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I'm quite a GRR Martin fan but just got around to finishing this a couple of days ago. I have to say I was quite disappointed. I felt as though about 1/2 of it could have been cut with no harm and his plan of doing a novel with barely even mentioning most of the remaining main characters left me cold.
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I couldn't get through it... I know this and the next one were originally planned as one but ended up with a huge volume that was chopped into two. I feel I lost sight of the story in the last book and have since round reading the volumes a chore. Though his writing, particularly his skill at characterization, have continued to astound me, I've stopped caring about most of the characters.
Posts: 2185 | Registered: Aug 2007
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I've promised myself I'd pick this series up when it was finished and read it then, but not until then. I like George Railroad Martin's earlier work (recently he had two volumes of shorter-stuff-with-commentary reprinted, and I did buy both of them). I don't see any reason offhand why I wouldn't enjoy reading these.
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Robert, I love his writing but along with Anne I think he kind of lost his way in this volumn. It doesn't stand up well beside the other ones--my opinion, of course. But it was a disappointment.
I have hopes for the next one when he eventually finishes it. I'm not holding my breath.
I still care about Jon and Arya -- but Jon wasn't even in this one. And where he went with her was so bizarre that it kind of lost me.
[This message has been edited by JeanneT (edited February 28, 2008).]
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Another good reason to wait until it's finished. Lots of mega-volume series books change their tone-of-voice as time goes on, sometimes so much that the latest one seems like part of a different series than Volume One. At least Martin's series has been promised at such-and-such number of books---I forget just how many.
On the other hand...I've been drawn to some writers who set stories in a specific universe, where minor characters in one story are major characters in another, heroes in one are villains in another, and so on...I don't know if a volume dealing with other characters would disappoint me that much...
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When you've been waiting years to find out what happened to the ones he didn't mention--yeah, I think it's disappointing.
If I remember correctly, he's signed for a 7 book series but that includes splitting what was originally to be book 4 into two with the 5th book still not finished from what I've read. He's been cancelling personal appearances at conventions to work on it.
The good thing is that his ability to write and do wonderful characterizations hasn't deminished.
Reading them all at once, I'm still not sure that book 4 would be very satisfactory, but with book 5 sitting there waiting it would help.
[This message has been edited by JeanneT (edited February 28, 2008).]
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I'm reading Fevre Dream right now, and man, it's pretty different in style. Its written in almost omniscient (limited omniscient, maybe?), and has none of that thorough entrenching I get from the Ice and Fire series. I'm almost enjoying it more, though. His skill as a story crafter, not as a characterizer, comes through more strongly. It's very similar in style to Tuff Voyaging--in fact, the MCs are very similar.
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Interesting digression though. I'm iffy about trying it because I so rarely like omniscient but he might can pull it off.
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He's cancelling appearance's to finish book 5? Then why did he just release a new Hardcover Hunter's Moon? George is lying to us....
Posts: 135 | Registered: Feb 2008
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I absolutely loved this book. I was pre-warned that only half of the story was going to be here so that came as no surprise to me. The Arya storyline has been telegraphed since her first encounter with the Syrio/Jhaqen character, and I am intrigued to see where he will take it.
I didn't find it disappointing at all, as he seems to have reached that "mid story" place where there is much conflict and a lot of plotlines are being dangled unresolved. I was not expecting to reach any conclusions here, so for me I got what I was looking for.
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I disagree that leaving Arya at the fate he did (I won't give away what fate)was foreshadowed. I did NOT think that fate was foreshadowed and didn't think it made sense. When she wakes up to that discovery my reaction was, "I BEG your pardon?"
Concentrating so much of the book on Sanya (the character I dislike most in the entire series) annoyed me. Concentrating mostly on sub-plots--such as the Brienna one--that in essence go nowhere annoyed me. Not even mentioning Jon had the same reaction.
Who said anything about a conclusion? While it had less conclusion than the first three, that wasn't the big problem. The problem was that the plot went nowhere and some of it simply didn't make sense. Suddenly throwing in that the priests had the power to hold members of the royal family for trial when this had never been mentioned before as even a possibility--then you bring it up in Book Four? Deus ex machina anyone?
I could go on but you get the idea. I loved the first three. That one was a huge disappointment.
However, I must admit that I fully expect book five to make up for book four.
[This message has been edited by JeanneT (edited March 21, 2008).]
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Sorry it took me so long to come to the party :-)
When I started with Song of Ice and Fire (back when you couldn't find a copy of Game of Thrones anywhere in Australia)1998 or so. George R. R. Martin stated in Legends (a very good collection of short stories by leading authors, check it out if you haven't already) that it was a five book series:
Game of Thrones Clash of Kings Storm of Swords (ended up two volumes in paperback) Dance of Dragons (has now been split into Feast of Crows and Dance of Dragons) The Winds of Winter
According to his blog (I'm addicted to reading it, even though I know at the same time that if he is writing it, and I am reading it, neither of us are writing) he is working on Dance of Dragons and cancelling many overseas trips to do so, but also working on a number of projects including Dreamsongs, Fever Dreams, a new series of Wild Cards, Ice and Fire minitures, RPG systems (if I remember correctly) and last I heard he was also doing his tax. So any images of him chained to his desk writing Dance of Dragons daily are not real, but he does seem to working hard, most of the time.
quote:...also working on a number of projects including Dreamsongs, Fever Dreams, a new series of Wild Cards, Ice and Fire minitures, RPG systems (if I remember correctly)...
The SoIaF miniatures are being handled by Dark Sword Miniatures. ( I have the first ten releases in my hot little hands, and they are outstanding)
The RPG was released several years ago by Guardians of Order, and bombed miserably. I have not heard any industry announcement of another version of the RPG being written, and this type of information is generally released very loudly.
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