I never watched the TV series, and not a huge fan of fantasy in general, but picked up the book because it seems to have become a cultural phenomenon. I just started, though, and the names are really throwing me off.
The great fantasy authors like Tolkien drew from a knowledge of history and ancient folklore to add a sense of realism to their worlds, whereas Martin names characters the way my friends and I named our D&D characters when we were ignorant kids. Names like Catelyn and Kevan sound ludicrously modern. The name Mance Rayder reminds me of Flynn Rider from the movie Tangled – i.e., a deliberately ridiculous name for comedic effect – but Martin appears to propose it seriously.
This is affecting my suspension of disbelief. Does it get better? Is Martin better at storytelling than coming up with decent names?
by rbseventhson
27 Comments
If you’re so distracted by the names that you don’t enjoy the book, I’d say the books just aren’t for you.
I personally can’t in good faith recommend the series just because I remain convinced it’s never going to be completed. That being said, if you’re okay with knowing there’s likely never going to be a conclusion to the series, I believe it’s a very good series. But if you don’t like fantasy and just the names are bothering you, it’s probably not for you.
Even if you can get over his names, ASOIAF isn’t worth reading because it isn’t and will never be finished. You’ll never get a full story so I wouldn’t recommend starting. But, you do you, Ser.
Yeah, the first one is a struggle due to world building and they jump characters a lot, and there are two books in middle that only show half of the characters respectively in each book.
If you can get past the problem with the names, then they are quite good. Well, the first three are. I found the last two to be quite boring.
I actually think ASOIAF is better than LOTR.
Yeah totally worth it! they are great reads if you are into fantasy. Only bad part after reading them was, why on earth Martin writes so slow and havent finished the last books yet 😀
If you aren’t enjoying it just put it down.
The first few books are good, or I enjoyed them and they have done very well, but some of the others aren’t as good and the series is unfinished and unlikely to ever be finished.
I don’t think I would recommend anyone to start it because if you don’t like it it is a lot of books to not enjoy and if you love it it leads to heartache in the end with it not being finished. If you find the names jarring I doubt it is going to get better for you.
The depth of Tolkien’s lore is unparalleled in fantasy. Pretty much every modern author will fall short of that standard.
Re GOT, I found it an entertaining read, but noped out of the series because of the violence porn and the decreasing plot-to-page ratio.
No. It will remain an incomplete series, don’t waste your time, there are plenty of books that deserve to be read and too little time!
Not until slobbo finishes it.
I think theyre worth it if you can get over the fact that the series will most likely never be finished. As far as the names go, idk what to tell you. I much prefer the names GRRM comes up with as opposed to the vast majority of other fantasy writers who pull insane fantasy names out of their asses. But to each their own
No. It has no ending. And probably never will.
Love them, despite being incomplete. I have faith he will finish it.
If you like endings? No
If you want to read three of the best fantasy books ever written? Yes!
Personally I was amazed at how good, how fast paced, how deep the first three were. I felt book four started to drag the plot line out too much. I was very much upset the series was never finished. I didn’t watch any of the TV show until it was announced complete. Then I binged the whole thing.
Sadly I wish I could say yes. I have read through all the available books twice (don’t ask me why) but like most people here I don’t believe the seriers will ever be finished. So I can’t really recommend people to start the absolute slog it is to read through all of these books with the knowledge that the story will never conclude. The books that are available are good in their own right. I feel that sometimes they’re a bit overzealous in some aspects. certainly some things didn’t age well but overall it is high fantasy with a deep social system, as well as political systems, with highly integrated story lines from multiple perspectives.
In the beginning it was so close to the book that you could consider the book deleted scenes with just way more context and meat that couldn’t fit in a show. As seasons went on this became less so, but imo still good. Of course the ending of the show was rushed and a mess; I doubt the books will end the same but then again we may never find out.
It’s worth it for Storm of Swords (the third book) alone. But you do have to read the first two to set it up. You can stop there.
No, because it’s unfinished and will remain so. It’s a waste of time.
I am surprised at all the replies advising against the series simply because it’s not finished. Martin’s prose, all the little stories, the characters and the way they grow over the books’ course – that’s what makes ASOIAF stellar.
If the story never gets another line, it will still remain one of the most amazing fictional journeys that you, the reader, can take. It is absolutely worth reading – and has been so since the very first book.
Just because we might think of a name as “modern” doesn’t mean it is. Kevan is a variant of Kevin, which dates back literal millennia in its original Irish form. (See: Saint Kevin of Glendalough.)
That said, if just the names are presenting such an issue, maybe the series isn’t for you. Which is fine! There’s plenty of other great books to read, including series that are actually complete.
I’m going to say it’s worth reading if you are ok knowing it may never be completed. I think the first three are brilliant fantasy adventures, but a mixture of burn out and hearing the fourth and fifth books were not great led me to stop after A Storm of Swords until the next book hopefully releases eventually. However, even if it never pays off, the journey is well worth taking in my opinion. Disregarding great fantasy novels just because the overall series isn’t done is odd to me, but I get why people say that.
Also Martin’s writing and worldbuilding and even the names are heavily based on medieval history which may contribute to how confusing they are.
That said, if you’re not a big fantasy reader, it may not be worth continuing. A Song of Ice and Fire is partially so great because it came out at a time when most fantasy books were cheesy LotR ripoffs, and Martin dared to be darker, grittier, and more realistic. It’s a little like trying to read Watchmen or The Dark Knight Returns now and wondering what the big deal is without the context of Silver and Bronze Age comics they were reacting to.
I enjoyed the books but they were a bit more mature in content than I expected. That said, I’m a fast reader and binge read them in a way many people can’t. If it’s going to take you months and you’re already not sure, perhaps they aren’t for you. The lack of ending isn’t really a problem imo since you can just watch the show to see how it pans out (disappointingly, by all accounts).
Only if you don’t mind dying unfulfilled by the lack of an ending. /s
Truthfully? Yes. It is. Hands down. The last two were not at the level he normally is. But the man is and was busy. So I get it.
Either way, finished or not? I don’t regret a single moment of the books or the shows as a whole. GRRM is a great storyteller.
Just so you know, there are a lot of names that sound modern but are actually incredibly old. Jacob, Jason, Tiffany, Alison, Jessica, Melissa, these go back to Ancient Greece, Shakespeare, Chaucer. But I get the point a bit, if I was reading historical fiction and someone was named Brynnleigh it would take me out too
I watched the show before reading the books and that made it significantly easier to get behind the names
If you like fantasy books, in my opinion, you can’t miss Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and A Song of Ice and Fire.
Like it or not, these are the works that others fantasy books are compared to all the time.