I am reading two books right now...

Less for fun but more because of current political reasons: Bush at War (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743204735/qid=1048870125/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/103-5997751-2475019?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) by Bob Woodward. Cannot say much about it yet because I just bought it. So far has some interesting details about the backgrounds of Sept 11th 2001.

The other book is A Game of Thrones (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553573403/qid=1048872590/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/103-5997751-2475019?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) by George R.R. Martin. It is actually the first book of the fantasy saga A Song of Ice and Fire. From many fantasy fans I've heard that this is the best fantasy book out there. Supposedly even beats Lord of the Rings. Again, I cannot say much about it yet, because I couldn't get much father than page 100.... the price I must pay for working too long these days :( What I read so far looks promising; and I like Martin's style... very clear and precise.

Sorry Alexander, but nothing can beat Lord of the Rings, though I will agree Song of Ice and Fire is excellent and very addicting. Last few books I've liked were Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon, and Hannibal all of which I found very entertaining and disturbing. As always, the books are better than the movies.

well I just wanted to know did you buy the printed edition or electronic (adobe, MSreader) ?

I was referring both to the printed edition.

I've just started Song of Ice and Fire, and I'm most of the way through the first book. It's long, which is nice, but highly frustrating at times. The "villains" are mostly brainless, gutless fools who I want to see destroyed in painful ways, but there are many bad guys who aren't nearly so clear-cut, and are far more dangerous. And it's not clear at all that all the protagonists are actually striving for the same ends. Many of the good guys are set up completely at odds with each other, which makes for a very complex story.

All of the protagonists and point of view characters are quite appealing, except for that snivelling witless idiot Sansa, who is obviously on track for a rude awakening and eventually coming into her own, which seems a bit cliche to me, but I already trust this author to handle it well.

Martin's style is really good. He's got an excellent sense of the epic in his timing, and damn can he turn a phrase. His description, through Ned, of a knife as "sharp as the difference between right and wrong" in an example of his ability to completely raise the dramatic stakes in a scene with only a few well-chosen words.

My only other gripe is there are some scenes that seemed just a bit too pedo pedo. I found myself wondering where Mr. Martin's desires lead him.

I've just started Song of Ice and Fire, and I'm most of the way through the first book. It's long, which is nice, but highly frustrating at times. The "villains" are mostly brainless, gutless fools

Sorry for the late reply...

What gutless fools are you talking about? In my opinions all the "villians" are quite real and not-at-all brainless... The special thing about Martin is that there are no "vallians" in the way there are in other books. I don't really hope any house to win the the iron throne... But I am very excited to see the on-going battle.

Martin made very special books and I am truly excited for a long time...

One point though. I do agree that the violence and the sexual scenes are quite.. Disturbing.

Though as far as pedophile aspect comes, in medieval times it was less of a big deal it is today and I wouldn't seperate it from the other scenes of rapes, torture and murder... In fact, I find it quite disturbing that the pedophile scenes (that weren't at all highlighted) is what you notice, there's plenty of other gore in the books.

Next we'll be poking holes in Dune because of the Baron's umm, shall we say, preferences???

Craig.

[Edit] - actually, this talk has made me go and check out Fictionwise.... they have Game of Thrones in secure formats for $6.99 US....let's see, that's only about $20 Australian.... :dizzy2: seriously, that's pretty good value, I think I'll pick it up and have a look-see...

Ta for the heads up!

there I was, happily reading the first book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, and some of the characters get killed, including some of the good guys! OK, sh*t happens... But all of a sudden, even the major good guys get killed!!

You know what? That Really P*ssed Me Off... :angry:

I was seriously angry with mr. Martin...

However, I read the rest of the books, including lots of good guys being skewerd, dismembered, beheaded, speared, etc... He is definitely a very good writer, but for a moment he seriously got me... :)

there I was, happily reading the first book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, and some of the characters get killed, including some of the good guys! OK, sh*t happens... But all of a sudden, even the major good guys get killed!!

You know what? That Really P*ssed Me Off... :angry:

I was seriously angry with mr. Martin...

However, I read the rest of the books, including lots of good guys being skewerd, dismembered, beheaded, speared, etc... He is definitely a very good writer, but for a moment he seriously got me... :)

The problem is that with many books I form a connection with the main character(s). When sequels to books suddenly play in different time periods and have different characters in the same world or the main character dies ... I tend to lose interest. It was -his- (or her) story I was following! Not the events around the person. I am interested in how that person struggles through them. Not a fresh new person.

I ramble.

I just got this book a couple of days ago. Fictionwise has both a Game of thrones and A Clash of Kings bundled together for the price of one. This is a reread for me. I love the series.

So, how did you like these books, Alexander? I guess you had time to finish them both since 2003. :D

I have read his entire series (so far). He swears that the fifth book (Dancing with Dragons) will be out this year.
HBO is supposed to turn the Fire and Ice series into a mini-series--it could never be a movie, too complex--hopefully soon.

Next we'll be poking holes in Dune because of the Baron's umm, shall we say, preferences???

Craig.There were folks back when who were upset at Dune because the Baron was a pederast. The ones I recall were gays who felt it was "Bad enough that the main bad guy is gay, but he's a pedo too? This just makes us look bad, and we have enough problems!"

I was slightly sympathetic, but only slightly. There is an unfortunate assumption among the ignorant that a gay man is ipso facto a pedophile as well, and there have been a few publicized cases in the US where a guy who was a scoutmaster or the like admitted he was gay and was promptly booted from his post, over the objections of the parents of the kids and the kids themselves.

My SO's older brother was once upset because a local SF fan group was considering holding meetings at a gay and lesbian community center, and he had two pre-teen sons. I just stared at him and said "Good heavens, Bill. Do you think it's catching?"

I wonder if the same objection would have been raised if the Baron had liked little girls?
______
Dennis

I purchased the paper back of 'A game of thrones' back in November. I liked it so much I bought the rest and I'm now up to date in the series. A fantastic read in my opinion, and I'm not into fantasy so much, I'm more into sci-fi or techno-thrillers. I have to put it up there with my most enjoyable series I've read which trancends any genre. I love the early Clancy books (up until 'Executive orders') but the 'Song of ice and fire' is up there. There are no clear cut heroes or villains, and it keeps you guessing because none of the characters are immune to the chop. I just wish the author would hurry up and finish 'A dance with dragons' ;p

I've read the first book of the series and it was quite alright. There were too many main characters for my taste with the narrator switching back and forth.
I read books mostly for the characters and not for the story (which is why I love many of Orson Scott Card's books), but A Song of Ice and Fire focuses on too many characters, giving none of them the main focus.

And by the way, I never liked Lord of the Rings -- please don't kill me now ;)

Amazon has a real bargain in a bundle of the first two books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. $6.39 for the two books.

It's a huge file over 3 megs but quite a price saver.

http://www.amazon.com/Game-Thrones-Clash-Kings/dp/B000FBFMMU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1203969256&sr=1-2
Now I just need to find the time to read them.:bookworm:

There were too many main characters for my taste with the narrator switching back and forth.


As a previous poster pointed out, the herd of characters gets thinned quite a bit in the following books. :eek: I agree that the back-and-forth in the first book is hard to get past, but I do love the story do far. I wish he'd get the next book done already!

As far as Tolkien, I'll admit - I love the LoTR trilogy, but the Hobbit is just impossible for me to get through.

For all you George RR Martin fans, there is a book he recently released with two other authors called Hunter's Run. It's Sci-Fi and it's had remarkably good reviews for a book written by more than one person. The e-book version is available at the Diesel store, and I'm not sure where else.

I haven't read it yet (trying to decided on an e-reader) but I love his other books! I found the large number of characters frustrating to begin with (especially since some of them have the same name) but it's definitely worth digging in because almost all of them are developed very well, and not necessarily how you would expect.

I hate books that are black and white with characters who are evil just for the sake of it, and George Martin definitely uses many shades of gray. My only frustration is that I can never decide who to root for! Some of the scenes are a certainly a little "cruder" than I prefer, but they all generally serve a purpose and Martin is most definitely worth a read for anyone who likes fantasy books at all.

For all you George RR Martin fans, there is a book he recently released with two other authors called Hunter's Run. It's Sci-Fi and it's had remarkably good reviews for a book written by more than one person. The e-book version is available at the Diesel store, and I'm not sure where else.

It's also available in the Kindle store.