Are there any George RR Martin fans out there

[Waga]

This guy is a genius but funnily enough, despite numerous awards and topping best seller lists he still remains an unknow entity. Recently lauded as the sole living writer on par with Tolkien, his ongoing series 'A song of ice and Fire' is being hailed as an all time great for its its scope, violence, and ruthless portrayal and mediaval nobles struggling for power. The strength of the series lies in the bloody but realistic portrayal of power struggles, that is told in an engaging multi character perspective. Its mixes dragons, damsels in distress, and knightly heriosm, with mysticism, and a huge diverse host character that are really engaging. This description sounds likes the standard serenade a critic gives to any and everybook, but I really do mean it, the book does genuinely have the intensity This is one of the few books that I would call amazing. I feel I can only do a poor job on the net of showing you how much I am enjoying this series, or how good it is. Usualy I don't buy into hype and when I first started this series about 7 years ago, there wasn't actually any hype surrounding this man, but for once I say believe the hype.

So have any of you read this man's books and are any of you fans. If you are i'll be very pleased to hear what you have to say about the series!

[Daishikaze]

There are plenty (I'm one), The just tend to congregate on George R.R. Martin forums

[Waga]

Really?! What are the best forums to visit?

[Soluzar]

I'm a fan of his work. He's about 10x better than most of his contemporaries in the fantasy genre, and about 1000x better than some. I'd say that he still suffers from the flaw of excess ambition which has been the downfall of many fantasy authors though. It is a problem in which they write stories of such scope that they struggle to tie up the loose ends, and then as they attempt to move towards an ending, the quality drops.

Put it this way, I don't think his most recent book is his best.

[Daishikaze]

Really?! What are the best forums to visit?

I skimmed a couple, I don't remember what the addresses were, should be easy to track down, just do a search for George R.R. Martin forums.

[Soluzar]

I'd like to revive this thread in order that I might ask fans of the series a question.

How exactly do you think this can end satisfactorily?

I'm currently re-reading the series, and it becomes increasingly apparent that Westeros is not going to be a kingdom to be proud of by the end of this series. The great houses have been decimated. The house of Baratheon has lost both King Robert and Ser Renly who formed the prime of the current generation, and Lord Stannis is without issue. The house of Stark has lost its eldest son Robb, and the remaining male heirs are scattered to the four winds. The female members of the house have both fallen upon distinctly hard times. The Lannisters are also in crisis. Ser Jaime, the Kingslayer has lost a hand, and has little standing in the realm due to his incestuous issue. Although he is still the heir apparent, the house has suffered an enormous loss of prestige, not to mention the loss of King Joffrey.

The Night's Watch has also lost a great deal of standing among the Seven Kingdoms, although this decline has been significantly more slow than most of the others. They have in fact been declining for perhaps hundreds of years, and if anything, Lord Commander Jon Snow may yet restore the watch to something more effectual than it has recently been.

There has been a great deal of slaughter, pillage, rape and general destruction in Westeros since the death of King Robert. It strikes me that the realm may in fact be hopelessly divided, and woefully despoiled to boot. Even should Daenerys Targaryen manage to reclaim her throne, she will rule over an impoverished and broken Westeros. It is of course relevant to mention at this point that she believes that Mirri Maaz Dur's magic has made her barren, meaning that there would be no more Targaryen rulers and no clear line of succession. There would probably also be no more dragons, unless three are sufficient to restore the species. I suspect not, for that is too small of a gene pool.

I ask the question, then... what satisfactory ending can come of all this? The conquest of a scorched and scarred land, which leaves the supposed victor the king or queen of very little indeed? Even the rest of the world appears to be in decline. There are more examples of declining old cities and institutions than there are of vibrant and modern ones.

This series is wonderfully written, but I can only ask if the author has thought ahead.

[Anamin]

Not a George R. R. Martin fan yet. But I'm trying to be. If I could find the first book on audio at the library, I'm sure I'd be sucked right in.

[l0k1]

I rate his 'A song of Ice and Fire' as probaly the best fantasy series i've ever read.

[Soluzar]

I rate his 'A song of Ice and Fire' as probaly the best fantasy series i've ever read.
I would... but honestly I've got to wait until the end before I can make that judgement.