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Any other ASOIAF fans here?
Title, basically. The A Song of Ice and Fire subreddit has seemingly gone indefinitely private, so I was wondering if any other ASOIAF fans migrated here during or after the blackout. I definitely miss all the crazy theories we could read on there (I cannot believe D+D=T, the most legendary ASOIAF theory, may become lost forever if the subreddit never opens again, truly a loss of a masterpiece.)
Since it was still pretty active despite the book series being rather dormant, I wondered if any other fans came over here and wanted to chat about it. Just crazy theories, favourite characters, that sort of thing.
I almost started the books but the show tainted my experience so I decided to wait until GRRM finishes the series.
Totally understandable, really. And I also respect if you're wary of starting a series that (more than likely) will never be completed.
However, do be aware that after the first couple seasons of the show, the plot lines have mostly diverged from those in the book. Some of this is because of differences between the mediums, some is due to differing creative visions for the show and the books, and some, I suspect, is because GRRM really had no idea for how he wanted to actually end the series. I am not going to get into discussions of the showrunners right now, I'm not well-read enough in the subject.
In my opinion, the books are far more interested in developing character relationships than furthering the plot. And this is a place where I think GRRM really shines. His characters are (mostly) well-written, given realistic aspirations, react to events in human ways, and maintain realistic relationships. It's a very interesting look at politics in a fantastical setting (which I love, and the first two seasons of the show did particular justice to IMO), a portrait of far too many people trapped in abusive and manipulative relationships, of good(ish) people thrown into horrible situations, and an intriguing series of clues sprinkled in that point to an overarching mystery.
If those things sound interesting to you and ypu feel like you can handle never getting an ending (🥲), I would definitely recommend reading (or listening to) the books. It is a very different experience than watching the show, and well worth it in my mind.
Yea it's definitely the lack of an ending that is stopping me from starting. I'm sure they are excellent novels but I don't have faith that GRRM knows how to end it or is scared his ending will not live up to the hype.
Not to mention who knows if they'll ever get finished at this rate :(.
My favorite character is Tyrion! I just love the inner monologues Martin writes for him. Peter Dinklage’s portrayal only deepened the sentiment, he was fantastic.
Who is your favorite?
You can really tell that Tyrion flows the best for Martin. Definitely one of his most well written characters for sure.
There are so many I love so much. I think I could only narrow it down to Sansa, Jaime, and Theon if you really made me pick haha. Sansa’s chapters were hugely influential on me as they’re from such a unique perspective in fantasy and deep down she really is a sweet girl. I love her talk with the Hound where he talks about how horrible his brother was and she just quietly comforts him. Then the next chapter is at the tourney from Ned’s perspective and he notices how Sansa is suddenly inexplicably rooting for the Hound to win. I love these little details and character moments esp when it’s a POV in another POVs chapter :)
I've always had the books and even got the first book autographed but have never read more than approximately 50 pages. My original plan was to read all the books at once when the series is complete but it's starting to look like that might never happen. Maybe I should just take them out of my bookshelf, wipe off the dust and get started.
Sounds like a job for Alt+Schwift+X!
Half-and-half for me. I actually enjoyed most of the books, except the very last one, which felt like a series of filler content that needed some people to be moved around. It felt very directionless, and I think that, combined with the large gap since the previous book, has lost my interest in the series overall. Although there are many theories and speculation abound, I am not convinced the author knows where the story is supposed to go.
It has been years since I was interested, but I gotta ask - what is D+D=T? Google is either failing me, or it's Dany + Drogo = Tyrion, which is... something.
Oh man it was so wild. I can’t do it Justice.
Basically, it’s a theory that yes, Tyrion is Drogo and Dany’s child. Basically he’s a time travelling fetus, and the fetus that had seemed ‘dead for years’ that MMD described was actually Joanna’s baby sent through time, and that Tyrion was sent back in time through the ritual. It was nuts. I really hope it is preserved somewhere else other then the subreddit because it’s a hilarious crackpot theory. If you look up ASOIAF time travelling fetus you might be able to find it somewhere
i honestly was a huge fan of Fire & Blood. it felt like reading a cool medieval history, with dragons. Big fan of the first season of HoD as well so hopefully they deliver.
I really like the books.
The show is what it is, I actually don't mind how it ended but the last few seasons should have had better passing and not have felt so rushed
I will be supprised if he ever finishs the series it is such a complex story in the books with so much happing. I feel he has written himself Into a hole and the show did not help with that either.
I loved the books! I've been thinking about rereading them soon as I've largely forgotten the small details. It's been so long, and GRRM will eventually finish the next book.
I even stopped watching the show around season 4 or 5 when they passed the books. That ended up being a great idea. It's frankly stupendous at how much they dropped the ball with the final season and especially the conclusion.