A Song of Ice and Fire

normalphil · #1 January 21st, 2004, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Arryn:

quote:
Originally posted by Karacan:
Go for Wheel Of Time, by Robert Jordan

IMO, it's highly boring. And I'm a patient reader, so that's saying a lot about just how much of a chore these books are. If anyone dislikes Eddings, then run, don't walk, away from Jordan. 10 books thus far and he's still at least 2 books away from a wrap. It's obvious he's writing these books just to make money for himself and his publsher. (Lots of money.) The story just drags on, and on, and on. Dozens of admittedly interesting and well-developed characters, like Eddings (only more so). The story is big on telling you what the characters think, but they don't do much. Just talk, debate, ponder, and drag their butts occasionally someplace else to talk some more to each other.

Fair warning.

Your milage may vary. Wheel of Time isn't action/adventure, it's a drama with action/adventure in it. And it doesn't change the fact that the Wheel of Time is a continuous, consistantly good narative.

normalphil · #2 January 21st, 2004, 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Wendigo:
\Terry Goodkind is a Robert Jordan hack, and that sado-masochist fetish he has doesn't attract me much.

Um... What sado-masochist fetish? (heh heh) You're not fantasizing about Mord-Sith between chapters now, are you?

I've got a strange thing with Goodkind's Sword of Truth. It keeps dropping off my 'Good Fantasy' list between books, and it keeps rocketting back up it every time I read a new one. I guess the conclusion is while the weight of opinion wears me down, the product will speak for itself. Just finished 'Naked Empire', and am still thinking 'Cool. That man knows how to turn a phrase into a meaning.'

Or you could just ignore all the white noise and bear in mind that nowhere in the words 'Sword of Truth' are the words 'Wheel of Time', and sit down and enjoy the book without trying to create new analogies.

Teraswaerto · #3 January 21st, 2004, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Your milage may vary. Wheel of Time isn't action/adventure, it's a drama with action/adventure in it. And it doesn't change the fact that the Wheel of Time is a continuous, consistantly good narative.

WoT was enjoyable up to (and mostly including) Lord of Chaos, but after that the story just got completely bogged down.

[ January 21, 2004, 13:16: Message edited by: Teraswaerto ]

Arryn · #4 January 21st, 2004, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Teraswaerto:

quote:
Your milage may vary. Wheel of Time isn't action/adventure, it's a drama with action/adventure in it. And it doesn't change the fact that the Wheel of Time is a continuous, consistantly good narative.

WoT was enjoyable up to (and mostly including) Lord of Chaos, but after that the story just got completely bogged down.

A drama unfolding at a glacial pace. Lord of Chaos is book 6 (of 10 thus far). Given that his books average 800+ pages, that's well over 3000 more pages one has to endure just to discover the story isn't any closer to the climax he started towards 8000+ pages earlier.

It's unreasonable to expect your children (if you have any) to be born, grow up, and go off to college before this silly story reaches a conclusion. Which could well happen at Jordan's pacing.

Have I beaten this (slowly) dying horse dead yet?

mr.white · #5 January 21st, 2004, 06:45 PM

I liked A Song of Ice and Fire for a while. Then my favorite characters died, or suddenly became less appealing as they started doing horrible things. There's a few exceptions, but not enough to make me want to buy A Feast for Crows. It's just too depressing to read that story.

I think Robert Jordan is the best fantasy author around today. But why limit yourself to fantasy?

If you can find it you should read "The Long Run" by Daniel Keys Moran. My favorite book, bar none.
It's a near-future sci-fi story. The world was united under one government after world war 3. The main character is a genetically enigneered thief and hacker whose "family" was wiped out by a nuclear weapon. His apartment came with a bazooka. The bad guy is french.

Not sure what else to say without spoiling the story. Read it!

Oh, and it works quite well without reading the other books in the series. There's different main characters and the first and third books suffer slightly because of some strange aspects in the story. They're still damn good, but if you want to start reading Moran start on The Long Run.

[ January 21, 2004, 16:53: Message edited by: mr.white ]

Karacan · #6 January 21st, 2004, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Arryn:
A drama unfolding at a glacial pace. Lord of Chaos is book 6 (of 10 thus far). Given that his books average 800+ pages, that's well over 3000 more pages one has to endure just to discover the story isn't any closer to the climax he started towards 8000+ pages earlier.

You're obviously not a hardcore interaction roleplayer.

I love Jordan's work because of the intricate character interactions, the brilliant descriptions of lands and situations (his combat descriptions are par to non), and the very cool dialogues.

Who needs action!

By the way, check out "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman for a current-era-fantasy story of very dark origin... Just finished reading it. Wow. It even has some (minor) action.

velk · #7 January 22nd, 2004, 03:45 AM

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A bit of an overstatement. There are several central human characters without superhuman abilities. Whiskeyjack, Crokus/Cutter, Dujek Onearm, Murillio, etc.

You haven't read House of Chains yet have you 8)

With regards to Jordan's work - IMO it is an excellent fantasy series that peaks at book 4 and then begins a gradual slide down into a deep pit of aimless tedium. Book 10, Crossroads of Mediocrity, managed to have an entire chapter devoted to one of the main characters having a bath and the *entire book* managed to not advance a single outstanding plot line in the slightest.