Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Baraka's FFJ: A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin (SPOILERS)

levite · 06-29-2010, 02:58 PM

How did you experience the book? Beyond whether you simply liked it or not, what were your initial reactions to it? What do you make of the plot?
What do you make of Martin's world? What resemblances do you see?

I was first pleasantly surprised, and then really very impressed. Martin is a bona fide master of detail and intricacy. His plot structures are vast. I can barely believe he manages to juggle all the people and places and actions he sets forth, let alone do so with such skill and panache. I love the fact that he is absolutely ruthless. His characters get killed off with almost reckless abandon: you really never know who's going to live and who's going to die. His characters suffer like hell. I love that he has essentially taken the kind of epic adventure of the classic Anglo-French Medieval courtly-love/chivalry genre (I am very much minded of Chretien de Troyes), and turned it on its head: almost none of the knights in Martin's world have any honor, and the few who do have much honor get their ass handed to them, almost literally. War is ugly, not beautiful, the common people suffer greatly for it, the nobles all suck, and you can't turn around without running into rapists, thieves, murderers, and traitors. Martin is like the ultimate revisionist of the courtly love epic of chivalry.

And I also really like the fact that although the first book started out looking to me like a period epic, free of actual elements of the fantastical, the emergence of such elements along the way have really been wonderful treats.

Are the characters convincing? Who are your favourites? Least favourites?

I find the characters quite convincing. I think Martin does a great job of keeping characters true to their motivations and development. My favorites have got to be Jon Snow, Arya Stark, and Tyrion Lannister.

Danaerys has both been growing on me.

I can't say I care much for Cersei Lannister, and Peter Baelish irritates the crap out of me. I'm just waiting for someone to kill him. Sansa Stark doesn't do a lot for me, either. And both Joffrey and Viserys are just awful.

What is the central conflict? What are the major themes running throughout?

See, I think that's kind of the beauty of the work. It's full of chaos. It's a fucking mare's nest in there. It's all central conflict! The unifying theme seems to be that almost everybody sucks, and if Westeros manages to make it out of all of this with any large number of survivors, it's going to be because somebody like Jon or Arya or Jaime, whom nobody respects or cares about, saves everyone despite themselves.

Is the ending satisfying?

There was an ending?

Are you hooked?

Oh hells yeah! I've been waiting for him to come out with that goddamned last book for like five years already!

06-29-2010, 02:58 PM	#6 (permalink)
levite Minion of Joss Location: The Windy City	How did you experience the book? Beyond whether you simply liked it or not, what were your initial reactions to it? What do you make of the plot? What do you make of Martin's world? What resemblances do you see? I was first pleasantly surprised, and then really very impressed. Martin is a bona fide master of detail and intricacy. His plot structures are vast. I can barely believe he manages to juggle all the people and places and actions he sets forth, let alone do so with such skill and panache. I love the fact that he is absolutely ruthless. His characters get killed off with almost reckless abandon: you really never know who's going to live and who's going to die. His characters suffer like hell. I love that he has essentially taken the kind of epic adventure of the classic Anglo-French Medieval courtly-love/chivalry genre (I am very much minded of Chretien de Troyes), and turned it on its head: almost none of the knights in Martin's world have any honor, and the few who do have much honor get their ass handed to them, almost literally. War is ugly, not beautiful, the common people suffer greatly for it, the nobles all suck, and you can't turn around without running into rapists, thieves, murderers, and traitors. Martin is like the ultimate revisionist of the courtly love epic of chivalry. And I also really like the fact that although the first book started out looking to me like a period epic, free of actual elements of the fantastical, the emergence of such elements along the way have really been wonderful treats. *Are the characters convincing? Who are your favourites? Least favourites?* I find the characters quite convincing. I think Martin does a great job of keeping characters true to their motivations and development. My favorites have got to be Jon Snow, Arya Stark, and Tyrion Lannister. Danaerys has both been growing on me. I can't say I care much for Cersei Lannister, and Peter Baelish irritates the crap out of me. I'm just waiting for someone to kill him. Sansa Stark doesn't do a lot for me, either. And both Joffrey and Viserys are just awful. *What is the central conflict? What are the major themes running throughout?* See, I think that's kind of the beauty of the work. It's full of chaos. It's a fucking mare's nest in there. It's all central conflict! The unifying theme seems to be that almost everybody sucks, and if Westeros manages to make it out of all of this with any large number of survivors, it's going to be because somebody like Jon or Arya or Jaime, whom nobody respects or cares about, saves everyone despite themselves. *Is the ending satisfying?* There was an ending? *Are you hooked?* Oh hells yeah! I've been waiting for him to come out with that goddamned last book for like five years already! __________________ Dull sublunary lovers love, Whose soul is sense, cannot admit Absence, because it doth remove That thing which elemented it. (From "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne)