It would have been cheaper if I hadn't.

But it's not like he's ever going to finish writing them. I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know how at this point, and the tv show gives him a nice easy exit.

I had that impression for a long time. Like with Robert Jordan and his Wheel of Time books. After what, 200 or so of them it was plain that Jordan never intended to finish the series. That was his cash cow. But in the case of GRRM it appears he just never intends to write again, instead of stretching one story out over a thousand books.

I think you're final statement in err. GRRM seems to be cranking out ASoIaF spinoffs and supplements at a rapid pace, admittedly sometimes as collaborator rather than sole creator, as in the case of A World of Ice and Fire. Funny or not so funny thing about that book is that he contributed its inserts rather than the main text. Yet he himself states that once started he couldn't stop himself from creating vastly more text than could be included without making the book unpublishable. All this leads me to believe than Martin has not abandoned writing, nor have his creative juices ceased to flow. Which doesn't answer the question of why he doesn't get on with the primary series. <sighs>

It's as if he's burnt out on ASoI&F. He's enjoying doing the different stuff(like World), but when it comes to the main series it seems like he just lacks the motivation to finish it. The show stealing some of his thunder might have taken a bit of a toll on him also.

I have been doing a lot of reading lately. I started with A.C. Crispin's Han Solo Trilogy - The Paradise Snare, The Hutt Gambit, and Rebel Dawn. After reading the first two books I read the old Lando Calrissian Adventures by L. Neil Smith. Then I went back to read Rebel Dawn. Now I am starting Brian Daley's old Han Solo Adventures - Han Solo At Star's End, Han Solo's Revenge, and Han Solo And The Lost Legacy. I basically tried to read them chronologically. Except that the Brian Daley trilogy takes place in the middle of Rebel Dawn. I decided to just finish that before going into Daley's books. Instead of stopping half-way through and finishing up Rebel Dawn afterward.

They have been fun, though not great. Both Crispin and Smith's books have a lot of technical issues that bring them down, most of all a preponderance of telling over than showing. The last Lando book also have a bit of Deus Ex Machina. But the stories are good, and the characters engaging. I have to give kudos to Crispin for how well she wove her novels around the events of the older books by Smith and Daley. They all fit together very well.

It was cool to see Lando on his own, and trying to make a go of it as a starship captain rather than a gambler (and failing!). We got to see Han Solo's first look at the Millennium Falcon (when it was owned by Lando). We learned by Han has such a dim view of 'hokey religions', were there when he won the Falcon in a sabacc game, was introduced to Jabba, met and lost the first love of his life, and had to dump that shipment of spice that got him in such hot water with the Hutt (and made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs while he was at it!).

At 2231 yesterday evening I concluded my fifth read of George R.R. Martin's A Clash of Kings, volume two of A Song of Ice and Fire. I debate continuing on with volume three or breaking from the series until I read at least one of the three political themed books I ordered off Amazon a few weeks ago.

At 2235 yesterday evening I finished one of several recently acquired US politics themed books, this one documenting the transformation(s) of one of the two major US political parties over the past some decades. Though I knew of overall gist of those changes beforehand, the book opened my eyes to several reasons behind those changes that I had not fully comprehended. I found it both fascinating and disheartening. The book's one major disappointment for me is that, while it is a recent publication it is not quite recent enough, carrying us only so far as the beginnings of last election's primaries.

Just read Agent Zigzag, one of the most insane books I've ever read. Utterly fantastic, enthralling, and impossible to put down

I finished Empire's End by Chuck Wendig. Now I know how Jakku turned into a graveyard of ships. Including that Super Star Destroyer that Rey and Fin flew through (The Ravager), and why it is upside down. The whole Battle of Jakku was very cool. As the title implies, the book closes the coffin lid on the Empire. It also gives us the seeds of the First Order. Even it's name. It also makes me wonder if Snoke is actually Palpatine resurrected. Though it is still possible that Snoke is a completely separate entity.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Mar 13 2017, 11:13 PM

This one really hopes Snoke is not a resurrected Palpatine.

I hope not too. There is a part in the book that references a dark, malignant force outside of the galaxy. It is what the seed of the First Order was headed to. Most likely it was Snoke, or maybe it is a temple or world strong in the Dark Side. I wish I could find that section again.

Here it is:



This post has been edited by SubRosa: Mar 14 2017, 06:09 PM

I'm now on page 636 of A Storm of Swords, a Bran chapter that sees his little group finally reach the Wall and their meeting with... well, I best not reveal too much for those few who might not yet have become acquainted with the books/TV series. Speaking of which, I still find reading (or re-reading in my case) the novels after having watched the series a very worthwhile endeavor, after having feared the opposite.

Reading A Song of Ice and Fire has got me thinking on the other "great" epic fantasy series of our time, Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. After being much talked about during its long creation, it seems to have quickly faded into obscurity. No one talks about it anymore. I'm a member of a dedicated Fantasy/Sci-Fi forum. No one discusses it there either. Yeah, those middle books are a turn-off for many, but interest picked up again when Sanderson took up the series following Jordan's death. For the most part he (Sanderson) did a bang-up job. I admit I was solely disappointed with the final novel, not for the standard complaint that Jordan's novels were too long, but because I feel that the last book is far too short to adequately resolve Jordan's many plots and sub-plots. It needs to be twice as long as it is, or be split between two novels, to say all that need be said. In any case I finished the novel/series feeling as if I'd been short-sheeted.

while I was enjoying the Sagas of the Icelanders, I've found myself drawn back to Raymond E. Feist's Magician. Love that book, and the two that follow it. I keep meaning to get more of his books, but I never manage to get around to it, only got those three and the Empire trilogy.

I finished Dawn of the Jedi: Into The Void yesterday. It was good. I liked the setting a lot. Rather than the usual Star Wars romps around the galaxy, the entire story is set in a single star system, that of Tython. In fact hyperspace travel beyond the system was practically impossible, due to the unpredictable spacelanes surrounding the planet. It is near the galactic core, so there would be a lot of black holes, neutron stars, etc.. The world itself was seeded by Thol Yor's - massive ships of alien construction - which none of the colonists really know how to use, much less who built them or brought their ancestors to Tython 10,000 years earlier.

It is pre-Jedi or Sith. Pre lightsabers. The force-users - known as Je'daii - live on the world of Tython, which is very dangerous place, given its vicious force storms (force lightning is a force of nature there!), and nasty predators that seem to unconsciously use the Force. Non-Foce users live on the other worlds the system, and travel between the planets can take weeks, if not months.

I would like to see more of this setting. But I think it was only used in the one novel and a mini-series of comics.

At 1212 this afternoon, April Fools Day 2017, I concluded my fifth read of A Storm of Swords, book three of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. I finished the main text three days ago. Took me all this time to get through the Appendix, a detailed listing of personnel associated with The Kings and Their Courts. It wasn't a lot of reading, but I don't have a mind that gears itself to dry listings of dates and/or things. Nor do I retain such info any length of time, interesting though it often is.

During Jamie's final visit to Tyrion's "holding cell", a reveal is make concerning an oft mentioned event in Tyrion's past. (I'll not be specific to avoid spoilers.) This reveal likely results in actions taken in its almost immediate aftermath. I can't for the life of me recall the reveal being included in the TV show. But my memory is notoriously unreliable. Was it?

Not sure if I'll start in on book four or take a break and read one or two recent literary purchases before returning to Westeros.

I decided to take a break from A Song of Ice and Fire and read a book recently ordered off Amazon, Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, 2015 edition. I had a vague knowledge of its existence but was never all that interested in it, figuring I knew the gist of pretty much everything in it, if not specifics. Then I found out my ever-glorious state is (was?) attempting to ban the book from being used in schools. That in and of itself made it an almost mandatory purchase. I've not gotten very far in it yet. The Christopher Columbus / natives section which opens the book held no shocking revelations for me, having learned what sort of person Columbus really was some time ago. Still, it makes for interesting reading, with details I had not known. I'm now reading about the very early years of US (and North American pre US) slavery. Here I knew some broad generalities but little else.

I'll say no more since it would be too easy for this to veer into political discourse. A worthwhile purchase.

I've done comparatively little reading lately. Switched from A People's History of the United States back to book four of A Song of Ice and Fire. I'm in the midst of a Cersei chapter at the moment. She gets a lot of chapters this volume.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Apr 16 2017, 02:49 PM

I finished The Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy today, by K.W. Jeter. I was not really impressed. Boba Fett and (by extension all Mandalorians) was always been one of my favorite characters. Or at least among the coolest in the Star Wars galaxy. But I did not really like Boba Fett in this. He is portrayed as being too sterile, emotionless, and just plain greedy. His motivation for everything is money. Money which he puts back into his trade by buying better weapons, gear, bribing contacts, etc... So it ultimately profits him as a person naught. I came away pitying him, because his life (at least in these books) is just an empty and utterly pointless cycle of violence.

I have to say, I much preferred the way Boba Fett was portrayed in The Clone Wars much better. He was just a kid then, but even as a child he was not only a capable bounty hunter, but an excellent leader as well. And he wasn't a dick about it either. He actually could work with other people, and they followed him because they respected him. In the Jeter books, Fett double-crosses everyone he works with. If you survive a job with him you are lucky, forget making any money from it. In these books, everyone who has ever met him, hates him.

Many of the other point of view characters were unlikable as well. But Dengar was ok. At least his motivations are solid. He is looking for that mythical last big score so he can pay his debts and get out of the bounty hunter trade for good. I did love how that all worked out for him, very unexpected, but in a good way. Zuckuss was likeable as well. But both he and Dengar as portrayed somewhat as doofuses by the author. I think to make Fett and one of the major antagonists - Bossk - look better by comparison. I don't think he really did the characters of Dengar and Zuckuss justice.

Bossk was cool in this. I cannot believe I am saying it, but I think he might actually be my favorite character in whole trilogy. He is the antithesis of Fett, being all passion and spur of the moment action. He is definitely a bad guy. But very good at being one. Throughout the entire book he is one-upped by Fett. Until the very end, when he finally gets his just desserts. I have to admit, I almost cheered for him when he did. He deserved a win.

The plot was not much either. It was really stretching things. All in all, it was a pretty unimpressive series of books.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Apr 18 2017, 11:56 PM

I'm still plowing my way through A Feast of Crows, on page 288/9, a Brienne chapter. The more I read, the more I realize the extent GOT TV series attempts to "soften" Cersei, who in the books has no admirable qualities whatsoever, physical beauty aside. (Rather, the few admirable qualities she possesses are used to ill intent.) Traits normally considered pluses, such as devotion to her children, morph into something abhorrent.

Back to something mentioned earlier, the reveal Jamie makes to Tyrion in the King's Landing "holding cell". That, and the lie Tyrion tell Jamie afterwards, is of such import to the brother's relationship I wonder more of more if the TV show, which didn't include it, plans to stick it in later on (seasons 7 or 8)?

Books I have finished this year-

Mistress of the Empire (Raymond E Feist)

Jack the Ripper (Robert House)

Deviant (Harold Schechter)

Eyes of Darkness (Dean Koontz)

The Crucifix Killer (Chris Carter)

The Running Man (Stephen King)

Prince of the Blood (Raymond E Feist)

Spartan Gold (Clive Cussler)

Next on the list-

The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)

Star Cross (Raymond Weil)

Alive for now (Bob Howard)

This post has been edited by Winter Wolf: Apr 22 2017, 03:11 AM