Compare George R. R. Martin to DW ?

It's scary to realize that it has been DECADES since I've read J. R. R. Tolkien's books (Hobbit, LOTR, etc.).

My time is more limited these days, and my tastes have, well, I don't want to say stagnated, but perhaps been "tuned" to the type of Science Fiction that DW writes.

So I don't read much Fantasy any more.

Now I find myself in a bit of a dry spell as DW is not putting out material in the Honorverse (and I've not yet tried his other series), and Allen Steele's Coyote Books appear to have ended their run.

By now most of us know about how HBO is airing a TV show based on George R. R. Martin books in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series.

-----

So...
A question for you who know George R. R. Martin:

How does his writing style compare to David Weber?

Would a Science Fiction fan like me like em, or not?

Ensign Re-read wrote:How does his writing style compare to David Weber?

Would a Science Fiction fan like me like em, or not?

That depends on what you like about science fiction. If it's writing style or story style you like about DW's stuff, then maybe?

Martins Game of Thrones series is also a world spanning, politically intricate series with lots of characters and breadth of action. While it is a fantasy series magic is barely a factor at all for the first two books and is only now starting to become a major factor in the series, for reasons that will become clear as you read. It is not happy, fluffy Harry Potter magic either. In fact there is nothing really happy or fluffy in the series. No character is off limits when the axe comes down, and justice, honor or fan popularity will not save you from the block.

As far as writing goes, personal tastes always apply but simply in terms of writing I would put Martin ahead of Weber, he doesn't infodump more than is absolutely neccesary, and is a more evocative writer. YMMV.

I liked watching the Lord of the Rings movies because I actually HAD read the books many years previously, and thus I both recognized things I had forgotten about and forgot those (few) things that had to be modified (or created new like some elven character I'm still vague about).

Today, I do not have HBO, so I have time to read the books then at some unknown date in the future, I can see the TV series on DVD, Netfix-streaming, etc., etc...

As for your observations, I know a lot more about US Politics than "the average Bear", but I'm also not a true politics trivia hound. As a result, I suspect the political intrigue aspect may be one that I welcome. I certainly didn't find (most) of DW's intrigue to be taxing.

What I _DO_ find difficult, is keeping track of a long list of characters. Once upon a time I had clippings of random faces with the names of some of DW's characters scribbled on them, just as a mnemonic to help me remember who is who. THAT plan fell apart, and I'm not excited about repeating it all over again for Martin. {Although in his case, there is already a partial solution at this URL: http://winter-is-coming.net/features/cast/ .}

As for the "Science" in science fiction, that's something that I've usually preferred be there, as opposed to Fantasy's use of magic. (Dr. Who's sonic screwdriver and Tardis were nice devices, but often failed the "ability-to-suspend-disbelief" test.) DW's internal consistency with his ship's "science" helps a great deal, and he has arguably used a minimal amount of handwavium.

As for it being "not happy" and/or "The Axe" falling... Yeaaaah. I've read juuuust enough of the relevant wikipedia articles to know that more than one of the ruling houses (and one in particular) will have several large servings of VERY BAD NEWS dealt up to them just in the first book. I've often liked the stereotypical Hollywood "feel good" movie, but I've almost as often wished for a greek tragedy. First impressions are that this entire series may turn out to be a tragedy. (Unless you're clairvoyant enough to predict ahead past the two unfinished books to see which characters end up "winning".)

Question: Can you explain a bit more what you mean by your comment

Andor wrote:--CLIP--

...simply in terms of writing I would put Martin ahead of Weber, he doesn't infodump more than is absolutely neccesary, and is a more evocative writer. YMMV.

{BTW, despite my response(s), I'm still not decided on Martin.}

later.

Ensign Re-read wrote:IQuestion: Can you explain a bit more what you mean by your comment

Andor wrote:--CLIP--

...simply in terms of writing I would put Martin ahead of Weber, he doesn't infodump more than is absolutely neccesary, and is a more evocative writer. YMMV.

{BTW, despite my response(s), I'm still not decided on Martin.}

later.

I mean from the stand point of quality of prose. David Weber describes himself as having a "craftsman" approach to writing rather than considering himself an artist (or artiste.) Personally I'd kick him down a further notch to workman. He has several consistent stylistic qualities that now grate on me after long exposure.

As examples of other authors... Barbra Hambly for example is an excellent writer but her prose style is so dense that it's an effort to chew through and I wouldn't pick up a book of hers for light reading.

I'm a fan of golden and silver age SF. Robert Heinlien, Issac Asimov, Stanislaw Lem, Cordwainer Smith, Larry Niven, E.E. "Doc" Smith, L. Sprague de Camp, A.E. Van Vogh, C.S. Lewis.

If you've already exhausted your local stocks of those gentlemen... Lois Bujold is my personal favorite for current SF/Fantasy writers. (She writes both, but they don't overlap.) If you want character rich SF without the massive cast of Weber or Martin, I'd suggest the Vorkosigan saga. The central chracter of most of them is Miles Vorkosigan. While the first two books of the series take place before his birth, you could start with Miles himself. His first book is "The Warrior's Apprentice" and is actually (and legally) available for free here in the Baen Books free library.

I suspect that since Martin already has the first 4 books out you shouldn't have too much problems with remembering the cast members. Yes, it is a big cast of characters but they all fit together within a given POV and there aren't nearly as many POVs as cast members. Once you've gotten to the third book you should have a pretty good grasp of the relationships and it will flow pretty easily.

This tale is like a REALLY good venison stew, so rich and full of good things that it all comes together into something greater than its parts. I hated Jaime Lannister and the Hound but they aren't exactly black and white and as the layers are peeled away you will find them fascinating.

BrightSoul wrote:I suspect that since Martin already has the first 4 books out you shouldn't have too much problems with remembering the cast members. Yes, it is a big cast of characters but they all fit together within a given POV and there aren't nearly as many POVs as cast members. Once you've gotten to the third book you should have a pretty good grasp of the relationships and it will flow pretty easily.

...

I enjoyed Martin's work, but I don't know if I quite agree with how easy it is to keep track of them all. Part of that might be how long it is between when the books come out.

Andor wrote:--CLIP--
If you've already exhausted your local stocks of those gentlemen... Lois Bujold is my personal favorite for current SF/Fantasy writers. (She writes both, but they don't overlap.) If you want character rich SF without the massive cast of Weber or Martin, I'd suggest the Vorkosigan saga. The central chracter of most of them is Miles Vorkosigan. While the first two books
--CLIP--

My log-in name of Re-read could apply equally well towards Miles, sorry.


It does occur to me that HBO will likely will hold off on releasing the DVD (much less the Netflix streaming) of "Song of Ice and Fire" for as long as possible. This means I could pick up the softcover version of the book(s) and take my sweet time with them.

The previous experience I had with Lord of the Rings seems optimal to me. Read it once upon a time, had some memory fade, but not others, THEN see the video.

I do hope that the previously mentioned (wordpress) blog/web-site stays up, and keeps posting pictures of additional cast members. (http://winter-is-coming.net/features/cast/)


QUESTION:
Has anyone heard if a pdf/word/other type of electronic media version of his books is/are available, or expected to be?

[EDIT for CLARIFICATION: I meant to say, anything other than the Kindle version.]

While reading the First Book, my clairvoyance told me that the winners would be
D. the Royal Daughter, and Jon K.
Nothing in the Second Book changed my mind.

HTM

[quote="Ensign Re-read"]

First impressions are that this entire series may turn out to be a tragedy. (Unless you're clairvoyant enough to predict ahead past the two unfinished books to see which characters end up "winning".)

Ensign Re-read

I read the first couple of the GoT books way back when they first came out. I wasn't very impressed and dropped the series. Maybe it was a fluke and I just didn't get into them, might be worth giving them another try.

I have read GRRM for years though from way back when he did the Wild Cards and other efforts. I did enjoy those.

I would try Safehold before ASoIaF . . .