Did anyone read 'Game of Thrones' and actually dislike it?

[WildGoose]

Because i'm half way through it at the moment, and i'm finding it a real chore.

There are no likeable characters, and they seem to lack depth in a big way.

It's fucking complicated, jumps about all over the place, and plot lines are introduced and then dropped and not seen again for tens of chapters.

The most interesting part of everything (North of the Wall) has barely been mentioned since the prologue.

Who gives a toss about Drogo and the Dathraki? All the story concerned with them is so tedious I can barely follow it.

There are too many names, titles, families, crests, sigils, castles, factions, I thought LOTR was bad for this, little did I know.

The combat is unsatisfying, and the rest is overly political, right down to the gritty details and most tedious and banal conversation. Just as you think you might be getting somewhere, and something might be resolved in some small way, they change their mind and the situation just reverses itself, but not dramatically, almost like "he walked there, then he left and walked back".

Above all it is so bleak and depressing, just like real life, why would you take yourself out of real life (for many hours at a time) to learn of a bleak and depressing existence in another world?

I know its probably early days in terms of a series of 7 books or whatever it is, but I get the distinct feeling finishing the first book will resolve not a thing. I haven't read any reviews or wiki pages in an effort to avoid spoilers. So if you must type about how it gets better, try and avoid ruining it, or just mention spoilers before you do.

Although at this rate, I doubt i'll bother with the rest of them.

There is sex in the books, which no doubt has been made big in the TV series (haven't seen it) and that is why it is so popular?

I don't read much fantasy to be honest, is it all in a similar vein to this?

Did anyone else think this was a load of toss?


Oh, and this is all just an opinion people, so fanboys please be gentle.
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[MarJay]

I could tell from the title that I wouldn't like it, so I didn't read it. Quite a lot of books are toss. Quite a lot are OK. Some are worthy writing, some aren't. Whether you enjoy it and whether they are worthy are not necessarily related. For example, I really really like the Harry Potter books (yeah yeah I know). And I dislike Catch 22 by Joseph Hellier.

However, I do (for example) really like the Sherlock Holmes books (although they are immensely similar to each other!!), I like Robinson Crusoe and loads of worthy Sci Fi. Draw what conclusions you will from that.

I'm not going to become your "Game of thrones is shit" buddy because I've never read it, but I can understand what you are getting at. However, I have read books which I found hard to follow and jumped around a lot, and then tried them again and I found the second time was a lot better than the first.

Re reading this post, it seems really incoherent, but I can't be bothered to edit it right now.
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[nowhere.elysium]

The story as a whole becomes more interesting, but you're right, it's not particularly well-written.
If you have the patience for it, wade through a couple more of the books; there's more about the Wall, which is where it gets a bit interesting. Khal Drogo should've been renamed Khal Drongo, in my opinion; he's two-dimensional muscle, with nothing much worth reporting.

Dunno - I read books at a very high speed, so I can crunch my way through them without investing too much time. As such, I read the whole series (thus far, at least) in the space of a fortnight - it was OK, and because I didn't lose a huge amount of time, I'm not overly bitter about the shortfalls.
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[pinkyfloyd]

Its one of those books that I keep picking up and then putting down in the shop. Just from reading the back it tells me enough that I wont enjoy it. I love my fantasy books, they are pretty much the only type of books I read but I dont enjoy "Castle Politics" which this book seems to be full of.

Yet every time I look for a new set of books to read I keep getting drawn to it for some weird reason. Possibly because of the hype and the new TV series.

Currently I am working my way through Steven Eriksons Malaz series. They take some reading but they are good books if you can make it past the first one.
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[nowhere.elysium]

[G]

Pretty common for books read by adolescents to have sex in when the films they would be allowed to watch doesn't. Though probably not to quite that detail.

Anyway, watching the TV series was enough to know I probably wouldn't like the books that much. So I read the synopsis of the rest of the series on wikipedia; much easier .

[pinkyfloyd]

[G]

Watch out though - it seems extra gay sex scenes have been added to the TV series that weren't in the book - presumably to keep it 'controversial' and 'push boundaries'.

[McJamweasel]

Sorry Goose, but I'm one of the fanbois so have to disagree with you.

I love the complexity of the storyline and the way that he moves the plot from place to place. Bear in mind that with a plot as expansive as it is (let's be honest, it makes LOTR look like a fairytale), and with as many focal characters as there are that it's impossible to tell the story and not move around.

I have to disagree with you about the depth of the characters, maybe because you're not gelling with the book you're just not getting into them? Khal Drogo is a bit of an exception, but then he's not supposed to be much of a character, remember that he's seen from Daenerys' point of view and she doesn't get to know him.

There have been a number of points in the books where I've genuinely sat back stunned - proper 'oh shit' moments that I've not had with any other books.

In the later books the story does expand to cover much more of what happens North of the Wall, as well as over in the Free Cities and Dorne.

As for being overly political - it's supposed to be political! It's not supposed to be all about dragons, magic and swords.
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[Pete.]

I am reading it right now, and whilst it doesn't make easy reading it's far from the worst I've read. It does have a convoluted storyline and I think the author is trying to set the groundwork for a series epic. Time will tell if he pulls that off or not.
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[stinkwheel]

I read the first five then stopped because it wasn't really going anywhere. A bit like Robert Jordan, new book, same shit, different names and a couple of characters carried through from the last one.

There are no likeable characters at all in the entire series. They are all mean, self-serving, murdering bastards. All of them. Even the ones that seem ok to start with.
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[MinhDinh]

My girlfriend has read it and said it is almost like for like with the series, but the writer is not that good. She mentioned it wasn't fun to read like Harry potter for example. However the second book gets better.

I am not sure if it is complicated but she is very smart so maybe she worked out what was happening when.
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[herulach]

I have to say I found the first 3 pretty unputdownable (not helped by the fact that they were first things I read on kindle) got through all of them in about 2 weeks. The last 2 were slightly harder work, but still worth it.

The drogo stuff is really about daenaerys, and tyrion is quite clearly the best character. Arya has to win the prize for most pointless.

I actually think its pretty well written, except for the fact that he seems to have an aversion to the word fifty. Why it has to be half a hundred everything is beyond me.
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[The Original Muzza]

This seems to be a trend with shite books with a good base. Some of my favourites from TV and film were taken from really wankly written books (e.g "Dexter" and Tom Clancy's drivel (anyone ever read the Rainbow Six novel? It's a good story but poorly written)). I used to be an avid reader but haven't read anything for almost a year now.

In my honest opinion the only novelist worth reading apart from Tolkien (and let's face it, some of his books, such as the Silmarillion, weren't great) is Roddy Doyle, simple, elegant and witty.
I did like the Game of Thrones TV series, purely because it was aggressive and Tyrion Lannister is a funny bastard.
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[santa668]

Yeah, A Song of Ice and Fire does drag on, honestly I found it a bit boring because Martin doesn't seem to ever wrap a storyline up... So far it's taken him 20 years to write 5 books, so he's probably as bored with it as the rest of us. I only read the last one because I wanted to find out what happens, but it just goes on and on and on... So no, finishing the first book will not resolve anything alas! Also, Tyrion comes off a lot better in the tv series than the books...

For less depressing fantasy, check out:
David Eddings, anything but especially the Belgariad and Mallorean series. Pure awesomeness.
Anne McCaffrey, again anything but especially the Dragonriders of Pern series. Joyful.
Lois McMaster Bujold - Chalion series. Sublime, fantastic turn of phrase.
Elizabeth Moon - the Deed of Paksennarion. A nice balance of bleakness and awesomeness!
David Weber - Bahzell Bahnakson series. Pure frothy awesomeness, but really, you're never afraid for Bahzell enough - he's a little too awesome...
Maggie Furey - Echo of Eternity series - again nicely balanced, but not entirely memorable.
Elizabeth Haydon - Rhapsody series. Often feels pretty bleak I'm afraid, although moments of sheer awesomeness, the relationship issues the main character have get a little old...

For added politics:
Raymond E Feist - start with Magician and continue, but the jewel of his universe is the Empire series with Janny Wurts - utterly superb, and you don't *need* to have read the other books (though it helps for context)
Robin Hobb - the Assassin and Fool series. Towering fantasy works, not as bleak as George R R Martin, but you know, pretty harsh for a lot of it...

For supernatural fantasy, definitely Laurell K Hamilton, although lately, way too much sex (when it gets dull, it's too much sex...)

If you like combat in fiction, check out David Weber and John Ringo - in general, Ringo for ground combat and Weber for naval combat (in space!)

Not all fantasy is boring, bleak or depressing, it should soar at times to the heights regular fiction can never aspire to - being limited to this poor, benighted world - but it should also descend into the worst of mankind, so that the heights are put in proper context. You should be properly afraid for your hero, so that their heroism isn't made too easy. For me, George RR Martin stays in the pit for too long, Robert Jordan makes the same mistake, so both of them produce books which are hard work to actually enjoy - which is kind of the point! Victory without loss is worthless, but without victory, there is no hope. And the whole parable of the hero is that someone overcomes a loss/defeat/sacrifice and transcends it.

Anyway, yes, it bugs me when fantasy might lose a fan because they read the wrong book first, so I tend to rant about how awesome it is...

Check out the Baen Free Library for free ebooks by some of these authors - https://www.baen.com/library/default.asp

Nick

[pinkyfloyd]

I'll add to the above list, Many of them I have read and agree with and the following make good sets to read:

James Barclay's Raven sets. Good reads but get a little far fetched near the end, but then what fantasy doesnt?

Terry Goodkind Sword of Truth series. Yes there are lots but they do carry on going at a great pace, unlike the Wheel Of Time series which gets terribly boring.

Trudi Canavan - Black Magician Trilogy. Good fun read with enough politics to keep some entertained but not too much to bore you and a really nice twist in the series.

But the all time favourite.

Joe Abercrombie. Just start at The Blade Itself and keep going. A different slant on the fantasy novels full of violence and a lead character that you cant help but like, even though you shouldnt.

[mistergixer]

[herulach]

[The Original Muzza]

[stinkwheel]

I'm waiting for Robin Hobb to make me shit bricks by making the latest Dragon books loop back into the Farseer storyline.

There is an underlying plot running through the whole series that's been planned from the beginning that we have only been given glimpses of.
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[McJamweasel]

[herulach]