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Post by Falconer on Jun 4, 2019 12:21:25 GMT -6
Since all he really said was that “that he would be king”, I am still really dubious about whether GRRM really intends for him to be king in the South but not in the North.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2019 15:07:56 GMT -6
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2019 4:00:38 GMT -6
I certainly hope so, too. But I won't hold my breath: It's been 25 years, I think, since the first novel, and eight since the last one. It's about time to either declare the project closed, or to move on with new content. ...Let's see what will happen.
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Post by Falconer on Jun 5, 2019 11:06:46 GMT -6
A book came out just last year.
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Post by Falconer on Jun 5, 2019 12:20:29 GMT -6
I get it, just, I think the release of the 736-page Fire & Blood is evidence that he is still very passionate about this story, and is still writing. The past 15 years have seen 7 major GRRM publications, and the stories set in the present (ASOI&F proper) have relied heavily upon (and been enriched by) the setup provided in the other writings.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2019 0:17:19 GMT -6
I get it, just, I think the release of the 736-page Fire & Blood is evidence that he is still very passionate about this story, and is still writing. The past 15 years have seen 7 major GRRM publications, and the stories set in the present (ASOI&F proper) have relied heavily upon (and been enriched by) the setup provided in the other writings. Honestly, I think that between "Fire and Blood", "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" (which I liked a lot), and the world books, we're seeing an author desperately trying to rein in a story that he had previously allowed to run out of control. This concerns internal coherence ("Bloodraven"), but also fairly legitimate problems of perceived plagiarism: The TV show was already airing when GRRM's basic setup for the world beyond Westeros was basically some borrowings from Lovecraft ("K'Dath"), plus some very, very generous inspiration from the works of a certain Mr Moorcock. - So, the secondary titles are not so much additions to the main series that the author necessarily wanted to make, as that they are roundups ordered by the publisher. It fits into that narrative that at least the world books were at least partly ghost-written by the couple who runs Westeros.org - because apparently, GRRM simply had nothing on some parts of his own setting, and understandable trouble to get all the details straight on others. "Fire and Blood", in this context, doesn't seem to me like a work of passion, but more like a "return to form": If GRRM wants to finish his series, he needs to streamline things, and to give his fantasy world a distinctive character that goes beyond him writing witty dialogue lines. And whether he can really pull that off, in the end, seems a little bit doubtful, quite frankly. - I'm not a hater, I like the man's work; but for him to really claim that title of "the American Tolkien", he still has a long way to go, in my opinion.
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scrape
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Post by scrape on Jun 15, 2019 8:16:02 GMT -6
I read the books only after getting hooked on the television program. The two media are simply too different to invite comparisons. Literature is spacious, while cinema is comparatively quite constrained. As my first exposure to GRRM's world came through the show, I likely have a more sympathetic view of it. I thought the ending was quite strong. Little of it was what I wanted to happen. Like many fans, I lavishly indulged my imagination in prophecies about what would happen and where things were going. My prophecies were all corny compared to the show itself.
The ending is surely tinged with melancholy, as fantasy endings often are. But here my melancholy was not merely the loss of my access to characters I had come to care for, but for a world oddly like our own wherein ambition obliterates kindness. Idealism died with a million innocent people. I was on team Dany, and like Tyrion, was left to marvel at my susceptibility to idealistic intentions housed in despotic natures. The show is glib compared to the books, as shows usually are. But I felt satisfied that it made me question my assumptions about power and ideals.
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Post by talysman on Jun 15, 2019 9:28:06 GMT -6
As my first exposure to GRRM's world came through the show, I likely have a more sympathetic view of it. Same here. I have yet to read any of the Ice and Fire books, partly because I'd read some of GRRM's stories for the Wild Cards series and wasn't that impressed, and partly because I've sort of given up on multivolume fantasy series. I enjoyed the ending just fine. But then, I was never the kind of guy who got enraged over books, tv, or film. I'm even ok with some things being "entertaining garbage", and GoT didn't stoop that low, so... why complain? I'm more concerned with things being lackluster and boring, and most stuff that falls into that category disappoints me very early on, so it's hard to get angry at it.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2019 8:35:21 GMT -6
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Post by Finarvyn on Jul 9, 2019 14:25:33 GMT -6
Okay, so this will sound weird, but I'd sort of like to have some hack* writer go and take the GoT material from where it left off in GRRM's book #5 and write a "novelization" of the series through to the end. That way, if GRRM never goes back to finish the series it would have an end of some sort.
A new reader could just read GRRM's five books, then however many books it takes the hack to finish the thing.
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*NOTE: by a "hack" writer I'm not trying to imply that I want someone to intentionally write it poorly. I'd just like to have someone decent crank it out and get it done.
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Post by Falconer on Jul 10, 2019 12:04:05 GMT -6
Well, the show largely ignored books 4 and 5, and went off in a totally different direction, so, it would be pretty impossible to reconcile the two universes. Not to mention undesirable, IMO, since many people found the last few seasons of the show unsatisfactory and are looking to the books for a more satisfactory story.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2019 3:28:47 GMT -6
Normally, I would assume the same, but - and I'm not sure if I'm not actually repeating myself in this thread - the thing is, I read the books that GRRM often quotes as his main inspiration for ASOIAF: "The Accursed Kings", by Maurice Druon. If you know ASOIAF when reading "The Accursed Kings", and have watched the show, then it seems pretty clear how things will develop. - Essentially, Ned Stark is Jacques de Molays, Daenerys is the Black Prince, Jeoffrey is the Louis X, book-Theon is an Italian merchant... And so on. Here's an infographic that essentially spoils the entire series: theoriginalgot.comFan-made, but pretty concise. So, this is why I'm pretty sure we'll get the show ending in the books as well. Basically, from season... Five? ...To episode three of season eight, the show was it's own thing. Afterwards, I think we got the book ending crammed into three very unmotivated episodes. If only because the ending of "The Accursed Kings" matches with the show, and because the book series is so openly mirroring Druon.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2019 11:05:07 GMT -6
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2019 8:45:17 GMT -6
(NSFW.)
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