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/lit/ - Literature


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13178011 No.13178011 [Reply] [Original]

Does anyone know how this guy is viewed by other authors? He's kind of difficult to read as a person.

>> No.13178025

>>13178011
Who cares. Academics are mostly self righteous analbeads who cry themselves to sleep at night knowing that George ‘shitting brown water’ Martin is more successful than they will ever be.

>> No.13178033

>>13178011
He’s just not good. It doesn’t take being an academic. If you’ve read extensively in the fantasy genre his work becomes quite boring, predictable, and lifeless.

>> No.13178041
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13178041

>>13178033
>He’s just not good. It doesn’t take being an academic. If you’ve read extensively in the fantasy genre his work becomes quite boring, predictable, and lifeless.

>> No.13178307

>>13178033

not true at all. great characters, great plots, great dialogue. yeah, prose and setting are pedestrian, and he relies too much on schlocky cliffhangers. but he's an extremely entertaining writer and ASOIAF is better than 95% of the trash that's published every year. most fantasy is autistic garbage

>> No.13178418

>>13178307
yeah but they made it a TV that other people like so I cant like his work anymore

>> No.13178424

>>13178025
you're an american aren't you? this disease of a mentality always pertains to americans

>> No.13178450

This thread made me curious to look for what Gaiman said about him, since he's the author who always talks about other authors. Funnily enough, the one thing I found was him talking about how the fans shouldn't pressure Martin into finishing his books.

This was back in 2009.

Wew lads.

>> No.13178785

>>13178033
Predictable, no, he weaves plots much more complex than most other epic fantasy works.

>> No.13178840

He's a pariah, just like all other genre fiction "writers." If you ever publish a piece (and I do mean piece) of genre fiction, it's pretty much the kiss of death as far as real writers are concerned. You're consigned to the kiddie table from then on, and will forever dwell in that ghetto. Hacks simply aren't invited to the parties. What serious artiste would ever address an envelope to a name like King or Steel or Brown? Well, I do have one story. I once attended a cocktail party in the French Riviera hosted by a indomitable poetess. Several of the big name novelists were in attendance, including many of my fellow Oxford alumni. The mood was merry until a certain hack (in)famous for writing horse stories decided to gatecrash the villa. He was no doubt emboldened by a recent prize he won for (wait until you hear this) a post-apocalyptic survival horror novel. Sorry, just let me catch my breath. The moment this lost soul stepped under the veranda the entire party went dead silent and everyone turned to look at him with a single united look of disgust. The poetess, ever the angel, swooped in an engaged the poor fraud in his level of conversation. The talentless nobody was already sopping drunk, of course. No doubt he'd needed courage to even approach the door, and so decided to "party rock" from a flask in his tiny rundown rental car outside. She graciously asked him if he was working on a new horse novel, and he replied (and I'll remember these words until the day I die), "No, a crime screenplay." The entire villa erupted in laughter and the sad little nothing was so mortified he simply slunk away. Only then did we return to our shimmering conversations about the craft. Who do these people think they are, really?

>> No.13179113

Real piece of work.

>> No.13179131

>>13178418
Absolutely based bud

>> No.13179697

>>13178840
>things that never happened.

>> No.13179715

"Mlllegh a-lot of people loike this mans boks so me as an individual need to not like it just for the reason of being cool and edtgy mlegh"

>> No.13179745

>>13179697
Oh, really, what gave it away?
The idea that a /lit/eral retard graduated from a good university? Or the notion that an anon would ever have the social skills to be invited to a bourgeois party?

>> No.13179771

>>13178011
Nobody thinks he’s a Faulkner or a Joyce, but as far as fantasy writers go he’s top tier. People rightly criticize his prose styling, but then again if you are looking to fantasy for you Great Prose you are make a bigger mistake.

If you want a taste of his work but don’t want to read a door stopper, check out the novella Sandkings. There is even an audiobook on YouTube. It’s a weird sci-fi/fantasy masterpiece.

>> No.13179776

>>13179771
His prose isn't experimental or original or groundbreaking or whatever, but it is good. Literally nothing wrong with it.

>> No.13179812

>>13178025

why would anyone cry because someone else is more successful? Your life must be very painful if you think that's an appropriate reaction when you meet people who are better than you

>> No.13179820

>>13179812
>why would anyone cry because someone else is more successful?
envy. some of the greatest people who ever lived were plagued with that sentiment.

>> No.13179832 [DELETED] 

>>13178033
>flashback to /lit/ praising his work in the 2000s

>> No.13179891
File: 655 KB, 1280x800, lit prose discussion.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13179891

>>13179776

board is famous for not being able to criticize prose, and here's another living proof.

>The man had been taken outside a small holdfast in the hills. Robb thought he was a wildling, his sword sworn to Mance Rayder, the King-beyond-the-Wall. It made Bran's skin prickle to think of it. He remembered the hearth tales Old Nan told them. The wildlings were cruel men, she said, slavers and slayers and thieves. They consorted with giants and ghouls, stole girl children in the dead of night, and drank blood from polished horns. And their women lay with the Others in the Long Night to sire terrible half-human children.

Random paragraph: all written in paratactic style. Almost no metaphor. Every single sentence starts with subject-verb (the most elementary structure you can think). Almost no subordinate clauses of any kind. Almost no figures of speech. No detectable rhythm of any kind to match the subject matter (a kind thinking about tales would think in this sentece-rhythm and order? how does a kind thought sound like?). I could go on - it's literally just what happens, which is the definition of poor prose.

>> No.13179911

>>13179820

Ah, no, the greatest people who ever lived did not cry because someone was more successful. Rather, they tried to be successful, which does not at all imply being whiny because someone else has stuff, but rather focusing on getting there yourself.

>> No.13179936

>>13179911
>Ah, no, the greatest people who ever lived did not cry because someone was more successful
that's not true
>Rather, they tried to be successful, which does not at all imply being whiny because someone else has stuff, but rather focusing on getting there yourself.
that sounds like a very american attitude, i.e. incredibly droll. in the lands outside of america, where people still have passion and dont just BEEP BOOP MAXIMIZING EFFICIENCY INITIATING SELF BETTERMENT BEEP BOOP, someone else's success can cause a lot of pain. i know its hard for you to understand as a burger/anglo. most human beings are subject to various passions and foibles, and these drive us to do both great and terrible things in life.

>> No.13180089

>>13178840
yum

>> No.13180109

>>13179891
If you think that’s poor prose then your standards are too high, ie you’re a pretentious cunt

>> No.13180345

>>13180109

no, he's right and you're stupid. Also you don't read

>> No.13180800

>>13179891
>screencapping your own post
Fucking embarrassing.

>> No.13180862

>>13180345
fuck you. some of the books ive read this year (since february):
journey to the end of the night
the leopard
the castle
the trial
moby dick
2666
parzival
human, all too human
walpurgisnacht
the golem
submission
the sailor who fell from grace with the sea
pan
three theban plays
etc

YOU don't read

>> No.13180888

>>13178840
underrated 10/10 post. Sadly newfags failed to understand it

>> No.13180893
File: 329 KB, 536x982, 1549119397599.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13180893

>>13178011
do animals have an easier time reading him?

>> No.13181013

>>13179891
>“Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo”

>> No.13181045

>>13181013
Kino. Portrait truly is a masterpiece

>> No.13181081

>>13181013
it's g-genius!! y-y-you just don't get it!!

>> No.13181089

>>13180862
What the fuck I also read this year (among others):
journey to the end of the night
the trial
human, all too human
submission
the sailor who fell from grace with the sea
Doomer taste or 4chan hivemind?

>> No.13181108

>>13181089
kek must be the hivemind. i just finished reading the invisible man by hg wells and the time machine. currently reading war of the worlds. how about you? also currently reading second book of grrm's asoiaf

>> No.13181163

>>13178424
Sorry we don’t worship ivory tower degenerates

>> No.13181348

>>13181108
Reread Extension of domain of struggle (I know it's Whatever in english but I refuse to call it that). Currently also on sci-fi binge (Neuromancer and Naked sun). Also I am considering about rereading asoiaf since I read so many intresting theories recently and am hyped for Winds
>inb4 it will never come out

>> No.13181429

>>13180862

>expecting people to believe a fake reading list on a chingalese knitting board

Congratulations, Shinji

>> No.13181437

>>13180800

How do you know it's his? I also have it saved

>> No.13181479

>that sounds like a very american attitude, i.e. incredibly droll. in the lands outside of america, where people still have passion
This is from a fellow european: Shut the fuck up you cringeworthy autist.

>> No.13181564

>>13179936

Ehm, I think he was trying to argue in favor of Europe and against america also you may have autism

>> No.13181989

>>13181429
stfu booklet and crack open those books you got a lot of catching up to do

>> No.13181997

>>13181163
No, you worship rich people. Considerably better ideology to hold buddy.

>> No.13182028

>>13181997
People are judged on merit which our society attempts to measure with wealth, it can be easy to get the two confused though.

>> No.13182040
File: 408 KB, 498x359, tenor (1).gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13182040

>>13178424
Euros mad (x24)

>> No.13182847

>>13178307
this desu

>> No.13183504

>>13178840
I know this never happened but seriously, what kind of person would enjoy such kind of "parties"?

>> No.13183531

>>13178840
based

>> No.13183539

>>13178840
You gentle fellow need to read Saki.

>> No.13184224

>>13181989

yes sir!

>> No.13184288

>>13182040

go read

>> No.13185878
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13185878

>>13184288
Euros mad

>> No.13186597

>>13179891
It's a child recounting the stories he was told, why would we be hearing any sort of metaphor or figures of speech? The narration changes based on the person.

>> No.13187130
File: 47 KB, 780x438, fffffffffff.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13187130

>>13179891
>it's literally just what happens
That's actually a good thing!

>> No.13187473

>>13181013
>A cow sez moo

>> No.13187534

>>13178033
It's not "challenging" in any pretentious sense of the term but it's accessible and enjoyable. That's precisely the kind of writing that would be most possible, almost by definition. He imagined this whole parallel medieval world with hundreds of characters who generally seem plausible and put them in a world whose moral logic is somehow more realistic than most fantasy settings.

Also making magic and other fantasy elements understated until towards the end of the series builds up its sense of mystery and importance. Most fantasy writers lean into magic as part of what makes their setting interesting, but GRRM made it about the characters, and their intricate and authentic political machinations within a feudal system informed by research.
I don't think he's a great writer per se but he is a great storyteller. There's a difference.

>> No.13187543

>>13187534
>most possible,
most popular

>> No.13187790

>>13178025
who cares? you can't take your money to the grave. People with IQs above 100 would rather read from authors who left a significant impact and died penniless. GRRM only filled a void that Harry Potter and Twilight used to occupy; his writing is like milk in both by how it ages and how it temporarily fights off hunger.
>>13178785
You're right. It is very unpredictable. I expected his writings to produce something actually worthwhile.

>> No.13187895

>>13178840
Good characterisation. I get a feel for who this person is, despite knowing basically nothing about them. It's a little cliche, but I get that that's the point and it succeeds at being comedic despite that. In other words, good job fren.

>> No.13187945

>>13179891
>one paragraph from a literal tome in a chapter narrated by a literal child is paratactic
>paratactic prose is automatically poor
I mean, you affirm what you say about this board being unable to criticize prose.

>> No.13187964

>>13179911
>muh bootstraps
You're right that people don't become successful because they're upset that other people are successful, but you're wrong that their success boils down to individual effort. Individual effort, dissatisfaction with one's own level of success(in other words, crying about others success), and most of all fortunate circumstance are what create success. Without fortunate circumstance, success is impossible.

>> No.13188326

>>13178424
u mad?

>> No.13188331

>>13178025
Based anti-intellectual anon

>> No.13188464

>>13181437
That's because you ARE him, anon.

>> No.13188486

>>13179697
No shit you fucking retard. Go back to >>>/r/eddit you dumb cunt. God what a moron.