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~A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones~ (George R. R. Martin)
When a friend of mine told me that the show was coming close to (or had already surpassed) the content in the books, my jaw dropped.
Now that I've finally read the first book...well, I'm no longer surprised.
Martin goes to such lengths to describe the environments, the clothing, and features of people that he seems to leave little room for anything else. Other than actual characters, of which there seem to be no end, and almost all of which seem to lack any actual character (and I don't mean being inherently good or bad).
With the multiple main characters, it was a bit of a trial to recall everything from one chapter to the next, to see if things were related or what not; however, I don't mind that. I enjoy complexity, and I really like when things start to appear and tie back to things already read.
Going back to the descriptions again, while I thought much of it was interesting, if I have a choice between hearing about what 'Ser WhoTheFuckCaresHe'sMentionedOneTimeButGetsFiveHundredWordsOfDescription' and having said five-hundred words applied to dialogue and character-building, there's no contest.
Additionally, the lack of dialogue in a book this size is astonishing. Between this and the over-description, I almost got the feeling that Martin isn't truly invested in his characters. It's a bit hard to explain, and perhaps I'm more sensitive to this, being that I write stories that tend to focus so much on the characters that I admittedly neglect environments, settings, and descriptions...but all the same, there needs to be at least a semblance of balance, and that was lacking.
For example, telling me every detail about the Stark's home, 'Winterfell', does not really make me care too much about the Stark's. I don't form a connection knowing how many their dining table can seat, or how their crypt has multiple levels (nor who's in the crypt, tbh). These are interesting things, yes, but without more of the Stark's words, their actions, their thoughts, their scruples, their beliefs - in essence, their personalities - they, and most of the other characters in this book, are utterly forgettable.
All the same, I did find enough little things interesting, and a couple of characters intriguing enough to keep turning the page. Martin does seem to have a wicked sense of humor, when he decides to show it, and he proved he had suspense, something I find tough to write, down pat - once I even caught myself holding my breath. I also respect that he has the guts to kill characters that are in major roles.
After I wrote out the above, and decided that I would rate the book 2.5 of 5 stars overall, I went to Amazon and read some 3 star reviews. I just felt the need to address a few things I saw over and over in them.
Granted, I'm coming into the series late, so I don't know what the first presses of the book said - did it include 'book one', or was it simply 'A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones'? I'm presuming the book was marketed from the off as a series, so when I kept seeing people complaining how so many things weren't resolved...I just have to shrug. True, it's annoying when you read a book and wait two to five years to find out what happens next, as opposed to a television series where you might wait six to nine months, but all the same - it's a series, not a standalone.
Secondly, I kept seeing 'explicit sex, omg!' Really? Where? I wasn't reading reviews of the five books, I was reading the reviews for solely book one, and I saw nothing that I would describe as explicit. TBH, I was a bit put off - so many words, and so little lent to not just sex, but desire and attraction and affection as a whole.
And then, complaints of how 'X age doesn't act this way!', for example, complaining of thirteen(?) year old Sansa Stark. What is confusing about this? Medieval times, anyone? Along with beheadings and heads on pikes and castles and horses and swords, one thing that remained constant when I read or heard about medieval times, or stories with that theme, was how the women were young; be it their families or themselves, hopeful to be married as soon as it was possible to have children. It was a different time. And, really, in one facet anyhow, that time is now coming back around: how often do you hear 'babies having babies'? I knew six people in my high school graduating class who had children over the age of three, and that was...well, a lot of years ago. I see my niece, who is barely 18 now, and just had her THIRD child.
A few other reviewers stated Martin wasn't writing fantasy, he was writing historical fiction, and that made me laugh. However, I will say that much of what the collective 'we' considers fantasy was either entirely absent, or sorely lacking. On the other hand, does fantasy HAVE to have Elves and Halflings, swords and magic, dragons and unicorns on every page to make it such? Rhetorical and unanswerable question, I know.
So anyhow, I've even started the second book, A Clash of Kings, despite my complaints with the first. I have to say, 'Kings' has a distinctly poorer Prologue compared to the 'Thrones', but true to himself, Martin then goes on to give easily a hundred words to the description of a table, but I'm digressing now.
Good thing I read fast - 'Thrones' took me 20 hours over the course of a week of casual reading, so I'll give 'Kings' the time as well.
To note: I've seen the first five episodes of the show, back when they were new, and was utterly bored by it, except for that fantastic first five minutes of the pilot episode. I'll give the series another go when I've finished the books...maybe
Thanks for reading!
When a friend of mine told me that the show was coming close to (or had already surpassed) the content in the books, my jaw dropped.
Now that I've finally read the first book...well, I'm no longer surprised.
Martin goes to such lengths to describe the environments, the clothing, and features of people that he seems to leave little room for anything else. Other than actual characters, of which there seem to be no end, and almost all of which seem to lack any actual character (and I don't mean being inherently good or bad).
With the multiple main characters, it was a bit of a trial to recall everything from one chapter to the next, to see if things were related or what not; however, I don't mind that. I enjoy complexity, and I really like when things start to appear and tie back to things already read.
Going back to the descriptions again, while I thought much of it was interesting, if I have a choice between hearing about what 'Ser WhoTheFuckCaresHe'sMentionedOneTimeButGetsFiveHundredWordsOfDescription' and having said five-hundred words applied to dialogue and character-building, there's no contest.
Additionally, the lack of dialogue in a book this size is astonishing. Between this and the over-description, I almost got the feeling that Martin isn't truly invested in his characters. It's a bit hard to explain, and perhaps I'm more sensitive to this, being that I write stories that tend to focus so much on the characters that I admittedly neglect environments, settings, and descriptions...but all the same, there needs to be at least a semblance of balance, and that was lacking.
For example, telling me every detail about the Stark's home, 'Winterfell', does not really make me care too much about the Stark's. I don't form a connection knowing how many their dining table can seat, or how their crypt has multiple levels (nor who's in the crypt, tbh). These are interesting things, yes, but without more of the Stark's words, their actions, their thoughts, their scruples, their beliefs - in essence, their personalities - they, and most of the other characters in this book, are utterly forgettable.
All the same, I did find enough little things interesting, and a couple of characters intriguing enough to keep turning the page. Martin does seem to have a wicked sense of humor, when he decides to show it, and he proved he had suspense, something I find tough to write, down pat - once I even caught myself holding my breath. I also respect that he has the guts to kill characters that are in major roles.
After I wrote out the above, and decided that I would rate the book 2.5 of 5 stars overall, I went to Amazon and read some 3 star reviews. I just felt the need to address a few things I saw over and over in them.
Granted, I'm coming into the series late, so I don't know what the first presses of the book said - did it include 'book one', or was it simply 'A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones'? I'm presuming the book was marketed from the off as a series, so when I kept seeing people complaining how so many things weren't resolved...I just have to shrug. True, it's annoying when you read a book and wait two to five years to find out what happens next, as opposed to a television series where you might wait six to nine months, but all the same - it's a series, not a standalone.
Secondly, I kept seeing 'explicit sex, omg!' Really? Where? I wasn't reading reviews of the five books, I was reading the reviews for solely book one, and I saw nothing that I would describe as explicit. TBH, I was a bit put off - so many words, and so little lent to not just sex, but desire and attraction and affection as a whole.
And then, complaints of how 'X age doesn't act this way!', for example, complaining of thirteen(?) year old Sansa Stark. What is confusing about this? Medieval times, anyone? Along with beheadings and heads on pikes and castles and horses and swords, one thing that remained constant when I read or heard about medieval times, or stories with that theme, was how the women were young; be it their families or themselves, hopeful to be married as soon as it was possible to have children. It was a different time. And, really, in one facet anyhow, that time is now coming back around: how often do you hear 'babies having babies'? I knew six people in my high school graduating class who had children over the age of three, and that was...well, a lot of years ago. I see my niece, who is barely 18 now, and just had her THIRD child.
A few other reviewers stated Martin wasn't writing fantasy, he was writing historical fiction, and that made me laugh. However, I will say that much of what the collective 'we' considers fantasy was either entirely absent, or sorely lacking. On the other hand, does fantasy HAVE to have Elves and Halflings, swords and magic, dragons and unicorns on every page to make it such? Rhetorical and unanswerable question, I know.
So anyhow, I've even started the second book, A Clash of Kings, despite my complaints with the first. I have to say, 'Kings' has a distinctly poorer Prologue compared to the 'Thrones', but true to himself, Martin then goes on to give easily a hundred words to the description of a table, but I'm digressing now.
Good thing I read fast - 'Thrones' took me 20 hours over the course of a week of casual reading, so I'll give 'Kings' the time as well.
To note: I've seen the first five episodes of the show, back when they were new, and was utterly bored by it, except for that fantastic first five minutes of the pilot episode. I'll give the series another go when I've finished the books...maybe
Thanks for reading!
A sweet lil tale for Halloween
Thank you James Whitcomb Riley! JWR Wiki
My Dah used to read this to us every Halloween, and made it deliciously terrifying =)
~LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE~
INSCRIBED
WITH ALL FAITH AND AFFECTION
To all the little children: - The happy ones; and sad ones;
The sober and the silent ones; the boisterous and glad ones;
The good ones - Yes, the good ones, too; and all the lovely
bad ones.
Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an'
sweep,
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-
an-keep;
An' all us other
Are you NaNoWriMo'ing this year?
Add me as a buddy :) I won't harass you, I swear.
http://nanowrimo.org/participants/soluzek
http://nanowrimo.org/
Halo 5: Guardians OST review
Halo 5: Guardians – my bipolar OST review
~TL: DR (but you want to read it, dontcha? Come on, admit it!)
Grade: B- (worth purchasing)
I really complain (bitch) a lot about this OST, and talk too much about Halo 4’s music, but in the end I gave Halo 5: Guardians the grade it deserved~
So here we are with a new Halo, and with it a change in lead composers. Halo 4, from Nov. 2012, had two volumes (iTunes) spanning forty-one tracks. Thirty-one of those had Neil Davidge as composer, with the remaining ten by Kazuma Jinnouchi (KJ). KJ returns now as H5:G’s sole composer – iTunes download, currently $15.99, is about t
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone review
No story spoilers!
Playstation 4 -- Version 1.10 -- NG+ -- Blood and Broken Bones difficulty -- Swords (fast) + Alchemy (bombs) build -- 65 start level, 69 end level -- Time played 15-18 hrs
Right off, I’m not addressing anything that may be an issue due to the 1.10 patch – what I've been calling The CDPR Shot Themselves in the Foot More Than Once patch – which was released Friday before last, three days before the expac dropped. This review is about the expansion experience only.
Okay, so if you’ve not purchased The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, WHY are you waiting? And if you have - and, obviously, if you enjoy W3 - then
© 2014 - 2024 Kezulos
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not sure if you have read Martin's own biographical history... he spent a lot of time at home alone in pretty much a tenement in NY staring out the window imagining and creating his own worlds. that seems consistent with how the books are written... not a lot of emotional connection with the characters (which is good, as most of them die). it took a while for me to get hooked into the series. but once i was i flew through the books. yes, it is discouraging sometimes to see one mention of a character in a book, and nothing more until the next book. his introduction of new characters in each book gets overwhelming, just for sheer volume of characters that you are trying to remember. but i believe they did an excellent job (so far) of taking the book to the screen. understanding the story within the books lead me to a better connection with the hbo series.
just my thoughts.
just my thoughts.