Game of Thrones (THE BOOK) fans

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rml_16
rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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Um ... so tell me why this book is good?

I started it a few days ago and am about 80 pages in and not enjoying it at all.

I can live with the author taking a million years to get through the setup and to the meat of the story, but the writing itself is not very good at all. What do you all like about it? What am I missing?
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  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Bump.

    Anyone? Bueller?
  • _HeathBar_
    _HeathBar_ Posts: 902 Member
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    It starts off slow and it's not for everyone. If you like happy endings or get offended easily I highly suggest you pick a different series to read.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Nope. I can live without a happy ending and I do not get easily offended. But I'm finding the actual writing very difficult to take. it's not ... good.

    I read the author's bio and with all his experience, I thought it would be. But it's very amateurish. I think that bugs me more than anything. I just don't get what the story is and I feel like after 80 pages, I should have SOME idea!

    I guess I'll keep going and see if it picks up at all.
  • L00py_T0ucan
    L00py_T0ucan Posts: 1,378 Member
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    It starts off slow and it's not for everyone.

    ^ agree...but it's great! I'm on pg 774 of the first book in the series and am already scheming to get my hands on the other 3.
  • SinIsIn
    SinIsIn Posts: 1,865 Member
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    I don't think the writing is so terrible. It is a really good series... some of it is rather boring but I've read them all and am anxiously awaiting book 6 The Winds of Winter.
  • _HeathBar_
    _HeathBar_ Posts: 902 Member
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    Nope. I can live without a happy ending and I do not get easily offended. But I'm finding the actual writing very difficult to take. it's not ... good.

    I read the author's bio and with all his experience, I thought it would be. But it's very amateurish. I think that bugs me more than anything. I just don't get what the story is and I feel like after 80 pages, I should have SOME idea!

    I guess I'll keep going and see if it picks up at all.

    Ya his writing style is kinda different, I would just keep going, I think you'll find that it does get better. I've been following this series for years so I might be a lil bias. I'm currently approaching the end of the last book in the series. Sadly, it's been a slight disappointment so far.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    I've heard the later books aren't as good. And if I don't like the first one, that doesn't bode well. lol

    I guess I'll keep going. But the writing IS that bad. It's technically good (he can write a proper sentence) but it's poorly constructed in other ways.

    I've read similar style, just never in a published novel. It's very, very, very bad.
  • Krizzle4Rizzle
    Krizzle4Rizzle Posts: 2,704 Member
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    I guess I loved the first one because I am a HUGE fan of the series.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    I guess I loved the first one because I am a HUGE fan of the series.

    The show? I haven't seen it. Maybe it's like The Notebook where the writer sucked, but the story was good so the movie was so much better than the book.
  • DeepAsAPlate
    DeepAsAPlate Posts: 121 Member
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    The style is very Faulkner-esque. It takes a while to get past the construction of the book -- Each chapter being told with a different point of view. Sometimes the story doesn't movie in a linear fashion, either. You're not really getting a God's Eye view of the plot like with most novels; you have to piece it together. Martin makes you work for it, but, ultimately, I found it rewarding.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    The style is very Faulkner-esque. It takes a while to get past the construction of the book -- Each chapter being told with a different point of view. Sometimes the story doesn't movie in a linear fashion, either. You're not really getting a God's Eye view of the plot like with most novels; you have to piece it together. Martin makes you work for it, but, ultimately, I found it rewarding.

    I have a degree in English lit. I've read a lot of books by a lot of authors. I even took an entire class on Faulkner. Sorry, but this guy is NOT like Faulkner, who could actually write.

    I'm going to keep reading and see if it picks up since so many people love it. But I still stand by that he is not a good writer. Whether he's a good storyteller (two very different things) is yet to be decided.
  • alias1001
    alias1001 Posts: 634 Member
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    I've read the first three books, and currently stuck in the beginning of the fourth.

    It's a compelling story to me, but I found myself skimming some of the chapters. It's overly detailed, with perhaps even too many characters to keep track of. I haven't picked up A Feast for Crows in a few months, and I probably won't anytime soon.
  • iceqieen
    iceqieen Posts: 897 Member
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    Do you normally read fantasy lit or did you just pick them up because of the series?

    I love the series, and I like how he writes. Then again I was really dragged in by how cruel he is to his characters. Guess each to his own :)

    If you don't like it, don't read it. They are being fairly true to the books in the TV series so you can always get the major plot from there (but not the twisted little side plots, muhaha).

    His writing shows how much he loves food though, tooo much description on that hehe. I generally skim over the menu and whenever major landscape description starts, do that with other books as well.. what is it with fantasy writers and describing landscape. It wasnt that great when Tolkien did it.. its not that great now. *hides from angry Tolkien fans*.
  • SinIsIn
    SinIsIn Posts: 1,865 Member
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    The style is very Faulkner-esque. It takes a while to get past the construction of the book -- Each chapter being told with a different point of view. Sometimes the story doesn't movie in a linear fashion, either. You're not really getting a God's Eye view of the plot like with most novels; you have to piece it together. Martin makes you work for it, but, ultimately, I found it rewarding.

    I have a degree in English lit. I've read a lot of books by a lot of authors. I even took an entire class on Faulkner. Sorry, but this guy is NOT like Faulkner, who could actually write.

    I'm going to keep reading and see if it picks up since so many people love it. But I still stand by that he is not a good writer. Whether he's a good storyteller (two very different things) is yet to be decided.

    Then just put the book down and start with another book. If you can't get past his "bad" writing you won't enjoy the book at all.... soooo no point in reading it.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Do you normally read fantasy lit or did you just pick them up because of the series?

    I love the series, and I like how he writes. Then again I was really dragged in by how cruel he is to his characters. Guess each to his own :)

    If you don't like it, don't read it. They are being fairly true to the books in the TV series so you can always get the major plot from there (but not the twisted little side plots, muhaha).

    His writing shows how much he loves food though, tooo much description on that hehe. I generally skim over the menu and whenever major landscape description starts, do that with other books as well.. what is it with fantasy writers and describing landscape. It wasnt that great when Tolkien did it.. its not that great now. *hides from angry Tolkien fans*.

    His writing (not the story-telling, but the writing) reminds me of cheap romance novels. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I was really thinking about it today and that's what it is.

    And every once in a while, for fun, I read a cheap romance novel and at least get enjoyment from the story. I guess I was just wondering (and I haven't seen the TV series because I don't have HBO) if it ever picks up story-wise. If it does, I think it's worth continuing just for the fun of it.

    I like all kinds of books if they're well-written. I've read some incredible fantasy and sci-fi novels in my time, so it's not a problem with the genre at all. I guess with all the hype and the author's bio, I expected better. I really expected to like this. I'm kind of disappointed. :-(

    Maybe I'll give it another hundred pages and if it's still this awful, I'll stop.
  • TK266
    TK266 Posts: 3,689 Member
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    It starts off slow and it's not for everyone. If you like happy endings or get offended easily I highly suggest you pick a different series to read.

    Happy Ending? I would be happy with any ending.:laugh: I am on the 5th book now and am enjoying the series, but I am not sure the author knows where he is going. I mean 5 years between book 4 and 5. I know he was planning a book 5 because he said so in book 4, but I get the feeling 5 was rushed to take advantage of the TV series (which I have not watched due to being cheep and not having HBO)

    what is it with fantasy writers and describing landscape. It wasnt that great when Tolkien did it.. its not that great now. *hides from angry Tolkien fans*.


    As someone who has read LOTR 16 times and is a big fan of Tolkien, you are correct about the landscape descriptions.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    It starts off slow and it's not for everyone. If you like happy endings or get offended easily I highly suggest you pick a different series to read.

    Happy Ending? I would be happy with any ending.:laugh: I am on the 5th book now and am enjoying the series, but I am not sure the author knows where he is going. I mean 5 years between book 4 and 5. I know he was planning a book 5 because he said so in book 4, but I get the feeling 5 was rushed to take advantage of the TV series (which I have not watched due to being cheep and not having HBO)

    I was surprised when I looked at the copyright and saw it came out in 1996 (I think???). 1990-something, definitely. I thought it was new.

    If he pulls the crap the Lost writers pulled and I invest in this series, I will be quite angry.
  • creative1981
    creative1981 Posts: 182 Member
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    It took me a while to get into the first book but I did enjoy it. I'm on the third at the moment :)
  • magichatter06
    magichatter06 Posts: 3,593 Member
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    I like it. Took me about 2 days to read the first book and now I am slowly but surely reading the fourth book.
  • iceqieen
    iceqieen Posts: 897 Member
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    If he pulls the crap the Lost writers pulled and I invest in this series, I will be quite angry.

    in this genre it's called "pulling a Wheel of Time" /"Robert Jordan" :devil: He has been poked about that and he says he will do his best not to have it without an ending. It's kinda sad that both him and Pratchett are getting to their end.. I'll have to find some other author to satisfy my evil fantasy thirst (aside from re-reading Grimm.. and ofc Neil Gaiman).

    The hype is more about the story than his style. It gets quite nasty with lots of twists, and he gives his characters.. unique qualities. The Lannisters for example really start to shine in the 2nd book and onward.

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