sperry Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 The series has been a lot like Lost for me. I never discovered Lost until after the show was complete. Watching seasons 1-2, every single minute of free time I had was spent watching. I accomplished virtually nothing until I had gotten through it. Season 3 started to meander a little bit but was still pretty good. Season 4 started introducing new plotlines and characters that really weren't as interesting as what was going on before. ADWD was definitely better than anything offered in the latter half of Lost, but it still doesn't recapture the magic of the first 3 books. Reading AFFC was actually a chore for me. Whereas I read the first 3 books for hours a day, I had to actually force myself to pick up AFFC and keep going through it. Super disappointed. I'm really getting worried about how this will end. I have the feeling that GRRM is getting tired of writing this series. He's been working on it for damn near 20 years, and probably spending a considerable amount of time on it. In my mind at least, I picture GRRM really enjoying the work as the story began, perhaps not knowing where it would lead himself. Now, he's made more money than he could ever know what to do with, and I get the feeling that the Magic isn't really there for him as much anymore. Especially since there is SOOO much left to be resolved, since he let the characters meander so much over the last two books, I'm worried we are going to get a rushed, disappointing finish. Plus GRRM isn't exactly a spring chicken at this point, and most of us would be retiring and looking forward to it after a long working career at this point in their lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNinja Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 1. Dance with Dragons2. Game of Thrones3. Storm of Swords4. Clash of Kings5. Feast for Crows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xanmcgregor Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 1. A Storm of Swords2. A Clash of Kings3. A Game of Thrones4. A Dance with Dragons5. A Feast for Crows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Zartan Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 1. A Storm of Swords2. A Dance with Dragons3. A Clash of Kings4. A Game of Thrones5. A Feast for Crows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babeldygob Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 1. ASoS2. AGoT3. ADwD4. ACoK5. AFfC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Cersei I Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 1. ASOS2. AGOT3. ACOK4. ADWD5. The Hedge Knight, and accompanying novella's6. Everything else GRRM has written, save for the wild card stories7. AFFCNot the biggest fan of AFFC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrionthebest Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 1. ASOS2. AGOT3. ACOK4. ADWD5. The Hedge Knight, and accompanying novella's6. Everything else GRRM has written, save for the wild card stories7. AFFCNot the biggest fan of AFFC.I assume that is because it showed poor little Cersei how incompetent she is ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bloody Boar Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 (AGOT) Write! Write! (ACOK) Write! Write, write, write, write! (ASOS) Write, write, write, write, write,.write! Write! WRITE!(AFFC) But enough about that plot you were all really into. Let's go on a little sightseeing tour of Westeros!(ADWD) New sightseeing tour of the fabulous lands across the Narrow Sea! Oh, ok then, *this* much plot progress. IOW first three all equally good, ADWD next, AFFC last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bloody Boar Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 The series has been a lot like Lost for me. I never discovered Lost until after the show was complete. Watching seasons 1-2, every single minute of free time I had was spent watching. I accomplished virtually nothing until I had gotten through it. Season 3 started to meander a little bit but was still pretty good. Season 4 started introducing new plotlines and characters that really weren't as interesting as what was going on before. ADWD was definitely better than anything offered in the latter half of Lost, but it still doesn't recapture the magic of the first 3 books. Reading AFFC was actually a chore for me. Whereas I read the first 3 books for hours a day, I had to actually force myself to pick up AFFC and keep going through it. Super disappointed.So true. Seasons 1 and 2 of Lost were great. Season 3 was like "Oh fuck, not yet more backstory, what about *front* story?!!!". I gave up after that.Haven't given up on ASOIAF but he needs someone like Tywin for an editor, stomp those pushy subplots and backstories into the ground. I'm really getting worried about how this will end. I have the feeling that GRRM is getting tired of writing this series. He's been working on it for damn near 20 years, and probably spending a considerable amount of time on it. In my mind at least, I picture GRRM really enjoying the work as the story began, perhaps not knowing where it would lead himself. Now, he's made more money than he could ever know what to do with, and I get the feeling that the Magic isn't really there for him as much anymore. Especially since there is SOOO much left to be resolved, since he let the characters meander so much over the last two books, I'm worried we are going to get a rushed, disappointing finish. Plus GRRM isn't exactly a spring chicken at this point, and most of us would be retiring and looking forward to it after a long working career at this point in their lives.I think the worst is over, the stage is truly set now. *crosses fingers* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Elfor the Landstander Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 1. ASOS2. AGOT3. ACOK4. ADWD5. AFFCAFFC isn't very popular... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_s_6 Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 1. ASOS2. ACOK3. AGOT4. ADWD5. AFFC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biffyc7 Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 1 - ASOS2 - AGOT3 - ADWD4 - ACOK5 - AFFC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val the Wildling Princess Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 1. A storm of swords2. A dance with dragons3. A game of thrones4. A clash of kings5. A feast for crows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodGuyA Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 1. ACoK I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe it was Tyrion's efforts that I just loved.2. ASoS Trying to rate AGoT and ASoS is nail-bitingly difficult. They're both amazing works (as is the entirety of ASoIaF).3. AGoT4. ADwD I think it's really good.5. AFfC I think it's mediocre, but it does have some rather nice elements. It wasn't even the Brienne or Cersei stories that got me, it was the Iron Isles. Maybe I just absolutely hate pious BS so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamthedave Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 5. AFfC I think it's mediocre, but it does have some rather nice elements. It wasn't even the Brienne or Cersei stories that got me, it was the Iron Isles. Maybe I just absolutely hate pious BS so much."No interesting man shall sit the Seastone Chair!"I guess you're not a huge fan of Melisandre and the Rh'llor sub-plot then... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogorath Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 It's very difficult to rank, and I have a distinct feeling in a year or two I may feel differently. I'm not surprised there is a huge divide on the popularity of Dance. It (and Feast) are a departure from the wild ride that was an extremely plot-driven story up through Storm. Dance and Feast are a pause, and hopefully a temporary one; a climax without action would be kind of silly. But a pause, a break, is necessary.More interestingly to me is that both books are different to me in that while Feast is pause-as-we-develop-character fare (think Taran Wanderer from the Chronicles of Prydain or other similar books), Dance is the first fantasy book I've read that effectively incorporates modern geopolitical issues into a fantasy novel without seeming forced or becoming a ridiculous fictionalized preachy morality tale that proposes solution that simply would not work. The few novels that attempt it in fantasy do just that -- conquer complex issues by sheer force of the awesomeness of fictional heroes -- while positing simple solutions as if the world were morons.Dance doesn't do that. Jon Snow struggles with a leadership issue as he tries to be a progressive dealing with immigration issues and mounting threat that seems obvious logically but does not connect emotionally. He fails, for lack of a better word, in change management. Every action is logical in some manner and defensible -- from sending people he trusts to other locations but leaving himself isolated to trying to keep 10,000 wights out of the hands of the Others. But in the end he does not realize the most important thing is not to be right. Sometimes compromise -- even when it is wrong -- is necessary to get things done. Dany struggles to occupy a foreign city with a small force and the rapidly declining deterrent of superior firepower that she cannot or will not use. She will not compromise on some principles but because of that, she cannot hold the city. Again, when viewed in light of the modern politician, it becomes apparent that you may not be able to win and keep your principles. And who can look at modern government and disagree? But we watch it from our hero's point of view, not the distaste we see from the outside of Washington (or where-ever you live).It's different than Ned's lesson. He was wholly honorable and intractable; not yielding on almost the smallest of points. Jon and Dany do not hold to those same levels. But still, without the ruthless practicalism of say, Tywin Lannister or Varys, they can not win. And I've never seen that in a fantasy book before. It'd be like when Richarl Rahl went on his Ayn Rand-revolution deep in the heart of enemy territory, inspiring rebellion by planting a vegetable garden, someone just killed him.My ranking, based on enjoyment of reading:1. Storm2. Dance3. Clash4. Game5. FeastBut I still enjoy Feast plenty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatrickStormborn Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 1. A Storm of Swords2. A Clash of Kings3. A Game of Thrones4. A Dance With Dragons5. A Feast for CrowsI was torn between ADWD and AFFC. But I had to go for ADWD just because I found AFFC so much better after the stories were resolved in ADWD. In my opinion, AFFC would have been so much better if the Cersei, Arya and Jaime POVs from ADWD had've been in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Pink of Floyd Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 1) Storm of Swords. For sheer drama alone, this has it in spades!2) A Clash of Kings3) A Game of Thrones. Im certain this would be higher up if I had read it before seeing the series. But I didnt and it lost some of its shock value.4) A Feast for Crows / A Dance with Dragons. They are basically the same book in 2 halves really. I enjoyed both, perhaps on reading it I prefere AFFC. But! the conspiracys and revelations from visiting this site and everything that happens in the Theon chapters in Winterfell make it atleast joint 4th with AFFC. Its a copout, so sue me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodGuyA Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 I guess you're not a huge fan of Melisandre and the Rh'llor sub-plot then... Got me there. I suppose it really is just the characters. Asha had such a great intro but such an awful character. Victarion's the only one I can stand now, but in a laughably evil kind of way instead of actual depth. Thank Martin for Theon, else the Iron Isles would be bereft of usefulness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Barristan Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 1. Storm of Swords2. A Clash of Kings3. A Game of Thrones4. Dance5. FeastI find it hard to choose between Dance and Feast... Both were incomplete. I liked both books OK... but there was something lacking.IF we had seen the battle of winterfell and meereen and seen what was up at the wall I would have maybe put Dance at the top, but it had too many cliffhangers for my liking. When the whole series is out (gods willing) I'm sure I will appreciate both Dance and Feast much more, but right now I just can't believe we are left with so many cliffhangers for years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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