It took me at least three tries as well. The beginning is very slow and confusing.

It took me at least three tries as well. The beginning is very slow and confusing.

 

 

I keep stopping at about the time the kid gets tossed off the roof. I always seem to run out of steam at that point. But I'm always game for another shot.

Yeah, you'll just have force your way through the first 1/3 or so if you want to get into it.

Going to do it!

 

erm...soon as I get to the library that is.

 

And given it's going to be 35c plus for the next few days, probably won't have the energy until it cools off next week.

There's no hurry, at best you'll have ~10 years until the series is done.

There's no hurry, at best you'll have ~10 years until the series is done.

 

I'm not sure about that, he looks like a fairly unhealthy guy, I don't see how he will make it a decade.

That was "at best", at worst he'll have the rest of his life

I'm reading ADWD and quick question: Does Daenerys' chapters get interesting in anyway? Because seriously, her problems ruling Mereen and fantasizing about Daario are getting old.

Edited July 22, 201114 yr by Syraxis

I'm reading ADWD and quick question: Does Daenerys' chapters get interesting in anyway? Because seriously, her problems ruling Mereen and fantasizing about Daario are getting old.

 

They do, in the end.

I'm reading ADWD and quick question: Does Daenerys' chapters get interesting in anyway? Because seriously, her problems ruling Mereen and fantasizing about Daario are getting old.

 

They do, in the end.

 

 

I'm reading ADWD and quick question: Does Daenerys' chapters get interesting in anyway? Because seriously, her problems ruling Mereen and fantasizing about Daario are getting old.

 

They do, in the end.

That's debatable. They change, a little, in the end.

 

There is one good thing about the Mereen bits, but I won't spoil it.

Mereen was boring as **** until the end. Maybe the author was trying to illustrate how hopeless it was.

I really liked Barristans' POV. It was interesting.

 

Have you finished the book yet, Shryke?

Yes, I was referring to Ser Grandfather as well.

Edited July 23, 201114 yr by Purkake

So EW interviewed GRRM on ADWD and its "ending." Obvious spoilers are obvious.

 

Thoughts:

GRRM pretty much confirmed that Jon isn't dead and that Ramsay's letter is a lie.

 

I'm around page 750 of my 900 page book. Christ GRRM, how can you write so much and yet write so little?

 

Why are your minor POV character chapters more interesting than your major ones?

 

That said, I think GRRM's has strong characterization and his prose is very good on a textual level. The problem is that his plotting is non-existent. When he started book 1, he didn't know what the ending would be. When he ended book 1, he didn't know what he would do in book 2 or 3. This is why he's done from the series being 4 books to 7 books and now 'maybe 8' books. He'd probably benefit from more editorial oversight and direction, but given that he's now big-time, his publisher will happily let him do whatever he desires.

I'm around page 750 of my 900 page book. Christ GRRM, how can you write so much and yet write so little?

 

GRRM's own words on the matter...

 

"The architects plan everything ahead of time, like an architect building a house. They know how many rooms are going to be in the house, what kind of roof they're going to have, where the wires are going to run, what kind of plumbing there's going to be. They have the whole thing designed and blueprinted out before they even nail the first board up. The gardeners dig a hole, drop in a seed and water it. They kind of know what seed it is, they know if planted a fantasy seed or mystery seed or whatever. But as the plant comes up and they water it, they don't know how many branches it's going to have, they find out as it grows. And I'm much more a gardener than an architect."

 

Lack of focus, indeed.

Being able to distinguish between personal likes/dislikes and objective judgements seems to be a gift given to very few.

How does that judgement work anyway? Do remove all of the content from the equation? How? If not, won't that affect the "pure" writing based on your biases?

 

I don?t believe that a work of art can be objectively good. I do believe that a book can be evaluated in regards to cultural, genre, and period expectations. You can also ask yourself if a book is consistent in regards to itself or the larger series it exists in.

It took me at least three tries as well. The beginning is very slow and confusing.

 

 

I keep stopping at about the time the kid gets tossed off the roof. I always seem to run out of steam at that point. But I'm always game for another shot.

 

I can't remember what the rule of thumb was. I think it was something like if you can get passed the 2nd Bran chapter you'll finish the book.

Being able to distinguish between personal likes/dislikes and objective judgements seems to be a gift given to very few.

How does that judgement work anyway? Do remove all of the content from the equation? How? If not, won't that affect the "pure" writing based on your biases?

 

I don?t believe that a work of art can be objectively good. I do believe that a book can be evaluated in regards to cultural, genre, and period expectations. You can also ask yourself if a book is consistent in regards to itself or the larger series it exists in.

That's kind of what I was getting at, because everyone was just going on about the "writing". You'll need to take into account a number of variables, especially the intended genre and the time period.

"his prose is very good on a textual level".

 

Well, that gives me some hope that he's finally learnt to write over the last 10 years, because book one is a joke in the respect of prose.