One of the most popular multi-volume fantasy epics of modern times is George R R Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire – a popularity which has been magnified tenfold by the success of the recent HBO adaptation, Game of Thrones. Martin’s immense saga, which spans five books and around four thousand pages already, with a further two volumes (at least) to come, has been a fixture on the bestseller lists since the first volume was published back in 1996. Overall, the series has sold more than seven million copies in the USA and more than 15 million copies worldwide, winning genre awards in the process. Critically and commercially acclaimed, the series was untouchable in fantasy circles until the turn of the millenium. It was only when the fourth book was published after a five year delay that the dissenters began to appear, starting a trickle of criticism that eventually became a flood by the time of the fifth book’s publication just last year. By this time the intervals between volumes had begun to get longer – it had gone from the two years separating each of the first three books to five years between A Storm of Swords and A Feast for Crows, then six years between that book and A Dance with Dragons. We have titles for the sixth and seventh books in the series – The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring – but no timetable as to when they will appear. In a sense, however, the delays only appear to be part of the problem and the last two entries in Martin’s saga have been criticised for being slow-paced, filled with padding, unnecessarily introducing lots of new characters and not sufficiently advancing the main plot. Are these criticisms justified and, ultimately, is this a series that is worth following and one that will stand the test of time?
First, the background. The setting for the books is the continent of Westeros, in a world both like and unlike our own, where the seasons last for years and sometimes decades. As the first volume opens, the reader learns that three noble families had conspired to depose their insane king and take control of the kingdom. The Lannisters, the Baratheons and the Starks all exist in an uneasy truce that is soon broken when the current king, Robert Baratheon, asks Ned Stark to come down from the northern city of Winterfell and help him to rule, giving him the coveted title of Hand of the King, which makes him the second most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Ned’s efforts to solve the murder of his predecessor in that role soon embroil him in conflict with the queen and her brothers. The balance of power among the great families is thus unsettled. As the ‘game of thrones’ grows deadly, even more sinister forces are stirring in the north, behind the great ice-wall that protects all the realms of men. A civil war threatens to sweep the land when the Lannisters attempt to seize power, opposed only by the Starks and Baratheons. Meanwhile over the sea in the eastern continent of Essos, Daenerys, heir of the insane king and last of the royal Targaryen bloodline, is seeking allies and an army to help her to reconquer the Seven Kingdoms. The succeeding volumes depict the unfolding and resolution of the terrible many-sided conflict that racks this troubled world.
A truly groundbreaking and well-written series, it was not long before A Song of Ice and Fire became one of the most successful, popular and highly-regarded fantasy sequences of all time. What set Martin’s saga apart from many of the identikit fantasy novels which had been appearing until the mid-1990s was its greater use of realistic elements. While many fantasy authors appeared to be inspired by mythology (when they weren’t just copying Tolkien), A Song of Ice and Fire was more clearly influenced by medieval and early modern history, most notably Jacobitism and the Wars of the Roses. Martin wrote frankly of sex and violence, gleefully threaded his novels with strong language and took even greater pleasure in routinely subverting and kicking over audience expectations. As such Martin is often seen as one of the forerunners of a new wave of ’gritty’ epic fantasy authors that followed, including Joe Abercrombie, although in truth he didn’t do anything in his novels that hadn’t been done before by masters such as Poul Anderson and David Gemmel. Martin’s achievement in this regard really stemmed from the scope and vision of his novels, which in the field of fantasy are only rivalled in their depth and complexity by Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. A veteran author who had for years before he turned his hand to A Song of Ice and Fire written for stage and screen, Martin excels at dialogue and juggling multiple plots and characters. This can be seen in the televised version of Game of Thrones, which is striking for how little has been changed in terms of plot and dialogue (contrast this with the Lord of the Rings movies, which feature much more adaptation of Tolkien’s work). In fact the most notable thing about Game of Thrones for those who have read Martin’s novels is that the extra scenes added by the director really do stand out as being of much poorer quality than the author’s original work.
So what could there possibly be to complain about? Well, unfortunately for Martin, quite a lot. Martin originally intended the series to be a trilogy and it really shows by the time you get to books four and five. Despite each being almost a thousand pages long, the first three volumes are tightly-plotted and fast paced. Not a word is wasted and as a reader you get the feeling that the author has been working to a well-thought out plan. Character arcs are advanced, plot seeds grow to fruition and there are a dozen little pay-offs and set-pieces. Whilst Martin’s gift for vivid dialogue and characterisation remains undimmed in the fourth and fifth books, his grasp on the plot seems to go AWOL. To take one example, the ominous phrase ‘winter is coming’ is threaded throughout the very first novel in the series, giving you the strong sense that the resolution of the supernatural threat in the north plotline is imminent. Five books later, however, we are still waiting, without having seen any really major developments in this regard. In one sense Martin may well have made a rod for his own back because – without wanting to give away any spoilers – a number of his major characters die. This inevitably means that there are fewer sympathetic characters for the reader to invest in by the time you get to A Feast for Crows and, to move the story along, Martin has had to introduce lots of new characters. Whilst some of the scenes involving the new cast – in particular the Viking-like ironmen of Pyke – are fun to read, you just never end up really caring about them in the same way as you do with the ones whom you first come across. This may well partly be because you become cautious about investing in characters given Martin’s penchant for brutally killing them off, which is perhaps another problem that he has made for himself. Don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against a few short, sharp shocks here and there but, after four thousand pages of that happening non-stop it starts to get a bit old!
Martin has suffered for his approach. Although A Feast for Crows reached the top of the bestseller lists and garnered positive critical reviews, reader reviews on Amazon were very mixed, with 3 stars (out of five) earning it the lowest rating of any book in the series to date. A Dance with Dragons gained similarly mixed reviews and was greeted by a somewhat lukewarm reception from fans of the series. In particular, Martin’s idea of splitting the books so that, in his words, they told the whole of the story for each set of characters rather than half the story for all of the characters, fell flat. Martin further alienated many of his readers by working on other projects during the intervening years between the release of the latest novels, leading some to believe that he wasn’t really interested in A Song of Ice and Fire any more. To his credit, Martin has gone on record to say that the delays stem more from the fact that he wants to make each book as good as he can rather than for any other reason (and I believe him). It remains to be seen whether the success of the HBO series will have an adverse or beneficial effect on the speed at which the remaining books in Martin’s series are produced. I for one hope that they do appear sooner rather than later because in my view Martin is genuinely one of the very best authors in the fantasy field today – a field which would be all the poorer without A Song of Ice and Fire in it. My only hope is that he learns a lesson from the mistakes of the past and that the conclusion of the series sees a return to the majestic form of the first three books.
Pick me, I know this one!
I think as regards the whole genius/hack thing, the answer’s in between. For my money, he’s a good writer, but not a great one. He’s got a lot of intriguing ideas, but seems to struggle putting them on the page. He can write some characters that are very compelling and others that sort of fall flat. If I had to theorize on why his later books aren’t quite up to par, I think the best one is that in between Storm of Swords and Feast for Crows he read too many of his own reviews (“Gritty!” “Adult!” “Groundbreaking!”) and got a bit too caught up in his own hype. That’s my own theory, for what it’s worth. But he’s definitely had a major influence on the genre- I wonder how long it will take for similar “gritty fantasy” imitators to crawl out of the woodwork.
A very sound theory
I have a dreadful feeling that those imitators have started appearing already though…
Oh wow, I’m so glad I read this! I thought it was just me significantly disliking the fourth book because I did not think to read reviews on each of the books! Actually I didn’t really any reviews on any of them. I did NOT know that it was intended to be a trilogy, but it makes sense when you pointed out how the first three books were laid out.
I was definitely late to check out this series, but I am still glad I did! George R R Martin writes beautifully…well that’s my opinion on the matter so far anyway. Still only around halfway through the fourth book and I am forgiving what a change from the first three it has been..but only time will tell if my patience will wear out
Thanks, and yes, you’re definitely not alone
As someone who saw the TV show without reading the books, or knowing anything about them beforehand, it was completely, utterly shocking when a major character dies in the penultimate episode. But if Martin makes a habit of killing off major characters, you’re right, it will definitely get old after a while.
I’m holding out until the sixth book to form an opinion. Martin’s said a few times that he never intended to write a lot of the things that happened in four and five, but rather show them through flashbacks or conversations. I’m hoping this means that, when he gets to the sixth book, he’ll be back on more solid footing plan-wise and will produce a pretty decent continuation of the series.
I love Song of Ice and Fire tho admittedly the last two were not as good as the opening trilogy.
Martin’s writing has consistently blown me away from the time I read “A Song for Lya” when it came out back in the 70′s. As the writer of Armeggedon Rag and Fever Dream and the Editor of the WIldCards series, all personal favourites, he’s grown in my esteem. I definitely hope the next two books will follow quickly
Thanks, GRRM’s earlier work never seems to get enough attention, although admittedly ASOIAF does cast a long shadow!
I may be one of the few, but I found myself highly enjoying books 4 and 5 as much as the first 3. The plot may not move as fast as the 1-3 but the characters and settings are just as strong and that is my main draw to reading this series. The focus on the Iron Islands and Greyjoys and Dorne and the Martells was awesome in AFFC as both lands families are very interesting and getting to know the Boltons better in ADWD was harrowing. I wouldn’t mind him delving more into the other lands (more from Danyland). If he has to write another book or two more than planned to flesh his world out even more, than I’m all for it.
Martin’s a solid author, but he doesn’t like writing action sequences very much (much of the real meat of the action in this series happens off-stage) and greatly enjoys inner monologue (which he happens to be very good at). The result of this, as you multiply characters across a multi-volume story, is the pace is necessarily bogged down by everybody staring at their navels and wonder what to do next and, when the doing occurs, it is often left out and summarized later.
As for the story itself, my problem with it is that the focus for the story has shifted from the Starks and Lannisters to other places. Since I was mostly only engaged in the first three books *because* of the Stark/Lannister feud, the fact that it is essentially at an end has made me disinterested in continuing the series. I could never quite invest myself in caring about Daenerys and she has been taking such a long time to do what we all need and want her to do, that I’ve pretty much given up waiting.
On the whole, I feel like a woman who’s been waiting for her man to propose for years and has, finally, given up and gone off to find someone who will really be interested in closing the deal. Life is too short to read stories about characters you don’t care for.
Well said!
Think martin has the tension wound a pinch too high. he wants to have a “resting and regrouping” portion of the series… but people get frustrated, wanting things to Happen!
I got tired of the use of the word cock. I don’t read fantasy to be exposed to the foul language used by sailors. I can get that at Walmart just listening to people on their cell phones.
I think he must have written this knowing it would be on hbo and it’s not an hbo show without tits n cocks. Pardon my language but if you read the book you already heard it.
I don’t mind the foul language (because heaven knows I can have a foul mouth at times!) but the amount of rape really turned me off the series. I’m OK with most violence in fiction, especially in fantasy, but the sexual violence is just over-the-top and, in my opinion, unnecessary.
Other than that, I loved the first two books, but found it harder to keep my interest as of the third one and am stuck midway through A Storm of Swords Part II.
I got through the first two, but nearly a year ago, set #3 (Storm of Swords) aside and have not yet picked it up again. Martin has gotten a lot of praise for the fact that none of his characters is wholly good nor wholly bad. Frankly it’s left me wondering why I should care about any of them. I guess I need a good solid hero to root for. This is like watching a pageant of history, and yeah they can all be total sh*ts at times, but what’s the point of it all? Where’s it going? I’ve watched a few of the episodes on HBO, and frankly, I am underwhelmed. It feels rushed. I know it’s hard to squeeze so much into a one-hour episode, but maybe they shouldn’t have tried to cram a whole book into one season?
That’s a very good point and may well explain part of my own personal antipathy towards books 4 & 5 in particular
Hi D.D., your comment on “watching a pageant of history” really struck home for me. I haven’t invested in this series; I gave it up in the first third of the first book. At the time, it was because it didn’t seem to have many fantasy elements to me. But I think what really turned me off on it was that it really does feel something like another take on Earth history.
As an avid reader of real history who enjoys a good narrative history (I’m reading Barbara Tuchman’s Distant Mirror for the n-th time at the moment), I don’t really find a pseudo-historical or heavily historically inspired series all that interesting. If I want Middle Ages, I’ll read about the real period or perhaps some historical novels where I can find real life humanity in all its sordidness and ambiguity. For fantasy, in addition to magic, I’d really like to find something a bit more elegant. So no gritty fantasy for me
Brutal massacres, rapes, untimely death, bad marriages, insanity, inanity: I get enough of that from the real world, past and present.
Hey Ash,
Thanks for the detailed insight into this series. I have ‘A Game of Thrones’ sitting on one of my shelves for many years now. Every time I tell myself it’s time to read it, I pick it up, read the first two paragraphs then put it back. Strangely enough, I loved reading fantasy as a kid but after a while, the formula grew old and the excitement was repetitive. Somehow, I stopped enjoying the genre even though I want to read a good fantasy book once a while. I guess I’m always worried I’ll be disappointed after investing all that time and energy.
I’m curious to read the first book because everyone swears by it, but then there are all these negative reviews as the books progress… I just don’t know.
On balance I’d say it’s worth persevering but I have to say that ASOIAF is a fantasy series that I’ve only re-read once (I tend to read books I REALLY like about a dozen times!)
I will say I devoured the first book in about a week (which is really fast for me). I’d say give it a try since you already own it anyway.
I haven’t read any of these books and from the details here, I won’t invest any time in them. Crude language used to shock and awe and sell books doesn’t impress me. I don’t mind strong language when appropriate, but I easily tire of foul language used repeatedly. Last fall I read a book that used the f**k word several times. The first two times, it did was it was supposed to do: surprise me and make me laugh (since it was used in that context), but after that, it was as if the author used it just to impress me. She failed.
Killing favourite characters all the time is also a turn off for me. Kill the one I’m most attached to and I become a little detached. Kill another and I read slower. Kill another and I might wonder why I’m reading the book and who should I connect with who won’t be killed. Kill another and the book gets put down and forgotten about. I’ve lost all connection with characters with is why I read in the first place.
What makes ASOIAF so disappointing for me is the fact that, reading the first book, I really thought that this might be the ‘one fantasy series to rule them all’. I wonder if later seasons of the Game of Thrones TV series will attract as much criticism as the later books…
You don’t know how many times, I’ve shared this article to my friends because you voiced some of my sentiments on the series. I haven’t finished the series yet but I will
I keep reading through your archives and I love it! I’ve nominated you as well for the Versatile Blooger Award
http://polkadotribbeaux.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/the-versatile-blogger-award/
Thanks, that’s very kind of you
Kindness has nothing to do with it.
I’m in love with your blog. 
This is a great post, I’ve been feeling much the same. I raced through the first three books of this series, only to become frustrated with the fourth book. Many favorite characters were either dead or just not in it! I found myself flipping ahead to look for them, and I know my mother went through the same thing. I have yet to pick up the fifth book, but that’s mainly because I needed a break from all the death and danger and I surely will pick it up again. I still have to know how it all ends.
Thanks and yes, that’s probably the main reason I keep reading too!
I tried reading Game of Thrones but gave up after page 6. It was too slow for me, but the show was great.
I would be inclined to agree with much of the criticism leveled at him of late. I’m well into the fourth book, and I was already feeling like the plot was dragging on needlessly and taking detours that didn’t need to be taken. Now in book 4, it feels like he’s really taking the opportunity to delve into everything but the main plotline. Frankly I can see a dozen ways in which the plot could have been wrapped up succintly in the first three volumes.
Thanks again for this post. I read it back in February and again today, after finishing the first season of the HBO Game of Thrones via Netflix. I wonder if the HBO series will take advantage of its opportunity to streamline the later books?
What saves the series (of books) for me is the basic question they set out to ask: What happens AFTER the rebellion? When being king is no longer fun? When you’ve hit middle age and you’re wondering what the point of it all is? I know these questions revolve around Robert (who doesn’t make it past the first book) but I find it interesting/refreshing that Martin could have written about the rebellion and all its fantastic glory (kidnapping, torture, betrayal, war on an epic scale) but instead focuses on the aftermath.
It might be a long wait but I, like thousands of others, am still very curious to see what happens next!
Excellent article! I’m glad I found your blog (and thanks for visiting mine!). I’ve only read the first two books of this series, but despite being deeply impressed I’m already concerned (and sometimes confused) about the large number of characters and myriad plot strands. Finding out that it only gets more complicated, while major characters die and winter fails to come, is disconcerting. Nevertheless, I think I could stay committed to the series through my sheer determination to see how it’s all resolved.
I feel a bit late to the party, but I identify with the “gritty fantasy” comment. However, I usually call it “hard fantasy”, as an analogue to “hard science-fiction”. I prefer to write harder fantasy as it becomes a way to connect better with readers. Perhaps it isn’t quite the same as “gritty”, as authors like Katherine Kerr have been writing fairly “hard” fantasy for years.
I haven’t read much of Martin’s epic work. In fact, my bookmark is sitting at the start of Chapter One of the first book and has been for weeks! There was something about the prologue that struck me as “the writing should be better”. I just found it a bit of a chore to read – it just wasn’t like the effortless style of (say) Eddings or Feist. Maybe it is a case of good story will rescue poor writing better than the other way around.
That said, I do intend to read it. Eventually.
Great review! I agree with most of it. I couldn’t finish the Dance with Dragons, for a simple reason that I indeed found it pointless investing into any of his major characters because they are all brutally killed sooner or later. I got so annoyed with the lack of action and general darkness of the fifth book as well. I don’t think I am going to read any of Martin’s books in the future, unless i hear they are super-brilliant. There are plenty of other fantasy authors around.
Reblogged this on the naturally estranged naked ape.
For me the easiest answer is that he is both a hack and a genius. He was/is a talented author that’s stayed with the same series for too long in an effort to make as much money as possible. You see it all the time with Television shows that just won’t die, book series that were groundbreaking and earthshaking (Ender’s Game comes to mind) and then slowly degraded into dull dribble. It’s not that people like Orson Scott Card and Martin aren’t amazing author’s, it’s just that they all too willingly gave into the capitolist zeal that ruins so much great art these days. In my opnion, Martin would be best served abandoning it and moving on to something fresh and new so that he can show everyone once again that he can write, and does have interesting ideas.
I haven’t read enough of him to say either way. His first book didn’t hook me when I started it a few years ago. I’m itching for a good, long fantasy read and was checking it out again on Amazon a few months ago. The reviews of his last two books convinced me not to invest in the series. Sure everyone says the earlier books were great but when it comes to multi-volume fantasy, I tend to be very reluctant to commit until the whole series is done (or at least a good part of it- seemed like with as with a Song of Fire and Ice).
Enjoyed the blog.
Ash, thanks for following my blog! You’ve got lots of interesting stuff on your site – I’ll be coming back often! Always wonderful to hear from a fellow fantasy writer.
All the best!
Valerie
Thanks for following my blog, Ash! I’m thinking of Tolkien every time I paint for a Lucky Charms commercial, believe it or not, so I’m looking forward to following your blog!
I’ve only experienced the HBO series, but nothing I’ve heard about the books makes me want to try them. Even your own essentially favorable article seems to confirm to me that they probably aren’t something I want to invest time in.
Based on the HBO series, it seems to be about some rather unpleasant people in a medieval setting doing a lot of back stabbing and betraying. With some ‘shocking’ sex thrown in. And very little actual fantasy. In the two seasons of the HBO series, I’ve seen a few hints of dragons (usually as season-end teasers) and a little bit of basic magic, but it’s mostly medieval battle and betrayal. Just not my cup of tea. (I do get a huge kick out of Tyrion, though. Dinklage is about the only thing that’s kept me going for two seasons.)
My sister, who’s not at all into science fiction, loves the series and the books, and I think that says something. These are more mainstream books for mainstream readers. It would be interesting to see what percentage of the series’ fans are long-time SF and fantasy readers and which are not. I’m guessing the balance shifts heavily towards not.
When I consider the enduring love most of us have for LOTR, the contrast is striking. Loaded with fantasy elements, loveable characters, and he had the good sense not to kill off Gandalf. (For me, killing off Eddard Stark was a fail. It vastly reduced the small set of characters I liked.) Even Jordan’s WoT series seemed more for experienced SF & F readers (although I lost interest somewhere around book 8 or 9 after realizing I’d just read an entire (huge!) novel that hadn’t advanced the plot at all).
Anyway (didn’t mean to go on and on), just take this as a data point from the both thumbs down side. I enjoyed your article; it was good to read a balanced look at both sides!
Don’t make the mistake to judge the novels for what you see on the TV series. Even HBO has budgetary limits that mean nothing to a writer. For example, the novels show more of both the dragons and the direwolves than the series has been able to manage, and several amazing scenes have been altered completely (the House of the Undying being the most notorious example). The fantastic elements in the books begin fairly subtle, true, but they are increasing exponentially with each volume, which seems to point at a truly pyrotechnic ending. Also, the “sexposition” scenes that plague the HBO show do not exist at all in the books: don’t take me wrong, there’s sex in the books, but nothing like what it is shown on TV.
Regarding Eddard’s death, in my opinion it drives home the message that the story is not about the generation that rebelled against the Mad King, but about their descendants, who have to cope with the consequences of their actions. The story is not centered on Eddard, Robert, Aerys or Tywin Lannister, but on their children.
In short, my advice is to give the novels a fair try and decide on their merits or flaws as an independent work. You might be surprised!
Might be; anything is possible. I don’t feel much urge to try, though. All the royal skullduggery just doesn’t interest me. Humanity at their worst isn’t a reading topic I enjoy unless the writing is absolutely extraordinary (Stephen Donaldson’s Thomas Convenent series, for example, I find utterly compelling.)
My wife loves all these books. I couldn’t get through the first chapter of the first book. I don’t think the guy is a great writer. But I love the TV series.
The guy is in between, the two extremes, as most folks are. It’s been a good number of years since I read the first three books, but I remember having two very particular issues – the way he handled female characters, and the way the titles got dumb way fast in order to conform to the “A [Blank] of [Blank]s” theme. Though I can no longer cite any examples, I always wanted him to improve the former and ditch the latter – you’re famous, dude! Live a little!
I wonder where that extra comma in my first sentence came from …
populist hackmeister.
twilight.hunger games for slightly more grown-ups
lolol
I think one of the “core principles” of good Fantasy writing (and to an extent, Science Fiction…) is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. He achieved a certain level in the first three books and then just had some fun with it. And I’m fine with that. It’s his “Magnum Opus” after a long career. On a certain level, one would certainly *hope* he’s gotten good at this by now. But also, I’d say “Hey, you’ve accomplished something – so it’s okay, go nuts, let’s have some FUN with this.” And “so what if it isn’t perfect or runs a little long.” That’s my take on it, anyway. Shakespeare is still readily-available in the same libraries as “A Song of Ice and Fire.”