A Song of Ice and Fire: SQUEEEEE!!!!!
Mar. 15th, 2011 12:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lunasarielWell, I've finally finished A Song of Ice and Fire, and I'm giving it a solid 9.5/10. I only knocked off half a point because of the extremely long wait between volumes (the most recent, A Feast for Crows, was published in 2005, and the release date for the next, A Dance with Dragons, is slated for July, after six years of false starts and misleading information), and a full 10/10 is reserved for works of Tolkien-level genius. But still, it's a damn fine work, and deserved every bit of praise it gets. Almost.
George R.R. Martin has been called "the American Tolkien," and while I think he does deserve a hell of a lot of credit, putting him on par with one of the greatest writers to have ever lived is a bit presumptuous. Is he an amazing writer, a dedicated world-builder, and the innovator a fast-stagnating genre needs to get it back on its feet? Yes. Is he a polyglot, veteran of two World Wars, and inventor of an entire genre of literature? No. But like I said in a previous entry, people should definitely strive to emulate Tolkien's attention to detail and love for his subject, world, and characters, but if we all do nothing but parrot him, then we've got nothing but an entire genre full of increasingly poor re-tellings of the same story, and George is just what we need to shake us up a bit. I've seen far too many "epics" that boil down to, "hey, guys! Look at me! I can be Tolkien, too! See, I'm boring and impenetrable and go on forever without saying or doing anything! That's what Tolkien is, right? ...Right?! Now gimme a movie deal."
I mean, what epic fantasy writers are big today? Terry Goodkind? I could predict the plot of his entire series from the first 100 pages. Robert Jordan? Dead, and spent too long saying too little. Terry Brooks? About as engaging as a Victorian treatise on the Moral Duty of Women. Mercedes Lackey? She kind of loses her charm once you graduate from middle school. Christopher Paolini? He would never have gotten on the shelves if his parents hadn't owned a publishing company. R.A. Salvatore? His idea of intensive world-building is to throw a bunch of consonants and apostrophes together and randomly assign them to people, places, and things. Obviously, we need someone to break us out of the "real fantasy is boring and preachy" rut that we've written ourselves into, and Martin is just the guy to do it.
A Song of Ice and Fire really does seem to be indicative of the new direction fantasy has swung in: dark, gritty, unflinching, and as realistic as a pseudo-medieval European world populated by dragons and wizards can be. He doesn't skimp on the violence, the sex, the...actions of dubious morality, or any of the other things that more traditional high fantasy glosses over. I've seen other authors try to do this before *cough*Richard K. Morgan*cough*, but what they failed to do is give their sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll any greater meaning. If all you're out to do is shock people, then the novelty will soon wear off and you'll fall back into obscurity.
Where Martin differs from the rest of the pack is that he manages to do more than just prove that he's the baddest ass of all badasses; he's managed to weave a vibrant, complex, fascinating tale that sucks you in and makes you hang on until the end to find out what happens to all the characters, be they good, bad, or somewhere in between. There's the rub: you care about his characters, even the amoral bastards. Of course, every series has its designated bad guy(s), and ASOIAF is no exception. There are definitely people so hateful, so reprehensible, and I would be seriously worried about anybody who could root for them. For example, one character is famous for smashing a newborn baby's head open against a wall and then raping its mother to death with its blood and brains still on his hands. He was seventeen at the time. Of course, that was after he'd killed his baby sister and held his brother's head in a fire, leaving him looking somewhat worse than Batman's Two-Face, for playing with his toys. But then again, there are people who you can't *not* root for, like Tyrion Lannister, a brave, wickedly intelligent, kind-hearted, and horribly deformed dwarf born into a famously beautiful (and evil) family. It's hard not to love him when he does things like rescue a thirteen-year-old girl from being beaten and raped by his nephew, the vicious, spoiled child king or vow to wreak bloody havoc (and proceed to do exactly that) on the batshit crazy queen because she beat an innocent woman nearly to death.
One thing that initially puzzled me about such a large, long-running, critically acclaimed (Robert Jordan endorsed it, for Dog's sake!) series is that the fandom is tiny. More specifically, the creative fandom is tiny. There are dozens of characters and enough grist (in-universe material, ambiguity and speculation) to keep this fan-mill running. I know that a good deal of this is that George R.R. Martin has put the official kibosh on fanfiction, but that shouldn't stop things like fanart and endless speculation (GRRM certainly gives us enough fodder for both). After some determined digging, I've managed to come up with a few comms here on LJ, which has introduced me to some great people, and some great fanworks. I find that the ASOIAF fandom is a nice mix of high-concept, think-y stuff and unabashed fangirling/fanboying. ASOIAF ain't exactly The Silmarillion (look at me, all MLA-compliant with my italicized-not-underlined titles of books!), so it's not like you need a doctorate to even begin to comprehend it (usually), but it does make you stretch the ol' grey matter to keep up, which is much appreciated. To me, reading is like exercising: sometimes I want to run 'till I drop, sometimes I'm satisfied with a few sit-ups, but mostly I like to keep to a regimen that challenges me without leaving me a helpless puddle of used-up goo on the floor.
My favorite pairing in this fandom is most definitely Renly/Loras. I know that Renly often gets painted as a someone who's pleased enough to offer help when it suits him, but who will cheerfully stab you in the back when he gets the chance. But think about it: Stannis governs Dragonstone with an iron fist and refuses to even enter King's Landing. He would almost certainly chuck out the entire small council, which is comprised of morally dubious but inescapably useful men, and how would people react to acts like closing brothels? Renly saw his chance, and he took it. And maybe he might have thought to himself that when he became king, he could follow in Robert's footsteps and sleep with whomever he pleased, as long as he produced a satisfactory heir or two. Of course, he wouldn't be following exactly in Robert's footsteps, since he and Margaery seemed to be at least good friends, and he would certainly never hurt a member of Loras' family, even if only because it would risk losing him.
I find it almost indescribably endearing that Loras stayed 100% loyal to Renly after his death. When I first met Loras, I assumed that he was exactly the arrogant, self-centered braggart that he appeared to be, who cared not one bit for anyone other than himself and would cheerfully use and lose people as his goals (whatever they may be) dictated. But then I saw that he was one of a dying breed in Westeros: truly loyal knights. Like Barristan the Bold or poor old Roderick Cassel, he was absolutely devoted to his king, and nothing in the world could force him away. I actually teared up at his words to Jaimie about "I will never betray Renly by word, thought, or deed" (I forget the exact wording, but that was the gist of it), which surprised me, since I actually cry over books very rarely these days.
One of the reasons I love Renly's relationship with Loras so much is that it's so heavily steeped in singers' tales. The way I saw it, Renly loved Loras for his cocky attitude, daring, enthusiasm, and fascination with ideals like honor and glory as much as for his marital prowess and beauty. Meanwhile, Loras was dazzled by Renly's cunning and the easy aura of command and charisma that all the kings (the good kings, at least) in the songs have. Their relationship is exactly what Sansa Stark wanted, but the difference between her and them is that they were pragmatic enough to see the world as it is, and not expect life to automatically conform to fairy tales. In short, they made the world around them into a singer's tale, while Sansa didn't do anything but wish.
Another reason I love this pairing is the fact that it's so pure. And I don't mean "pure" as in "non-sexual." Oh, no, these guys enjoy pleasures of the flesh as much as the next young adult male. What I mean is that, while Cersei was banging everyone who could help her win the game of thrones while Jamie came to hate her, and Robert beat his wife while pining for poor dead Lyanna, these two weren't a political alliance, a match of convenience, or anything else like that. They just loved each other, as simple as that. Loras was Renly's brave knight, unbeatable and pure, and Renly was Loras' good king, clever and just.
The only problem with this pairing is, 99 out of 100 fanfics for this couple go roughly like this:
Renly: "Wheee!!!! Life is great! ILU!"
Loras: "ILU2, bb!"
*snuggle*
Renly: "We're totally going to win this battle with no trouble whatsoever! Loras, c'mere and gimme sugar."
Loras: *smooch*
*sexytiems*
Shadow!Stannis: "Boo!"
Renly: "Well, crap." *gack*
Loras: *woe* *WOE* *WOE*
(Jamie: *kissy lips*
Loras: "You're a dick. And crippled. But I guess I have a thing for royalty." *angst!sex*)
I want to see more stories focusing on Renly's purported political prowess (ain't alliteration awesome?) and Loras' skill in tourneys, and whether or not it will translate well to the battlefield. I especially want to see more of The Knight of Flowers versus The Mountain That Rides. I mean, think about it: two famous knights, directly at odds and poised to be rivals. One is young, beautiful, showy, gallant, charming, and hiding a great secret. The other is a vicious, bloodthirsty old thug who delights in letting people see exactly how much of a monster he is, both inside and out. If the Mountain is ever showy, it's only in order to strike terror into the hearts of his enemies, whoever happens to be around him at the time, or (as is usual) both. To top it off, Loras has already needled Gregor by kicking his ass very publicly, and by cheating at that. I won't go into my own fanfic ideas here, since I can just imagine GRRM scowling disapprovingly at me and shaking his finger. So let's just say that I'm working quite a bit with the Mountain, and that I've created an OC called Alanya in order to provide some "peppery old lady who isn't afraid to give the great and powerful a good smack on the ear when they deserve it" ballast when Lady Olenna is busy being Machiavelli.
I've been sitting on this long enough; I'd better get it up before prospective House-mates from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
westerosorting come around to see whether I'm more Targaryen or Tyrell (or Stark, or Tully, or any of the other noble Houses). Meanwhile, I've got a crapload and a half of term papers and online tests to finish before Thursday, so off I go, in a puff of arsenic, smoke, and eels! (Apologies to Mr. Warren Ellis.)
George R.R. Martin has been called "the American Tolkien," and while I think he does deserve a hell of a lot of credit, putting him on par with one of the greatest writers to have ever lived is a bit presumptuous. Is he an amazing writer, a dedicated world-builder, and the innovator a fast-stagnating genre needs to get it back on its feet? Yes. Is he a polyglot, veteran of two World Wars, and inventor of an entire genre of literature? No. But like I said in a previous entry, people should definitely strive to emulate Tolkien's attention to detail and love for his subject, world, and characters, but if we all do nothing but parrot him, then we've got nothing but an entire genre full of increasingly poor re-tellings of the same story, and George is just what we need to shake us up a bit. I've seen far too many "epics" that boil down to, "hey, guys! Look at me! I can be Tolkien, too! See, I'm boring and impenetrable and go on forever without saying or doing anything! That's what Tolkien is, right? ...Right?! Now gimme a movie deal."
I mean, what epic fantasy writers are big today? Terry Goodkind? I could predict the plot of his entire series from the first 100 pages. Robert Jordan? Dead, and spent too long saying too little. Terry Brooks? About as engaging as a Victorian treatise on the Moral Duty of Women. Mercedes Lackey? She kind of loses her charm once you graduate from middle school. Christopher Paolini? He would never have gotten on the shelves if his parents hadn't owned a publishing company. R.A. Salvatore? His idea of intensive world-building is to throw a bunch of consonants and apostrophes together and randomly assign them to people, places, and things. Obviously, we need someone to break us out of the "real fantasy is boring and preachy" rut that we've written ourselves into, and Martin is just the guy to do it.
A Song of Ice and Fire really does seem to be indicative of the new direction fantasy has swung in: dark, gritty, unflinching, and as realistic as a pseudo-medieval European world populated by dragons and wizards can be. He doesn't skimp on the violence, the sex, the...actions of dubious morality, or any of the other things that more traditional high fantasy glosses over. I've seen other authors try to do this before *cough*Richard K. Morgan*cough*, but what they failed to do is give their sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll any greater meaning. If all you're out to do is shock people, then the novelty will soon wear off and you'll fall back into obscurity.
Where Martin differs from the rest of the pack is that he manages to do more than just prove that he's the baddest ass of all badasses; he's managed to weave a vibrant, complex, fascinating tale that sucks you in and makes you hang on until the end to find out what happens to all the characters, be they good, bad, or somewhere in between. There's the rub: you care about his characters, even the amoral bastards. Of course, every series has its designated bad guy(s), and ASOIAF is no exception. There are definitely people so hateful, so reprehensible, and I would be seriously worried about anybody who could root for them. For example, one character is famous for smashing a newborn baby's head open against a wall and then raping its mother to death with its blood and brains still on his hands. He was seventeen at the time. Of course, that was after he'd killed his baby sister and held his brother's head in a fire, leaving him looking somewhat worse than Batman's Two-Face, for playing with his toys. But then again, there are people who you can't *not* root for, like Tyrion Lannister, a brave, wickedly intelligent, kind-hearted, and horribly deformed dwarf born into a famously beautiful (and evil) family. It's hard not to love him when he does things like rescue a thirteen-year-old girl from being beaten and raped by his nephew, the vicious, spoiled child king or vow to wreak bloody havoc (and proceed to do exactly that) on the batshit crazy queen because she beat an innocent woman nearly to death.
One thing that initially puzzled me about such a large, long-running, critically acclaimed (Robert Jordan endorsed it, for Dog's sake!) series is that the fandom is tiny. More specifically, the creative fandom is tiny. There are dozens of characters and enough grist (in-universe material, ambiguity and speculation) to keep this fan-mill running. I know that a good deal of this is that George R.R. Martin has put the official kibosh on fanfiction, but that shouldn't stop things like fanart and endless speculation (GRRM certainly gives us enough fodder for both). After some determined digging, I've managed to come up with a few comms here on LJ, which has introduced me to some great people, and some great fanworks. I find that the ASOIAF fandom is a nice mix of high-concept, think-y stuff and unabashed fangirling/fanboying. ASOIAF ain't exactly The Silmarillion (look at me, all MLA-compliant with my italicized-not-underlined titles of books!), so it's not like you need a doctorate to even begin to comprehend it (usually), but it does make you stretch the ol' grey matter to keep up, which is much appreciated. To me, reading is like exercising: sometimes I want to run 'till I drop, sometimes I'm satisfied with a few sit-ups, but mostly I like to keep to a regimen that challenges me without leaving me a helpless puddle of used-up goo on the floor.
My favorite pairing in this fandom is most definitely Renly/Loras. I know that Renly often gets painted as a someone who's pleased enough to offer help when it suits him, but who will cheerfully stab you in the back when he gets the chance. But think about it: Stannis governs Dragonstone with an iron fist and refuses to even enter King's Landing. He would almost certainly chuck out the entire small council, which is comprised of morally dubious but inescapably useful men, and how would people react to acts like closing brothels? Renly saw his chance, and he took it. And maybe he might have thought to himself that when he became king, he could follow in Robert's footsteps and sleep with whomever he pleased, as long as he produced a satisfactory heir or two. Of course, he wouldn't be following exactly in Robert's footsteps, since he and Margaery seemed to be at least good friends, and he would certainly never hurt a member of Loras' family, even if only because it would risk losing him.
I find it almost indescribably endearing that Loras stayed 100% loyal to Renly after his death. When I first met Loras, I assumed that he was exactly the arrogant, self-centered braggart that he appeared to be, who cared not one bit for anyone other than himself and would cheerfully use and lose people as his goals (whatever they may be) dictated. But then I saw that he was one of a dying breed in Westeros: truly loyal knights. Like Barristan the Bold or poor old Roderick Cassel, he was absolutely devoted to his king, and nothing in the world could force him away. I actually teared up at his words to Jaimie about "I will never betray Renly by word, thought, or deed" (I forget the exact wording, but that was the gist of it), which surprised me, since I actually cry over books very rarely these days.
One of the reasons I love Renly's relationship with Loras so much is that it's so heavily steeped in singers' tales. The way I saw it, Renly loved Loras for his cocky attitude, daring, enthusiasm, and fascination with ideals like honor and glory as much as for his marital prowess and beauty. Meanwhile, Loras was dazzled by Renly's cunning and the easy aura of command and charisma that all the kings (the good kings, at least) in the songs have. Their relationship is exactly what Sansa Stark wanted, but the difference between her and them is that they were pragmatic enough to see the world as it is, and not expect life to automatically conform to fairy tales. In short, they made the world around them into a singer's tale, while Sansa didn't do anything but wish.
Another reason I love this pairing is the fact that it's so pure. And I don't mean "pure" as in "non-sexual." Oh, no, these guys enjoy pleasures of the flesh as much as the next young adult male. What I mean is that, while Cersei was banging everyone who could help her win the game of thrones while Jamie came to hate her, and Robert beat his wife while pining for poor dead Lyanna, these two weren't a political alliance, a match of convenience, or anything else like that. They just loved each other, as simple as that. Loras was Renly's brave knight, unbeatable and pure, and Renly was Loras' good king, clever and just.
The only problem with this pairing is, 99 out of 100 fanfics for this couple go roughly like this:
Renly: "Wheee!!!! Life is great! ILU!"
Loras: "ILU2, bb!"
*snuggle*
Renly: "We're totally going to win this battle with no trouble whatsoever! Loras, c'mere and gimme sugar."
Loras: *smooch*
*sexytiems*
Shadow!Stannis: "Boo!"
Renly: "Well, crap." *gack*
Loras: *woe* *WOE* *WOE*
(Jamie: *kissy lips*
Loras: "You're a dick. And crippled. But I guess I have a thing for royalty." *angst!sex*)
I want to see more stories focusing on Renly's purported political prowess (ain't alliteration awesome?) and Loras' skill in tourneys, and whether or not it will translate well to the battlefield. I especially want to see more of The Knight of Flowers versus The Mountain That Rides. I mean, think about it: two famous knights, directly at odds and poised to be rivals. One is young, beautiful, showy, gallant, charming, and hiding a great secret. The other is a vicious, bloodthirsty old thug who delights in letting people see exactly how much of a monster he is, both inside and out. If the Mountain is ever showy, it's only in order to strike terror into the hearts of his enemies, whoever happens to be around him at the time, or (as is usual) both. To top it off, Loras has already needled Gregor by kicking his ass very publicly, and by cheating at that. I won't go into my own fanfic ideas here, since I can just imagine GRRM scowling disapprovingly at me and shaking his finger. So let's just say that I'm working quite a bit with the Mountain, and that I've created an OC called Alanya in order to provide some "peppery old lady who isn't afraid to give the great and powerful a good smack on the ear when they deserve it" ballast when Lady Olenna is busy being Machiavelli.
I've been sitting on this long enough; I'd better get it up before prospective House-mates from
westerosorting come around to see whether I'm more Targaryen or Tyrell (or Stark, or Tully, or any of the other noble Houses). Meanwhile, I've got a crapload and a half of term papers and online tests to finish before Thursday, so off I go, in a puff of arsenic, smoke, and eels! (Apologies to Mr. Warren Ellis.)
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Date: 2011-03-15 09:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-15 10:37 pm (UTC)A few caveats, though: ASOIAF definitely falls into the "doorstopper" category, with only one volume less than 1000 pages. It's also known for its extremely graphic violence, as well as some pretty squicky descriptions of rape, incest, and child molestation (and in a few memorable occasions, all three at once).
But if you can muscle through the truly terrifying page count and high "brain bleach" factor, it really is a wonderful series. The characters are all fascinating, and the plot kept me up waaay too late more times than I'd like to admit. Oh, and the majority of the male cast (Renly and Loras included) are extremely pretty. ;)