I've found fewer scenes elicit a sense of aww...a feeling of we're actually seeing what happened.
I totally agree with you about the world-opening up, however. I don't think RJ is the greatest writer when it comes to dialogue or prose, but he's a master of undercurrents, which is something that really only thrives in a complex world.
The story itself also got much more interesting after TFOH--before that, it was kind of the classic "good vs evil, a nobody-boy is the hero and must shoulder the burden of being the world's savior." That's been done countless times, and it's boring. RJ took that story--which does resonate well with readers, which is why it (and the story of Jesus) have caught on so well--and greatly expanded on it, adding intrigue to the magic, the metaphysical, and the motivations of all of the characters.
One thing that I like about the GRRM books that RJ didn't really include was that, in GRRM stories, there are very few people who are actually [i]evil[/i], only people who are all simply acting in their own best self-interest. Case in point: everyone starts out after book 1 thinking Jaime Lannister is total scum of the earth. From an outsider's perspective, he is. But GRRM gave is really good rationale, from his POV, as to why he did--and honestly, a lot of it was honorable in a strange sort of way. Tyrion's actions all make sense from his PoV, and it's fun to read how X thinks Y is evil, but Y thinks X is evil--it's all relative in that world.
In RJ's world, almost all of the Forsaken have weird psychological issues that just make them flat out [i]evil[/i] murderers. There really is no rationale for wanting to be on the DO's side, unless you openly accept that you are evil, and willing to do blatantly evil things. I never quite understood the allure of Immortality, considering that the immortal soul is something that's more or less central to the entire idea of the Pattern.
I totally agree with you about the world-opening up, however. I don't think RJ is the greatest writer when it comes to dialogue or prose, but he's a master of undercurrents, which is something that really only thrives in a complex world.
The story itself also got much more interesting after TFOH--before that, it was kind of the classic "good vs evil, a nobody-boy is the hero and must shoulder the burden of being the world's savior." That's been done countless times, and it's boring. RJ took that story--which does resonate well with readers, which is why it (and the story of Jesus) have caught on so well--and greatly expanded on it, adding intrigue to the magic, the metaphysical, and the motivations of all of the characters.
One thing that I like about the GRRM books that RJ didn't really include was that, in GRRM stories, there are very few people who are actually [i]evil[/i], only people who are all simply acting in their own best self-interest. Case in point: everyone starts out after book 1 thinking Jaime Lannister is total scum of the earth. From an outsider's perspective, he is. But GRRM gave is really good rationale, from his POV, as to why he did--and honestly, a lot of it was honorable in a strange sort of way. Tyrion's actions all make sense from his PoV, and it's fun to read how X thinks Y is evil, but Y thinks X is evil--it's all relative in that world.
In RJ's world, almost all of the Forsaken have weird psychological issues that just make them flat out [i]evil[/i] murderers. There really is no rationale for wanting to be on the DO's side, unless you openly accept that you are evil, and willing to do blatantly evil things. I never quite understood the allure of Immortality, considering that the immortal soul is something that's more or less central to the entire idea of the Pattern.
This message last edited by Marshall on 04/11/2011 at 05:34:05 PM
Ranking the books.
03/11/2011 07:30:39 PM
- 5961 Views
My ranking:
03/11/2011 07:44:49 PM
- 2289 Views
For all it's worth
03/11/2011 08:12:06 PM
- 1619 Views
TSR wins it for the Rhuidean Aiel history scene alone
04/11/2011 04:49:29 AM
- 1350 Views
Re: TSR wins it for the Rhuidean Aiel history scene alone
04/11/2011 05:23:05 PM
- 1271 Views
I had no idea it was Jordan's favorite.
04/11/2011 05:33:51 PM
- 1286 Views
Oh please, this place is dead. Mort, Tod, död. Any activity is good
03/11/2011 08:07:36 PM
- 979 Views