NaBloPoMo: Day 18

[lady_branwyn]

Lord Branwyn and I had a hobbit breakfast this morning at the local First Watch restaurant--sauteed mushrooms topped with cheese, eggs, hashbrown potatoes, and English muffins. Nom.

I was discussing "A Game of Thrones" with Lord Branwyn (who bought it in an airport years ago, started reading it and never finished). When I said the author's name, it came out something like "George Arrrarrrhh Martin" which made me laugh because I sounded like a pirate. Then Lord Branwyn pointed out that Martin's name was no funnier than "J. Arrrrarrrh Tolkien." Though those two initials are about all the two authors have in common. Martin is the anti-Tolkien.

Comments

[radbooks.livejournal.com]

Did you like "A Game of Thrones"? I just started reading it for my book club and I haven't read enough yet to know what to think. It's long, which can be a good thing... or not! :)

[lady-branwyn.livejournal.com]

He's a talented storyteller, and initially, I was engrossed in the story, but after a while, I found certain aspects repellant. Gratuitous sex and violence are rampant. There is probably a subset of readers who are there for the porn and bloodshed and nothing else. Martin's moral ambiguity doesn't bother me, but his characters are so unlucky that it's comical. Nothing ever goes as planned. Ever. You start anticipating each new disaster. My final peeve is the lack of humor. I think that the dwarf character is supposed to be funny in a sardonic way, but at least for me, he doesn't deliver the goods. I like some humor with my darkfic. So in short, Martin drew me in and then alienated me with his excesses.