, and Melisandre pulling up a close second tier.

This is a great thread to dredge up!

[AlexPKeaton]

Well for you fantasy fans, this Friday the new series Spartacus starts on Starz.

[canaan]

Well for you fantasy fans, this Friday the new series Spartacus starts on Starz.

with xena

[jaysmiter]

Well for you fantasy fans, this Friday the new series Spartacus starts on Starz.

I'm more excited that the director of programming at HBO has called what he has seen of the Game of Thrones series so far "incredible".

[AlexPKeaton]

Well for you fantasy fans, this Friday the new series Spartacus starts on Starz.

with xena

The trailer looks really, really awesome though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHxn8mTpAJU

[AlexPKeaton]

Well for you fantasy fans, this Friday the new series Spartacus starts on Starz.

I'm more excited that the director of programming at HBO has called what he has seen of the Game of Thrones series so far "incredible".

Well trust me I'm going to be watching that too.

[jaysmiter]

HOLY *PIZZA* YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.thrfeed.com/2010/03/hbo-gree ... ones-.html

[PensFanInDC]

Martin, a former TV writer ("Beauty and the Beast"), writes each chapter as a cliffhanger, which should lend itself well to series translation.

Just what I need, another TV show that leaves me hanging each week. Very excited about this though!

[jaysmiter]

Martin, a former TV writer ("Beauty and the Beast"), writes each chapter as a cliffhanger, which should lend itself well to series translation.

Just what I need, another TV show that leaves me hanging each week. Very excited about this though!

Well, you should already know what happens.

[PensFanInDC]

Martin, a former TV writer ("Beauty and the Beast"), writes each chapter as a cliffhanger, which should lend itself well to series translation.

Just what I need, another TV show that leaves me hanging each week. Very excited about this though!

Well, you should already know what happens.

thats true, but seeing it on a screen will have me on the edge of my seat I am sure.

Spoiler:

although I'm not going to be all like "ZOMG! Whats gonna happen to Bran!? He gots pushed out the windoez!!" Cause thats how I think the 1st episode will end.

[FlyersLoL]

I've owned the first three books for quite some time, but had only read the first book due to time and other things until recently. I've now read halfway through book two, A Clash of Kings, and plan to read all four in a row, with a possible repeat as soon as I finish. They are really outstanding, but I am dreading book four. From what I heard, it is really below par of the first three. I've also heard GRRM has had book five done for some time now, but for whatever reasons it hasn't been given a release date. The HBO series hopefully will be outstanding, knowing the quality of their previous series.

As for the story, it is hard to compare this series to LotR. It's more low-fantasy with a sprinkling of high-fantasy, whereas LotR is the definition of high-fantasy. Even still, it's more of a drama dressed up as fantasy! Tyrion Lannister is one of the coolest characters in any medium. Since I've only read what I have, I've had this one really dumb thought in my head since the end of book one:

Spoiler:

I don't believe Ned is dead. I've been thinking this because of the chapter before it happened where the Spider came to visit him in the cell. I have this feeling Varys found some reasonably similar looking stand-in to take Stark's fate based on Varys' previous actions and what I got from their conversation. I probably just misinterpreted what I read and got an unrealistic scenario from it.

[AlexPKeaton]

HOLY *PIZZA* YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.thrfeed.com/2010/03/hbo-gree ... ones-.html

[eddysnake]

wow, great news, I've gotten really sidetracked since I started reading the 1st book (thanks for the recomendation) and started 5 other books, but now I got to get back to my priorities and get this series going again. Absolutely love what i've read so far, gotta stop listening to other people telling me to read this and that...