Literature
It's official: I am absolutely hooked on George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. To echo similar sentiments of my reading experience with A Game of Thrones, the writing is not challenging or profound, albeit, as far as fantasy fiction goes Martin is a superb story-teller and surprisingly, infuses plenty of metaphorical devices and even irony to enrich the narrative. He is capable of handling a large host of interconnecting subplots, creating memorable and well-rounded characters (Tyrion Lannister is now a personal favorite) and is prone to wily undermining archetypal conventions of the genre where everything is not always black and white. A sense of moral ambiguity along with suspenseful intrigue that is unpredictable proves to be a refreshing aspects of these novels. Above all else, at 1000 pages, the story flows smoothly and never drags; if nothing else, this series has proven to be immensely entertaining.
Martin creates such a fascinating and vivid world with a rich tapestry of many characters. Each chapter revolves around a specific character's perspective and now, civil war begins to unfold amongst the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros over the rightful heir of the Iron Throne. Initially, Martin's epic narrative scope proved to be disorienting with the first installment but with A Clash of Kings as the second novel in the series, Martin's style is now easy enough to follow. My earlier ambivalence towards the melodrama of the noble gentility has drastically subsided and I now find court life and the political strife to be most captivating to follow.
Read from July 04 to 10, 2011
- Me & Mark At Msy
Nate Martin of Press Street's Room 220 put together a great interview with me & Mark, about our little two-sided book Checking In / Checking Out....
- The Summer Tree (the Fionavar Tapestry #1) By Guy Gavriel Kay
?We salvage what we can, what truly matters to us, even at the gates of despair.? Considering how much I adore the writings of Guy Gavriel Kay, it pains me to give his debut novel The Summer Tree a barely passing grade. It is hard to believe that this...
- Mini Reviews #2: Mistborn - The Final Empire, Valis, The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao.
Having been away for a prolonged period of time, it's time to play catch-up again with some more mini-reviews. Round two. Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson Here I am embarking on another epic fantasy series after swearing...
- Theft Of Swords By Michael J. Sullivan
?I like any plan where I don?t die a horrible death.? Never judge a book by its cover right? Well, guilty as charged. I don't really read a lot of fantasy novels and Michael J. Sullivan's Theft of Swords -- the first volume of the Riyria Revelations...
- "the Books I Should Have Read By Now" Challenge!
I've decided to participate in my first reading blogger challenge hosted by Gabriel at Gabriel Reads starting on June, 1. As a bibliophile, my shelves are overflowing with books and turning my room into a hazardous obstacle course. Well, this is just...
Literature
Books I Should Have Read by Now: A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
"Power resides only where men believe it resides."
It's official: I am absolutely hooked on George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. To echo similar sentiments of my reading experience with A Game of Thrones, the writing is not challenging or profound, albeit, as far as fantasy fiction goes Martin is a superb story-teller and surprisingly, infuses plenty of metaphorical devices and even irony to enrich the narrative. He is capable of handling a large host of interconnecting subplots, creating memorable and well-rounded characters (Tyrion Lannister is now a personal favorite) and is prone to wily undermining archetypal conventions of the genre where everything is not always black and white. A sense of moral ambiguity along with suspenseful intrigue that is unpredictable proves to be a refreshing aspects of these novels. Above all else, at 1000 pages, the story flows smoothly and never drags; if nothing else, this series has proven to be immensely entertaining.
Martin creates such a fascinating and vivid world with a rich tapestry of many characters. Each chapter revolves around a specific character's perspective and now, civil war begins to unfold amongst the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros over the rightful heir of the Iron Throne. Initially, Martin's epic narrative scope proved to be disorienting with the first installment but with A Clash of Kings as the second novel in the series, Martin's style is now easy enough to follow. My earlier ambivalence towards the melodrama of the noble gentility has drastically subsided and I now find court life and the political strife to be most captivating to follow.
My only concern with this series is that the story is so colossal that it will eventually lose steam and end up in a perpetual state of limbo much like the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. For now, I am willing to give Martin the benefit of the doubt since he has allowed the narrative to take many unexpected turns but at the back of my mind, I can't help but thinking: Where does the series go from here? Only time will tell. Excuse me, while I continue to devour the third novel in the series, a 1000+ page monster entitled A Storm of Swords, which is already proving to be highly addictive like its predecessors.
Rating: ****
- Me & Mark At Msy
Nate Martin of Press Street's Room 220 put together a great interview with me & Mark, about our little two-sided book Checking In / Checking Out....
- The Summer Tree (the Fionavar Tapestry #1) By Guy Gavriel Kay
?We salvage what we can, what truly matters to us, even at the gates of despair.? Considering how much I adore the writings of Guy Gavriel Kay, it pains me to give his debut novel The Summer Tree a barely passing grade. It is hard to believe that this...
- Mini Reviews #2: Mistborn - The Final Empire, Valis, The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao.
Having been away for a prolonged period of time, it's time to play catch-up again with some more mini-reviews. Round two. Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson Here I am embarking on another epic fantasy series after swearing...
- Theft Of Swords By Michael J. Sullivan
?I like any plan where I don?t die a horrible death.? Never judge a book by its cover right? Well, guilty as charged. I don't really read a lot of fantasy novels and Michael J. Sullivan's Theft of Swords -- the first volume of the Riyria Revelations...
- "the Books I Should Have Read By Now" Challenge!
I've decided to participate in my first reading blogger challenge hosted by Gabriel at Gabriel Reads starting on June, 1. As a bibliophile, my shelves are overflowing with books and turning my room into a hazardous obstacle course. Well, this is just...