George R.R. Martin novel news

[BryonD]

So very weird to me. It's like when people suggest that breast feeding in public is wrong because we defecate in private. That comparison makes as much sense to me as this one. I'm not mocking; I just literally cannot follow the logic.

The Martin stuff doesn't bother me, so I'm not defending the "its bad" side.

But.....

I think you've twisted the arguement here. He didn't suggest anything at all like that.
The "point" was made that graphic sex is ok in fiction simple because it is it is part of real life.
This is a very weak arguement and Andre showed the weakness of it. He wasn't stating that being done in private means it SHOULD NEVER be in lit, he was just saying that being part of life alone does NOT at all establish any value of putting it in lit.

Of course, bad arguements can be made for the "right" side of a debate. I'm fine with the gratuitous nature of the books because it does maintain the overall tone of what these people deal with and what motivates them. That some of these things are also part of day to day life has no bearing whatsoever on how they would fit in or add to the book. And in my opinion it is pretty silly to suggest that this reasoning somehow supports it.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Defecation is a part of life. I don't want explicit defecation scenes in my books. The miracle of birth is a part of life. I don't want explicit birth scenes in my books. There's a big difference between a book having "adult" material and having "mature" material.

IMO, too much of Martin's writing is both adult and immature. A real pity, as he has some good, imaginative ideas for fantasy stories.

That pretty much sums up my thoughts on the sex scenes as well. Good post.

 

[Nifft]

Having recently re-read all three books in a row, I did notice a jump in sexual explicitness in book 3 (Storm of Swords). The other two books had sex as an element vital to several plots & characters, but used some tact in discussing it. The third book was -- well, explicit.

It did kinda rub me wrong. The style of the first two felt more classy.

-- N

 

[ssampier]

Having recently re-read all three books in a row, I did notice a jump in sexual explicitness in book 3 (Storm of Swords). The other two books had sex as an element vital to several plots & characters, but used some tact in discussing it. The third book was -- well, explicit.

It did kinda rub me wrong. The style of the first two felt more classy.

-- N

Incestuous sex is "classy"? I agree, with you, though -- sorta. Book Three had more blatant sex between Tyrion and his paid "love".

 

[Nighthawk]

At this point, any future books are not a priority. Because of the gap in time, I have moved on to other books. I am not unhappy or intensely dissatisfied, I just moved on. Because of that, I am unlikely to go back. I have yet to decide whether or not I will purchase any of the books, although if I do so, it will only be after the complete series is available to the public.

 

[BlackSilver]

Hey, I just noticed something: Joffrey's now-unused sword ("Widow's Wail") is just the right size to replace Needle, some day in the future.

And it kinda belongs with a Stark.

I wonder if Rikkon will get Oathkeeper.

Such a good point (no pun intended).


A recent thought was brought to my attention and I have been thinking about it.

If you like the books, but have trouble reading them (for what ever reason) I suggest the audio version. I have read all the books a couple of times now, but when I heard it read the books became something else- something better (thank you, Harmon for the suggestion).

My GF has struggled to get through the books for years (not her style of read, but she knows I love the books so they can’t be bad), upon hearing the first hour of GoT she was hooked.

It was this “hooking” that my GF said something (the point of this post) about George’s age and concern that he would finish the books before his passing :\ . It is kind of a cold or cruel thing to think, however it is very realistic. Should writers that work on series scribble out notes as to where the story is going so that other writers can pick up the pieces after their passing?

 

[Darthjaye]

Well ask yourself this. Should or could anyone else have finished the John Carter of Mars series that EGB started? I say no. If it's incomplete it leaves it open to your imagination to fill in the blanks and expand upon the story in your own fashion.

 

[BlackSilver]

Well ask yourself this. Should or could anyone else have finished the John Carter of Mars series that EGB started? I say no. If it's incomplete it leaves it open to your imagination to fill in the blanks and expand upon the story in your own fashion.

There are just so many ways the series could go, and I do so dislike the feeling that things have been left undone and unsaid.

It’s a poor ending to something that has been so great.

 

[Darthjaye]

I equate this best to another form of entertainment....movies. Would you have rather they left Highlander alone or done the horrible sequel they did that hurt the vision and continuity of the first movie? Subsequent visions of the world have done it more harm than help. I love the original idea and dislike what they did when insisting that there was more to offer which they eventually showed us there wasn't. i know it's not the dying/ ded author theory, but it's an idea of what goes wrong if you tamper or let someone new take on an idea better left to it's creator and lost with said person that to ruin it with another's. You taint what is there for what you want to see. At least with the expectations of what you think might have happened if the story were to continue in your own mind, there is mystery and interestm and almost never dissappointment on your behalf.

 

[BlackSilver]

Highlander is perhaps a bad example. At the end of the first movie they were "happily ever after."

A better instance would be George Lucas passes away just after Empire Strikes back is completed. How many fans would have been pleading with someone to get RotJ out?

As the series stands there are some serious questions about what will happen next. If George leaves us at this point then there will be a lot of debate about Tyrion and Dany getting together (it is a theory I have and nothing based on fact), what is Bran doing north of the wall with the Crow (becoming a Magi for certain), how will Sansa get out of her situation, and so many others instances.

It just seems the kind thing to do as a writer.