Game of Thrones (books)

[Marc Vaughan]

If anyone is thinking of reading them .... just don't.

The writing style is poor and killing characters off randomly doesn't make up for a storyline which is disjointed and lacking in logic.

I've just finished the last one available and it was a grind to read through, especially when the one remaining character I had any interest in was killed off doing something which was wholly out of character for him.

Seriously it reminded me of a D&D story I wrote in High School - I realised that I was running out of time to finish it so it ended - 'they all fell down a pit and died. The End'.

(end rant)

Yes I know this won't be a popular post as some people here seem to rave about them - don't get it myself though, kept persevering ... but I think that last book is the nail which closes this particular series for me (and I have a reputation here for reading ANYTHING).

[panerd]

I think there is like a 2000+ post thread about only the books so I guessing this post won't be very popular here.

[Draft Dodger]

did you really read all 5 books before deciding you didn't like them? that is dedication.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

If anyone is thinking of reading them .... just don't.

The writing style is poor and killing characters off randomly doesn't make up for a storyline which is disjointed and lacking in logic.

I've just finished the last one available and it was a grind to read through, especially when the one remaining character I had any interest in was killed off doing something which was wholly out of character for him.

Seriously it reminded me of a D&D story I wrote in High School - I realised that I was running out of time to finish it so it ended - 'they all fell down a pit and died. The End'.

(end rant)

Yes I know this won't be a popular post as some people here seem to rave about them - don't get it myself though, kept persevering ... but I think that last book is the nail which closes this particular series for me (and I have a reputation here for reading ANYTHING).

No book (or series), or movie, or television show, or music, or video game, or sport, or anything really is going to appeal to everyone. There is always going to be some (or many) people who don't like it for whatever reason. It happens. It's all apart of the Miraculous Rainbow of humanity.

Having read each of the books (save the last one) about 4-5 times each now I strongly disagree with your assessment, but that's ok.


p.s. Stick to your day job of making kick-ass video games and don't become a literary critic.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

did you really read all 5 books before deciding you didn't like them? that is dedication.

I knew I wasn't 'into them' - but I'm an avid reader and while the writing style wasn't one I liked I was intrigued by the storyline and trying to work out what was going to happen ... unfortunately I've found that character consistency (to my view anyway) appears to be lost now which is whats killed off my interest really.

You shouldn't have someone who's always acted in a specific manner suddenly do something out of character without decent reasoning imho.

[Simbo Klice]

I got into the series around midway through season 1 of the TV series and I've probably re-read it about 4 times so far... Gotta disagree with your opinion here.

Would you mind spoilering the character who died that was the last one you had interest in?

[Lathum]

you mean you don't enjoy 5 page naratives about pickled onions and minced meat pie with rasberry tart?

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Simbo Klice

Would you mind spoilering the character who died that was the last one you had interest in?

I didn't mention him on purpose (and won't) because I knew a few people might not have reached that point in the series yet .... and I won't put it with a spoiler tag because I know I can't resist them myself

[Lathum]

I am 67% of the way through book 4. IT is cumbersome but noy unenjoyable

[Surtt]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Yes I know this won't be a popular post as some people here seem to rave about them - don't get it myself though, kept persevering ...

Felt the same way about the Wheel of Time series.
Read about 6 of them before I gave up, keep thinking they would get better or I was missing something.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Lathum

you mean you don't enjoy 5 page naratives about pickled onions and minced meat pie with rasberry tart?

I always just gloss right over those. They don't even affect me anymore.

[Fidatelo]

Yeah I've learned with most fantasy books to just skim for character names or skip whole paragraphs entirely once the writer starts into detailing the leaves of the forest and whatnot. Tolkein was terrible for that shit, too, but the worst to my recollection is Tad Williams.

[ISiddiqui]

Personally I absolutely love the books. The writing style is average for fantasy, but the plotting is fantastic and the style of POV chapters allows for lots of flexibility (such as having a character being a hated villain and all of a sudden you are let into their heads and see their motivations).

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Simbo Klice

Would you mind spoilering the character who died that was the last one you had interest in?

Well I'll spoiler .

Spoiler

It's gotta be Jon Snow. But I don't see what's so out of character of what he did. I mean he has violated his vows before if he sees no chance of doing anything else & Bolton's bastard did vow to destroy the Watch if they didn't get their hostages

[Groundhog]

Books 1-3, amazing. 4 a massive drop in quality, 5 starts slow but by the end was back on track.

As I said in the other lengthy thread, it's pretty clear that this was planned as a trilogy as the pace and content is so thought out and well planned. It's just that he decided to stretch it, and that's what made the last 2 books suffer compared to the first 3.

[IlliniCub]

Don't worry in 13 years when the new book comes out you may be ready to give it a shot

[Shepp]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Books 1-3, amazing. 4 a massive drop in quality, 5 starts slow but by the end was back on track.

As I said in the other lengthy thread, it's pretty clear that this was planned as a trilogy as the pace and content is so thought out and well planned. It's just that he decided to stretch it, and that's what made the last 2 books suffer compared to the first 3.

I liked 1 and 2 a whole lot. I thought 3 sagged a whole lot in the middle and picked up near the end. I breazed right through 4 and I'll probably be buying 5 tomorrow.

[Gunsmoke]

Yeah agree first 2 to 3 books were really great and the last two seem like he just wanted to surprise everyone, but it didn't seem to go very well he now has lost the thread of where it is all meant to be going.

[Izulde]

Finally, more people coming to the light about just how terrible a stylist GRRM is. I've literally seen fiction by middle school students better than his.

Tolkien's lengthy landscape descriptions I give a pass because they fit within the sense of epic scope he's giving to the story, and they're not terrible descriptions by any means. Of course, Tolkien himself is best appreciated when one becomes aware that he's not so much starting a new genre and tradition as he's continuing pre-established genres and traditions, with a lot of the details, characters and concepts within it borrowed wholesale from the texts he worked on in his academic life (to say nothing of the autobiographical flourishes present throughout)

[Icy]

I'm reading the 5th and last one now and so far i have enjoyed all them but the 4th, that found less interesting mainly because my fav characters were missing in that one and i found the plot at Dorne a bit confusing and not really tied to the rest.

My fav characters are back in the 5th so i'm having fun again, but i think i know who is that character that dies in the 5th one, and I'll be also disappointed as he is my fav one but on the other hand, that is one of the things i find different in this series, as you never know who is going to be the next one.

I still remember reading late at night while in bed the Red Wedding chapter, i was really shocked and even thought about waking up my wife just to talk about it as i needed to share it with somebody (luckily i didn't, she would have just rolled her eyes and tell me to shut up and sleep).

As others have said, i'm enjoying a lot the characters turns, from bad to good and the other way once you know their motivations. In fact that is my fav thing of these books, i could enjoy them as much even if all the magic and fantasy part was missing, and just were about the plots and intrigues in the medieval age, with all the families etc. Still have not found the sense to the dead men walking, and Brand's plot is the less interesting one for me.

As for the food descriptions, i'm also a bit tired as are always the same, but at first found them interesting to feel more immersed in the age, etc.

On a related note, i started to read them in the original English versions, as I do with most of books to improve my English, but had to go back to read the Spanish translations as i had big issues understanding all the food, clothes and weapons descriptions in English, making me to lose the concentration and immersion in the main stories, as those are not words i'm used to read in my day to day.

Overall i'm enjoying them a lot, and looking forward to watch the TV serie once i finish this 5th and last by now book.

[Groundhog]

Best thing about the TV series is that in season 2 there are enough minor changes to give you a few "huh??" moments every now and then.