Vaginal Fantasy Book Club discussion
Book Discussion & Recommendation
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For those who despise Game of Thrones series!
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I think that's sort of the point - you're drawn in and you want to know what happens, but none of them are particularly GOOD people or BAD people. As much as you want to HATE some characters they all have redeeming qualities. I feel the violence is necessary to the plot and it's a big reason a lot of people still read the books/watch the show. Everyone goes through hard times, some you feel deserve it, some you feel didn't, and after it's all said and done, some of them you end up caring for again!With all that being said, I could do without the 45 page scenes of feasts that no one cares about.
http://youtu.be/j7lp3RhzfgI
Shadyia wrote: ". . . Am I the only one who feels this way? "In a word: No.
I read the first book when it was first released. Purchased the 2nd book when it was first released. Could never convince myself to read it because the first one just depressed me so much. After the 4th was released, I had a very good friend who HIGHLY recommended them. So, I tried again. Nope. Could. Not. Read. Them. No one lives. No one is worth redemption. Happy things do not happen. I read for entertainment. Crying, screaming, ranting - these things do not entertain me.
The frustrating part - beyond they are the *it* of fantasy - is Martin's writing is so darn readable. You really do immerse yourself in his world. It is just not a world I wish to live in. (Well, I really do hate all the character jumping . . . )
Yeah I'm going to take the unpopular stand as well. I just wanted someone to root for here and everyone I liked was either killed or dragged through excrement over and over again. So I have stopped reading as well.
Agreed. Although since my Dad likes them I continued to read up to the most current book so he'd have a reading buddy. The depressing and violence just keeps coming I don't like it but I can get through it. The fact that in the last book he changed his writing style though really killed it for me. There is such a thing as continuity.
I stopped after the second book. I just couldn't stomach that every single character that I liked died. No matter how interesting the story or fabulous the writing, if there isn't a character that I can respect or like, I just dont want to read it anymore. There are plenty of awful people in real life, I dont really want to have my entertainment filled with them. Plus, after a while I didn't WANT to like anyone anymore since it was basically a death sentence.
It's good that I am not alone in my opinions here. Although the rest of you out here on my frozen lake are making me nervous. Crack.
Seriously, I do appreciate it. Fantasy should be an escape, an immersion into another world we want to know more about. I would do anything to spend a week in Middle Earth, Azeroth, Faerûn (oh hell yes!), 2019 Los Angeles in Blade Runner, Coruscant (hell, even Tatooine!).
Would I want to visit The Seven Kingdoms? No. Pass. Better things to do. Not gonna happen.
But more than that, I want to believe there is good in the world. They don't have to win and they shouldn't glide through death and destruction without a scratch (I'm looking at you, David Eddings!)--but they should strive for goodness, even when all of Hell turns against them.
My favorite fantasy writer is David Gemmell, may he rest in peace. He is my inspiration.
Coming out on the ice too. Loved first book, read second hoping it was less dark and gave up on the third.
Didn't like the character jumping and was overwhelmed by number of characters.
Nothing nice happens to anyone. Same reason I hated the book Wicked.
KFLisa wrote: "... Same reason I hated the book Wicked."Oh wow... I thought I was the only one!
I read all the books earlier this year (yes, I'd never heard of them before the HBO series) and honestly, I think the only way I was able to get through them all was just because I'd built up a lot of reader momentum by being able to read them sequentially. But I don't know if I will read book 6 when it is eventually released because there is TOO MUCH FREAKING DETAIL and I don't want to have to read them all again just to understand what's going on. A couple of my big gripes:
what is the importance of the Others? The author opens the whole freaking series with that, and by the end of book five, we still don't know what is to be so afraid of. The Wall is built to keep them out and the Night Watch (?) was created to keep the Others out but this whole storyline seems woefully underdeveloped. Or maybe it will eventually tie into Bran and that stupid three eyed crow that he keeps going on about.
The author's received a lot of criticism for killing off characters but I was far more irritated when he'd let us think that a character had died and then later we find out they are alive. As a reader, the first time that happened, I was exhilarated. Yay, she's NOT dead! It's a real compliment to the author to be able to create characters that readers have such an emotional connection to that we mourn when they die (especially when it seemed so senseless). But after the fourth time a supposedly dead character turns out to be alive, I was really annoyed. It seemed like a cheap shot to the reader's emotions.
*It seemed like a cheap shot to the reader's emotions*This.
(Mild spoiler to make a point) In book 5, page 281, Tyrion falls into a river of poison water. Martin ends the chapter that way. We do not find out what happens until page 321.
I cannot stand that!
We are all familiar with ending a chapter with a cliff hanger, but making us clop through 40 pages before we learn the outcome??
And don't even get me started with what happens to Daenerys! Page 814, huge cliff hanger. We don't find out what happens until...wait for it...
...wait for it...
1083!
AHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Like I said, 3 liters of awesome poured into a swimming pool.
I read the first one and thought the story was interesting but there was no way I wanted to read 6 more books with that level of violence (or the crawling pace). I read the wiki for the books instead and was so glad I did. I know what happens and that's good enough for me.
I totally agree. I've been struggling to read this series for ages. Trying to force my way through book 2 and get into book 3 before the new season starts.But I just find his manner or writing to be so ponderous. It's a struggle to not put it down and pick up something else.
It's really irritating because the characters and story line are good, but its like a slow torture to get through it
I have read all of the books and obviously thought they were engaging enough but I have this awful feeling that Martin is going to croak before he ties off all of the loose ends. I mean, have you seen the guy? he looks like a heart attack ready to happen. There are so many characters and subplots that there is a wiki of fire and ice for god's sake. When I started reading the series I thought it was going to be a trilogy. Now there seems to be no end in sight. The books were such a time suck and I have my doubts that investing so much time and brain space on this epic was a wise choice.
Camille wrote: "I have read all of the books and obviously thought they were engaging enough but I have this awful feeling that Martin is going to croak before he ties off all of the loose ends. I mean, have you s..."Camille I totally agree...He takes so long between books , 9 years, 5 years, 6 years and he's got 2 more books that he's going to write.
Camille wrote: "I have read all of the books and obviously thought they were engaging enough but I have this awful feeling that Martin is going to croak before he ties off all of the loose ends. I mean, have you s..."Paul and Storm share your agony in song:
http://www.paulandstorm.com/lyrics/wr...
At least two more... There have been hints that the series could be even longer!
Mod
I'm still working on Book 1 and this is a huge issue for me. There are so many PoVs and some characters I don't like as much - so it's really difficult to slog through chapters with characters I don't like to get to the next chapter I want to read.
I really like the characters, plot and overall story in ASOIF but I cannot bring myself to finish the first book because I just find it soooooooo boring. I do however love the tv series and what my husband tells me happens in the books. I guess I just like the condensed version :)
Here is the thing: I want to love it. I want to know where this story is going and what will happen to his amazing characters. But to experience that, I have to run through a gauntlet of bloody, rusty swords!
The way I explain it: Martin is 3 liters of some of the best story-telling and characters I have ever read and--probably--ever will read, poured into an olympic-sized swimming pool filled with acid, and I am asked to jump in.
The slow, sloooooow pace, every meal described to a crum, every step on a thousand mile journey told, every back story a novel in its self!
But more than the pace, I cannot stand the darkness. It's just so vicious. The rapes, the tortures, the casual cruelty. Locking a woman in a room until she starves and eats her own fingers. Making the mistress of your father walk naked through the streets. Having your son's lover raped over and over while he is forced to watch. Giving a harmless bard the choice of keeping his fingers or his tongue. GAWD! ENOUGH!
I almost get desensitized to it. And I really don't want to!
Where are the heroes? Where are those beacons we can cling to when all this ugliness closes in?
Please understand, I want to experience this world. That is my dilemma. If I hated all of it, my solution would be easy; don't read it. Out of sight, out of mind.
Am I the only one who feels this way?