Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="nikolai" data-source="post: 736170" data-attributes="member: 10130">To go back to the original post:I've read the series-so-far recently (after reading about it on the boards - so thanks to those who've posting on the topic in the past). I think saying that there are no true heroes, though it isn't completely true, does touch on something that makes A Song of Ice and Fire different from a lot of standard fantasy. I've also heard people cite this as a strength of the series and not a weakness, so it does all depend upon taste. What I think is good about the series is that it is very far away from the pseudo-Tolkien, quests, ancient evils, uber-warriors etc. that dominates much of the modern fantasy I see in book shops. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with this style, but much of the stuff written it is derivative and cliché and I for one am bored with it.The way A Song of Ice and Fire is more a collection of story arcs linked together around a central theme rather than "Evil is rising in the form of A, hero B must do C in order to save the peoples of D" makes it different. I know people might bring the Others up here, but they haven't really been a major part of the story yet (as opposed to the Wildlings attack) and, at least so far, the story has centred around politiking for the throne of Westeros.A lot of the conventions of heroic fantasy have also been rejected. Though there are "good" characters there aren't the sort of ultra-talented heroes you'd find in say, Edding or Gemmel (I'm sure people with a greater breath of reading in fantasy than me could fill in more details), or as clear a good/evil divide as is found in much fantasy.I think that’s what people are trying to express when they say there are “no true heroes”. To compare it to LotR there's no-one as bad-ass or noble as say Aragorn, for example. That's certainly not a criticism of either series - since they're aiming for completely different targets. But I think it does make ASOFAI very different from other LotR-cloned “fantasy epics”. I found that very refreshing.I don't think it is as good as Tolkien - but it is somewhat reminiscent of Tolkien in the way strands of a story are woven together from different characters POV and some of the complexity of the background. If you haven't read it I'd certainly recommend it.yours,Nikolai.</blockquote>

Verification