ithildin | A Game of Thrones

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Since several people had good things to say, and since it's going to be a mini series, I ordered 'A Game of Thrones', which arrived yesterday. And I was enjoying it, thinking I might order the second one, until....

My favourite character was killed off. Now I'm kinda meh about the whole thing. Not sure wicked queen [insert dire music] and presumably, the spunky younger daughter posing as a boy to escape the wicked queen/avenge her father (it just seems like the fantasy novel cliched sorta thing that one expects) is going to hold my interest through three more very long books. And from what I understand, the series isn't even finished yet.

So tell me, is it worth plugging away? I'm almost done, so I will at least finish the first one. I'm kind of bummed, since I really did think the series had promise.

at least tell me that there's no posing as a boy!

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I love these books, and have reread all written so far several times. I really, really think that the idea that Rail Road, George R. R. Martin's nickname, enjoys killing off his character is probably due to some sort of misunderstanding of things he has said. According to Wiki, "Martin has described his penchant for killing off important characters as being necessary for the story's depth: '...when my characters are in danger, I want you to be afraid to turn the page, (so) you need to show right from the beginning that you're playing for keeps.'"

And actually by the end of the last book, the only POV character who has thus far died in the series is Eddard.

So far most of the characters I love the most including Jon, Bran, Arya, Daenerys, Tyrion, and, at this point, Jaime (who has gone through one hell of a lot of changes) are still alive. One of the things I really, really love about these books and that some characters who start out being "bad" guys, learn, grow, and change, and some of the "good" guys become bitter, vengeful, and hateful (even scary in at least one instance).

Yes, Arya only manages to escape from the capitol after her father is betrayed and executed by pretending to be a boy, but the condition of her pretense doesn't really last all that long over the course of the story. What is wrong with her posing as a boy? *looks slightly bewildered*

And what goes on with Dani (Daenerys) is absolutely riveting as the series continues. Talk about powerful, compelling female characters. Wowsers. Actually there are fair number of powerful, interesting, female characters. I especially like Brienne who is a woman who is damned determined to be a knight, and to hell with what anyone else has to say about it.

Yes, Cersei is an evil queen. She is just about one of the most self absorbed, not really very bright, insanely power mad characters I have ever encountered with few redeeming virtues.

Of course, the same can be said a more than a few of the male characters, especially Dani's brother, and Tyrion and Jaime's father, ego-maniacal bastards both.

However, it is much to my taste that many of the characters are multi-faceted and complex. For me, this is truly escapist lit because it takes me far away and involves me totally in another world where I love and adore many of the characters and sometimes grow to like characters whom I didn't like at first and come to dislike other I had originally liked. I've yet to stop loving any of the ones I loved. And yes, some of the characters I adore have died and I have been sad, but nowhere near as sad as I have been in rl in which I have had many loved ones die.

Anyway, my two cents on the series. If you don't want to read it, don't. But I think some of what is like has not been fully represented in this thread.

Oh, it's just a cliche that bugs me - girl posing as a boy. It's just a thing [g]

I do think I'll read them at some point. But I don't want to repeat my Wheel of Time experience, which was the never ending series, and I finally gave up -- and I adored those books so much too.

Good to know there have been no more POV deaths though. Will keep that in mind :)

The next book in The Wheel of Time is coming out on Tuesday. This Tuesday, 10/28.

Yes, I know Jim (Robert Jordan) didn't write every last word of it. He sorta died (actually being one of those folks I have loved in rl). But his wife, Harriet, who has been an editor of Tor/St. Martins since the inception of Tor was Jim's primary and only editor, and believe me, Harriet had an enormous influence on those books. There was many a summer evening, when my family was on vacation, that we sat in Jim and Harriet's garden, drinking very good brandy after dinner, and listening to the two of them discuss and argue details about the books.

When Jim died he left copious notes and had told Harriet in detail how he wanted the story to work out. He and Harriet together had chosen who they trusted to pick up the work if Jim did die, and Harriet has edited. I trust her.

So, I will go and buy the book on Tuesday, hoping and praying that justice is done to Matt, Rand, Perrin, Nynaeve, Egwene, Elaine, Aviendha, and all the other characters I have grown to love. I really hope I won't be disappointed. I'll let you know.

Oh, no, I meant I gave up mid series - it was long before he died. The series never ended and I just stopped reading them. But the first ones I really enjoyed. I read the first one as fast as I could because I was visiting friends in Germany and I picked it up off their shelf and had a flight home in two days :)

Hope the last one is great for you!