The series is a an absolute fantasy masterpiece and George is probably shall we say the second best witer in the genre. I wrote a review in the Review bar Ill paste it but I feel it isnt overly positive enough I really liked this series especially Blood and Gold, that was mental. Took a while for ir to grow on me but now IM hooked.
Ok I recently read George R. R. Martins a Game of Thrones and well Im not quite sure if I really liked it or not, let me elaborate. Ill mention things im not really certain about first.
The charecters, main problem hear is there are very few likable ones for me it was Tyrion the funny dwarf or Jon Snow the guy on the wall they were both brilliant but everybody else was either boring or you hated them. I have to say all the charecters were all very good, as in they were developed with light and dark to them but the fact that the good charecters are written about far less is a major problem I have. There is no evil in the book just twisted people while this may be true of the real world in a very political fantasy book its tiresome sometimes. I would advocate deep charecters like this but you have to get to the point as well. Its contemporys would be say the farseer trilogy and perhaps the wheel of time. The farser charecters were better and all the books had growth, I know ive only read one of the fire and ice books but at the end of assasins apprentice I can say the charecters were better but there were less of them.
Ok the plot, it was very deep and complicated and hard to predict sometimes and everyone in the book was focused on the current conflict(minus 1 charecter Daenerys who will probably show up later) so you cant say it ever lost focus, the inevitable but comes now, but at the end of the book I didnt really care how things were turning out in the conflict(I am saying conflict BTW to avoid spoilers). This had to do with the charecters I mentioned not being likable, Id say the most talked about charecter Eddard was completly boring in the intriuge he had to carry out, he was too innocent and trusting so you got tired of watching him fumble, coming back to the farseer books again its closest match, I wanted Chade to do it , I wanted someone capable not Mr oh Im a good person and I m sorry you all have to smack your head in frustration over my ineptness. Eddard should be in wars there hed be great and tragic as opposed to finally figuring it out in the moment of doom. The plot was good but its main problem was it didnt make me care.
Magic another thing that can bring up the standard of a novel, most of the time magic dosnt come up in the book apart from certain swords so its oldfashioned politics the whole way. I am expecting great things though, Im referring to what Jon Snow is guarding against on the wall the time the Others attack is brilliant its very the white foxes in the Memory, Sorrow, Thorn books if you know what I mean. Very mysterious so things can only improve there.
In the end it is a vey readable book very graphic, descriptive and tense but hamstrung by a few niggles that I have no doubt will be worked out. It can be an effort to get through but its probably going to be worth.
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jabidas = Sorcerer of clan Aerie thing
Also I will have nothing to do with sulpher powder and secret priesthoods so dont even try it.
And dont worry soon you shall all be part of my ever growing army of the undead.