This review was originally published around the time A Dance With Dragons came out, way back in like the 1980s or something. Or at least it feels that long ago, both because it’s taken GRRM so damn long to finish The Winds Of Winter, and because so much has changed in my life and in the world since.
"For a thousand or so pages almost nothing happens and then we get a bunch of cliffhangers.
The End."
Oh man. That is exactly perfect.
I've read the whole series once, and the first two or three books multiple times, but that was years and years ago. I'd like to do another read-through before Winds of Winter comes out, just because.
What stops me is A Dance with Dragons. I could read six amazing classics of literature that would blow my mind and enrich my soul in the time it would take me to read just that one entry of a five-book series. And even if I spend the six months (year? Two years? Three? I'd definitely need to spread them out) it would take me to get through all these books again, he STILL might not be done with Winds of Winter at the end of it. And I hate to say it, but what I recall of Dances with Dragons wasn't all that good. But still: am I really going to jump into WoW cold? I don't remember a lot of what was going on.
I think, Erik has nailed it down pretty well here, I also think he's come across an interesting concept, if he or any talented writer with a gift for proper story telling could grab, editing control over the 5 volumes already published; There is little doubt in my mind he could condense it down to 3 very well written books.
I have said before, and will say again, I think the primary problem here is a lack of desire. I fully believe as a younger man he was driven to achieve fame and fortune, he published the first 4 books over a 9 year period with a page count of around 1700, with nothing to show for the last 10 years other than good intentions, and an online blog. Claims his books will have a more satisfying ending than the HBO series, even though he was paid 25 million a year, to act as co-executive producer.
Time may have proclaimed him “An American Tolkien,” but I for one would like to think we can do better than this.
"For a thousand or so pages almost nothing happens and then we get a bunch of cliffhangers.
The End."
Oh man. That is exactly perfect.
I've read the whole series once, and the first two or three books multiple times, but that was years and years ago. I'd like to do another read-through before Winds of Winter comes out, just because.
What stops me is A Dance with Dragons. I could read six amazing classics of literature that would blow my mind and enrich my soul in the time it would take me to read just that one entry of a five-book series. And even if I spend the six months (year? Two years? Three? I'd definitely need to spread them out) it would take me to get through all these books again, he STILL might not be done with Winds of Winter at the end of it. And I hate to say it, but what I recall of Dances with Dragons wasn't all that good. But still: am I really going to jump into WoW cold? I don't remember a lot of what was going on.
I think, Erik has nailed it down pretty well here, I also think he's come across an interesting concept, if he or any talented writer with a gift for proper story telling could grab, editing control over the 5 volumes already published; There is little doubt in my mind he could condense it down to 3 very well written books.
I have said before, and will say again, I think the primary problem here is a lack of desire. I fully believe as a younger man he was driven to achieve fame and fortune, he published the first 4 books over a 9 year period with a page count of around 1700, with nothing to show for the last 10 years other than good intentions, and an online blog. Claims his books will have a more satisfying ending than the HBO series, even though he was paid 25 million a year, to act as co-executive producer.
Time may have proclaimed him “An American Tolkien,” but I for one would like to think we can do better than this.