A Song of Ice and Fire

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

While I got into the series via the popular TV adaptation, Game of Thrones, I was so fascinated by the characters and world that I just had to seek out the books, and I'm glad that I did. Other than getting me back into literature, it has also cemented itself as one of my favorite ongoing series in fiction. So, I figured, why not give it a thread of its own?

Anyways, for now I'll just rank each book in order of my favorite to least favorite, but I love them all:

1. A Storm of Swords
2. A Dance with Dragons
3. A Game of Thrones
4. A Feast for Crows
5. A Clash of Kings

Overall, I actually enjoy all of the extra details and backstory in the books that the show just doesn't have room for, and this probably contains one of my favorite ensemble cast of characters in just sbout anything.

[Avaitor]

1- A Storm of Swords
2- A Clash of Kings
3- A Dance With Dragons
4- A Game of Thrones
5- A Feast for Crows

I'm contemplating reading the books again when we get a date for TWOW, but I honestly think that we'll get 2 or 3 more seasons of Sherlock before that.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm predicting a release date of somewhere around 2018, myself. I honestly believe that the show will finish airing before the next book comes out. I'm also actively avoiding the sample chapters that Martin posted online as a preview to the book. I'd rather go into it fresh.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, it has been confirmed that The Winds of Winter will not be coming out this year....which comes as a surprise to absolutely no one. Martin is about quality over deadlines, so I'm willing to wait as long as it takes him to finish the book. Also, to tide us over we will be getting the Dunk and Egg stories finally collected into a single volume, so there's that. Still, it'd be nice if he could release The Princess and The Queen outside of an anthology collection as well.

[Dr. Insomniac]

The original outline for the books unnerves me.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

"A love triangle between Arya, Jon, and Tyrion."

So glad he never went in that direction. But, on the other hand, it gives a new dusturbing meaning to how Ygritte cobstantly reminded Jon of Arya....

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Went to the bookstore today and saw A World of Ice and Fire. I was tempted to pick it up, but at $50 it just felt far too overpriced to me.

I also wanted to pick up Dangerous Women Vol. 1 so that I could read The Princess and the Queen, but wouldn't youknow it, that happened to be the one that was out of stock.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Part of the fun about waiting for the next book to come out is trying to decipher the subtle clues available to us via the text that we have so far, and what's equally fun is analyzing other people's theories about what will happen in the next two books. However, typically most of the fan theories are just amusing to read but greatly lack supporting evidence behind them. That said, aside from the popular and well-supported R + L = J theory, I have found that The Grand Northern Conspiracy theory is equally impressive in how well-supported it is with numerous cited examples, and more importantly, it actually makes complete sense within the context of the story, without creating any plot-holes or assuming that any character would ever act out of character. Here's a link that contains an article linking to all seven parts: http://winteriscoming.net/2015/07/04/game-of-thrones-theorycrafting-the-grand-northern-conspiracy/

If nothing else, it's certainly an interesting read for anyone caught up with the books.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I really wanted to pick up A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms at the bookstore, the other day, but a price of $30 is just too much for me right now. I'll probably just wait until my Birthday or Christmas for it.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, I ended up getting the book a few days ago, anyways, with some money that I got as an early birthday gift. I was just too tempted to wait for it.

For anyone who hasn't already read these stories and is curious, this is a really good package. These novellas are a lot simpler and more light-hearted in tone (though still with their fair share of violence) than the main series for ASOIAF, but just as well-written and addicting to read. The illustrations are also great, and add an old-fashioned sort of charm to these stories.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Martin has recently just released a new chapter excerpt from The Winds of Winter: http://www.georgerrmartin.com/excerpt-from-the-winds-of-winter/

It's another Arianne chapter, which some people are speculating is Martin's subtle response to how badly the show writers fucked-up the Dorne story-line.

[talonmalon333]

I just started on the Song of Ice and Fire books, and am about a hundred pages into A Game of Thrones. This is probably something I should have started a long time ago. Being inside all day definitely played a part in getting me to finally do it. I think a bigger push might've been that I just fell in love with this world through the HBO series and just want to see it redeemed. After I disappeared from this website for a few years, I really got hooked on Game of Thrones and watched it through several times. But that ending really might've been the worst I've ever seen in a television series. I'm really interested in seeing how the novels end and if it goes out on a better note. And beyond just redeeming the ending, I'm looking forward to the original take on the storyline.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

The show definitely did a good job of adapting the material that was already well-established. While D&D may have dumbed a few things down a bit too much for my liking, they mostly (along with the entire production crew) did a good job of streamlining the complex story-lines from the books while remaining generally faithful to Martin's original vision. They made the series entertaining while retaining the nuance of the characters and plot.

That said, when they began to run out of original material and had to diverge into their own writing, it REALLY showed. All of a sudden logic was thrown out the window and certain characters acted dumber or completely out of character just so things could happen to get the plot moving. There was realistically no way to genuinely do a good job of wrapping up a story that another guy had been writing for decades of his career through meticulous drafting, re-drafting, and planning. People complain about the wait time in-between books without really appreciating or considering just how much thought and effort Martin puts into his stories, characters, and world.

And no, I'm hardly a purist. The books have their flaws as well, but up to this point they have never even come close to dipping in quality as hard as the show did, IMO.

[Daikun]

Have fun in jail, George.