asoiaf - grrm

i’ve been neglecting my blog somewhat lately, but that’s mainly because i’ve been reading the 4th book in the “a song of ice and fire” saga by george martin. well, i can only recommend it to everybody, it’s fantasy literature at it’s best. forget about those shitty dragonlance and forgotten realms books (i’m ashamed i’ve ever read those). this is true literature, not some stupid wizards of the cost novel (they release three or so every month, but they are not worth the paper they’re printed on).

also, you can forget about tokien’s high fantasy and the war between the absolute good and the absolute evil (the former always winning, i still think sauron should have won, a few centuries of darkness might have been welcome) in a song of fire and ice all the characters are grey, and have their own goals and ambitions.

the plot is thick and runs on multiple threads. george martin uses the multiple point of view characters narration, which means that you experience the story through the eyes of different characters (thus you know more than any single character, but you’re not truly omniscient). far from being just a rewritten history, the novels were somewhat influenced by the war of the roses, and two of the main families, the starks and the lannisters represent, to a certain extent, the house of york and house lancaster, respectively. the story is truly epic in scale spanning several continents and featuring more than one hundred characters (from podrick the squire to ser gregor clegane, the mountain that rides); also all the names are perfectly pronounceable and make sense (no “yafein val'sullisin'rune” here).

the plot, like i’ve said, is truly complex, no trace of the typical “farm boy becomes magician and undertakes journey to defeat dragon and marry princess” cliché here. we are faced with political power struggles, a clash of religions and many subtle or violent twists. the only drawback: seven books are to be released, but only 4 are out so far, the fifth being released sometime in spring 2007 (and i can’t wait any longer!)

so whether you’re into fantasy or not, grab the first book (ask viki to lend it to you) and start reading. decide for yourself if you’re interested in the rest or not. (i think pete and andrei will like it, endi should first finish the black company though).

and to serve as an ending, the oath of the night’s watch:
”night gathers, and now my watch begins. it shall not end until my death. i shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. i shall wear no crowns and win no glory. i shall live and die at my post. i am the sword in the darkness. i am the watcher on the walls. i am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. i pledge my life and honor to the night's watch, for this night and all the nights to come.”