Another reason to read George Martin: I recently finished the first book of Erikson’s Malazan series. I told myself that I’d read at least the second and third books despite being ambivalent about the first, but I’m not feeling like committing to a huge series (that will need to be re-read to understand fully) so Erikson will have to go on the back-burner for a while. There’s just too many other things I want to read/ re-read, starting with A Song of Ice and Fire, which I did a couple of days ago.
My point is this (and don’t worry, there are no spoilers, just a few names) – Erikson couldn’t manage in 700-odd pages what Martin did in less than 10 (for those who know, I’m referring specifically to Dany’s first chapter, although it also applies to Ned, Bran, Jon, Arya, Tyrion, to name a few). In one stroke, Martin can make you love a character and despise another. Add to that a level of prose construction that is leagues ahead of what I know of the genre, a world of detail and a rich history, and you’ve got something that, in my opinion anyway, is the greatest fantasy story ever written.
[FONT="]And yes, I’m including Lord of the Rings in that. *ducks and covers*[/FONT]
My point is this (and don’t worry, there are no spoilers, just a few names) – Erikson couldn’t manage in 700-odd pages what Martin did in less than 10 (for those who know, I’m referring specifically to Dany’s first chapter, although it also applies to Ned, Bran, Jon, Arya, Tyrion, to name a few). In one stroke, Martin can make you love a character and despise another. Add to that a level of prose construction that is leagues ahead of what I know of the genre, a world of detail and a rich history, and you’ve got something that, in my opinion anyway, is the greatest fantasy story ever written.
[FONT="]And yes, I’m including Lord of the Rings in that. *ducks and covers*[/FONT]
