[Books] ASoIaF is good, but makes me want to snap my kindle in half.

[Amiright]

After being told i need to read "A Song of Ice and Fire" and I'm missing out, the last three weeks I've finally been doing just that. The story is good a little long winded at times, but its not the end all be all that everyone makes it out to be. He really jumps around to much for my taste, and the only thing that keeps me reading is the chapters about Ayra(The only real interesting character). Another thing that drives me crazy, EVERY CHAPTER he tries to end in a cliffhanger, and i could really do without that.

Anyways I'm up to the 5th book and debating even to finish it, really annoyed that it runs along the same timeline as the 4th book(worst book). Is it even worth finishing to have to wait 10 years for him to finish this series?

Anyone else feel the same way?

Oh another question, The TV series, how close does it follow the books? Should i wait till i finish the 5th book to watch the series?

[Disenchanted]

You're marathon reading them. That might be part of the problem. I can guarantee you have unintentionally glossed over some pretty important little details over all 5 books. Don't worry. We all do. On my THIRD re-read of all 5 books, I was still finding little things I either missed, or allowed myself to brainflush.

My suggestion is: finish book 5. Allow yourself a month or so to recharge. Then watch the first season of the series (it's more or less pretty faithful to the source material, and very good in its own right).

Then start a re-read of the entire series. But savor it this time. Just read a few chapters a day if that. Like a good chilli, it tastes even better the second time around. I LOATHED anything to do with the Iron Islands the first time around. Now I love those parts. You'll find your appreciation will grow. And the more subtle details you pick up on, the cooler the story will become to you.

I know what you mean by long-winded. I had the same thoughts at times on my first read. Especially when he goes on and on about the heraldry, or the 15 billion courses they ate that day. Now I hardly even notice it. Partly because it flows better on re-reads. Partly because after reading Tolkien, nothing seems long-winded by comparison.

Then again, maybe it's just not your thing. No shame in that either. Different strokes and all that.

[Amiright]

You're marathon reading them. That might be part of the problem. I can guarantee you have unintentionally glossed over some pretty important little details over all 5 books. Don't worry. We all do. On my THIRD re-read of all 5 books, I was still finding little things I either missed, or allowed myself to brainflush.

My suggestion is: finish book 5. Allow yourself a month or so to recharge. Then watch the first season of the series (it's more or less pretty faithful to the source material, and very good in its own right).

Then start a re-read of the entire series. But savor it this time. Just read a few chapters a day if that. Like a good chilli, it tastes even better the second time around. I LOATHED anything to do with the Iron Islands the first time around. Now I love those parts. You'll find your appreciation will grow. And the more subtle details you pick up on, the cooler the story will become to you.

I know what you mean by long-winded. I had the same thoughts at times on my first read. Especially when he goes on and on about the heraldry, or the 15 billion courses they ate that day. Now I hardly even notice it. Partly because it flows better on re-reads. Partly because after reading Tolkien, nothing seems long-winded by comparison.

Don't get my started about LOTR. I'm mainly just reading ASoIaF to tide me off till "A Memory of Light" drops. I swear to god if they push it back again.....

[Adam Jensen]

Don't get my started about LOTR. I'm mainly just reading ASoIaF to tide me off till "A Memory of Light" drops. I swear to god if they push it back again.....

I got to the end of Towers of Midnight and saw Tarmon Gaidon was literally about to began and I started to cry.

Almost 10 months before A Memory of Light comes out. How can I be kept hanging like this?

[Deleted]

A friend gave the first book to me and I started to read it assuming it was a completed series.
I never again wanted to start a series that is not finished, as I absolutely hate to wait years to read the end.

Oh well, now I am addicted and in the middle of the 5. book.

My problem was less that I found some characters less interesting, but rather that I absolutely hate some of them, and always stop reading if they get their own chapters. I have to force myself to read those chapters and not just skip to the next :-/

[Arrowstormen]

I consider every character interesting.

[obdigore]

If you consider a book or large parts of a book frustrating and 'unreadable', why are you reading it?

[Enders]

These aren't books that you can rush through. There are little intricacies and details that make them so much more enjoyable, but if you don't take your time, you're likely to miss them. Honestly the only chapters I dislike are Sansa's. She's just too... whiny for me.

[Epicpopsicle]

I would agree don't try to read the whole book in a day. The first time through I would skip certain points of view because I didn't like those characters but on the second reread I read them in order and at a slower pace, it was much better. Sansa QQ. Relax a bit she is going to be a very good read from here on out it looks like. She was just learning the ropes it seems.

[Adam Jensen]

I would agree don't try to read the whole book in a day. The first time through I would skip certain points of view because I didn't like those characters but on the second reread I read them in order and at a slower pace, it was much better. Sansa QQ. Relax a bit she is going to be a very good read from here on out it looks like. She was just learning the ropes it seems.

What turned me off about Sansa was how she mooned over Joffrey in the beginning, even though he was blatantly a world class douchebag.

But I suppose when you're thirteen and betrothed . . .

She does get better though.

[Aesahaettr]

I have really liked the books, but for me the series has been getting progressively worse since A Game Of Thrones, with a noticable drops in quality from A Storm Of Swords to A Feast For Crows, and from A Feast For Crows to A Dance With Dragons.

The last two books have both been a little too sprawling, with large sections where nothing noteworthy happens. The lack of focus at times has always been an issue with A Song of Ice and Fire, but particularily in the first half of A Dance With Dragons it felt like nothing was happening, merely moving characters around to get them into place for something. And the something never came. It was the only book in the series that felt like a slog to read.

George RR Martin needs to either get a better editor or listen to the one he already has. At the moment, I'm not convinced Martin can bring all the disparate threads back together for a satisfying conclusion.

That said, I'm still a fan of the series, if I wasn't I wouldn't be so annoyed. I havent given up hope yet, but the concerns are there. And whilst the TV series has been pretty good, thus far I've prefered the books. But A Feast For Crows and A Dance With Dragons will both (possibly) benefit from the TV adaptation, as they'll need to reduce the sprawl and tighten up the pacing a bit.