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Will we ever get another series like ASOIAF?


Pecan

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5 hours ago, JordanJH1993 said:

It is a hard question to answer, as ASOIAF may not be everyone who likes epic fantasy series choice of the greatest example of it.

A lot of people will always believe LOTR is the top, for instance, and may be of the belief that there has been no better epic fantasy series since LOTR, even now.

I believe that even if there was another brilliant piece of fantasy work out there that ASOIAF would always be number one for me. I can't imagine even if thirty years down the line another epic series came out to rival it that I would even prefer it to ASOIAF, because by then I will have invested so much time in re-reading that it would be difficult for something else to come and eclipse it.

The way I look at it is, ASOIAF will probably be the fantasy series of this generation - certainly for the majority of the people on a forum like this. But I do believe that, somewhere down the line, something of equal or even better quality will be produced, perhaps for another generation to enjoy.

If that's the case, I can think of multiple series that fit this criteria, some are even finished :P

 

15 minutes ago, Rhom said:

Personally; I hope there's never another series that starts great, meanders off course, and is never finished.

YMMV.  :dunno: 

 

Cough"Kingkiller Chronicles" Cough. ;)

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14 minutes ago, Rhom said:

Personally; I hope there's never another series that starts great, meanders off course, and is never finished.

YMMV.  :dunno:

I really wish there was a like button here...

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7 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

The first book literally opens with ice zombies killing a man and resurrecting him and closes with the birth of dragons. I tend to think people really downplay how much magic is in this series and how pervasive it is for some strange reason, as though magic in a book is something to be ashamed of

Don't forget the people who come in here and try to argue it isn't fantasy, abd try and use science to explain it. 

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13 minutes ago, Darth Richard II said:

Don't forget the people who come in here and try to argue it isn't fantasy, abd try and use science to explain it. 

How do they go about trying to use science to explain how it isn't fantasy?

I'm not trying to be smart, by the way. I am genuinely interested to know.

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38 minutes ago, JordanJH1993 said:

How do they go about trying to use science to explain how it isn't fantasy?

I'm not trying to be smart, by the way. I am genuinely interested to know.

They usually focus on the seasons on how it can all be explained by weird orbital mechanics, moons, meteor strikes, etc. Which is funny cuase GRRM was asked directly what happened to fuck up the seasons and his answer was It's fucking magic. :P

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16 minutes ago, Darth Richard II said:

They usually focus on the seasons on how it can all be explained by weird orbital mechanics, moons, meteor strikes, etc. Which is funny cuase GRRM was asked directly what happened to fuck up the seasons and his answer was It's fucking magic. :P

They've got an even better imagination than GRRM, then! 

Maybe they could finish Winds for him...:mellow:

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10 hours ago, Darth Richard II said:

They usually focus on the seasons on how it can all be explained by weird orbital mechanics, moons, meteor strikes, etc. Which is funny cuase GRRM was asked directly what happened to fuck up the seasons and his answer was It's fucking magic. :P

Is there any news on this? I remember discussing this on-board ten years ago or so. No satisfactory explanation (whether based on orbital mechanics or magic) was ever found. It seems like a screw-up from GRRM.

(Unless GRRM-world is not actually a planet orbiting a sun. It would have to be some mythical Tolkien-like world for the seasons to work.)

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53 minutes ago, Happy Ent said:

Is there any news on this? I remember discussing this on-board ten years ago or so. No satisfactory explanation (whether based on orbital mechanics or magic) was ever found. It seems like a screw-up from GRRM.

(Unless GRRM-world is not actually a planet orbiting a sun. It would have to be some mythical Tolkien-like world for the seasons to work.)

Yes, magic gone bad dun fucked up the seasons. 

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1 hour ago, Darth Richard II said:

Yes, magic gone bad dun fucked up the seasons. 

What does that mean? Does the magic move the Sun, and does it keep doing so? (It can’t move the World, because there is a fixed North Star. Or it would have to move the World very, very carefully.) This is exactly what we were discussing ten years ago. There is no satisfying explanation ‘from magic,’ unless you posit that the World is not a sphere orbiting a star. Which would be mighty, mighty weird. Discworld-like cosmology. Has GRRM confirmed this, or a new theory evolved?

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1 hour ago, Happy Ent said:

What does that mean? Does the magic move the Sun, and does it keep doing so? (It can’t move the World, because there is a fixed North Star. Or it would have to move the World very, very carefully.) This is exactly what we were discussing ten years ago. There is no satisfying explanation ‘from magic,’ unless you posit that the World is not a sphere orbiting a star. Which would be mighty, mighty weird. Discworld-like cosmology. Has GRRM confirmed this, or a new theory evolved?

Magic is somehow connected to a variable star?

Basically, Martin's approach to the seasons seems to be "it's a cool backdrop," and then to leave it at that.

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3 hours ago, Let's Get Kraken said:

To me, the thing that's the most unique to ASoIaF is the community. Ice and Fire fans are some of the coolest, smartest, and most enjoyable people in the spec-fic community that it's been my privilege to meet. The way that the series lends itself so well to theorizing and discussion really makes places like this and the subreddit some of the best nerd watering holes around.

This is (on the whole) a very interesting site, and if people can find a good deal to discuss about a particular series, it must have something going for it.   There is, though, some very good discussion about Tolkien online, as well. 

 

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On 8/16/2017 at 4:15 AM, Roose Boltons Pet Leech said:

I also have to disagree about Martin's world-building. He is a good character writer, and a good plotter, but world-building is not his strength - Westeros is just fifteenth century England with variable seasons and magic (and frankly. he doesn't do a particularly good job at showing the effects of the seasons on his setting. He has oak trees growing north of the Wall, for goodness sake). The less said about the unsavoury orientalism in Essos, the better.

 

On 8/16/2017 at 6:01 AM, Roose Boltons Pet Leech said:
  • Martin: Character > Plot > Theme > World (he's the anti-Tolkien)

I have to disagree with you. I find Martin's world building quite well rounded. Now maybe on the geography side, he's not so good, as you say wrong trees in the wrong regions, but I love the way he crafted the history of his world, and how said history is brought to life within the main story. Sansa's chapter in AGoT where the Hand's Tourney takes place is the point where I really got into the books. So what if it's very close to 15th century England, there is still plenty of uniqueness to give it its own flavors. 

So in your characterization of Martin's strengths, if world building is his weakest, it is still pretty strong to me, which makes the rest that much better.

12 hours ago, Happy Ent said:

Is there any news on this? I remember discussing this on-board ten years ago or so. No satisfactory explanation (whether based on orbital mechanics or magic) was ever found. It seems like a screw-up from GRRM.

(Unless GRRM-world is not actually a planet orbiting a sun. It would have to be some mythical Tolkien-like world for the seasons to work.)

Martin's earth is flat. It is known. :P

 

As to the OP question, will there be another ASOIAF-like series? There will be one - Fire and Blood :leaving:

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There's been some debate on this forum about what "good worldbuilding" actually means.  A lot of people think it means interesting ideas.  I think it means complexity and consistency, where ASoIAF excels.  GRRM especially did a good job at creating the history so that it naturally leads into the current story.

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6 hours ago, Happy Ent said:

What does that mean? Does the magic move the Sun, and does it keep doing so? (It can’t move the World, because there is a fixed North Star. Or it would have to move the World very, very carefully.) This is exactly what we were discussing ten years ago. There is no satisfying explanation ‘from magic,’ unless you posit that the World is not a sphere orbiting a star. Which would be mighty, mighty weird. Discworld-like cosmology. Has GRRM confirmed this, or a new theory evolved?

I haven't looked at it, but I saw some recent posts in the TV section about there being new theories on YouTube about it. Something about the destruction of a moon during an eclipse. Believe the poster was @LmL  

That is the sum of my knowledge. 

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2 hours ago, House Balstroko said:

How has no one mentioned Malazan yet? If we're talking about worldbuilding, this series sits on top. The amount of lore is truly staggering along with the number of races and different cultures present.

Because Malazan is trash.*

 

*after Midnight Tides

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2 hours ago, House Balstroko said:

How has no one mentioned Malazan yet? If we're talking about worldbuilding, this series sits on top. The amount of lore is truly staggering along with the number of races and different cultures present.

OP states the ASOIAF successor should also be mostly about humans, and with low magic, so Malazan doesn't qualify. As to world building, I've only read the first 3 books, and don't care to continue, so I don't know how good it is supposed to be.

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12 minutes ago, Corvinus said:

OP states the ASOIAF successor should also be mostly about humans, and with low magic, so Malazan doesn't qualify. As to world building, I've only read the first 3 books, and don't care to continue, so I don't know how good it is supposed to be.

I have to agree. Malazan started off with a lot of promise but compromised the plot and characters for a lot of unnecessary world building that ultimately led to the demise of the series. Erikson could also have benefited from a strict editor, especially in the later books. To me it shows that world building ain't shit if that's all the author focuses on. Yet RBPL ranked Tolkien's creation (which I adore) in the same order as Erikson so it just goes to show there's no perfect formula to creating a good fantasy series based on emphasis alone. 

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