George R.R. Martin, fucking really?
I've always kind of ignored George R. R. Martin because, until a few months ago, I'd never read anything by him. I knew of him as Author Who Hates Fanfiction and Gets Harassed by Readers to Write Faster.
As-you-know-Reader, Martin's epic, A Song of Fire and Ice, is getting turned into an HBO series, starting with Game of Thrones, and will start airing this Sunday.
The New York Times published a review [doesn't Arya look adorable/awesome?!] that basically purported that there is nothing in the series for women to watch - except for the sex, which is apparently thrown in just to make women want to view.
The true perversion, though, is the sense you get that all of this illicitness has been tossed in as a little something for the ladies, out of a justifiable fear, perhaps, that no woman alive would watch otherwise. While I do not doubt that there are women in the world who read books like Mr. Martin’s, I can honestly say that I have never met a single woman who has stood up in indignation at her book club and refused to read the latest from Lorrie Moore unless everyone agreed to “The Hobbit” first. “Game of Thrones” is boy fiction patronizingly turned out to reach the population’s other half.
Understandably, fans have had a negative reaction to this review.
An example response is here, and also included are some links to other fan reaction.
But hey! George R. R. Martin decided to respond, too. His post is here. He opens by noting that he doesn't typically respond to negative reviews of his work, thereby setting up the post as Something Special.
But his big reveal is this.
I am not going to get into it myself, except to say
(1) if I am writing "boy fiction," who are all those boys with breasts who keep turning up by the hundreds at my signings and readings?
and
(2) thank you, geek girls! I love you all.
It's George R. R. Martin's big moment to acknowledge his non-male fans! To thank them for their support! And what does he do?! HE DEFINES THEM BY THEIR BREASTS.
And also refers to them as girls.
But, you know, I've read the goddamn books, so I am not surprised.
As-you-know-Reader, Martin's epic, A Song of Fire and Ice, is getting turned into an HBO series, starting with Game of Thrones, and will start airing this Sunday.
The New York Times published a review [doesn't Arya look adorable/awesome?!] that basically purported that there is nothing in the series for women to watch - except for the sex, which is apparently thrown in just to make women want to view.
The true perversion, though, is the sense you get that all of this illicitness has been tossed in as a little something for the ladies, out of a justifiable fear, perhaps, that no woman alive would watch otherwise. While I do not doubt that there are women in the world who read books like Mr. Martin’s, I can honestly say that I have never met a single woman who has stood up in indignation at her book club and refused to read the latest from Lorrie Moore unless everyone agreed to “The Hobbit” first. “Game of Thrones” is boy fiction patronizingly turned out to reach the population’s other half.
Understandably, fans have had a negative reaction to this review.
An example response is here, and also included are some links to other fan reaction.
But hey! George R. R. Martin decided to respond, too. His post is here. He opens by noting that he doesn't typically respond to negative reviews of his work, thereby setting up the post as Something Special.
But his big reveal is this.
I am not going to get into it myself, except to say
(1) if I am writing "boy fiction," who are all those boys with breasts who keep turning up by the hundreds at my signings and readings?
and
(2) thank you, geek girls! I love you all.
It's George R. R. Martin's big moment to acknowledge his non-male fans! To thank them for their support! And what does he do?! HE DEFINES THEM BY THEIR BREASTS.
And also refers to them as girls.
But, you know, I've read the goddamn books, so I am not surprised.