DrRobotnik Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 It's without doubt the greatest that I've ever read. Lord of the Rings can't compare to it; Wheel of Time neither.The plot twists, the originality of the writing, the high bodycount of the protagonists, the complexity of the characters, the hidden nuggets...Martin simply pushes the envelope much further than I've ever seen before.Is there ANY series of novels that can compare to ASoIaF? And it doesn't even have to be fantasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 First question no. Second question yes, plenty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 First question no. Second question yes, plenty.Ya, that's about the response this question deserves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fionwe1987 Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 the high bodycount of the protagonistsThis counts for quality writing, now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigima Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 You should read more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmelodov Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 You should read more.Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveSumm Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Some suggestions of better series might be helpful, if that's your opinion. I haven't read a lot of other fantasy, but I recently read the wiki entries for the Targaryen Kings leading up to the Dance of the Dragons, and it still astonishes me that I'm as interested in it as I am. There's been more epic world-building, there's been richer, there's been more detailed, yes, but I've never come across anything fictional that I'm so fascinated by. It has a unique quality that draws me in, even if there are better written books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Some suggestions of better series might be helpful, if that's your opinion. I haven't read a lot of other fantasy, but I recently read the wiki entries for the Targaryen Kings leading up to the Dance of the Dragons, and it still astonishes me that I'm as interested in it as I am. There's been more epic world-building, there's been richer, there's been more detailed, yes, but I've never come across anything fictional that I'm so fascinated by. It has a unique quality that draws me in, even if there are better written books.Cool. Never read another book again. Or, visit the suggested reading threads at the top of the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagilki Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 There's always Stannek or Goodkind...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Or, visit the suggested reading threads at the top of the forum.In fairness, they're not really all that helpful, given there's so much on them it's not much more filtered than just going to the bookshop and picking at random...But it isn't that hard to hang around the forums a bit and see what's highly rated by the peoples here. I'm gonna be kind and point our lost sheep in the direction of Abercrombie, Bakker and Erikson... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 There's always Stannek or Goodkind......You forgot DragonLance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winterfell is Burning Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 CTRL + Q to Enable/Disable GoPhoto.it*cough* Ahem...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Search_of_Lost_Time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eponine Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 I think it's the greatest fantasy series ever written. I'm not being sarcastic.LotR is not a series. And the fact that Bakker and Erikson are being brought up as competitors makes me even more certain that even if tastes vary, there's not a level of fantasy series that are on a totally different level - probably 5-6 series where intelligent people might have room for debate. I'd venture that Book of the New Sun is more intellectual, but even so, I'd put it on the debatable level (is referencing Catholic theology a higher level of thought than referencing English history?), not the "you must read these other things because you'll realize there's epic fantasy work head and shoulders above ASOIAF" level.Of course, I have not read all fantasy series (although a large reason I don't try new ones is because so many are so terrible), and am open to hearing about great series that are objectively (as far as literature goes) on a different level (and it's not Bakker, I read PoN, thanks though). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myshkin Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Is there ANY series of novels that can compare to ASoIaF? And it doesn't even have to be fantasy.I suppose it depends on how you define series, but some would say that the Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz is far far better than ASoIaF.I wouldn't be one of them. Because you see, I happened to believe ASoIaF is the pinnacle of human greatness! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 I'd venture that Book of the New Sun is more intellectual, but even so, I'd put it on the debatable level (is referencing Catholic theology a higher level of thought than referencing English history?)In fairness though, the level of engagement that New Sun has with Catholic theology is far greater than just referencing, being Wolfe's attempt to understand, discuss, and generally get to grips with the intellectual aspects of his faith (whereas Long Sun is a more personal exploration).Of course this doesn't necessarily mean better, in itself - a clever story told badly isn't as good as a simple story told well. That Wolfe's grasp of story and prose (though not of character) are far in excess of Martin's does, though.That said, I wouldn't recommend a new reader jump straight from Martin to Wolfe, it'd be something of a culture shock. 'tis also why I didn't mention Mieville or Gilman (though they don't write extended series, currently). You want to ease people into the big wide world of fantasy gently.I wouldn't be one of them. Because you see, I happened to believe ASoIaF is the pinnacle of human greatness!David Bowie is very disappointed in you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myshkin Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 David Bowie is very disappointed in you.What?! I said human greatness, not androgynous alien sex god greatness. Bowie still beat ASoIaF hands down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinkie Baelish Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Nope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WrathOfTinyKittens Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 I would say it's certainly one of the best. The only other fantasy series that I've read with the same depth are Wheel of Time, LOTR, and Bakker. Now, a lot of people dislike aspects of some of those series, which is fair enough, but you can't deny there's a lot of meat to all of them. Obviously I'm a huge ASOIAF fan since I'm here. And it's in the absolute top tier of all fantasy series. I just don't know if I feel comfortable calling the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eponine Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 In fairness though, the level of engagement that New Sun has with Catholic theology is far greater than just referencing, being Wolfe's attempt to understand, discuss, and generally get to grips with the intellectual aspects of his faith (whereas Long Sun is a more personal exploration).Of course this doesn't necessarily mean better, in itself - a clever story told badly isn't as good as a simple story told well. That Wolfe's grasp of story and prose (though not of character) are far in excess of Martin's does, though.I had a significant background in Christian apologetics before reading BotNS, including reading text in Greek and Latin (I mention that just so you don't get the impression that I was a teenager who read a few CS Lewis books, threw a tantrum and gave up). So it's hard to be perfectly objective even if it's treated with great intelligence and thoughtfulness - I think the expression is polishing a turd. It's not perfectly in agreement that he's wrestling with something intellectual rather than wrestling with writing meta-fiction about fiction. I guess the fact that his treatment was sincere affects that. Although I'm judging Martin by the first three books, and feel that he has somewhat lost his grip on the plot in the last two, I respect his treatment more than Wolfe's, since Wolfe occasionally sinks into the heavy-handed allegorical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Eh, technically, its still being written.And those we doubt Wolfe's genius shall be burned away in the glorious coming of the new sun! Etc! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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