Why I <3 George R.R. Martin

To those die-hard fans out there, brace yourselves. I have not yet read A Dance with Dragons. My husband has it from Audible, and I will be listening to it after I have listened to books 3 and 4 again. I have read the books countless times, but it seems the minute details fall through the cracks after a few years on the shelf. As anyone who reads George R.R. Martin can tell you, the details are of paramount importance. So I am brushing up my knowledge of Westeros and the land beyond the narrow sea so that I will not ask myself “Who was ____ again?” when I read the newest installation. The first season on HBO was epic, and if you haven’t seen it I strongly urge you to check it out. (Be forewarned, it is HBO, so I wouldn’t recommend watching it around squeamish or easily-offended people. Well, now that I think about it… its HBO and George R.R. Martin, so you might as well just hop in the hand basket to Hades.)

George R.R. Martin is by far one of the most frustrating and amazing writers I have ever experienced. I’m sure that many readers have their favorite characters, as do I, but the amazing thing to me is that the complexity of each player in the Game of Thrones comes from a singular brain. One person created the intelligence of Tyrion Lannister, the foresight of Petyr Baelish, the valor of Daenerys Targaryen, and the ruthlessness of Stannis Baratheon. All of these characters, plus about 63 pages worth of more characters, came from the same brain, which means that Martin has the ability to out-think all of them. GAH!

I read an article from the New York Times about the release of the new novel.

“The elements of fantasy exist here but are deftly muted, as Mr. Martin defies genre conventions. He’s often more intrigued by the friction among conflicting religions, by the Kremlinology of Westeros, in the “plots, ploys, whispers, lies, secrets within secrets” that make of up “the game of thrones.” All the while his medieval realms ring with echoes of our own time, of our modern terrorscapes that rage with liars, spies and true believers.”Dana Jennings July 14, 2011 (link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/15/books/a-dance-with-dragons-by-george-r-r-martin-review.html”)

Although Martin created an entirely new world with its own seasons, landscape, creatures, and kingdoms, surprisingly, that is not where the bulk of his intrigue is. He has crafted each character so carefully that readers can identify them without Martin mentioning their name. Even after that he has the courage to build a character from nothing, make the reader fall in love with him/her he will do the unthinkable... like lopping of their head, or having them killed in some other ruthless way. I love that he has the mind, the courage, and the ability to tell his avid readers more about the complexities of his character’s lives. I just wish it didn’t take 500 years for the next book.

I suppose that is part of Martin’s genius. He gave his readers time to spread the word, whisper about a possible TV show, gathered thousands of followers through his series, and then BLAM! Released the 5^th book. Perhaps he was invoking a little of Baelish when he devised his path to success. As we know by now, he has the clear ability to plan ahead. This is why I have no qualms re-reading the 3rd and 4th book before diving into the newest release. It may be quite a while before the 6^th book comes out, so what’s the hurry?