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Hear hear!!! CatherineSedai Send a noteboard - 21/07/2011 04:21:47 AM
Four books in and I have no idea what the point is. Sometimes its intriguing but for the most part its annoying. Every other book series I've read has had a clear hero, villain and "quest" right from the beginning of book 1. Wheel of time has Rand needing to reseal the bore. Sword of truth had Richard stopping Darken Rahl, then Jagang. The belgariad had Garion trying to defeat Torak. The lord of the rings had Frodo trying to destroy the ring and evade Sauron. Harry pottery has Voldemort. A song of ice and fire has a bunch of morally grey characters that may die at any point of any novel. There is no main character, no main villain and no big goal or quest. So far.
/rant


There's no main quest here, there's no main hero. The thing about Martin, reading aSoIaF is a little like commanding a battle: you're always reconnoitering, trying to guess where the author will go next, what's a feint and where the action is really heading. I don't know when I have ever been as comprehensively and pleasurably outgeneraled as I am when I read Martin. He raises and raises the stakes, long past when any other writer would have walked away from the table, and just when you think he's done, he goes all in. There is, apparently, no piece he will not sacrifice, no character that you love so much that he will not orchestrate that character's doom.

The complexity of Martin's design ensures that we experience the struggle for Westeros from all sides at once. It's as if he's trying to show us that every fight is both triumph and tragedy, depending on where you see it from, and everybody is both hero and villain at the same time. Or maybe not even that.
I always say, if you must mount the gallows, give a jest to the crowd, a coin to the hangman, and make the drop with a smile on your lips. ~Birgitte
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Thanks for all of the info.....so..... - 06/07/2011 05:35:47 AM 862 Views
No not really - 06/07/2011 02:29:36 PM 830 Views
No worries, I just ordered the 4-pack of current paperbacks..... - 06/07/2011 05:35:15 PM 850 Views
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Tyrion/Peter D was great in season one, should definitely win an Emmy/GG - 07/07/2011 03:39:29 AM 855 Views
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Sounds like good advice, I will take it.....thanks! *NM* - 07/07/2011 05:43:26 PM 430 Views
** spoilers *** - 06/07/2011 04:37:27 PM 741 Views
I find that kind of annoying actually... - 06/07/2011 07:52:05 PM 771 Views
Refreshing, isn't it? *NM* - 06/07/2011 09:40:05 PM 394 Views
Part refreshing, part frustrating. *NM* - 06/07/2011 09:42:12 PM 363 Views
Re: Part refreshing, part frustrating. (SPOILERS) - 21/07/2011 04:20:58 AM 809 Views
There are no men like me. There's only me. *NM* - 07/07/2011 02:38:25 AM 382 Views
I personally think that's a big reason why so many love this series. - 11/07/2011 09:12:46 AM 806 Views
Hear hear!!! - 21/07/2011 04:21:47 AM 824 Views
Well... - 18/07/2011 07:38:28 AM 750 Views
Interesting... - 21/07/2011 04:23:04 AM 760 Views

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