If geeks love it, we’re on it

An open letter to George R. R. Martin

An open letter to George R. R. Martin

He's... uh, workin on it...?

He's... uh, workin on it...?

Dear Mr. R. R. Martin,

I would like to take this time to thank you for writing A Song of Ice and Fire, as it is such a compelling series. When I bought the first four books several years ago, I was hooked. It was a torrid affair; I read your books all night long, I missed them desperately when I couldn’t read them, I threw them down in disgust when the plot twisted (and oh, how the plot twisted) only to pick them back up, whispering abject apologies, to continue reading. After finishing the four thousand-odd pages, I was content in the knowledge that you were hard at work on the next book in your Song of Ice and Fire series. I even re-read all four books in the summer of 2008 in anticipation of the next book coming out that same fall.

Little did I know.

RR, (may I call you RR? I feel like we’ve been through too much to cling to formalities) I know you are very excited that your series has been optioned by HBO. You’ve said as much in your blog, which you thoughtfully keep updated. Honestly, who wouldn’t be excited about it? It is obvious you put a lot of effort, not to mention time, into A Song of Ice and Fire, and it must feel wonderful to have all your work pay off. It is also great to see that you are so involved in the project with HBO; this means the series may not be too horrible, unlike most adaptations of books for television or film.

However, and I apologize for asking this, because you know we’re tight—thick as thieves, you and me, RR—but… Are you ever going to finish the damn series? I looked at your blog today, and what did I see? You were bragging that you’re in Morocco. Mor-fucking-occo. That’s nice for you, and I’m really happy, but do you think that maybe you should stop jetting all over the world while helping shoot your damn pilot episode and finish the next book? You know what—keep traveling if that’s what you want, they make these fantastic contraptions now call “laptops” that can travel with you, and you can write books on them from wherever you go! If that’s not an option, I hear some people are still using the tried-but-true pen and paper approach to writing.

I’m just sayin’—I’m not the only one waiting on this. To think, there are people that preordered this book when the option was available last year.

So here’s the thing, RR: I love A Song of Ice and Fire, love every heartbreak and victory and plot twist and sly remark. I would love to continue my relationship with this series, but for that to happen you’re going to have to actually sit down and finish the next book. I’m asking nicely. Hell, I’m begging. Pretty please?

Yours faithfully,

Patty

PS – I don’t want to sound like I’m drinking the haterade, but I saw your picture on your Wikipedia article, and while I love facial hair more than the average woman, damn. You might wanna trim that sucker up a bit. Again, just sayin’.

ILLUSTRATION: Charlotte Tarlitz

Comments

  1. Thrax
    Thrax WRITE THE FUCKING BOOK.
  2. primesuspect
    primesuspect Please George... Please finish the damned books.
  3. Charshie GRRRRR GIMME BOOK, MARTIN! Also....hai dem's sum neat drawrinz!!! @_@ Just sayin'. :)
  4. MaxenW
    MaxenW OOooo who is doing all your sexy new arts!! and Dammit George, stop making dragons and finish the book!
  5. Thrax
    Thrax Cheers to the artist. It's perfect. ;)
  6. Charshie
    Charshie ^_^ Yay useful! Also look Rob, I recruited a Brian!!!! *POINTS AT MAXEN*
  7. Thrax
    Thrax A WILD BRIAN HAS APPEARED.
  8. MaxenW
    MaxenW Rawr? I kinda like this avatar that it gave me as default.. I feel very operation ivy.
  9. GnomeQueen
    GnomeQueen Dearest George- FINISH THE GODDAMN BOOKS FFFUUUUUUUUUUU- Love, Jacqueline
  10. primesuspect
    primesuspect Yes, Charshie did the artwork, and it is fucking awesome. The artwork is better than Dance with Dragons. You know why?

    BECAUSE SHE FUCKING FINISHED IT
  11. Khaos The book that follows a Dance with Dragons should close the series... Tolkien taught much about epic fantasy, but it seems many authors (Jordan comes to mind) missed the bit about closure. That always leaves the option for reopening a series or history or world a la Le Guin.

    Oh yeah, write the damn book. It was preordered as a gift by my sister a year ago!
  12. Linc
    Linc The Khaos who disappeared from IRC, Twitter, and the forum months ago? That Khaos? :p
  13. Garg
    Garg THIS THREAD NEEDS MORE ALLCAPS.
  14. lunchb0x
    lunchb0x I THINK THAT CAN BE ARRANGED
  15. poofie
    poofie the wikipedia page said there were THREE more projected novels. i had originally thought that A Dance With Dragons would finish it out, but perhaps not? not that speculating about it is anything more than masturbation, it's not like Dance will be done any time in the foreseeable future.
  16. Koreish
    Koreish Are you saying that if you masturbate you won't be done in the foreseeable future?
  17. ardichoke
    ardichoke So what I'm getting out of this is that I shouldn't start reading the series unless I want to become an enraged shell of my former self.
  18. Cliff_Forster
    Cliff_Forster Patty, I hate to break this to ya, but the dude had better hurry up. What would C-3PO figure the odds are that a sixty something obese man will finish three more novels before the Grimm Reaper demands his toll? Navigating an asteroid field may be more likely?
  19. primesuspect
    primesuspect
    ardichoke wrote:
    So what I'm getting out of this is that I shouldn't start reading the series unless I want to become an enraged shell of my former self.

    don't do it. do not to that to yourself.
  20. Snarkasm
    Snarkasm Hooray for english!
  21. poofie
    poofie
    Patty, I hate to break this to ya, but the dude had better hurry up. What would C-3PO figure the odds are that a sixty something obese man will finish three more novels before the Grimm Reaper demands his toll? Navigating an asteroid field may be more likely?

    I KNOW. i wouldn't be surprised if he up and croaked in the near future. probably from a lane crash from jetting around the world following the progress of the pilot episode, rather than staying at home and writing.

    and then, if he dies, some other author will try and finish it and it just won't be the same. because it will be finished.
  22. blue gnome dragon dear george, I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO DANNY, ARYA AND JON.

    FINISH THE BOOKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  23. Kerry I'm afraid it is a deliberate delay. Doesn't it sound odd that the second part of a book that was getting too big to be one volume is delayed for years? I mean much of Dance must already have been written at the time of the decision to split the book and release Feast? For some reason, maybe for the sake of the series, everything is now delayed??
  24. K Doughetrty st agree with PATTY I will never buy an other series unless you can prove that it is complete. If you ever decide to finish Dance with Dragons .I will wait untill I can find it for free at the libary. Tnen I might just read the blank thing
  25. Bandrik
    Bandrik I'm just starting the book series. I play the Game of Thrones collectible card game with my friends (and ironically enough, neighbors). Just ran next door and taped that artwork up on their entryway door with a subtitle "GEORGE RR MARTIN - hard at work..." Maybe they'll get a few laughs about it.

    Either way. I hope he pulls through.
  26. Reader I'm waiting for:
    Robert Jordan's Corpse to finish the Wheel of Time
    David Gerrold to finish The War Against the Cthorr
    George R. R. Martin to finish A Song of Ice and Fire

    I think the measure of a really good epic series is not just sales, but the fact that we do wait, checking in every few months or weeks to see whether there's an update.
  27. chrisWhite
    chrisWhite I've yet to read Robert Jordan's books, though I'll start them in a week or so when I can pick up a few more Audible credits but after just finishing the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson I can assure you that the final Wheel of Time books are in extraordinary hands. Sanderson's Mistborn are among the best fantasy I've ever read and are matched only by Tolkien and Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series in my opinion.
  28. poofie
    poofie
    chrisWhite wrote:
    I've yet to read Robert Jordan's books, though I'll start them in a week or so when I can pick up a few more Audible credits but after just finishing the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson I can assure you that the final Wheel of Time books are in extraordinary hands. Sanderson's Mistborn are among the best fantasy I've ever read and are matched only by Tolkien and Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series in my opinion.

    you really think so? i read the first Mistborn book and while i liked the premise and the general storyline, i didn't enjoy the authors style all that much. it bothered me enough that i didn't pick up the next book in the series, but not enough to stop reading the first one.

    i should say that i read a good 150-200 pages of the first Wheel of Time book and quit. it wasn't interesting to me at ALL.

    right now, though, i'm reading Anathem by Neal Stephenson and i'm enjoying it so far. i'll probably read it twice just to get everything, but i LOVE Stephenson and reading anything of his more than once is a given for me. just sayin', he finished his Baroque Cycle with no problem and moved on to different projects.
  29. chrisWhite
    chrisWhite
    poofie wrote:
    you really think so? i read the first Mistborn book and while i liked the premise and the general storyline, i didn't enjoy the authors style all that much. it bothered me enough that i didn't pick up the next book in the series, but not enough to stop reading the first one.

    I really do, I love his writing style and I really enjoyed the story, I'm not sure I can really describe what I found so compelling about it though. I think the universe he created is one of the more unique ones written and I always enjoy a good fantasy that manages to borrow nothing from Tolkien.

    It also probably helps that I listened to it and the narrator was one of the best I've heard, a narrator can make or break a book.

    As for Wheel of Time, I got about that far into the first book a few years ago too, I liked it but reading the series seemed daunting, I'm going to finally cave and commit to it.

    Anathem is very high on my too read list. I've been meaning to read Stephenson for a long time now.
  30. Preacher
    Preacher
    Reader wrote:
    I'm waiting for:
    Robert Jordan's Corpse to finish the Wheel of Time
    David Gerrold to finish The War Against the Cthorr
    George R. R. Martin to finish A Song of Ice and Fire
    I think the measure of a really good epic series is not just sales, but the fact that we do wait, checking in every few months or weeks to see whether there's an update.

    Concur with IC's generic Reader here...great series all, but WTF?! The measure of a really good epic series is FINISHING THE DAMN SERIES. Imagine LOTR without Return of the King, Dune without Chapterhouse Dune, or Seuss without Oh, the Places You'll Go! Banish the thoughts!

    All those authors above have written interesting characters, created intriguing worlds, and enticed me to return at each book. Yet I still have literary "blue balls"!:shakehead

    I just got back into the Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever Series, finished the first trilogy, started the second trilogy, only to realize AGAIN there is a "last" trilogy with two unfinished books...FRICK.

    For those interested, it's epic fantasy with magic, warrior monks, giants, amazing creatures, and a leper protagonist anti-hero...

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Covenant
  31. fatcat
    fatcat I still haven't finished The Dark Tower, on book 4 of 7 and Stephen King just announced there will be an 8th book, The Wind Through the Keyhole

    hopefully I'll get through them all before I die, since I started on book one 22 years ago...

    The Dark Tower
  32. ardichoke
    ardichoke I got a copy of "A Game of Thrones" for Christmas. IT BEGINS.
  33. Koreish
    Koreish
    ardichoke wrote:
    I got a copy of "A Game of Thrones" for Christmas. IT BEGINS.

    The game is afoot.

    Just started Dance of Storms today. Whoooo!
  34. Komete
    Komete Hey, I just finished book 4, a feast for crows. Loving it so far.

    I didn't read all the replies but HBO is making a series out of it.
  35. chrisWhite
    chrisWhite
    Preacher wrote:
    I just got back into the Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever Series, finished the first trilogy, started the second trilogy, only to realize AGAIN there is a "last" trilogy with two unfinished books...FRICK.

    For those interested, it's epic fantasy with magic, warrior monks, giants, amazing creatures, and a leper protagonist anti-hero...

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Covenant

    I friggen' love those books,they're so different from everything else out there, highly recommended. I've only read the first of the new series, I think I need to read it again before starting the second.
  36. Kether Nice Art! I haven't read any George R.R. Martin but I might now since everyone is so impassioned.
  37. Komete
    Komete To me the writeing style isn't great. But damn is the story good. I won't say who was killed in beginning of the series, but ever since then I've wanted revenge for that dude. And I won't be satisfied till he gets it.
  38. Koreish
    Koreish He damn well deserves it too. He was straight OG.
  39. Small Ivory Knight Heck yes! We need this book STAT!
  40. spaaack FOR THE LOVE OF FUCKING-FUCK-FUCK-FUUUUUCK!!!!! Finish the book already!!!! It's been FIVE FUCKING YEARS since "Feast" and you said it was almost done then! Or at least admit to everyone that you've painted yourself into a literary corner!
  41. john It's now roughly 5 years since 'A Feast for Crows' was released and it will probably be at least another 2 more years till 'A Dance with Dragons' will appear, or maybe another fucking 5!!!

    Georgey boy hasn't got a cat-in-Hell's chance of finishing the series.

    When he's not flying around the World to be at Conventions he's busy watching and commenting on the NFL. That leaves him just a few months out of the year to do any real work, which clearly isn't enough.

    George, your books are fabulous! One of the best series I have ever read, but please,PLEASEEEE........FINISH THE SODDING SERIES!!! (well, at least the next book). :P
  42. Hooper Why do authors write books ?
    Why have story tellers told stores for millenia ?

    Do they do it for themselves ? Or do they do it for the reader or listener ?

    It's for the reader/listeneer.
    In the modern day, it's the reader who buys the books, which in turn provide a 'living' and income for the author.

    Therefore, we are justified in crying out for the book completion to be RR's priority.

    Get the books done and then go off galavanting and enjoy your financial and critical awards.
  43. primesuspect
    primesuspect Winter is coming

    <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/psbBi7dLnT4?fs=1&hl=en_US&hd=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/psbBi7dLnT4?fs=1&hl=en_US&hd=1&quot; type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
  44. primesuspect
    primesuspect PS: I HATE that I am this excited for it.

    After being utterly disappointed at the book-to-screen adaptation of Sword of Truth, and furiously angry at the Last Airbender debacle, my "excitement threat level" is at red right now... but still.

    I want to believe.
  45. GnomeQueen
    GnomeQueen I didn't know that Lena Headey was playing Cersei. I don't know how I feel about that.

    I wonder if I should re-read the books before this comes out or if it's better not to have the rage over the things they will get wrong...

    Winter is coming.
  46. Annes
    Annes I'm re-reading. My rage will be unbelievable if they fail.
  47. Annes
    Annes Also, I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to watch this legally. There is no way I'm getting cable and subscribing to HBO - I hope it's on Amazon Video on Demand (which it won't be, but a girl can hope.)
  48. Bandrik
    Bandrik
    Annes wrote:
    I'm re-reading. My rage will be unbelievable if they fail.

    Hell hath no fury like an Annes scorned. Take heed, David Benioff and Dan Weiss, for judgment awaits.
  49. Koreish
    Koreish Boromir is Eddard Stark zomg.
  50. Winfrey
    Winfrey This is going to be excellent.



    I hope.
  51. Preacher
    Preacher HBO does have a solid track record of shows. We shall see though...the beauty of those books is their complexity and richness.

    Bastard just needs to write FASTER!
  52. primesuspect
    primesuspect This story has some of the most complex characters in fantasy. The characters had better be the primary focus of the show, and the actors had better be able to pull it off; otherwise, this will probably fail.
  53. Oribel8
    Oribel8 I kinda like this avatar that it gave me as default..
  54. Kwitko
    Kwitko I kinda like banning you.
  55. Annes
    Annes Dang. I was really hoping for some fresh rage in this thread.
  56. Kwitko
    Kwitko Not in my house, Annes.
  57. ardichoke
    ardichoke /me drops off a hot steaming batch of fresh RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE
  58. soccermum George should just get Brandon Sanderson to finish his freakin' series.
  59. JuanEnrique Hey, I know what we should do. Let's finish the damn thing for him! He's done writing.
    Ready.... go!
  60. primesuspect
    primesuspect Daring to hope!

    <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UWIyCUHrESk?hd=1&quot; frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
  61. primesuspect
    primesuspect The part at 1:27 where the Iron Throne flashes with all the characters... OMG
  62. Ryder
  63. GnomeQueen
  64. pigflipper
    pigflipper !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  65. Colgere
    Colgere So hell has finally frozen over.... ;)
  66. ardichoke
    ardichoke I guess that means I can finally start reading the series.
  67. Winfrey
    Winfrey July 12th fucking A there is a god!
  68. Annes
    Annes A more reliable source.

    Confirmed. Damn. Happy day.
  69. Preacher
    Preacher
    ardichoke wrote:
    I guess that means I can finally start reading the series.

    I'm waiting until they are ALL done to pick the series back up.
  70. primesuspect
    primesuspect
    Preacher wrote:
    I'm waiting until they are ALL done to pick the series back up.

    Yeah not a bad idea. It's not like Dance is the end of the series.

    My money is on the series never concluding
  71. GnomeQueen
    GnomeQueen
    Yeah not a bad idea. It's not like Dance is the end of the series.

    My money is on the series never concluding

    DING DING DING.
  72. pigflipper
    pigflipper
    Yeah not a bad idea. It's not like Dance is the end of the series.

    My money is on the series never concluding

    Then it shall never become great; all the best stories have an ending.
  73. Preacher
    Preacher I think this video says it all.

    "George R.R. Martin: Fantasy blueballer"

    <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5G6QyXl6d2M&quot; frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
  74. Snarkasm
    Snarkasm Watch the first 12 minutes of Game of Thrones.
  75. pigflipper
    pigflipper
    Snarkasm wrote:
    Watch the first 12 minutes of Game of Thrones.

    That was amazingly true to the book, even if they did condense some things; an understandable happening. I can hardly wait for this to come out, this preview has given me faith that the series will be true to the source material. Of course, very little except maybe the Wall, matched how I had mapped things out in my head while reading the series.

    Might explore the "Cartman Method" to passing the time until the show starts to air.
  76. Koreish
  77. Bandrik
  78. Preacher
    Preacher As morbid and disappointing as it sounds, I'm still waiting for the author's death or the sale of the final book to read any more.
  79. drasnor
    drasnor I hear you Preacher. I'm one of the people reading Wheel of Time and I can definitely say Brandon Sanderson is one of the best things to happen to that series. He brings a gritty, down-to-earth tone to the books that's been lacking since earlier in the series. I've read Game of Thrones and honestly it didn't get terribly interesting until page 200.

    To the guest that didn't like the first book of Wheel of Time; just skip it. I started reading from Book 2 since I had no access to the first book and I feel like they're much better-written from that point on. I went back and read the first after reading 2-5 to round out the plot and they're nothing alike. The even-numbered books after that are kinda meh to me except for Sanderson's tales. I recently read Elantris and agree heartily that his writing is solid.

    P.S. Sanderson's Alcatraz series is hilariously awesome.
  80. Thrax
    Thrax Game of Thrones aired today.
  81. Winfrey
    Winfrey Good start to the series. Can't wait for more :)
  82. primesuspect
  83. Winfrey
    Winfrey Pretty good. They pretty much got through the first hundred or so pages of the book in the first episode. They got through Dany's marriage to Drogo, Eddard being named the Hand, and the episode ended with poor Bran being pushed out the tower by Jaime.

    The sets are all cool and well done, comparable with a series like Rome, and I like the character portrayals so far. I think the most difficult thing is how well the series keeps all characters in the viewer's attention. It was easier to see where rivalries and relationships will form since I've read the books, and I'm not 100% sure that it's as clear to someone new to the story. But I think it'll translate decently enough.
  84. Preacher
    Preacher The first episode was very good and peaked the interest of the other two Fantasy aficionados in our household. We're going to keep watching. However, Winfrey's point is very germane. A person who has not read the books would have difficulty fully understanding what was going on.
  85. kryyst
    kryyst I haven't read the books, I enjoyed the show but did feel a little disconnected to the various characters. But I'm definitely looking forward to the next episode and the rest of the series.

    Even in saying that I felt disconnected I still felt a lot more connected to this show then I do to the current travesty that is Camelot and I know that story - what a waste of air time.
  86. Tushon
    Tushon
    Preacher wrote:
    A person who has not read the books would have difficulty fully understanding what was going on.
    I think the key point here would be that a person who has not read the books would not understand what the author intended. The show was fairly straightforward, but (having not read the books, only threads on reddit comparing them) it didn't portray a few scenes very well (i.e. the marriage night looked a lot more unwilling/rape than no turned tender yes or w/e the book tries to talk about). There are probably good reasons for it that will play out as the series goes on. I, for one, am mad that DISH decided to give me a weekend of HBO for free then yank it away again, just to get me hooked on this show ... time to find a TV torrent site to get invited to.
  87. Thrax
    Thrax GOT was confirmed for a second season.
  88. Annes
    Annes Apparently A Dance with Dragons is complete.

    EDIT: Also, the HBO series is fucking rad. Watch it.
  89. Koreish
    Koreish
    Koreish wrote:
    Annes wrote:
    Apparently A Dance with Dragons is complete.

    EDIT: Also, the HBO series is fucking rad. Watch it.

    I'm not saying I pointed it out first but...
  90. Annes
    Annes
    Koreish wrote:
    I'm not saying I pointed it out first but...

    It's been for sale on Amazon for like three years. It's also had at least one publish date prior to this that they just blew past. A new publish date is great and all but doesn't mean that the book is done. The post made by GRRM earlier this week, however, does.

    I'm just hoping that the writing and story didn't suffer because he was apparently actually writing under deadline this time. Funny what bringing millions of new fans to your series with a TV show will do to an author.
  91. Annes
    Annes I was reading though the subreddit for the HBO series and it made me nervous about the show keeping fans. There was a bit of discussion about "good" and "bad" guys and how people were absolutely devastated at the end of episode 2, hoping that it wouldn't continue down such a sad road. There is no possible way these people will make it to the end of the season.
  92. Winfrey
    Winfrey Then I guess those people completely miss the idea of what a drama is. The characters you care about are going to suffer, that's how drama works. I've seen people have the same complaint about the books and it makes me face-palm a little.
  93. Komete
    Komete I gotta say, episode 3 is the best one yet. I'm a little at odds with some of the casting but overall I'm liking the series. It is moving at a really fast clip though. It's perfect for me because I've read the books but I wonder if it would be information overload for someone who hasn't.

    Anyhow, with this show I've forgiven HBO for dropping Tombstone and Rome.
  94. kryyst
    kryyst Speaking as someone who hasn't read the books. I'm enjoying the show greatly. There's a bit of a learning cuve coming to grips with the various characters and factions. But since they are focusing on just a few of them it's not hard to follow other then remembering who some of the people are when they are just named when off the camera.

    But I like not knowing where the story is going. Each episode is new for me and I have no basis to compare it to. So when someone dies or seems to die it's a surprise.
  95. Danielle Just started A Storm of Swords...excellent reading. I only started the series when I heard HBO was involved. Sean Bean is perfect as Eddard Stark, please don't kill him off for a very long time.
  96. Cliff_Forster
    Cliff_Forster

    After watching the Game of Thrones season opener last night, with little knowledge of the mythology beyond some episodes and back story my wife has given me, I have to be honest, what does anyone see in this?

    I'm curious what @CB might think of it from a literary / storytelling perspective. What I feel like I'm watching (admittedly with very little knowledge and investment in the series)... is this disjointed mess of a story. At the risk of sounding a little insensitive, I almost feel like George RR Martin must suffer from some kind of attention deficit disorder? Can we focus on more than one item for more than a couple minutes at any given time? Why all the arcs, the subplots, the supplemental characters, how do they all serve to drive the primary story forward, what is the primary story? The struggle to unite the realms, the Iron Throne? Why does that seem lost to me? Who am I supposed to care about? Why do I feel like I'm just getting into a moment then I'm forced to look away, not at another setting or character that may drive forward the arc of what I was just watching but an entirely different set of circumstances half a world away from what was just important to me?

    George RR Martin fans... How is this such a big deal? What am I missing?

  97. Thrax
    Thrax

    The goal is the Iron Throne. Take the seat, rule the world. All characters contribute to this struggle in ways that may not be immediately evident. They all matter somehow, even if in a Butterfly Effect sort of way.

    Some have said GoT is the story of the Starks. Some might call it the story of the Targaryens. Others still might call it the story of Jon Snow. All of them are right. There is no clear protagonist because that's a matter of perspective, especially in the bloody game of thrones. That's real life: one man's conqueror is another man's hero. One man's savior is another man's villain. Even a beloved king is never without fear of the knife.

    GoT is a story of power. Power and the pursuit is not straightforward. Many of us find the moral ambiguity, the machinations and the complexity very appealing. We enjoy that this is not another cut-and-dry protagonist vs. antagonist story with a predictable trajectory that wraps up with a neat conclusion. But we DO know that every thread will collide in the end and that no detail is incidental.

    None of this can be understood by committing to a scattered handful of episodes. Limited knowledge begets limited conclusions.

  98. primesuspect
    primesuspect

    @Cliff_Forster said:
    After watching the Game of Thrones season opener last night, with little knowledge of the mythology beyond some episodes and back story my wife has given me, I have to be honest, what does anyone see in this?

    It doesn't have a plot. This is a massive interwoven story of hundreds of individuals in a massive power struggle in a complex, living, breathing world.

    You cannot grasp it by jumping in to any given point. The story is about the people in it, not what they're doing.

  99. Winfrey
    Winfrey

    Yeah if GRRM would just release the next book that would be great.

  100. PirateNinja

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!