Talk Back

[shaw]

Ed Ting, from this list, turned me on to George R.R. Martin this way. He wanted to lend me his copy of Fevre Dream. I said I had no interest in it. He cajoled. I held firm. He offered a Compromise - read the first ten pages. I, in my youthful foolishness, said "yes" and wound up not studying for a Chemistry test as I stayed up late reading it until the end.

It is sad people think of it as a Vampire novel, because you are enjoying it so much by the time the first Vampire comes out you don't really think they are needed to make it an interesting story.

Two people on this list turned me on to George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones.

A Game of Thrones is a fantasy tale of Palace Intrigue. But it is as much that as Fevre Dream is a vampire novel. This is a story by a master storyteller, who is choosing to write in a particular genre.

He keeps surprising the reader. He will set up a cliche story arc, and suddenly something will happen that will just derail it. Martin's heroes are Mortal - you don't know what is going to happen to someone, because he makes it clear that just because a character is well-developed doesn't mean s/he is going to live out the chapter. Martin creates some of the most dick-like Dicks in all of fiction. You will find yourself saying "what a dick!" and realizing a hero has to work with the dick for some outcome.

One thing I did not like was all the characters that were introduced. I know that in a Tale of Palace Intrigue, everyone needs sons, bastard sons, daughters, spouses from different houses with siblings who have sons, bastard sons, daughters, and enemies who each have sons, bastard sons and daughters. I eventually bit the bullet and started taking notes like I was in high school, just to keep the initial blast of characters straight. (There is an appendix with lists of families in the Houses, but it would have been nice to TELL the reader about them. I found said appendices after reading the book. He kept them at the end)

Without being overtly flowery, George R.R. Martin is a master at setting up a scene, setting up characters, and making you care about what happens to them.

Look, I'll tell you what. I know it is a thick book. So next time you are in a bookstore, just read the Prologue. It's only ten pages. Do it for me. Do it for Ed.