A Song of Ice and Fire, and Dark Tower 4.5

Shawn Halayka · 2012-06-18T09:00:22

I'm sure that the A Game of Thrones TV show is pretty popular? Has anyone read the books? I got to see two episodes on TV, and it seemed a little hokey but fun. It made me decide to try out the books instead. Well, I was absolutely blown away. They say the author George RR Martin was a TV writer at one point, and you can definitely tell because nearly every single chapter ends with some kind of cliffhanger, and the story flows smooth and quick for the most part. I just finished reading the third book A Storm of Swords about a half an hour ago, and I think that this book was the best of them so far. I'm starting the fourth book right now, because I can't wait until tomorrow. The last series of fiction that I read was Stephen King's Dark Tower, and I used to think that it was pretty dark and full of plot twists. Compared to A Song of Ice and Fire though, Dark Tower seems quite upbeat. I just can't believe how utterly dark A Song of Ice and Fire is. So many long-term characters who just up and die with no notice. Kind of drives the point home about the ephemerality of life in general. No nonsense. That said, I read the latest Dark Tower book Wind Through the Keyhole, and it seems pretty dark compared to the other books in that series, and also a very wonderful story. I won't spoil anything outright, but I do wonder if nanotechnology could be the hidden basis for some of the unexplained "magic" that occurred in the book. It gets me thinking about whether or not A Song of Ice and Fire might also end up being a kind of post-apocalyptic post-technology story. That would put the icing on the cake. Ninjas too. That's about the only two cool things missing from it. In any case, both series kind of remind me of each other. Both being kind of a homage to the old tales of Arthur and Merlin and those kinds of things. So, for those of you who read A Song of Ice and Fire and Dark Tower, which is your favourite? Even if you only read one of them, which was your favourite book in these series? I am still partial to Wizard and Glass from the Dark Tower. Dave McKean did the art for that one, and it was pretty awesome. Who are your favourite characters? From A Song of Ice and Fire, my favourite is Arya. So much nasty stuff happens to her, and by the end of the third book I was very happy about the state that her character was left in. As for Dark Tower... I know that it might sound dumb, but my favourite character is Oy the Billy Bumbler. Reading Wind Through the Keyhole only solidified it more for me. He doesn't appear too often, but when he does, it's always a treat, and he seems to always be saving someone. He's a true gunslinger, though I guess he may not have opposable thumbs per se. And it appears that having the name Ed sure is bad luck, no matter which of these fictional universes you belong to! ;) I also hear that Javier Bardem (the killer from No Country for Old Men) is going to play Roland in the film adaptation of The Dark Tower. I kind of always envisioned Clint Eastwood playing Roland, but it's all good. I just hope they have a billion or so dollars (literally) to throw at the special effects, otherwise they might as well not even bother, because it'll just be a pathetic mangled mess. Ron Howard is producing it, so I'm hopeful. Oh, and if you ever read Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub (another wicked book, definitely my favourite King book outside of the Dark Tower series), and you also read Wind Through the Keyhole... did the Black House and the house in the forest glimpsed in the boy's vision kind of seem like maybe the same house? That sneaky Stephen King!

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Started by taby May 29, 2012 05:50 AM

20 comments, last by cignox1 12 years, 3 months ago

taby

Author

1,524

June 17, 2012 09:16 PM

Finished the fourth book last weekend. It was... different.

cignox1

736

June 18, 2012 09:00 AM

ASOIAF is definitely a must read for anyone interested in fantasy (open minded). I've read it 3 times in italian and 1 time in english and it never ceases to impress me. I've found the last 2 books a bit disappointing (too slow and to many sub plots which really don't add anything to the story) but I guess its a consequence of the change to the initial plan (the year gap that should have occoured before TWOW and filled by Martin with these 2 books).

The tv series is well done, but writers did a poor job for many charachters (mostly jon, dany and robb). And then there is Ros, may the Others take her...

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A Song of Ice and Fire, and Dark Tower 4.5

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