Game of Thrones: Books

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Tue September 13th, 2011, 11:52 am

Can't believe I forgot to post this weekend! So my husband and I are on our way to do some apple picking and at a red light he turns to me and says: "Did you hear a loud thump last night?" Quite a conversation starter my husband! I said no and he then all of the sudden he starts ranting " I can't believe that ******* would kill off ___________. Holy *********. I ducked my head because I was pretty sure the people in the next car could hear us. Then last night I hear 'That's it, I quit!' Guess he made it to the end of book 3!

Sharz · Post by **Sharz** » Tue September 13th, 2011, 6:40 pm

My husband was so mad. Kept saying what stupid and bad writing it was, from the standpoint of constructing a plot. And all I could do was shrug and not say anything, because he didn't want "spoiling".

We're wrapping up book 4 now--maybe three more chapters to go. Then on to my first read of Dance with Dragons. I've read lots of spoilers, though. When I'm as invested as I am now, I want to know what to expect, so I'm not disappointed like with Feast.

rebecca · Post by **rebecca** » Wed September 14th, 2011, 1:49 am

yep *nods head knowingly* at Brenna's hubby...I understand completely *secretly chuckles*

...I said a few choice words myself after my book went flying across the room

.

Warning to Sharz be prepared to throw DWD across the room once you reach the end

I will say no more! But if I were married to Martin we would not be on speaking terms!

I have now decided to have NO favourites in this series of books, that way I'm safe from the cataclysmic shocks that hit you without warning.

Bec

PS: Brenna tell your hubby to persevere for there is a revelation in book 5(DWD)

Once again my fonts are sealed...I wont spoil anything for anyone else

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Wed September 14th, 2011, 12:57 pm

Grrrrrrr I still have to read Feasts before book 5 (not to mention I have to wait for book 5 to come out in paperback). Although if my husband has his way, book 5 will be arriving on our doorstop long before it comes out into paperback. He is not OCD about his books like I am.

My father in law called last night to inform me he finished the first four books and asked if he should even bother reading the 5th book. I told him I had stopped after book 3 because I had too many other books on my TBR pile that needed to be read. He and my husband then spent another hour breaking down the first three books and trying to guess what will happen next. I've purposely avoided all spoils so I honestly have no idea. Now that Bec has teased that something else major is coming down the pipeline, I guess I will have to pick them back up again. I guess I can't really skip book 4 though, can I?

Rowan · Post by **Rowan** » Wed September 14th, 2011, 3:22 pm

Okay I kinda started reading through responses on this thread, but got tired of the spaces people left in the middle of whatever it was they were talking about.

I read book 1 and am reading book 2 at the moment.

A few things that I've read that I don't understand on this thread. I've read at least one of them elsewhere on other forums, so it's not a slight against anyone. But why does killing off one's main characters (of which there are an endless number it seems) make Martin such a brilliant writer?

Also, why is this considered historical fantasy? In my mind, it's just fantasy and nothing is historical about it. With the exception of something like Harry Potter, most fantasy novels which are brought to life on the screen have a medieval look to them as far as how people dress. Does that then make them historical fantasies too? Yes, there are many similarities between the world Martin has created and the world and its history that I know, but that's as far as it goes.

Incidentally, I managed to find two very nice maps of the whole world created by Martin, for anyone interested. I stopped reading through the thread on page 3 so if someone else has shared one, my apologies. I prefer having a map at hand for reading fantasies so I searched til I found one and managed to find two.

Map 1 - just Westeros

Map 2 - includes the entire world

Also, when I first started reading book 1, I was very confused with all of the characters so a friend who has read them all directed me to the Wikipedia entry on the Major houses of A Song of Ice and Fire. While it has proved useful, it is FULL of spoilers. Read the Wikipedia entry at your own risk. If you don't want to know how characters' lives play out, do NOT follow my link!!!

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Wed September 14th, 2011, 3:28 pm

Rowan-

We didn't actually leave spaces, we just colored the words white so as not to leak any spoilers and ruin anyone's reading experience. So once you get through book 3 (as I think that was the last book we did that for) you can go back and highlight the words to see what we wrote.

I'm not sure you can consider this historical fantasy, but so many people were commenting on the HBO series, that I started a thread under here. Supposedly there is a connection between Martin's Starks vs. Lannisters and the War of the Roses. There were several discussions amongst members about that very thing.

There were maps mentioned before, but it's always nice to repost things when a thread starts getting pretty long!

Ludmilla · Post by **Ludmilla** » Wed September 14th, 2011, 3:37 pm

[quote=""Brenna""]Rowan-

We didn't actually leave spaces, we just colored the words white so as not to leak any spoilers and ruin anyone's reading experience. So once you get through book 3 (as I think that was the last book we did that for) you can go back and highlight the words to see what we wrote.

[/quote]

Just expressing my own preference and opinion here, but this site now provides spoiler tags so why use the white text when the spoiler tags work better? If you are reading from a mobile device, you can't always highlight to read the whited out text. The only way I know of getting around that is to select quote and reply so you can see it (but that added step just to see what's been posted is onerous).

sweetpotatoboy · Post by **sweetpotatoboy** » Wed September 14th, 2011, 3:56 pm

[quote=""Rowan""]But why does killing off one's main characters (of which there are an endless number it seems) make Martin such a brilliant writer?[/quote]

You're right - it doesn't per se. I guess the point is that it's the mark of a confident writer to kill off some of his best-loved creations. It shows a belief in the strength of his overall plotting, rather than a reliance on certain characters, and an ability to bring in new characters. Also, in (most) other writers, it can stretch credulity that the main protagonists (our heroes) somehow survive against all odds, whereas as lesser and less favourably depicted characters frequently meet their comeuppance. So, Martin's readiness to avoid this contradiction marks him out.

[quote=""Rowan""]Also, why is this considered historical fantasy? In my mind, it's just fantasy and nothing is historical about it. With the exception of something like Harry Potter, most fantasy novels which are brought to life on the screen have a medieval look to them as far as how people dress. Does that then make them historical fantasies too? [/quote]

I really, really agree with you here. Much, if not most, fantasy fiction is set in a pseudo-medieval European setting: kings, knights, ladies, jousts and such like. And I really see nothing that Martin does that subverts this convention much. Yes, I know these books are supposed to be loosely based on the Wars of the Roses, but it's so loose the way it comes out that it might as well as be based on any extended dynastic war and set of kingdoms.
In contrast, Guy Gavriel Kay's are much more closely linked to the settings they're based, such that they clearly qualify to my mind as historical fantasy.
Martin's books not so much - at least from what I've read of them so far.

Rowan · Post by **Rowan** » Wed September 14th, 2011, 4:10 pm

The Stark vs. Lannister "thing" might be a reflection of the Wars of the Roses, but after watching a bit of Human Planet last night on Animal Planet, wherein they were talking about how the Mongols lived and breathed and died with their horses, I think he based the Dothraki on them. Mongols today drink (?) a type of yoghurt made from mare's milk that is slightly fermented.

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Wed September 14th, 2011, 4:29 pm

[quote=""Ludmilla""]Just expressing my own preference and opinion here, but this site now provides spoiler tags so why use the white text when the spoiler tags work better? If you are reading from a mobile device, you can't always highlight to read the whited out text. The only way I know of getting around that is to select quote and reply so you can see it (but that added step just to see what's been posted is onerous).[/quote]

I can only speak for myself, but I missed the explanation on doing the "spoiler tag" so I just copied what someone else did. I do apologize that you saw spoilers because the mobile device didn't "white" out the text! We were trying to be so careful!