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Is the text worth it, besides the artwork?


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So... I'm not in the US/UK. My best option right now is the Kindle version. I'd buy a regular version later. Unless I paid an obscene amount of money, it would take quite some time to get here if I ordered it from Amazon or stores like that. It would be best for me to wait for specialized bookstores in my country to import the book.



But... Amazon reviews are bashing the book hard. They say the writing is really bad. I understand it wasn't (mostly) written by Martin. But maybe those people were mistakenly waiting for a novel? I'm not. But how bad is the writing, really?



If the only thing that's worth it is the artwork, I guess I shouldn't waste money on a Kindle version... But if the text is worth it, it would be a nice casual reading to have in my Kindle. What I mean is... In the future, will I feel like returning to the text? Or will I feel like it's just like Wiki text?

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It's not GRRM telling you ASOIAF, it's Linda and Elio as a maester giving history. As a history book it's reminding me of the fluffier history books I had in school. But there are nuggets everywhere for those with brains to see them. This will be the source of countless threads here. And they've captured the "leave enough room for speculation" habit that GRRM has, along with the "corrected" accounts that a maester who doesn't want to lose his head would write. I was very skeptical, but they've done a good job.


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It should bear noting that a number of the "reviews" are from a dedicated group of trolls from a certain website known for spending most of their time hating GRRM and, by association, us. I'm told they were planning their "reviews" days or even weeks in advance. You'll find the same lot among some of the reviews on Goodreads, parroting quite similar points.

Give it a week or two for more reviews from people who didn't prepare their reviews before the book was even released to come in, and then decide. You can also look at reviews from feldman10 or Charlie Jane Anders who don't have an ax to grind. Steven Atwell from Race for the Iron Throne also has some thoughts that, I admit, are quite pleasing as it touches on things we put a lot of effort into.

Not to say some negative reviews may come from people who don't have an ax to grind. I'm sure there'll be some, and probably are already some, and we're happy that people are willing to offer up legitimate criticisms.

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My only criticism is that we didn't have Connington words =(






It should bear noting that a number of the "reviews" are from a dedicated group of trolls from a certain website known for spending most of their time hating GRRM and, by association, us.





Argh... I once entered there and I realised they were insulting me by username. TWICE. I've never posted there in my whole life, it was quite a wtf moment for me :/


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I've read the book quite some time ago, and again and again, and it contains portions of excellent prose, especially the stuff that directly quotes 'Fire and Blood' (my personal favorite there is the long unabridged version of the birth (and burial) of the stillborn Princess Visenya at the outbreak of the Dance of the Dragons - that one is really powerful!).



It is really a piece of art in its own right, in the not-so-well-established genre of 'companion books' to successful fantasy series!


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From what I've read so far, the book's great. I should think there's something for everyone, it's quite a vast range. There's nothing wrong with the writing, it's a matter of fact style which doesn't lend itself to anything too flamboyant. At the price it's going for, I would say anyone with an investment in ASOIAF would most probably like it a lot. I think it does have re-read appeal, as there's just so many small details to absorb.


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It should bear noting that a number of the "reviews" are from a dedicated group of trolls from a certain website known for spending most of their time hating GRRM and, by association, us. I'm told they were planning their "reviews" days or even weeks in advance. You'll find the same lot among some of the reviews on Goodreads, parroting quite similar points.

Give it a week or two for more reviews from people who didn't prepare their reviews before the book was even released to come in, and then decide. You can also look at reviews from feldman10 or Charlie Jane Anders who don't have an ax to grind. Steven Atwell from Race for the Iron Throne also has some thoughts that, I admit, are quite pleasing as it touches on things we put a lot of effort into.

Not to say some negative reviews may come from people who don't have an ax to grind. I'm sure there'll be some, and probably are already some, and we're happy that people are willing to offer up legitimate criticisms.

I looked up the reviews. Found it really odd that people have already read the whole thing on the very day it released. Also the idea that anyone thought this would have character/novelish tone is nuts. Then there's the complaining about GRRM's writing quality getting so bad lately. No. Not real reviews, most of those. One or two I might say could maybe have points, but "bad writing" is a rather subjective term and I happen to know that some forms of bad writing actually require a very talented writer, which your average maester would not be.

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It should bear noting that a number of the "reviews" are from a dedicated group of trolls from a certain website known for spending most of their time hating GRRM and, by association, us. I'm told they were planning their "reviews" days or even weeks in advance. You'll find the same lot among some of the reviews on Goodreads, parroting quite similar points.

Oh, I'm sorry if I'm helping spread misinformation. I know nothing about this rivalry or whatever it is. Hopefully the thread can clear things up, though. It's just that I have a history of overspending in Kindle and I'm trying to avoid buying digital versions of books I'll buy printed later :)

Also, I didn't like The Princess and the Queen at all. Not my kind of prose, I suppose. So I guess I'll wait a little longer for the printed version.

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I suspect they settled on some common talking points? Don't know. In any case, Greg, read the samples that are available (the iOs app has them, but see here and here for two of the three), and look at some of the reviews in the press and people less involved than those who are involved in trolling activities, and decide from that. Maybe the excerpts won't be to your taste.

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Ran, one question...I know the information is not "reliable", since the books is supposed to be written by some Maester, doesn't it? So, the information that appears in it...is it reliable? Because hre in Spain books are extremly expensive, and I don't want to buy one that could be no-canon or whatever...


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It is canon. That's what learned men in Westeros believe about events, and reveals contradictory opinions of other learned mens.

There will never be a "tell all" that says _exactly_ how everything went down in history.

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Ran, one question...I know the information is not "reliable", since the books is supposed to be written by some Maester, doesn't it? So, the information that appears in it...is it reliable? Because hre in Spain books are extremly expensive, and I don't want to buy one that could be no-canon or whatever...

Its as much non canon as any POV in ASOIF talking about things they dont see at first hand. Take it that way.

It should be awsome, but I might have to wait centuries until I can buy it here in Uruguay.

Im spoiling myself without regret :blushing: . I just cant wait.

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Ran, one question...I know the information is not "reliable", since the books is supposed to be written by some Maester, doesn't it? So, the information that appears in it...is it reliable? Because hre in Spain books are extremly expensive, and I don't want to buy one that could be no-canon or whatever...

I suppose that's the risk you and anyone else who buys the book is taking -I mean, it's an encyclopedia about an unfinished series of books. Hence the information is not "reliable" and it was "written by a maester".

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It is canon. That's what learned men in Westeros believe about events, and reveals contradictory opinions of other learned mens.

There will never be a "tell all" that says _exactly_ how everything went down in history.

Thank you then. And thank you even more for writing this book :cheers: :bowdown:

Its as much non canon as any POV in ASOIF talking about things they dont see at first hand. Take it that way.

It should be awsome, but I might have to wait centuries until I can buy it here in Uruguay.

Im spoiling myself without regret :blushing: . I just cant wait.

I'm spoiling myself as well. You're not alone.

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Its as much non canon as any POV in ASOIF talking about things they dont see at first hand. Take it that way.

It should be awsome, but I might have to wait centuries until I can buy it here in Uruguay.

Im spoiling myself without regret :blushing: . I just cant wait.

I worked in a bookstore that shipped to other S.American countries, but no idea where they will get the edition. Also, Gigamesh announced to have AWOIAF in Spanish by the end of the year.

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It's good to me. It's not as engrossing to read as Martin's own books, but it's also not really meant to be. It's a companion book of sorts, not a novel. You're basically reading Wikipedia articles about a fictional setting. If you like the setting, you're probably going to like it a lot, it has many interesting tidbits and stories. If the setting bores you and you only care about specific characters, then it's possibly not going to be your cup of tea.



And IMO, the artwork alone is damn near enough to warrant the price of admission. It's a really beautiful book.


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