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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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Rewatching the GOT season - questions.....SPOILERS, obviously - 05/07/2011 07:41:33 PM 1244 Views
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Thanks for all of the info.....so..... - 06/07/2011 05:35:47 AM 933 Views
No not really - 06/07/2011 02:29:36 PM 905 Views
No worries, I just ordered the 4-pack of current paperbacks..... - 06/07/2011 05:35:15 PM 930 Views
You are a big fan of tyrion right? *NM* - 07/07/2011 02:29:19 AM 366 Views
Tyrion/Peter D was great in season one, should definitely win an Emmy/GG - 07/07/2011 03:39:29 AM 932 Views
Then you really need to read Book 2 before the tv show comes out - 07/07/2011 03:59:34 AM 790 Views
Sounds like good advice, I will take it.....thanks! *NM* - 07/07/2011 05:43:26 PM 467 Views
** spoilers *** - 06/07/2011 04:37:27 PM 828 Views
I find that kind of annoying actually... - 06/07/2011 07:52:05 PM 852 Views
Refreshing, isn't it? *NM* - 06/07/2011 09:40:05 PM 430 Views
Part refreshing, part frustrating. *NM* - 06/07/2011 09:42:12 PM 385 Views
Re: Part refreshing, part frustrating. (SPOILERS) - 21/07/2011 04:20:58 AM 886 Views
There are no men like me. There's only me. *NM* - 07/07/2011 02:38:25 AM 413 Views
I personally think that's a big reason why so many love this series. - 11/07/2011 09:12:46 AM 880 Views
Hear hear!!! - 21/07/2011 04:21:47 AM 907 Views
Well... - 18/07/2011 07:38:28 AM 828 Views
Interesting... - 21/07/2011 04:23:04 AM 839 Views

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