Last Christmas (not the one just gone, the one before that) I accepted a challenge from @louloulou on Twitter to see who could finish A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin first. We both started on Christmas Eve and I got to the end on the drive to my parents' house four or five days later. Crucially, this was about fifteen minutes before she did. I won. Go me. She had to bake me a cake as forfeit.
This Christmas (now I am talking about the one just gone) we agreed to do the same again with volume two of the Song of Ice and Fire series, A Clash of Kings. We appear to have started a Christmas tradition.
Lou won this year. I fear I may have lost valuable reading time stuffing my face with food.
Oh well, one-all. *gets baking*
Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the past couple of years you'll know enough about the plot to avoid me going into too much detail here (rock dwellers: various claimants to the throne of Westeros plot and scheme and battle each other in a medieval setting with elements of magic and a few dragons) and you've probably caught some of the TV show even if just in passing. What I have found interesting is the amount of people who wouldn't normally go anywhere near fantasy fiction who have been converted by these books.
And the reason for this is that they are really very good. I know some people still scoff at the genre - a fellow publisher on Twitter described a historical fiction writer recently as 'like George RR Martin but without the magic and silliness', or something like that* - but I think they are wrong.
And here's why.
The Song of Ice and Fire books concern a wide range of central characters, each with a tragic flaw. They inhabit a world which we recognise as time past but which contains too many magical elements to be 'real'. They plot, scheme, fuck, fight epic battles and worship various gods. There are kings, serfs, warriors and fantastic beasts. There are weak men and strong women, and vice versa. There is passion and madness. It is often very gritty and down to earth, it is sometimes overblown and over the top.
If critics and fans of more literary fare have a problem with the above then I would politely mention two words to them. Those words are ILIAD and ODYSSEY.
I was frequently reminded of Homer's epic poems while reading A Game of Thrones and, more recently, A Clash of Kings, and I make no apologies for such a grand claim. Martin is a storyteller of the highest order. He spins a great yarn, he creates a fictional world into which the reader can immerse themselves, his characters are beautifully observed and watching them cavort across the page is a joy.
Roll on next Christmas.
*That upstanding gentleman @joethepublicist on Twitter has come forward as the source of the quote and corrected me. He was talking about author Tim Willocks and comparing his stuff to the Game of Thrones television series. So I take it back.
Scott you CANNOT possibly wait till next Christmas to read Book 3!! Such restraint. Husband & I were converted first by series 1 of the TV show which we watched in a week (and have cursed our lack of Sky since as series 2 not coming out till this March), but then read the books back to back over 2-3 months. Was distraught when I got to the end and realised he is probably still miles away from the end of the next one. (On your yearly plan, he probably will have finished the series by the time you get to book 7:-)).
I agree with you, it's a fabulous, sweeping epic series of books, with brilliant flawed, vulnerable, fascinating characters. Everything and anything can happen and no character is safe, particularly the ones you like the most. I love it. And making an ugly randy but supremely witty dwarf the hero is just fabulous.
Can't wait for the next book.
Posted by: Julia Williams | January 04, 2013 at 01:18 PM
The two books that make book three are fucking amazing. I've got a wide-on just thinking about them.
Posted by: BookCunt | January 04, 2013 at 02:04 PM
Dungeons and dragons comes to life. Great imagination on behalf of Martin, just wish he would hurry up and complete the next trilogy.
Posted by: Oregon Fishing Guide | March 26, 2013 at 04:49 AM
I bought this book on the strength of previous reviews and am pleased to say I was not disappointed. As has been stated, GRRM's style is one of multiple viewpoints (initially confusing although by the middle of the book you know who's who, and in which 'house' they belong), within a continuous time thread. The writing is dark, gritty, and melancholic.
Posted by: Oregon Fishing Guide | March 26, 2013 at 04:56 AM