This was a really fun review to read. I read the series when I was too young to fully appreciate its place in the canon and abandoned my love of it unthinkingly, at a time when no-longer-liking-it was the virtuous thing to do. The fourth and fifth books never found the high of the first three for me, which I reread twice in high school.
This makes me want to revisit them from page one and see what strikes me now that didn’t 15+ years ago.
I’m hopping back on to say that my son wanted me to tell you he really enjoyed your article and thought it was great. He wants to know whether you have read Berserk?
I have never read any of Martin’s books, but my son is a huge fan, and I am sending him your article.
Your point that we never expect a hero to die, because in nearly every story ever written he escapes at the last moment, reminds me of a Vietnam war film called Hamburger Hill. The film is from 1987, and afaik is the first film that kills off the person we’ve been led to think is the main character near the beginning. It was shocking. But that is what happens in war--it’s not like some soldiers get special protection for being interesting or attractive or popular. The film 1917--which I think is brilliant--does the same thing. And even more than 30 years later it’s still shocking, because killing off a main character in the beginning or middle of a story violates a literary convention.
Very much the deep breath before the plunge. A very, very sad plunge into a long, rambling book focused on extraneous world building nobody asked for.
It was so nice when Martin's editors could still somewhat reign him in.
This was a really fun review to read. I read the series when I was too young to fully appreciate its place in the canon and abandoned my love of it unthinkingly, at a time when no-longer-liking-it was the virtuous thing to do. The fourth and fifth books never found the high of the first three for me, which I reread twice in high school.
This makes me want to revisit them from page one and see what strikes me now that didn’t 15+ years ago.
I’m hopping back on to say that my son wanted me to tell you he really enjoyed your article and thought it was great. He wants to know whether you have read Berserk?
I have never read any of Martin’s books, but my son is a huge fan, and I am sending him your article.
Your point that we never expect a hero to die, because in nearly every story ever written he escapes at the last moment, reminds me of a Vietnam war film called Hamburger Hill. The film is from 1987, and afaik is the first film that kills off the person we’ve been led to think is the main character near the beginning. It was shocking. But that is what happens in war--it’s not like some soldiers get special protection for being interesting or attractive or popular. The film 1917--which I think is brilliant--does the same thing. And even more than 30 years later it’s still shocking, because killing off a main character in the beginning or middle of a story violates a literary convention.
Anyway, thanks for making me think!