mankytoes Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 I've never understood the folks that think ASOIAF is low magic. I mean, there's zombies, dragons, skinwalkers, and even wizards of a sort. I know what you mean, I guess I should expand. The reason I don't think the magic in ASOIAF bothers me is that it's expressed in a relatable way- the characters don't really understand it, the whole basing for the story is like our own in medieval times, not some mystical world with wizards running things. Even Meslisandre, one of the most explicitely magical characters, doesn't seem to really know how it works (Stannis is clearly not AA). Though I've always found Brans chapters the least interesting, possibly because of more overtly magical overtones. It's only some things that bother me. Dragons are fine, they're just a made up animal (even if they aren't physically possible, I can suspend imagination that far). It's more when you've got wizards making spells, and finding magical artifacts, and it just makes the whole thing unrelatable to me. It always makes me think about that Smiths' lyric in Hang the DJ, "it says nothing to me about my life". If I can't make a connection to what's going on, I can't get into it. But he says he likes ASOIAF (though since he said "Game of Thrones" maybe he's just watching the series, possibly) to the point of obsession so clearly some genre furniture is not that glaring or problematic for him. I meant the first book, I have read them all twice, plus Dunk and Egg, the World Series, the pop up book... I've got a kind of obsessive personality. As you say, this is fantasy literature and I love it, so I'd think I'd be able to enjoy most of the genre? Mankytoes, how do you feel about comic books stories, you know, the superpowers and all? What about The Little Prince? Zombies? Never really got into them, I'm English and they aren't as big over here, at least in my circles. I read Watchmen and loved it, V for Vendetta I didn't really get to grips with, might need to have another go at it. OP, you have one of the grimiest usernames on the board. I hope you know that. On topic: I agree with the first post...if you don't like fantasy, best not to read so much fantasy. That said, maybe you will find Sci-fi more palatable? What's really depressing is that it's also my real life nickname... Makes sense, if it wasn't for the fact ASOIAF is fantasy, and amongst my favourite books ever... Maybe, the thing is, like most people, I first saw Star Wars, and, I know we aren't really allowed to say it, but Star Wars is a bit shit, isn't it? I mean I know it's a laugh, and it was good effects for its' time, but these are basically kids films, and no, I don't just mean the new ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HexMachina Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 @OP You might enjoy the Accursed Kings series by Maurice Druon? They're quick reads,full of political intrigues and stuff.Seconded. They kind of dabble a bit in "magic" too iirc, by which I mean, the superstitious beliefs of the characters at the time the novels are set Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnar of Skagos Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Maybe, the thing is, like most people, I first saw Star Wars, and, I know we aren't really allowed to say it, but Star Wars is a bit shit, isn't it? I mean I know it's a laugh, and it was good effects for its' time, but these are basically kids films, and no, I don't just mean the new ones. Are you talking about the Original trilogy or the prequels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Well there's a lot to argue about there but I would say Star Wars isn't typical for sci fi. Also nothing wrong with things for kids, I consider Finding Nemo and Wall-E to be some of the greatesr films of all time, regardless of genre of target age.Also Star Wars ROCKS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnar of Skagos Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Well there's a lot to argue about there but I would say Star Wars isn't typical for sci fi. Also nothing wrong with things for kids, I consider Finding Nemo and Wall-E to be some of the greatesr films of all time, regardless of genre of target age.Also Star Wars ROCKSSeconded. Though if he hates the prequels, it is at least understandable. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 I like the music. John Williams for the win!Edit: I watched the prequels on blu recently and I actually still kind of like the third. I think maybe cause there is a lot less dialogue. :p There are a few moments in the other that arnt bad, basically whenever shithead isn't on screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Reckoner Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 OT has better lightsabre fights. There's a sense of mass that's missing from the prequels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 OT has better lightsabre fights. There's a sense of mass that's missing from the prequels.OT has better everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnar of Skagos Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 I like the music. John Williams for the win!Edit: I watched the prequels on blu recently and I actually still kind of like the third. I think maybe cause there is a lot less dialogue. :P There are a few moments in the other that arnt bad, basically whenever shithead isn't on screen. OT has better everything. As a guy who's just about 20 now, I grew up on the prequels, and loved the hell out of them. There is still that bit of nostalgic love I have for them, but I really enjoy the OT now. Flashy space battles and lightsaber fights are cool and as a SFX lover I really appreciate what it took to pull that stuff off, but they can't beat a great story like the OT had. The Phantom Menace was the first film I ever saw in the theatre, and I didn't even think Jar-Jar was absurd at the time haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 I'd take jar jar over that dam kid going yippee every 10 mins. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Star Wars is not representative of all (or even most) science fiction. And comparing movies to books...yeah, that's another fallacy. Now, MT, you might end up not liking science fiction anyway (and that's totally fine), but I'd urge you to at least give it an honest try. Complaining about SW and concluding you don't like SF is like hating a Harry Potter film and concluding you don't like fantasy. With that mindset, you would have missed out on ASOIAF, and where would you be then?! (not arguing with nerds on the internet, that's what. Wait... :leaving: ) I won't derail this thread with SF recs unless requested. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Also nothing wrong with things for kids, I consider Finding Nemo and Wall-E to be some of the greatesr films of all time, regardless of genre of target age. I agree. Some of the most emotionally compelling fiction I've read would generally qualify as being for kids/teens. (apologies for the double post) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sj4iy Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 I don't read by genre. I read by quality. If a book is well written, no matter what kind of book it is, I'll read it. I've read everything from horror, fantasy, sci fi, rom-coms, mystery, political thrillers, classics of all kinds, historical naval fiction, non-fiction everything, etc.Don't limit yourself. Try new things out...that's what libraries are for. Get recommendations. Otherwise you'll end up wading through a lot of generic genre stuff to find the little bit of excellent stuff.My own fantasy author recommendation is Terry Pratchett. Just about everything he ever wrote was brilliant, and that's extremely rare. He was very prolific, and has many books to choose from. His work is also very funny and full of satire. He would easily be in my top five of favorite authors, along with Mark Twain and Jane Austen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 I like the music. John Williams for the win! Dirt plagiarist that he is. Star Wars is not representative of all (or even most) science fiction. It's not really sci-fi at all. It's fantasy that happens to have spaceships in.And yeah, I second the Pratchett reco in terms of fantasy maybe appealing to not-fantasy fans, but urgently caution against starting from the first books (I usually caution against this in any case, but even moreso in this particular scenario). The City Watch series is probably the most logical place to start in this context. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinDonner Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Actually the Witches trilogy might be just as good a place to start, given that Granny's views on magic are much the same as the OP's (ie. why use it at all when a perfectly good non-magic solution already exists...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Dirt plagiarist that he is..Say what now? Then is fighting words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HexMachina Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Actually the Witches trilogy might be just as good a place to start, given that Granny's views on magic are much the same as the OP's (ie. why use it at all when a perfectly good non-magic solution already exists...) headology Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circle_breaker Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 I think you just need a book that has a decently explained magic systeme. At least thats what I enjoy, well defined rules and structure to the magic. I would recommend name of the wind, The red knight, and the way of kings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AverageGuy Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 I think you just need a book that has a decently explained magic systeme. At least thats what I enjoy, well defined rules and structure to the magic. I would recommend name of the wind, The red knight, and the way of kings. Not sure if I personally would recommend a book with a major magic system to someone who says they gloss over/roll their eyes whenever they see magic. OP may or may not enjoy GGK or some magic realism or new weird books, really depends on what they like most about ASOIAF, but systems tend to be thought of as particularly egregious by a subset of the low-magic fantasy crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serious Callers Only Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Romance bad boy trigger'd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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