Welcome to the Historical Fiction Online forums: a friendly place to discuss, review and discover historical fiction.
If this is your first visit, please be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing posts, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Game of Thrones: Books

Ash
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 2475
Joined: August 2008
Location: Arizona, USA

Post by Ash » Sat August 27th, 2011, 1:47 pm

Yes, the 5th is Dance with Dragons And I misspoke - the mystery character in question is from Book Three. I wanted to tear him limb by limb after what he did. I keep forgetting that Books 4 and 5 are two sides of the same coin - same time period, different characters. And no, its not Littlefinger. (if you don't want to read the next book, and you want to know, I can message you :)

User avatar
Brenna
Bibliophile
Posts: 1358
Joined: June 2010
Location: Delaware

Post by Brenna » Sat August 27th, 2011, 3:23 pm

My husband just finished book 2. All I hear from downstairs is Holy ****. I said wait until you finish the 3rd book. I just heard a big sigh in return.
Brenna

rebecca
Compulsive Reader
Posts: 798
Joined: July 2011

Post by rebecca » Sun August 28th, 2011, 4:17 am

Mythica--"Yeah, I'm already considering taking a break after the third book....'

I think with these books you need a break in that there are some chapters which are seriously tedious and other chapters which rock and leave you reeling and at times you feel like chucking rotten eggs at the author! :D lol. I took a breather and I only read DWD in day time because it is too complicated and by night I am too tired to absorb the plot lines. So good luck Mythica. :)

Brenna---"That combined with the fact that I am completely OCD about buying series books in all one form."

Nah I am way too impatient to wait. Once they are released I buy it in whatever form. I wonder though how long will it take for the publishers to bypass hardcover editions and go straight to paperback(they're cheaper for the consumer)?

Sharz--"FCC has been problematic for me....I grew increasingly impatient with the new characters and southern focus, and so little of significance with ANY of the Starks."

That is the problem I had and the way FCC started with the crazy man Prophet drowning his er followers(I'd think I'd give baptism a pass if I were them :p lol) and in FCC I really detest what the author has done with Catelyn Stark (my own theory is Martin simply hates them!). I also hate the name changers aka Sansa is not Sansa and Arya is not Arya and along with all the new characters it gets confusing(or I am having too many senior moments :p ).

Ash--"the mystery character in question is from Book Three....(if you don't want to read the next book, and you want to know, I can message you..."

Yes please Ash, message me. I don't fancy re-reading it and there are tons of characters that I heartily dislike including Lord Tywin(now we know who Cersei takes after). I have to admit I do get confused with the characters and is probably why I hate it when Martin adds even more! So thanks for that :) .

Brenna--"My husband just finished book 2. All I hear from downstairs is Holy ****. I said wait until you finish the 3rd book..."

*Nods head* and says ah huh...Do tell us what his reaction is when he reads what happens in the third? I have only just started DWD and though I went YAY that Tyrion is back I sighed deeply that Dany is also back. :rolleyes:

Now back to DWD.

Bec :)

rebecca
Compulsive Reader
Posts: 798
Joined: July 2011

Post by rebecca » Sat September 3rd, 2011, 3:55 am

I am now a little further into DWD and find that Tyrion is in a very dark place(his soul heart and mind) and I am beginning to fear for him......I am now trying to 'channel' my thoughts to Martin :eek: pulease leave Tyrion alone.....Let someone be happy puleaseeeeeeeeeeee :p :eek:

Bec :)

User avatar
Susan
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 3746
Joined: August 2008
Location: New Jersey, USA

Post by Susan » Sun September 4th, 2011, 2:58 pm

I'm only 10% into the first book, and so far, so good. I'm reading it on Kindle and while there is a map there, I printed out map in color from the Internet. If anyone is interested, it can be seen here:

http://gameofthrones.net/resources/50-m ... aries.html

I also looked (unsuccessfully so far) for a succinct list of characters. So far I have all the characters straight in my mind, but I don't know how long that will last.

I just read through the discussion here and didn't see any reference (unless I missed it) to how similar this is the to Wars of the Roses: families warring for a throne, the map looks a bit like England, Lannister-Lancaster, Stark-York, tall, golden-haired princes, Rickon-Dickon (Richard III), etc.

School starts for me on Tuesday and that will severely cut into my reading time. :(
Last edited by Susan on Sun September 4th, 2011, 3:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

User avatar
Vanessa
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 4378
Joined: August 2008
Currently reading: The Farm at the Edge of the World by Sarah Vaughan
Interest in HF: The first historical novel I read was Katherine by Anya Seton and this sparked off my interest in this genre.
Favourite HF book: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell!
Preferred HF: Any
Location: North Yorkshire, UK

Post by Vanessa » Sun September 4th, 2011, 7:07 pm

There's a list of characters on Wikipedia which may be of help.

I agree the map looks a little like England. I haven't read the book yet, but have watched the TV series - it never occurred to me about the War of the Roses, but now you mention it, I can see the parallel!
currently reading: My Books on Goodreads

Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind

User avatar
Susan
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 3746
Joined: August 2008
Location: New Jersey, USA

Post by Susan » Sun September 4th, 2011, 8:04 pm

[quote=""Vanessa""]There's a list of characters on Wikipedia which may be of help.

I agree the map looks a little like England. I haven't read the book yet, but have watched the TV series - it never occurred to me about the War of the Roses, but now you mention it, I can see the parallel![/quote]

Thanks, I saw that list, but there is way too much information on it that I don't want to know about. Also it's based on the TV series.
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

Ash
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 2475
Joined: August 2008
Location: Arizona, USA

Post by Ash » Sun September 4th, 2011, 10:59 pm

I remember hearing that the series was based on the War of Roses, but I have no idea where they got that from. There is nothing remotely connected, except both take place in the middle ages and they have lots of battles, and they change
kings a lot.
Also it's based on the TV series
Vanessa, the TV series is based on the books :)

Re character lists, he does include them after book 1, but they are within families, so if you just want to be able to look up someone's name, and you don't know what family they are in, you are out of luck. However, all you need to do is google the name and add the name of the book, and there will be either a wiki link, or a link from WIC (winter is coming), what will tell you everything you need to know.
Last edited by Ash on Sun September 4th, 2011, 11:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Susan
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 3746
Joined: August 2008
Location: New Jersey, USA

Post by Susan » Sun September 4th, 2011, 11:35 pm

[quote=""Ash""]Vanessa, the TV series is based on the books :)

Re character lists, he does include them after book 1, but they are within families, so if you just want to be able to look up someone's name, and you don't know what family they are in, you are out of luck. However, all you need to do is google the name and add the name of the book, and there will be either a wiki link, or a link from WIC (winter is coming), what will tell you everything you need to know.[/quote]

Ash, that was me who said the character list link is from the TV series. I had read that some characters' names were changed for the TV series. Whether or not that is true, I would rather use references based upon the books. There are some Wikipedia lists of the characters in the novel, but again there is way too much information for people who have not yet read the book.

Thanks for the info about the character lists in the subsequent books. Perhaps I will go to the library and xerox the list.
Last edited by Susan on Sun September 4th, 2011, 11:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

User avatar
Susan
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 3746
Joined: August 2008
Location: New Jersey, USA

Post by Susan » Sun September 4th, 2011, 11:39 pm

[quote=""Ash""]I remember hearing that the series was based on the War of Roses, but I have no idea where they got that from. There is nothing remotely connected, except both take place in the middle ages and they have lots of battles, and they change
kings a lot.[/quote]

I don't think the series is based on the Wars of the Roses, but there seem to be a lot of parallels. I just Googled "A Game of Thrones" +"Wars of the Roses" and came up with a lot of sites. I had already come up with two of the ideas in the article below before I had read the article.

This one http://gameofthrones.net/a-song-of-ice-and-fire.html , which seems to be an encyclopedia of all things from the novels says,

"Historical and Literary Sources

Numerous parallels have been drawn between the events and characters in A Song of Ice and Fire and events and people involved in the Wars of the Roses. Two of the principal families in A Song of Ice and Fire, the Starks and the Lannisters, are seen as representing the historical House of York and House of Lancaster, respectively.

A comparison of Martin's map of Northern Westeros and a map of Great Britain will also show a geographical resemblance. Martin's "Wall" geographically corresponding with Hadrian's Wall and Dorne with Cornwall. Westeros is, however, much larger than Britain, stretching for nearly three thousand miles from the Wall to the Summer Sea.

Martin is an avid student of medieval Europe, and has said that the Wars of the Roses, along with many other events in Europe during that time, have influenced the series. However, he insists that "there's really no one-for-one character-for-character correspondence. I like to use history to flavor my fantasy, to add texture and verisimilitude, but simply rewriting history with the names changed has no appeal for me. I prefer to re-imagine it all, and take it in new and unexpected directions."

Martin has also said the Albigensian Crusades are an influence for his A Song of Ice and Fire."
Last edited by Susan on Mon September 5th, 2011, 12:12 am, edited 2 times in total.
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

Post Reply

Return to “Historical Fantasy”