Kindle Million Club - George R.R. Martin

[afa]

Originally Posted by Soldim

Especially the 'bad' characters seem rather thin and predictable so far. Whereas it makes the plot easy to follow, it's rather unsubtle until now.

Keep reading. I expect you'll be surprised.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Soldim

I started reading book 1 of the Game of Thrones series after all the positive acclaim, but so far I have been terribly disappointed. Especially the 'bad' characters seem rather thin and predictable so far. Whereas it makes the plot easy to follow, it's rather unsubtle until now.

I will probably make the effort to finish the first book, but if there's no improvement I will probably skip the rest of the series.

That's kinda where I am after the initial excitement...

[drofgnal]

Originally Posted by afa

Keep reading. I expect you'll be surprised.

Maybe but come book 4 you'll be extremely disappointed, and book 5 does little to halt the disappointment. I stooped reading it and moved on to other things.

[JimMcLaren]

Originally Posted by drofgnal

Maybe but come book 4 you'll be extremely disappointed, and book 5 does little to halt the disappointment. I stooped reading it and moved on to other things.

I liked the first two. I stopped halfway through book 3 after reading more of the same. Maybe I stopped too early but I've got hundreds of other books that grab my attention.

[afa]

Originally Posted by drofgnal

Maybe but come book 4 you'll be extremely disappointed, and book 5 does little to halt the disappointment.

I am a fan of the series, but I wouldn't entirely disagree with that. For my money, ADWD even more so than AFFC.

Taken as a whole, though, it's still a terrific series. Every long series (both written and filmed) loses its way for a while. It's how they finish that count.

[Kevin8or]

Re: Robert Jordan, I wonder whether he truly would have brought the series to a close, had he lived. I gave up somewhere after book ten. It became absurd. My god, man, tie the threads together and STOP already.

I was glad when Terry Goodkind ended the main story line. His series had overstayed its welcome, too, though not as badly as Jordan's.

Now we have Martin, who took 11 (12?) years to write the latest two installments. He might have a vision for how to complete the series, but does he have enough years remaining to do it? (With that said, I still enjoy the story.)

We're getting amazing fantasy authors who begin powerfully but then lose their way. The threads they create unravel beyond their control.

See, who says there's no such thing as magic in the real world? It's the curse of the epic fantasy series.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by afa

It's how they finish that count.

Can't say that I agree with that sentiment at all.

The end of a story is just one aspect of it. I'm more about the overall journey itself, and will often times excuse a lack-luster ending to a story that kept my interest the whole way through. No final installment has ever been worth suffering through entire books' worth of boredom, IMO. George has bored me for an entire book now. Word on the street is that the latest installment won't give me the warm and fuzzies either.

I hate a book whose sole purpose in life seems to be setting up events for later books (especially if the author forgets that the setup book needs to be able to stand on its own two feet). Two books in a row like that is unforgivable—and is representative of why one story spread across 6, 7, 8, 9 books is a horrible practice.

[afa]

I didn't mean "finish" as in the very end. Maybe I should have rephrased that.

I meant the latter part of the story. For instance, if we assume that books 6 and 7 (and 8, if rumours are true) are excellent, then the mediocrity of the last two will be forgotten.* It will just be a hiccup in the grand scheme of things. As I said, every one is allowed that. I have never read any series that remained outstanding for every page of its run, and don't expect I ever will.

But I do agree with you about very long, multi-volume series. I guess there's a reason why trilogies are so common; three in many ways seems to be perfect. Long enough that you can go into some details about a complex plot, but not so long as to seem interminable.



* No, the latest will definitely not give you the warm and fuzzies. Then again, you like The Onion, so I don't know what the hell to tell you.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by afa

As I said, every one is allowed that. I have never read any series that remained outstanding for every page of its run, and don't expect I ever will.

And therein lies the problem. Clunkers are just accepted as the norm in large multi-volume series. I'm not buying into it. I chuck a series when it becomes apparent that the author has more book than story. Which unfortunately seems to be the norm in epic fantasy.

And I love epic fantasy. I prefer stand-alone novels, but I'm still OK if they can wrap it up in two or three books and move on to something new. A Song of Ice and Fire was originally planned as a trilogy—and that was still the expectation when I was reading the first book in 1996.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by Kevin8or

We're getting amazing fantasy authors who begin powerfully but then lose their way. The threads they create unravel beyond their control.

As the author becomes more successful, they gain more power in their relationship with their publisher and editor, and what would have been cut out or tightened in the first book or two now sprawls over a hundred pages. That is why in most series the average book length increases dramatically s the series progresses.

[Kubizo]

From "the atlantic wire":

Fantasy novelist George R.R. Martin is the eleventh author to join the ever-widening ranks of Amazon's 'Kindle Million Club.' Stieg Larsson, James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Charlaine Harris, Lee Child, Suzanne Collins, Michael Connelly, John Locke, Janet Evanovich and Kathryn Stockett have all also sold more than one million Kindle ebooks, though only Stockett registered that number for a single book (The Help). [GalleyCat and The Bookseller]

I'm really surprised that there are so few authors. What about the Hunger Games? It was released in the Kindle era already! What about Harry Potter? I can't believe that the highest selling saga of all times did not make a million in the electronic version!

Ciao!

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by Kubizo

I'm really surprised that there are so few authors. What about the Hunger Games? It was released in the Kindle era already! What about Harry Potter? I can't believe that the highest selling saga of all times did not make a million in the electronic version!

The Harry Potter books have not yet been released as eBooks.

[carpetmojo]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Can't say that I agree with that sentiment at all..............................................W ord on the street is that the latest installment won't give me the warm and fuzzies either....]



I hate a book whose sole purpose in life seems to be setting up events for later books (especially if the author forgets that the setup book needs to be able to stand on its own two feet). Two books in a row like that is unforgivable—and is representative of why one story spread across 6, 7, 8, 9 books is a horrible practice.

1] Agree, and 2]correct, 3] absolutely.

And your comments in your next thread re: 2 or 3 being a Very Good format is ,to my mind, perfectly illustrated by the Tolkein saga - he knew when to desist, and provided a coherent, planned story that interconnected and "moved along" well, and a believable world, history and culture. It has structure that maintains its integrity all the way through - and happens to wrap it all up in 3 books, despite a long gestation.
And I do think it has longer legs than " Ice & Fire" by far - although I doubt I'll ever be around to see if I'm right !

[ProfCrash]

I love how Robin Hobb aims for trilogies. Many of the trilogies are connected but they can also stand alone. They are well written delivered in a timely fashion, and cannot be used for door stops.

I'll read the rest of this series when he finishes publishing the books. Waiting 5 years or more for the next book in a series is inexcusable.

[afa]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

And therein lies the problem. Clunkers are just accepted as the norm in large multi-volume series. I'm not buying into it. I chuck a series when it becomes apparent that the author has more book than story. Which unfortunately seems to be the norm in epic fantasy.

And I love epic fantasy. I prefer stand-alone novels, but I'm still OK if they can wrap it up in two or three books and move on to something new. A Song of Ice and Fire was originally planned as a trilogy—and that was still the expectation when I was reading the first book in 1996.

I can't disagree with that. Jordan had the same problem. I believe WoT was also originally set to be much shorter; maybe not a trilogy, but I think it was 7 books. And of course, that will double when the final installment comes out next year.

In that regard, I think Brandon Sanderson does a good job. He always seems to work from a certain outline, and knows exactly how his books will proceed. And, of course, his output is remarkable.

Out of interest, who are some of your favourite Fantasy authors right now? Any recommendations? What about stand-alones? I haven't read a lot of those.

For me, my favourite is currently Joe Abercrombie.