Wow! That brought back memories! I remember reading that very story and issue in an airport lounge as the band I was in was embarking on a tour of the States :) I also remember thinking this writer was one to watch - I was (and am) a big fan of Jack Vance, and recognized a sort of resonance in the writing style. Recently learnt that GRRM was a huge JV fan too, so that instinct was on the mark.
There was a discussion about this on another thread recently. Things like minute descriptions of meals and places and smells, etc., are probably an acquired taste - personally, it puts me there in the scene, i.e. it’s immersive, but I guess for some it’s in the way. JV was similar in that regard - a love/hate thing.
Don’t know why I’m obsessed with funny things arising from GoT atm, and I hope forumees will forgive me, but I couldn’t resist sharing this (almost certainly fake but hilariously written) reaction to s04e08 posted on ASOAIF forums, taken from some other forum (who cares :) ):-
I’m fuking fuming right now. I hate this show so badly. It’s brought no joy in my life all it’s brought is agony. Wat a bullshyt ending. Back in season 1 I backed my boy Ned Stark and that neckbeard decides to kill him off. It stung but I got over it and I started backing his son Robb. He was younger, hotter than his dad and had a direwolf on his side so I figured it was a trade-up. Then that POS GRRM kills him and his whole family off in the most brutal way possible at a fuking wedding and then to add salt on a womb we see that sick shot of his body on his direwolfs head. Wat kind of fuked up human being thinks up stuff like that. I was devastated after last season. The Starks who represent everything that is good in this world were in shambles. Bran is going to like antarctica. Sansa is having a borderline pedo relationship in the moon door castle and Arya has been walking around for like 3 seasons doing jackshyt. I used to like Daenerys because she has banging titties and dragons but nope she’s too busy playing judge judy in a pyramid rather than fuking shyt up in king’s landing. Instead of showing us any of that we get painful friendzone scenes with Jorah every episode that reminds me of my high school days. Who the fuk am I supposed to root for in this show? Ok you bring in Prince Obrien this season and I was balls deep into him the minute they introduced him. He kinda looks like me and was an alpha fighter and lover and had some cheeky lines. I was rooting for him hard to become the king but nope that neckbeard writes him the most gruesome sickening death ever. Why couldn’t he have just died in 5 seconds atleast the pain wouldn’t have been so bad nope you gotta have him die that way. WTF is wrong with this show. Just when I think I was gonna make it this show takes everything I love and face fuks it to death. Great maybe we’ll get more scenes with that phaggot mountain character who has an IQ comparable to shweezy (my sports misc boys know wat i’m talking about). Meanwhile the POS Lannister and Tyrell family gets away unscathed again. So many lucky bounces going Tywin and Cersei’s way I hate them so fuking badly. My golden son Jamie in captured by Robb Stark? Oh look his beta mom sets him free. About to get fuked in the blackwater by Stannis? Nope Tywin puts in a last minute cheat code and in come the Tyrell’s with unlimited ships and money to help save the day. How do I get rid of Robb Stark in season 3? I’ll just scheme some hail mary play with Roose and Waldy to kill off all the Starks at a wedding without losing a single person on my side. My grandson Joffrey gets poisoned. No big deal we’ll have his younger, more aesthetic, kinder, smarter brother become King and not a single fuk was given. Oh about to have the mountain killed and my shady as fuk past revealed in King’s Landing? Naw at the last minute Prince Obrien is slaughtered and I just moonwalk away again without a scratch. I hate this show and I’m done with it. And from the preview next week it looks like my boy Jon Snow is gonna get fuked up by the wildling army next week. dfw the most likeable character left on the show is Stannis Baratheon who has a swag rating of 14/100. I swear by season 7 this show will basically be the Lannisters/Boltons/Freys holding gay orgies in King’s Landing while Stannis and Davos conjure up a plan every episode to fuk them up but at the last minute it gets fuked up like the Pinky and Brain. Fuk that neckbeard GRRM. Fuk this show. Fuk the misc and all of you.
I really enjoyed Pedro Pascal, but I would love to see the last few episodes re-written to include Prince O’Brien. Played by Dylan Moran.
Also, “WTF is wrong with this show?” … No one knows. Tyrion and Jaime had a conversation this week about why “Cousin” GRRM spends his whole day smashing beetles and couldn’t work it out. We just have to watch more.
They seem to forget that there was not one, but two total on-screen decapitations prior to that warm and fuzzy event.
It’s sort of funny, because George lays it all out early on, but people keep missing out on stuff like it. Example: “Wait, why are there dragons in this tale?” “You mean you didn’t notice the ice demons and zombies in the prologue?”
Yeah, I remember comments to that effect as the dragons started getting into high gear and a few people here and there started moaning that the good political intrigue stuff seemed to be taking a backseat to magic for a while. Duh, weren’t you paying attention? It’s an epic fantasy!
Although, oddly enough, just as a point of interest, IIRC it is actually the direwolf pups scene that kicked off the whole thing in GRRM’s head - that chapter “came to him” out of the blue, more or less fully-formed, and the whole gigantic thing has unfolded from that inspired (and indeed portentous) little nugget.
I remember when some people were upset by the black smoke demon baby because they felt it was too magical.
So some audition tapes are leaking, and there’s an interesting spoiler of a divergence from the book…
Putting in spoilers
Jaime’s going in the opposite direction from where he goes in Feast for Crows. He’s going south. Deep south. To Dorne.
Hehe, oh yeah :)
Just like after the RW there are lots of people saying they’re getting the feeling that this show is developing its own cliche that everyone good dies, etc., etc.
But GRRM and the showrunners are more canny than that - you always get enough good things happening to good people (or bad people getting their just desserts) to string you along. And after all, it would be just as tiresome a cliche to have black hats always winning as it is to have white hats always winning, or to have only grey hats.
The book/show is just realistic. Yeah, we root for good (or the good in peoples’ characters), as we should, and it just edges out and wins just that bit more often, in the long run; but if we expect good to always win just because it’s good, we’re living in a fantasy world …
One of the AV Club comments I read on their newbie reviews is that someone is upset that the status quo in King’s Landing hasn’t changed; the Viper is dead, and Tywin’s still in charge. This will be fun…
I’ve also seen a few comments from some people to the effect that, knowing the next ep is the big battle at the Wall, Jon and the NW are probably going to be snuffed out. Boy are they in for a pleasant surprise too :)
Remembering Sandkings makes me want to go play Populous or something.
Didn’t The Outer Limits do a version of Sandkings for their first episode? I vaguely remember that for some reason. Yep, they sure did. Thanks, Google. I never realized GRRM wrote that story.
After watching Sunday’s episode, my wife keeps quizzing me on what’s going to happen next. “Is Arya going to join Sansa and take back the North? How is Tirion executed? Does Jon get killed by Mance?”. I’m refusing to answer anything. 1) because I have no idea what they might change and 2) what’s coming up is so much better than her speculations. Poor thing is so impatient for the next two episodes. We’re usually binge watchers, so waiting a week between episodes is torture :)
Tell her that she’s going to be blown away when the aliens show up.
Yeah, it is serviceable. I’ll plow through the first three books, I think, between season 4 and 5 of the show.
Ah, that’s exactly what it feels like – TV writing. Maybe with that in mind I’ll be able to digest it better. I have been impressed with location descriptions, as you said.
Thanks, I’ll look it up. My intro was “The Pear-Shaped Man” and I hated it (and got a C on the paper I had to write for it in college, haha).
Big, just keep in mind that I read that story eons ago (it was probably in 1979) and I was a callow youth of 18. Sure was impressive then, though. I should go re-read it.
Razgon
5516
I was about to write a long post about unique this show was and its something we’ve never seen before, but I have trouble articulating it correctly, so I’ll settle with saying this. The more I see of this show, the greater hope I have that The Book of the Malazans can actually be done right sometime on tv!
If this show can be done, why can’t we get a Dragonlance tv series (non-animated) ;)
Tika swinging a frying pan into a draconian’s head would be must-see tv.
Teiman
5519
It would love a movie version of Tuf Voyaging, but I don’t think would get that, because is very critic to stuff… full of people… that react badly to criticism.
RickH
5520
. . . and then to add salt on a womb . . .
I wasn’t sure that was a knowing reference at first, but then I saw other cleverness behind the leetspeak.
