Random book recommendation: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. If you were to pick up this book in the book store, chances are there is NO WAY you would take it home. It's the first book in a seies (A Song of Fire and Ice), and it's just over 800 pages long. It looks like just another generic "door stopper" fantasy series - highly derivative and reliant on medieval Europe/D&D/Tolkien.
But it's actually a really fantastic series. Martin tells a great *political* story, focusing on court intrigue. It's more of a book about realpolitick than anything else. There are not just kings and noble warriors. Instead, heads of families assassinate one another, make war, spy, and do all smorts of nasty things. Even characters who do their best to meet codes of honor ultimately fail - they fail to understand utility and they lack the flexibility to be politically effective.
Further, Martin doesn't make his characters NICE. Nobles, looking at Europe's fedual system, were not nice people. They didn't really adhere to notions of "justice" and didn't much care about their subjects. This comes clear - there is no rule of law, rational legal system, or sense of political rights. Elites do terrible things to common people, and no one will stop them. The whole world is brutal - characters appear, are fleshed out, and get chopped down. Each chapter is hard to read, because you're pretty damn sure something awful will hapen. (Despite that, the book is a page turner - I'm making time for in in spite of all the demands on my time).
On top of it all, Martin is a great worldbuilder. The setting is both compellling and fully realized. His books have a sense of weight, place, and time. The history feels real. His characters are three dimensional and interesting. The cream on top? Martin is a great writer: it flows well, dialogue feels natural, and exposition is woven in without feeling clunky.
All right, I'll be honest. This is not a paradigm defying book (a la China Mieville - an author whom I think both galvagin and bredoteau would love, for his philosophical roots). If you're not into fantasy, you probably won't find it easy to jump into this book. But, if you're interested in a good story and willing to give fantasy a go-around - this is *totally* worth it. Possibly the best fantasy series I've ever read - taking the Tolkein conventions that entrap most fantasy writers and pushing them through a historical, realist lens that leads to not just an accomplishment in the genre, but a real literary statement. Werd.
[/end pretentious, new yorker-ish book review
]
But it's actually a really fantastic series. Martin tells a great *political* story, focusing on court intrigue. It's more of a book about realpolitick than anything else. There are not just kings and noble warriors. Instead, heads of families assassinate one another, make war, spy, and do all smorts of nasty things. Even characters who do their best to meet codes of honor ultimately fail - they fail to understand utility and they lack the flexibility to be politically effective.
Further, Martin doesn't make his characters NICE. Nobles, looking at Europe's fedual system, were not nice people. They didn't really adhere to notions of "justice" and didn't much care about their subjects. This comes clear - there is no rule of law, rational legal system, or sense of political rights. Elites do terrible things to common people, and no one will stop them. The whole world is brutal - characters appear, are fleshed out, and get chopped down. Each chapter is hard to read, because you're pretty damn sure something awful will hapen. (Despite that, the book is a page turner - I'm making time for in in spite of all the demands on my time).
On top of it all, Martin is a great worldbuilder. The setting is both compellling and fully realized. His books have a sense of weight, place, and time. The history feels real. His characters are three dimensional and interesting. The cream on top? Martin is a great writer: it flows well, dialogue feels natural, and exposition is woven in without feeling clunky.
All right, I'll be honest. This is not a paradigm defying book (a la China Mieville - an author whom I think both galvagin and bredoteau would love, for his philosophical roots). If you're not into fantasy, you probably won't find it easy to jump into this book. But, if you're interested in a good story and willing to give fantasy a go-around - this is *totally* worth it. Possibly the best fantasy series I've ever read - taking the Tolkein conventions that entrap most fantasy writers and pushing them through a historical, realist lens that leads to not just an accomplishment in the genre, but a real literary statement. Werd.
[/end pretentious, new yorker-ish book review
]VIEW 8 of 8 COMMENTS
akirali:
Thanks man. I hope it ends soon too, but not for my sake, but for the sake of my loved one that it's affecting.
bredoteau:
I got your email and will be responding to it. Things are going ok. I think I have some job prospects.