[boarder542]

I love what I hear about the books themselves, they sound fantastic.

However, I've read about people here that can hardly read fantasy anymore without thinking it's incredibly juvinille or crappy. I really want to read it if it's a great series, but I don't want to give up the whole fantasy genre for it.

Can anyone testify to these comments?

[Obtuse]

I cannot give absolute credence to these types of comments. It is true, in a general sense, that as you read higher quality literature, some of the lesser quality stuff will lose its appeal. Good is good, though. There are a number of fantasy series that I recognize are not as good as ASOIAF, but they are still good and I enjoy reading them.

I don't think reading great books will make you not want to read good books. There may, however, be books that are bad, but you just don't realize it until you read something exceptional. Those are the types of books that will fall by the wayside.

Don't worry though, there is still a ton of fantasy that IMO measures up to ASOIAF.

[Rhaegar]

I freely admit that ASoIaF affected me in such a profound way that other fantasy I've read since seems somehow diminished... but this is only my personal experience. I do know that there are many people out there who aren't blown away by it...

[Evil Agent]

Even if it's true, how can you not read something because it's too good? I love aSoIaF, it's probably my favorite series after LOTR, and I'd recommend you read it... but perhaps you should think about when you want to read it. Have you already read a lot of fantasy? If not, maybe you should work your way up, through a few other authors first.

[Jay_T]

Even if it's true, how can you not read something because it's too good?

Exactly.

In regards to the topic at hand, I have to admit, Martin's A Song of Ice and really effected how I viewed not fantasy, but epic fantasy. I certainly think there are many equal and better works outside of epic fantasy.

Through 3 books, I have never read anything even close to it in my opinion. I love Bakker's Prince of Nothing and Erikson's Mlalazan Book of the Fallen, but for my money neither series is close to really the brilliance Martin is crafting with A Song of Ice and Fire.

In my mind he established a new rung on the epic fantasy ladder, which not only bumped everything down a rung, but compelled, and really forced me to ask...why the hell are 95% of writers writing works at such a lower level in this sub-genre for the last 20 years?

The statement is true for me, after reading Martin. the bulk of epic fantasy seems ridiculous to me, in ways they didn't before A Song of Ice and Fire was there for direct comparison.

An example, if I had never read A Song of Ice and Fire, Greg Keye's Kingdom of Thorne and Bone would be much more elevated in my mind as a series as a terrific work, but since I read Martin prior to, it's only a good, but ultimately not anywhere near comparable series.

I defintely agree, Martin's series, even when reviewing, has changed the way I view subsequent epic and past epic fantasy offerings - it's that great of a series in my opinion. In my mind, thus far it's the new benchmark for epic fantasy and although I admire other works (as mentioned Bakker, Erikson, Kay - Mckillip's Riddlemaster, Tolkien, Eddison, Donaldson, Williams, Hobb, Keyes,) nothing is even close in my mind.

It's on its way IMHO to be the unquestioend new standard for what epic fantasy is and can be.

[Brys]

I find it difficult to accept that, because there is a huge amount of roughly the same quality of Martin's ASOIAF (it's currently my 5th favourite fantasy series, and I'd say there are about 25 that I really enjoy). Even in epic fantasy, there are another 4 authors still writing series which are very good - two who are about his level, and IMO, slightly better - Steven Erikson and R Scott Bakker, and a bit below them are JV Jones' Sword of Shadows series and Greg Keyes' Kingdom of Thorn and Bone. In the end, it's all a matter of what you want most from epic fantasy - if it's extremely well done characterisation, then Martin is pretty much unmatched. If it's scale, well Erikson and Bakker are a long way ahead (and their characterisation is hardly bad, it just isn't quite as good as Martin's).

You may think that David Eddings or Robert Jordan or Terry Goodkind or whoever seems juvenile and awful after reading ASOIAF, but you'll also find a whole new load of authors to explore as well - the more literary ones who you don't find on bestseller lists.

[JonLaidlow]

Just for an alternate view....

I read half of Martin's first book in the sequence (A Game of Thrones) when the proof arrived at the bookshop I was working in. I thought it was.... okay. Better than some, worse than others. I'm astounded now that people are acclaiming it as one of the best series ever. I didn't enjoy it enough to finish it, and remember thinking "just what the world needs - another formula fantasy saga"

I'm willing to give it another go, but on the other hand - do I really want to commit to another epic saga where I'm left waiting for five years for the conclusion. Perhaps it would be best to wait until all the volumes are out, just in case it is good...

J

[Yobmod]

I'm willing to give it another go, but on the other hand - do I really want to commit to another epic saga where I'm left waiting for five years for the conclusion. Perhaps it would be best to wait until all the volumes are out, just in case it is good...


He, he - five years til the conclusion, surely thats a joke :D

If GRRM keeps writing at his current rate (and has to split books 6 and 7 into 2 each) it could be 20 years til its finished!


Anyway, i thought it was good so far, and it may be the best epic fantasy going at the moment, but they're are plenty of better non-epic books.

[bir]

all that I can say is that this is, by far, my most favorite fantasy book (maybe ever)! I hope you do give it (A game of thrones) a chance and decide for yourself whether you'd want to finish the whole series or not (If Martin does finish it hehe jk :)).

[saintjon]

I'm a huge Martin fan, but there's plenty of other tasty fish in the epic fantasy sea. I don't like thinking too much about which is better or whatever because for the most part good authors aren't telling the same kind of story anyways, even within the sub-genre of epic fantasy.