HexMachina Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Really? I have been leaning to give him a shot. Suggestions? I enjoy anything with Rincewind in it :D So I can happily recommend the Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic. Highly entertaining imo. His other Discworld works are wonderful too, even the ones for a younger audience. (I read his Tiffany Aching books when I was growing up, and I confess I still revisit them for that nostalgic feel) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SerArthurHeath Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I love Gaiman's prose, and in his case I absolutely prefer the short stories to the novels. He's brilliant in these tiny little gems of stories, and sometimes when given 800 pages, he kind of lets the story peter out. Though I did love Stardust.I love everything about Gaiman especially his pace, but whilst American Gods is the big name novel and Sandman is a true literary masterpiece, I agree that for consistency his short stories are probably his best work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GERM Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I've seen several posters make the comment recently that GRRM is a bad writer. Comments often come in the form of "I love the story, but the man is not a good writer." Can someone shed some light on this for me? I'm an English major, so it's not like I haven't read other literature. I'm familiar with the classics as well as some modern day authors generally held in high regard, and yet I can't get behind the idea that GRRM created this wonderful story and these beautiful characters yet himself is a poor author. Some of his prose is genuinely beautiful and I could read a few passages over and over till the day I die. Are there many of you out there who feel he's not a good writer, or is it the minority? I would have never agreed with this statement in 2002. He may not have had fantastic prose, but his story, at that point, was amazing. I have a feeling he changed the plans of the books for financial reasons, and took a well paced series that was off and running, then he cut the fucking legs off of it. It is truly sad to see it too. I think it would have been a passable slow down if GRRM was Robert Jordan too. Jordan's books may have been slow in the middle, but they were beautifully written, and not nearly as harshly criticized as GRRM's have been. If you add to the mix that GRRM sold his unfinished story to HBO and very well may allow them to finish the series before he does, you have more anger and people are going to be harder and harder on him. At the end of the day, I feel he is a bad writer because he has taken 11 years to release two books and they're awful. I did not set either of those books down, at any time, and say "Wow, those were good books." They simply weren't. He has a unique opportunity to redeem himself in my eyes. I really hope he does. He seems to be out of his re-constructed 5 year gap plan, and hopefully the last books resemble a clear plan like the first 3 had. I won't be happy if HBO overtakes him, but if he produces another ASoS in 5 years in AWoW, I would be a happy reader, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GERM Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I love everything about Gaiman especially his pace, but whilst American Gods is the big name novel and Sandman is a true literary masterpiece, I agree that for consistency his short stories are probably his best work R. Scott Bakker. He is another Patrick Rothfuss with the speed of Stephen King. Read his Prince of Nothing Trilogy; you'll be pleasantly thrilled! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SerArthurHeath Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Really? I have been leaning to give him a shot. Suggestions? His best work is in the middle of character arcs, annoyingly! If you can invest the time, read all the Vimes books because Nights Watch is exceptional. For standalone books, Thief of Time is excellent IMO, and Small Gods very highly rated and probably his best satire. I liked Monstrous Regiment though I know some people find it preachy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SerArthurHeath Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 R. Scott Bakker. He is another Patrick Rothfuss with the speed of Stephen King. Read his Prince of Nothing Trilogy; you'll be pleasantly thrilled!I am planning to give him a go, but I've heard he can be one of those authors whose writing you can appreciate but often not enjoy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cxvb Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 My pet peeve is his use of "leal": AGOT:0, ACOK:0, ASOS: 2, AFFC:5, ADWD: 14. (Similar to "Words are wind" in AGOT:0, ACOK:0, ASOS: 2, AFFC: 6, ADWD: 13 and lots of people agree that that's annoying.) But obviously he is no longer the same man he was 20 years ago, so some changes are to be expected. Still, I didn't like the prose in AFFC and ADWD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GERM Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I am planning to give him a go, but I've heard he can be one of those authors whose writing you can appreciate but often not enjoy? I can only attest to his Prince of Nothing Trilogy. It was a great series. I haven't read any of his other works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRON BANK Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I've seen several posters make the comment recently that GRRM is a bad writer. Comments often come in the form of "I love the story, but the man is not a good writer." Can someone shed some light on this for me? I'm an English major, so it's not like I haven't read other literature. I'm familiar with the classics as well as some modern day authors generally held in high regard, and yet I can't get behind the idea that GRRM created this wonderful story and these beautiful characters yet himself is a poor author. Some of his prose is genuinely beautiful and I could read a few passages over and over till the day I die. Are there many of you out there who feel he's not a good writer, or is it the minority? It's a crazy minority. You have to understand some people on this forum are aspiring writers. So in order to make themselves feel better they trash an author who is literally one of the best of his Genre and time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GERM Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 It's a crazy minority. You have to understand some people on this forum are aspiring writers. So in order to make themselves feel better they trash an author who is literally one of the best of his Genre and time. Lol. He is far from the best. I am not even an aspiring author, and I can make that statement. Is he better than me? I'd hope so, since the last story I wrote was in sixth grade, but I can count on an abacus SF writers who are far better than he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skythe1 Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 It's a crazy minority. You have to understand some people on this forum are aspiring writers. So in order to make themselves feel better they trash an author who is literally one of the best of his Genre and time. I bet people on the Terry Goodkind forums say the same thing ;) He's a good writer, a top writer in fact, but he's not one of the best IMO. I liked the use of literally though, just so we knew you weren't speaking figuratively :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRON BANK Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Lol. He is far from the best. I am not even an aspiring author, and I can make that statement. Is he better than me? I'd hope so, since the last story I wrote was in sixth grade, but I can count on an abacus SF writers who are far better than he is. I said one of the best not the best. Silly you cant read no wonder you have not wrote a story since sixth grade. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prince of Newcastle Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I find it wierd that people criticise his terrible books but at the same time are members of an online community exclusively about these books. Fwiw, I think he's a great writer, based on my enjoyment of what he writes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skythe1 Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I find it wierd that people criticise his terrible books but at the same time are members of an online community exclusively about these books.Fwiw, I think he's a great writer, based on my enjoyment of what he writes. I think that's the point a lot of people are missing. He's written a thoroughly enjoyable book series that's spawned massive online communities and it's own blockbuster TV series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRON BANK Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I bet people on the Terry Goodkind forums say the same thing ;) He's a good writer, a top writer in fact, but he's not one of the best IMO. I liked the use of literally though, just so we knew you weren't speaking figuratively :) You guys are aware that Martin has one a ton of awards right? here is a list from a simple search. 1975 Hugo Award for Best Novella for "A Song for Lya"1980 Hugo Award for Best Novelette for "Sandkings"1980 Nebula Award for Best Novelette for "Sandkings" (This is Martin's only story to win both a Hugo and a Nebula.)1980 Hugo Award for Best Short Story for "The Way of Cross and Dragon"1986 Nebula Award for Best Novelette for "Portraits of His Children"1988 Bram Stoker Award for Long Fiction for "The Pear-Shaped Man"1989 World Fantasy Award for Best Novella for "The Skin Trade"1997 Hugo Award for Best Novella for "Blood of the Dragon"2003 Premio Ignotus for Best Foreign Novel for A Game of Thrones2004 Premio Ignotus for Best Foreign Novel for A Clash of Kings2003 Locus Poll Award for Best Fantasy Novel for A Storm of Swords2006 Premio Ignotus for Best Foreign Novel for A Storm of Swords2011 Locus Poll Award for Best Original Anthology for Warriors (co-edited with Gardner Dozois)Wow some unreasonable people here! guess you cannot satisfy anybody. everybody is a critic half of them cant do anything. thats why there always so mad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skythe1 Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 You guys are aware that Martin has one a ton of awards right? here is a list from a simple search. 1975 Hugo Award for Best Novella for "A Song for Lya"1980 Hugo Award for Best Novelette for "Sandkings"1980 Nebula Award for Best Novelette for "Sandkings" (This is Martin's only story to win both a Hugo and a Nebula.)1980 Hugo Award for Best Short Story for "The Way of Cross and Dragon"1986 Nebula Award for Best Novelette for "Portraits of His Children"1988 Bram Stoker Award for Long Fiction for "The Pear-Shaped Man"1989 World Fantasy Award for Best Novella for "The Skin Trade"1997 Hugo Award for Best Novella for "Blood of the Dragon"2003 Premio Ignotus for Best Foreign Novel for A Game of Thrones2004 Premio Ignotus for Best Foreign Novel for A Clash of Kings2003 Locus Poll Award for Best Fantasy Novel for A Storm of Swords2006 Premio Ignotus for Best Foreign Novel for A Storm of Swords2011 Locus Poll Award for Best Original Anthology for Warriors (co-edited with Gardner Dozois)Wow some unreasonable people here! guess you cannot satisfy anybody. everybody is a critic half of them cant do anything. thats why there always so mad. I've just said he's a top writer, how is that me not being satisfied? I'm not mad at anything... Being a writer brings in the critics, every author knows that and is equipped to deal with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sleeper Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Well, the prose of games at times felt clumsy and clunky, which originally made me think he wasn't much of a writer, but had a hell of a story to tell. Paying closer attention after having gulped the rest of the series and having read the rest of his work, I have revised my opinion. Game is one of his weakest in terms of prose, while the series itself is improving and has done some extremely solid writing in his earlier. Without getting into how to rank his prose. he is a connoisseur of a writer that can be very effective and versatile in terms of prose and packs one of the meanest punches I have ever come across, by which I mean that he has written some incredibly evocative lines like, "Egg, I dreamt I was old", "My skin has turned to ivory, to porcelain, to steel", or Cat's internal monologue in the final paragraphs of the Red Wedding chapter. Also, in terms of prose, the mood, the tone and the ambiance of each chapter changes markedly according to the character, which is very impressive as well and not something everyone can do in the course of a single novel. He also writes vibrant and believable dialogue while giving distinct voices to his multitude of characters. He is more of a badass writer than a bad writer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imopatis Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 GRRM is a writer of popular literature and a genre writer. Comparing his prose, style and character development with the greatest figures of classical literature and finding it lacking is like saying Elton John is a bad composer because his orchestration is not up to Richard Wagner or Mozart. GRRM measures up to all fantasy writers and most writers of popular historical fiction I have read, and if vastly superior to many extremely successful writers of both genres. He is an outstanding example in his field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRON BANK Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 GRRM is a writer of popular literature and a genre writer. Comparing his prose, style and character development with the greatest figures of classical literature and finding it lacking is like saying Elton John is a bad composer because his orchestration is not up to Richard Wagner or Mozart. GRRM measures up to all fantasy writers and most writers of popular historical fiction I have read, and if vastly superior to many extremely successful writers of both genres. He is outstanding example in his field. Exactly: I mean c'mon we all are aware that he is not legendary. It is not as if 200 years from now your english lit, or comp class will focus on GRRM work. However the story for the Genre is put together quite well which makes him one of the best. For instance think about War and Peace. Great read, long and thorough touched on in some collegiate classes as a starter of good historical fiction, but not considered a celebrated masterpiece in some circles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Facebookless Man Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I mean, he's not William Faulkner or F. Scott Fitzgerald, but he is much better than the vast majority of popular novelists, so I don't know where that puts him, above average but not hitting the 'great literature' level I guess. Basically this. Even as far as fantasy writers go he's not top of the crop but he's head and shoulders above the chaff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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