but the Martin. . .an amazingly well-wrought story. Certainly most appealing to “reading” types, as the tale is very long and very complex. That said, I finished it (well, through Feast, the most recent available) and reread it immediately, enjoying it even more the second time through.

Kol Tuv
6PO

I feel exactly the same way, but I can’t avoid the addiction of this sort of soap opera. I mean, okay, in 1996 was the first book. . . . .what about “The Gunslinger?” Trust me, I’m not defending king and his hackery or his inability to create a realistic archetype.

Just saying, I am, and a lot of people are the types to say “I read one, I got read the rest” Aspirin made a career out of that. So did Jordan.

That ain’t no joke. The last book was his first step towards redemption but I’m still disgusted at his inability to allow female characters to grow in the plot, supposedly the next one is the last, don’t see it.

In the series “song of ice and fire” he’s willing to breed the dog, then kill the puppies. It isn’t exactly hard to follow, it’s hard to swallow (spelling) because fantasy is all too often touchy feely. George R. R. Martin has serious balls in the way he tells a story. I will be honest though, I think the first book (in paperback) is something like 650 pages, and it will take at least 84 pages (thats when he kills the first pup) to realize that it is a serious story. There are a lot of “controversial” topics addressed, and a lot of bold plot moves. Not to be specific, but by the time you get to book three, the complex character development in book one will have become moot.

I LOVE the series. It is romantic, practical, militaristic, diplomatic, damning, redemptive, brutal, heart-warming, painful, joyous, dark and under it all, you get the sense that in the end, it’s worth something.

Another thing about this series of books. A lot of people who talk it down do so because they see it as just one more fantasy about war, but in the background there is an insinuation of a shark that is about to bite. “A Feast for Crows” is only book 4, in an undefined series, I guess at least 6 books, but I’ve seen conjecture of 8 + (I hope not) books in the series. I mention this because it is obvious that what has happened in the first 3 (haven’t finished the fourth) books follows the “spielberg rule” which is “you don’t see the shark for the first hour of a 90 minute movie”

Sorry. I get verbose sometimes.

wufnik is absolutely correct. I partied with GRR a few times. He’s a quiet maniac. I like his earliest stuff, best.

Originally planned to be a six book (not three, at least not according to what he said way back when the first came out) series, it’s now going to be at least seven. That’s because the fourth book got, well, it got split into two books. “A Feast for Crows” came out just this year, while “A Dance with Dragons” keeps ticking later and later (went from the end of this year – now – to late next year). Some comments GRRM has made could mean that the now sixth book might turn out to be books six and seven, leaving the current number seven to be whatever it winds up being.

Then there’s time. The first book was released in 1996. The second came out in 1999, and spoiling us all the third came out in 2000. Then came the hiatus. Feast for Crows came out, as mentioned, in July of 2005. That was due to a decision to cope with a nasty length. The decision was to take all the parts of half the characters to form one book, and put the rest in another, both coming in at a bit over a thousand pages. As said, while Feast of Crows did come out a few months after that decision, the other half – allegedly almost complete – is now looking at another year as its tweaked and completed. If the other two (four?) books take as long, we’re looking at another decade or more to complete.

I liked the read for reasons mentioned by previous posters. I hesitate to recommend incomplete series, however, especially when I’m afraid they’ll not be completed.

It’s several steps up from Jordan (who sucks), at least a couple steps down from Tolkien. It’s much more focused on its world’s political arena than either of the other two: magic and myth are elements of the civil wars, but the prize will go to the most savvy politician/strongest faction, rather than to the most powerful magician or mythologically ordained ruler, I think.

I’m worried about how the series will move forward: characters die off, yes, but more keep getting moved up into importance and introduced, and the narrative is covering shorter and shorter spans of time per volume.

That said, I want to know how the geopolitics get sorted; so far, I’m not really sure what side I want to win in the end, and that’s a pretty good sign that the series is morally complex.