Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Are the books as good as the HBO series?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #31
    Originally posted by Lunaeclipse View Post
    I agree...

    I'm really enjoying the show as well as the books. I just got through A Feast For Crows, which seemed to take a long time and didn't have so many of my favourite characters in it, but for me it made up for it with the surprises it gave along the way...
    I think most people would agree with you on that. It likely has to do with the fact that originally it was supposed to be just one book but the story became too long so GRRM split it into A Feast of Crows and A Dance with Dragons. I enjoyed ADWD a lot more. The purpose of both these books is to lay the foundation of what is to come in the final 2 though, so that is where I expect the epic stories to return.
    sigpic

    Comment


      #32
      I know he split them, and while i can understand how he did it and why, I sometimes have to wonder if a more readable way would have been to split them up based on chronology rather than characters.

      Spoiler:
      it was quite disconcerting to read Dance and have to remember, yeah, rewind a year, that hasn't happened yet'

      its' like you lose contact with certain characters for so long and you kinda forget about them.
      Where in the World is George Hammond?


      sigpic

      Comment


        #33
        Originally posted by Skydiver View Post
        I know he split them, and while i can understand how he did it and why, I sometimes have to wonder if a more readable way would have been to split them up based on chronology rather than characters.

        Spoiler:
        it was quite disconcerting to read Dance and have to remember, yeah, rewind a year, that hasn't happened yet'

        its' like you lose contact with certain characters for so long and you kinda forget about them.
        I read your spoiler, and that does not sound good. It just doesn't seem logical. I've heard that the book was split into two, but I just assumed
        Spoiler:
        that he found a good point in the middle to wrap things up for the one half and then have a good start for the other. The way that it sounds seems like reading the same story again, just from a different angle. That doesn't seem as fun.

        sigpic

        Comment


          #34
          Originally posted by The Lady Blue View Post
          I read your spoiler, and that does not sound good. It just doesn't seem logical. I've heard that the book was split into two, but I just assumed
          Spoiler:
          that he found a good point in the middle to wrap things up for the one half and then have a good start for the other. The way that it sounds seems like reading the same story again, just from a different angle. That doesn't seem as fun.
          Hopefully the series will recover when the integrated story resumes in the next volume.

          Comment


            #35
            I had no idea that Game of Thrones was a book series. Then I bought them all. I started reading A Clash of Kings, O.M.goodness I just could not get into it. It makes my brother crazy because he read them all in one setting. He was reading a Feast of Crows, I was stuck on Arya in ACOK. He was half way through Dragons. Clash of Kings just started up.
            I have Dyspraxia and huge paragraphs after a while get a muddled and I lose my place. So one day I was not reading Clash and my brother snatched it out of my hands and said "just watch the show." So I did.
            Why did you do such a thing, you mediocre dunces?

            Comment


              #36
              Originally posted by The Lady Blue View Post
              I read your spoiler, and that does not sound good. It just doesn't seem logical. I've heard that the book was split into two, but I just assumed
              Spoiler:
              that he found a good point in the middle to wrap things up for the one half and then have a good start for the other. The way that it sounds seems like reading the same story again, just from a different angle. That doesn't seem as fun.

              Yeah, no
              Spoiler:

              It's like a year is told from the POV of this group of characters in one book, then you read the other book and it's told from the POV of the others.

              not a publishing choice I would have made because there were a few times when I was reading the later book and thinking 'no wait that's wrong...oh right, this event hasn't happened yet'


              I'm gonna guess, when HBO gets that far, they will make a different choice
              Spoiler:
              If for no other reason than to keep all the actors on contract and working instead of having part of them take a year off and then see if they can get them back or deal with the physical changes that go on during that year....especially with actresses like Arya, who will literally grow too much during a year off to be easily seen as the same character
              Where in the World is George Hammond?


              sigpic

              Comment


                #37
                I liked the idea of splitting up the POVs into different books. The problem is that so much time passed between the release of AFOC and ADWD that people forgot the story lines. If, for instance, ADWD would have been released the following year, I think it would have worked out a lot better.

                I am sure the HBO show will make the necessary adjustments in terms of the timeline. They have shown they will make the changes they think work best of television, as shown by their decision to split up the next book into two seasons.
                sigpic

                Comment


                  #38
                  There are book loyalists who will say the books are masterpieces, and those are generally the same people who have a problem with every small deviation from the source material, even if those deviations make complete narrative sense.

                  But the problem with that view is that just because it was in the books, doesn't mean it's "better" in a narrative sense.

                  The truth is that George R.R. Martin has a great ear for dialogue and writes most of his characters masterfully, but he's also undisciplined, prone to long and pointless detours, and in dire need of a good editor. Even his most loyal fans seem to realize this, judging by the thousands upon thousands of underwhelming reviews of the last few books in the series on sites like Amazon.

                  The first two books are, for the most part, well-structured and move along at a solid pace. The third book starts to exhibit problems that seriously plague the two most recent books. And even though the third book features arguably the most dramatic and jaw-dropping developments, it has serious flaws.

                  I like the books as an extended guide to the universe of ASOIAF and a great way for fans to delve deeper into history and politics underpinning the narrative.

                  Comment


                    #39
                    Originally posted by magictrick View Post
                    I liked the idea of splitting up the POVs into different books. The problem is that so much time passed between the release of AFOC and ADWD that people forgot the story lines. If, for instance, ADWD would have been released the following year, I think it would have worked out a lot better.

                    I am sure the HBO show will make the necessary adjustments in terms of the timeline. They have shown they will make the changes they think work best of television, as shown by their decision to split up the next book into two seasons.
                    I wish the split between Feast for Crows and Dance with Dragons wasn't between characters, to be honest. Feast was agonizingly slow for me, especially with so many unfamiliar POV characters that didn't grab me. It wasn't until the latter half of Feast that I really got into the plot (or lack thereof because of the split, in my opinion).

                    Dance with Dragons, on the other hand, had me fascinated from page one. Despite several slow sections, the reader got the sense of some real forward momentum, which was sorely lacking in Feast, at least for me.
                    sigpic

                    Comment


                      #40
                      I may just wait for all the books to come out before I even read the first one so I know there will be an ending
                      sigpic
                      My Favorite Scifi/Fantasy T.V. Shows, Movies, Franchises, My Sports Teams & My Fav Sitcom
                      poundpuppy29 AKA Erika = Astrology Nut, Scifi-Fantasy Junkie & Massachusetts Girl

                      Comment


                        #41
                        Originally posted by poundpuppy29 View Post
                        I may just wait for all the books to come out before I even read the first one so I know there will be an ending
                        ha, you'll wait a long time

                        Comment


                          #42
                          Originally posted by Brother Freyr View Post
                          ha, you'll wait a long time
                          Yes but I have the TV series to keep me entertained
                          sigpic
                          My Favorite Scifi/Fantasy T.V. Shows, Movies, Franchises, My Sports Teams & My Fav Sitcom
                          poundpuppy29 AKA Erika = Astrology Nut, Scifi-Fantasy Junkie & Massachusetts Girl

                          Comment


                            #43
                            I read some reviews on Amazon and it's very funny how some of the fans reviewed the last 2 books here are the links warning there are some spoilers

                            http://www.amazon.com/Feast-Crows-So...east+for+crows

                            you have to scroll down to see them but it is very funny

                            http://www.amazon.com/Dance-Dragons-...I1QAVKVG80PJY2

                            reading these does make me wonder if I should even bother with the books at all though the general impression I get is that the first 3 books are really good but the last 2 are not as well written and has a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense or plot holes and he really doesn't seem to know what direction he's going
                            sigpic
                            My Favorite Scifi/Fantasy T.V. Shows, Movies, Franchises, My Sports Teams & My Fav Sitcom
                            poundpuppy29 AKA Erika = Astrology Nut, Scifi-Fantasy Junkie & Massachusetts Girl

                            Comment


                              #44
                              Originally posted by poundpuppy29 View Post
                              the general impression I get is that the first 3 books are really good but the last 2 are not as well written and has a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense or plot holes and he really doesn't seem to know what direction he's going
                              I trust he still knows where he's going. I think he's got an end in sight for Bran and Danyris at the very least. GRRM seems to have undergone the procedure known as editor-ectomy. It's fashionable among successful fantasy authors. They get a few bestsellers under their belt, and their editors become powerless to revise and revoke. The end-product suffers. Even so, I enjoyed the most recent books. No regrets whatsoever.

                              Comment


                                #45
                                Parts of 'A Feast For Crows' were interesting and parts of it seemed to go no where, but I managed to stay curious as to where he was going... (am still reading ADWD)


                                Facebook post about Alexis Cruz and the Audiobook he's done. If you're a fan of Alexis and his work - you'll love it. Book 1 and 2 are there now. The second one is brilliant, but I can't vouch for the first one (not having heard it), but I'm sure it's just as good, if not better.


                                "I'm not gonna eat it - that's disgusting... I'm gonna wear it as a worm-stache." - Misha Collins (Supernatural Season 6 Gag Reel)
                                "Becker, it leads to the Victorian Era. What do you think is going to come through, an Oliver-Twist-Asaurus?" - Connor - Primeval.

                                Alexis Cruz - Facebook. (insert Klorel/Skaara icon here...) and ThunkThread ~ The Unprofessionals page for updates. ~
                                a game for Teal'c fans ~ Skaara/Klorel disscussion ~ Character Connection Game ~ "Beyond Redemption"...

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X