September 2, 2002

  • Behind the Scenes -


    I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  I certainly did.  I read, and read, and napped and napped.  I have to tell you I'm REALLY disappointed in the George R. R. Martin books.  You would think that a book with 900 pages would last longer than ONE DAY!  Seriously, I sat down thinking that I'd get started on book 1 (A Game of Thrones) this weekend, and I could not stop reading until I finished book 2 (A Clash of Kings).  Ladies and Gentlemen - this is a lot of reading even for me.  Book one has 807 pages (in the mass market paperback version that I'm holding) and there are 969 pages in book two. 


    Of course, this doesn't count appendices and the first chapter of the next book that is thoughtfully included at the end.  I LOVE the Lord of the Rings trilogy - but can I make a confession?  There are a few pages that I (ahem) . . . skim.  I know, I know, I'm a cretin, but really, the adventure is one thing, but Tolkien's love of words is quite another, and I DON'T speak elvish, so why should I read the many many poems that are WRITTEN in elvish? 


    Now, Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice on the other hand, made me afraid to skip a page.  Something happens on every page that's interesting and important to the story.  Hard to believe with that many pages, but it's true.  The reason that this is so is that Martin hasn't written one story here, he's written at least 6.  Each "chapter" is told from a different viewpoint.  Each viewpoint represents another person who is the hero(ine) of his or her own story.  It's a fascinating look at the way our choices shape us and impact the people around us. 


    Another thing I especially appreciate about Martin's plotting is that he never tells the same event twice.  The technique of shifting viewpoint usually gets really old with me because the author gives into the the temptation to "retell" scenes from a he said/she said perspective.  In this series, you get one chance to see the action and you have to work out whether the character "saw" it truly, was deceived in some way, or focused on the wrong thing.


    Oh, what's the series about?  It's about birth and death, rising and falling, honor and betrayal, magic and alchemy, the pageantry of Kings and the mud of battle. 


    If I have one quarrel with the way that Martin tells the story, it is in the sheer number of rape scenes he includes.  Yes, I KNOW that mercenaries rape and pillage in lieu of pay - but really.  After a certain number of rape scenes, I feel like a peeping-tom at the windows of a whorehouse.


    This series is one huge "behind the scenes" look at any epic story you've ever heard.  Everyone has a viewpoint, and anyone could tell it differently than you've ever heard it before.  In the hands of a lesser author, this project would be tedious and preachy, in the hands of George R. R. Martin - it becomes a work of art.  



    <Many thanks to Virgil who recommended the Martin series to me.>

Comments (23)

  • Cool!  I may have to borrow some new reading material when I come to visit at the end of the month!

  • Love that series.   I'm particularly impressed with the way Martin can keep all those plot threads straight--I've been reading them as they come out, and when I picked up the third one I was afraid I might get confused just because it had been so long since I read the previous volume; but I didn't. 

    I read a lot of fantasy, and I periodically rant about the extremely annoying tendency of so many fantasists today to go in for these bloated epics with each volume bigger than the last and no end in sight; but Martin is specifically excluded from that kind of screed.  He clearly has an end in view (though the readers can't see it yet) and is not just making it all up as he goes along. 

    And another thing...midway through the third volume I was astonished to realize I was starting to like a character who had previously been depicted (through the eyes of others) as totally unsympathetic.  I love an author who can make me do that.

  • good lord, with a glowing recommendation like this, who would be able to resist?  I mean, besides me, that is.  Ok, ok!  I'll give it a whirl... I've never been the slightest bit interested in TLOTR stuffs, you see, but I shall definitely look into this.  Thanks for the review!

  • Oh wow gonna have to check into these on my next trip to the library.

  • wahahaha. i started to read Lord of the Rings. but like you, decided to skim...err...skip a lot of chapters. in fact i decided to skip book 2 and 3 altogether. (i'm sorry i'm sorry ok call me a heretic. but i really find the first book bo-ring.)

    the one thing that makes martin so different is the fact that it seems his book has no heroes. i hope i am not giving away too much here, but in his book even central characters die. now, how many authors have the audacity to do that? and the capability to pull it off? it just makes reading him so much more exciting. that is one great read i haven't had in a long time.

  • btw, i had no problem with the rape scenes.

  • My wife tried to get into The Lord of the Rings - but found the writing style very untangible...I never got past The Hobbit, myself. I have been more interested in books by Aldous Huxley - noticeably, Brave New World.

    I've just been reading the life story of George Orwell...that is very interesting reading.

    Thanks for the comments on that link - you are the first one to give it any good comments...so you can go to the top of the class.

  • Come back to us! We miss you! Just lay the book down!

  • ROFL!  I skimmed over ALL the poems in LOTR! 

  • I'm going to check out that author when I start buying books...any other suggestions?  Spot

  • The Lord of the Rings hasn’t ever interested me but it sounds like I may need to check this one out!

  • The pleasure of reading ! But it sounds here like a marathon !!!  

    Michel

  • I understand about overplaying certain scenes out.  I felt Mel Gibson's movie Patriot was overdone when his children kept getting killed.  I do know that there must be much darkness in a tale for the light to have a glorious victory in the end, and atrocities and dark deeds detailed help develop this end...but I am of the same mind that overplay is overplay.

  • God Bless - Dale

  • I need a day of just reading and napping

  • I love TLOTR!  Just thought I'd say that you traitors!

  • Hmmm, I'll have to put this on my list. (For that time when I'm not reading something to the kids. )

  • Auugh!  I was all fired up to rush out and get a copy of that book, until you got to the part about the rape scenes - I am in total "sweetness and light" mode right now and I can't handle anything that violent and/or intense while I'm like this!

  • I need to read more.. and when I come to a site like this, it just reinforces it for me!

  • The Lord of the Rings was supposed to be based upon historical past of the British Isles before The Dark Ages spread across the land - and a lot of the knowledge of earlier times were lost.

    That's what I heard, anyway.

  • Sounds like a good read I will have to get it. Never be afraid or guilty for asking for help Jass

  • sounds like a good book.. now go sell it on http://www.half.com :)

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