A Game of Thrones
George R Martin is an evil genius par excellence. I have just had my imagination reorganized and my heart handed to me on a plate. And I love it. I just finished A Game of Thrones, you see. I have found my new fandom. The Seven Kingdoms are a fearful, bloody, dangerous, scary kind of place (rather like Harry Potter fandom itself) where good guys are not safe and not even necessarily good, where bad guys are very bad and yet not necessarily evil. Where everyone has a thousand motives, and there are no beautiful elves or stout dwarves or noble men to sort things out. And if there were they'd probably be long dead by now.
Okay, so there is a dwarf, named Tyrion, and I heart the little bastard so very much.
The characters are complicated, the plots are twice as complicated as the characters, and the books are massive. Plus there's this wonderful, horrible habit of Martin's that forces him to cause his characters lots of misery and often kill those they love (even when those they love are themselves major characters). I can think of many authors who could learn a thing or two about emotional involvement and suspension of disbelief from Martin. (Yes, Laurell K Hamilton I am looking at you. These books are the kinds of real politik I would expect from ageless Sidhe and vampire nobles, not the sex-fu Mary Sue that you've turned your series into... )
I've already ordered the next book in the series. I am in love and lust and I must have my fix. It's taking all my resolution not to run into our bookstore and grab number four to read up on what's happened. I can't do that, I'm sure, because I'd probably be entirely lost.... but... omgwtf5kings?!! Dude. And I was impressed with the 4 armies battling it out in The Hobbit. To hell with that. I want five separate kinds and then the queen that they're not taking notice of yet...
What amazes me is that Martin can take female points of view and nail them. I can usually tell clearly when it's a guy writing a girl's headspace but.. .he... seriously... these girls.. .think like girls. Amazing. I am imagining he has a wife and/or daughter reading over stuff to go "Good, but now about this bit... are you kidding me?" Okay, so with Arya and Sansa I kept thinking they were a couple years older but then kids in that world would grow up faster. And Dany? I have to admit to a couple times of forgetting that she was a freaking 13-year-old. But again. In her situation you'd have to grow up or die.
Damn it. I need someone I know to read this thing so that I can be a proper little fannit and squee myself silly.
Okay, so there is a dwarf, named Tyrion, and I heart the little bastard so very much.
The characters are complicated, the plots are twice as complicated as the characters, and the books are massive. Plus there's this wonderful, horrible habit of Martin's that forces him to cause his characters lots of misery and often kill those they love (even when those they love are themselves major characters). I can think of many authors who could learn a thing or two about emotional involvement and suspension of disbelief from Martin. (Yes, Laurell K Hamilton I am looking at you. These books are the kinds of real politik I would expect from ageless Sidhe and vampire nobles, not the sex-fu Mary Sue that you've turned your series into... )
I've already ordered the next book in the series. I am in love and lust and I must have my fix. It's taking all my resolution not to run into our bookstore and grab number four to read up on what's happened. I can't do that, I'm sure, because I'd probably be entirely lost.... but... omgwtf5kings?!! Dude. And I was impressed with the 4 armies battling it out in The Hobbit. To hell with that. I want five separate kinds and then the queen that they're not taking notice of yet...
What amazes me is that Martin can take female points of view and nail them. I can usually tell clearly when it's a guy writing a girl's headspace but.. .he... seriously... these girls.. .think like girls. Amazing. I am imagining he has a wife and/or daughter reading over stuff to go "Good, but now about this bit... are you kidding me?" Okay, so with Arya and Sansa I kept thinking they were a couple years older but then kids in that world would grow up faster. And Dany? I have to admit to a couple times of forgetting that she was a freaking 13-year-old. But again. In her situation you'd have to grow up or die.
Damn it. I need someone I know to read this thing so that I can be a proper little fannit and squee myself silly.