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What made you become a fan of ASOIAF?


Alyn Oakenfist

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Ultimately, the characters and the complexity of westerosi politics sold it for me (I was a history major in college and avid sci fi/fantasy reader). I initially put off watching the show and reading the books while having a few friends tell me over and over that my nerdy ass would love the books (as well as the show), and they were right. George writes characters that I truly fall in love with. Even the evil bastards. I can't imagine not ever knowing what happens to them all :uhoh:. I watched a few episodes of the show and immediately went out and bought GoT and ACoK. I recently even read A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms to bide my time for Winds and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. Love me some Dunk the Lunk.  

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Everything that has already been mentioned (including lengthy descriptions of food :P).

The story, characters, setting, etc. are amazing, and Martin is a great writer.  My favourite series used to be Bernard Cornwell's Arthur books, which are amazing, but since ASOIAF, I can't get through them - the writing pales in comparison.

It's also the fact that there is so much additional stuff out there, not just what's written by Martin, but the wiki, essays, and community - it becomes easier to be immersed in, to feel part of.

And it's the unpredictability of the plot.  I don't know if unpredictability is the word, but the fact that there are so many debated theories and ways it could go is exciting!

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Oh also, that people can see characters is so many different ways (and fight about it!) really speaks to how complex and human those characters are, rather than being told: this is the hero, this is the villain, etc.  I don't feel I'm being sppon-fed or pandered to.

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I'm not into fantasy in general for the same reason I'm not into romance or Dean R Koontz; it's predictable, unchallenging and stupid. So I had major reservations against books and show, refused to partake in any of it until someone told me the same old "you'd really like it" which didn't move me at all but the person knew me enough to add "and a GIRL gets the dragons" which in itself was the sole reason for me giving the show a shot.

Watched it and to my surprise I didn't mind the dragons just being eggs because the rest was bloody breathtaking creativity. King Robert ordering Lady to be killed was an unthinkable step outside any mould so that was a first holy crap moment of many.

After the RW I decided I didn't want anything like that sprung on me again so visited this forum (realised how much more there was) tried first book (in swedish, bloody unreadable... Kings Harbour, horror wolves, soul trees  etc, gave up after three pages) so ordered a five pack paperback set in the common tongue.

And here we are ^_^

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I was in a second hand bookshop in Biarritz and my dad wanted me to buy 1984 by George Orwell. However I decided to buy A Game Of Thrones because I’d heard the tv show was good. And it turned out to be one of, if not the, best book I’ve ever read. This led me to the rest of the series, to the wiki, then to this forum.

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I just like the way the characters are written especially the main POV ones (Tyrion, Dany, Jon, Sansa, Arya, and Bran). It's easy to see that George has taken great care in how he writes them. The strongest evident of this is how he makes plot twists with them. Certain characters look very nice initially but as you read more books you realize that they are anything but nice and when you reread from the start you realize they weren't nice in the first place and their unsavory personality traits were there all along. Clearly George is in it for longevity and wants readers to read ASOIAF over and over again and still love till they are at a ripe old age. And I am one of them. :D

 

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Why I started: My public library algorithm recommended it to me.

Why I like it: The over-whelming power of point of view. From page 1 until the 100s or 1,000s of pages we have left to read, even of just the main story, so much depends on who we are reading from, 3rd person limited PoV. Everything hinges on that. We are told things, but then we doubt them, then we doubt that, and on and on.

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On 3/11/2020 at 4:22 AM, Moiraine Sedai said:

The plot is what gets me hooked to any story. I liked it for the same reasons that got me hooked to Jordans work. The characters are important too.  And the setting sets the tone.  

From your avatar and username I can tell you're a big fan of WoT, which do you prefer more between it and ASOIAF if you don't mind my asking. I felt like the idea or story behind WoT was excellent and the series would certainly be on par with ASOIAF imo had the execution been better, had Jordan been a better and more disciplined writer, a perfectionist like GRRM. 

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7 hours ago, Yucef Menaerys said:

From your avatar and username I can tell you're a big fan of WoT, which do you prefer more between it and ASOIAF if you don't mind my asking. I felt like the idea or story behind WoT was excellent and the series would certainly be on par with ASOIAF imo had the execution been better, had Jordan been a better and more disciplined writer, a perfectionist like GRRM. 

I was a fan of WOT before coming across AGOT.  I was even a frequent visitor to wotmania.  It's an old site for wot fans. 

Jordan brought his southern style to the wot.  His version of what it means to be a strong woman was very similar to the women in southern African-American culture.  Sorilea, Nynaeve, Egwene, and Cadsuane came from that mold.  That is at least how I read them.  It could and did turn a lot of the male fans away.  Some of the Jordan females behaved unrealistically a times.  Wot is a female dominated world because of the power held by the Aes Sedai.  I will give Jordan a lot of credit for his world building and story telling.  He was a magnificent story teller.  His creative genius is unparalleled, in my opinion.  Just read Rand's trip to Rhuidean, the Snakes & Foxes chapters, and the trip to the Eye of the World.  There's a lot of meat there.  Jordan gives you hamburger with a double helping of beef.  Most of the books are a thrilling joy ride.

I do not buy the Forsaken's reasons for turning to the dark.  I don't see much of a reason for somebody like Demandred to agree to destroy the world.  Second-best isn't bad.  Not bad enough to destroy everything.  Martin's reasons behind what his people do is more believable.  Jordan's is all about a roller coaster of a plot, while Martin is all about what goes on inside people. 

Similarities between the characters are many.  Moiraine Sedai is a forty-something Daenerys Targaryen.  Strong, but still has the ability to use finesse when the situation calls for it.  Padan Fain is Arya Stark, once normal people who got corrupted by obsession.  Loial is Samwell Tarly.  Lan is Barristan.  Perrin is Jon Snow.  Graendal is Cersei Lannister.  Jordan has more characters, but Martin has more variety. 

World wise, Jordan's has magic everywhere.  Martin preserves the specialty of magic by limiting its access to a few.  Daenerys, Bran, and Mellisandre.  Wot is a free-flowing world with less constraints.  IaF is more realistic and stricter bounds.

I like them equally. 

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