G.R.R. Martin

[Elvengirl]

Better than Tolkien?!

Well I started reading one of his, "A Game of Thrones". So far it's good!

[BelegS]

Aye, better then anything Tolkien has written. [With the exception of certain Silmarillion passages]
General consensus is that GRRM gets better as we move along, but my personal favorite has always been the first one, perhaps because of my liking of Starks and the North.

[Falagar]

BelegS, you tried Windhaven?

[Elvengirl]

Tolkien's hard to live up to, so if you think they are better then... wow. I'm not going to raise my expectations though, because I don't want to be disappointed. I'll let you know what I think.

Is a "Game of Thrones" the first book he wrote? (don't have time to check right now)

[Falagar]

Yup, that's the first one (in the ASoIaF-series, he wrote lots of stuff in the 80's ).

[BelegS]

Nah, haven't tried Windhaven, but read Tuf Voyaging, Fevre Dream, Sandkings, Mistfall and will shorty read Dying of Light.

I want to read Windhaven and Song Of Lya though.

[Many names of books might be mispelled in the aforwritten couple of sentences since I am not big at remembering book names]

[Vilya]

Originally posted by BelegS
Aye, better then anything Tolkien has written. [With the exception of certain Silmarillion passages]
General consensus is that GRRM gets better as we move along, but my personal favorite has always been the first one, perhaps because of my liking of Starks and the North.

I hesitate to say better than Tolkien, though people giggle when I insist The Hobbit is my favorite. Still Martin is incredible, and the first one is my favorite, but I do think it is because of the wolves and the the Starks.

[Millane]

OMG i have found a substitute to keep me from madness until a Feast for Crows comes out, the comics of the Hedge Knight are ****ing awesome, i read the first one last night and it was awesome. well drawn and an awesome story, and most of all GREAT TARGARYENS (ie more Rhaegarish less Viserys)
The trial by seven as the climax is awesome, Ser Duncan and his companions riding against a Targaryen prince and his son and 3 of the Kingsguard and a prick of a fossoway and another targaryen... I dont really want to spoil to much but although it is set 100 years before A Game of Thrones you can see "relatively" small things that have made massive consequences in the books, but you all will just have to read them

[Strongbow]

Song of Ice and Fire is awsome awsome awsome, i dont say that about many series, id say its one of my favorite to date.

[IronParrot]

Upon a strong, strong recommendation of a friend of mine, I have purchased the three existing books in the "Song of Ice and Fire" series.

It's next on my list.

[Snowdog]

I too picked up the Fire & Ice trilogy on ebaY recently. I managed to get through the prologue in a month. It seemed good, but for some reason it doesn't drive me to want to pick it up and read.

[Millane]

Originally Posted by Snowdog

I too picked up the Fire & Ice trilogy on ebaY recently. I managed to get through the prologue in a month. It seemed good, but for some reason it doesn't drive me to want to pick it up and read.

its just a prologue wait until you really get into the story...

[Lenya]

Originally Posted by BelegS

George R. R. Martin is the best Sci-fi/Fantasy I have read, IMO, ever. Certainly better then Tolkien for me.

For other George Martin fans, I'd recommend his collection of Science-fiction stories,

Tuf Voyaging which centres on a peculiar character called Tuf and his horror novel, Fevre Dream which concerns a voyage on Mississippi and some Vampirism.

Great tales.

I don't think that Bran, or Jon or any other Stark for that matter would get to ride the Dragons. I don't think Bran would ever meet up with Dany.
One of my biggest wishes it to see Jon encountering Dany specially if the Rhaegar/Lyanna theory is correct.

Sounds worth it. Can you please give me the names of his stories, I want to check it out.

[BeardofPants]

A Game of Thrones
A Clash of Kings
A Storm of Swords (sometimes divided into two books)

[Falagar]

His series aren't finished yet though, there's still 3-4books left (and he's taking ages to write them).

[Lenya]

Thanx, I'll look in to it.

[BeardofPants]

I write this the day after the presidential election.

A FEAST FOR CROWS is still not finished. Yes, I have written some more pages since the June update. No, the book is not yet done. My August and September schedule was full of conventions, travel, and speaking appearances, which cut deeply into my writing time during those months. Yes, I could have made more progress on the book if I had stayed at home chained to the desk, but I make these commitments years in advance and I take them very seriously.

Also, some of the writing that I have done since June has actually been rewriting. My goal, as I have said repeatedly in these updates, has always been to produce a book that is a good as it can be, so when I suddenly realize that one of my story threads can be made much more powerful and dramatic with some restructuring, I restructure... even if that means going back, tearing up finished chapters, and reworking them from start to finish.

That's done, anyway. A FEAST FOR CROWS will be much better for it, and now I am back at work on new chapters once again... although not today, and maybe not tomorrow, or next week. I am pretty good with words, usually, but no words can express how miserable, angry, and depressed I am feeling this morning over the results of yesterday's election. The exit polling makes it clear: this was a victory for bigotry and fear, a mandate bought with lies. I know from past experience that it is going to take me some time to shake off this depression.

Losing myself in the world of Westeros would probably be the best medicine for what ails me just now, I know full well. There is solace in work, and books -- my own books, and those of others -- have always been a refuge for me during dark times in my life. Today, however, the {fictional} travails of my {fictional} Seven Kingdoms seem pretty unimportant compared to the very real woes that the United States is facing, a future of war and isolation abroad, and division and repression at home.

Winter is coming to Westeros, but it has already come to America.


—George R.R. Martin, November 3, 2004

Recently posted on GRR's site.

[Lenya]

Originally Posted by BeardofPants

Recently posted on GRR's site.

That is a cool quote. I think I like the guy allready

[Millane]

Originally Posted by BeardofPants

Recently posted on GRR's site.

im taking it someone else literally had an orgasm after seeing that his website was updated in the FFC section after about a month of nonactivity? No? i guess it was just me
You gotta love that final line

Winter is coming to Westeros, but it has already come to America.

[BeardofPants]

Silly Millicent. Nope, you weren't the only one *****ing grapes.