George RR Martin to his detractors

[hexgrid]

After all, as some of you like to point out in your emails, I am sixty years old and fat, and you don't want me to "pull a Robert Jordan" on you and deny you your book.

Ouch! I can't believe someone would email this to him.

But I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

 

[Fast Learner]

I say this as an ensconced member, but as a rule the social skills of genre fans tend to be somewhat limited. Add to that the anonimity of the internet and I wouldn't be even slightly surprised if he's received multiple emails of that type.

 

[Arnwyn]

While I know of GRRM, I'm not familiar with Ice and Fire.

Is it a bunch of stand alone self-contained books, or is there an ongoing story that - and this is the important part - has yet to be completed?

If it's the former, then fans should obviously get off his back. If it's the latter, then the fans'/consumers' position is somewhat obvious and unsurprising (if rude)...

 

[rowport]

Shrug

Apparently, I am in a tiny minority of GRRM fans: I thought the Fire & Ice series was boring as paint drying (at least the first two that I endured) but then I *love* the Wild Cards books, even the two released in the last few years. Who knew? Shrug.

 

[Dire Bare]

However, that said, as time has passed I've fallen into the camp that thinks GRRM simply isn't interested in Ice and Fire anymore. This post seems to me to back up that line of thought.

The impression that I get is not that he isn't interested anymore, but rather two things, 1) that he has a lot on his plate, especially with the resurgence in popularity of the Wild Cards series, and 2) that he is a bit stuck on finishing the latest Ice and Fire book.

I sympathize with the guy, to him, his artistry is larger than Ice and Fire and includes many projects that are equally important and valid to him. And it sucks to have losers who don't know what they are talking about slam you personally for not doing things the way they know they should be done. After I read his blog entry, I gave my own one-fingered salute to all of those hassling the poor guy.

 

[Vocenoctum]

While I know of GRRM, I'm not familiar with Ice and Fire.

Is it a bunch of stand alone self-contained books, or is there an ongoing story that - and this is the important part - has yet to be completed?

If it's the former, then fans should obviously get off his back. If it's the latter, then the fans'/consumers' position is somewhat obvious and unsurprising (if rude)...

I read the first trilogy, it was decent, but by the end of the trilogy I felt I was done with it, and when it eventually came out with book 4, I felt no draw.

It was a 7 book series, IIRC, two trilogies with a link in the middle, but now it's changed as book 4 became books 4 and 5, and something blah blah, I forget. So yeah, it's a continuing saga whose ending is "eagerly" anticipated, but may never occur.

 

[Felon]

I sympathize with the guy, to him, his artistry is larger than Ice and Fire and includes many projects that are equally important and valid to him. And it sucks to have losers who don't know what they are talking about slam you personally for not doing things the way they know they should be done. After I read his blog entry, I gave my own one-fingered salute to all of those hassling the poor guy.

Your position is the other extreme. Martin isn't "poor" by any means. He's experienced success at a level most writers will only dream of. Any hassles he gets from fans disappointed fans--the "losers" who provided him with financial security--is more than compensated for by the perks of being a bestselling author and having actualized his personal dreams. Quantitatively speaking, celebrities are amongst the least deserving of pity.

 

[Glyfair]

It was a 7 book series, IIRC, two trilogies with a link in the middle, but now it's changed as book 4 became books 4 and 5, and something blah blah, I forget. So yeah, it's a continuing saga whose ending is "eagerly" anticipated, but may never occur.

I believe it was supposed to be a 5 book series (it might have been a trilogy very early on). The last book and the "forthcoming" book (the book he can't really seem to finish) are covering a time frame that he was originally going to skip. There was going to be a large time jump in between books, and he decided he needed to cover that timeframe in a single book.

As it turns out, he has had a very hard time writing it. Supposedly it was almost done, but too large. Thus he split it into two books, with each one covering different points of view*. Apparently this was wrong, since the "almost finished" other half has taken quite a long time.

Personally, I wish he had stuck to the original time jump, rather than write these books that obviously aren't working very well.

Now, I like the Wild Cards series. I liked it when it was one of the early shared worlds (and one based loosely on an RPG campaign). Still, I boycotting anything he writes until he gets that book out. He can do whatever he wants, including dropping the series. I hope his various projects do well. I still want him to sit down and finish this book and get back to the real story.

* Each chapter is told from the point of view of various characters in the story.

 

[Remus Lupin]

"Wild Cards" is very well-written and compelling, but I have a hard time getting my suspension of belief up for it. It's difficult for me to accept the premise on the one hand, and some of the powers that the characters exhibit are grotesque to the point of turning me off reading. The power of the plot and writing keeps me going, but I'm mostly reading it to get my Martin fix while waiting for DwD.

 

[Vocenoctum]

I believe it was supposed to be a 5 book series (it might have been a trilogy very early on). The last book and the "forthcoming" book (the book he can't really seem to finish) are covering a time frame that he was originally going to skip. There was going to be a large time jump in between books, and he decided he needed to cover that timeframe in a single book.

Maybe that was it, two trilogies, then he decided on a bridge book, then split the bridge. I'm also pretty sure he said when he split it that the second half would be really quickly since it was so done...

But, yeah, I don't recall specifically given that my information is mostly from a friend that was following it. I think he's lost interest now though. (Or his "lack of interest" is due more to a lack of information. Other than this "screw you detractors, thank you fans" stuff, has any word on the book been forthcoming since the release of book4?)