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/lit/ - Literature

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2682584 No.2682584 [Reply] [Original]

why does everyone on /lit/ hate asoiaf so much? i'm not a big fantasy guy but i like them. i can see no overly large flaw, other than those of the show.

>> No.2682589

because you touch yourself at night

>> No.2682601

because you touch yourself at night

>> No.2682604

because you touch yourself at night

>> No.2682603
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2682603

because Jon Snow touches himself at knight

>> No.2682607

Because too many other people read it

>> No.2682608

because you touch yourself at night

>> No.2682614

Because /lit/'s inner hipster went all butthurt when a really entertaining fantasy series became a TV show and now it is lumped in with the likes of :Harry Potter, Twilight, TGWTDT, etc and whatever shit is popular these days.

>> No.2682621

it's pretty much potboiler pap, and fantasy readers tend to be very annoying.

>> No.2682628

because it drags on too long with little interesting events happening

nothing really happens most of the time

>> No.2682631

>>2682628

>not appreciating his suspense building for 1000 pages

>> No.2682638

too popular, the threads on /tv/ are great anyway so it's not that bad.

>> No.2682656

Because we judge books based on their merits not how many people- HAHAHAHA! Anyway, I'm sure it's good and all I just don't care and get tired of the constant threads/trolling.

>> No.2682768

>>2682628

Pretty much this, the books were great up to Storm of Swords, but after that the huge sizes of them + the amount of time they took to come out + the little amount that actually happens in them (considering both Feast for Crows and Dance with Dragons are only halves of the same book) put a lot of people on edge. People want cool events and resolutions, not character traveling and...not much else.

They're still some of the best fantasy of our contemporary era and if Martin is able to top it off with expert flourish they'll be appreciated for generations but damn the guy just needs to finish it already.

>> No.2682790

Anyone who answers anything other than "because it's popular" is lying. Just so you know.

>> No.2682795

>>2682790
Does telling yourself that make you feel better?

>> No.2682836

The prose is crude. The characters are unbelievable. He treads a very stupid line between fantasy-fantasy and realistic-fantasy, in that the novels are either when he wants it to be. His fans are mostly uncritical of anything he does. His portrayal of women is laughable. His portrayal of any foreign element is laughable.

>> No.2682846

Not OP, and I know this is a bit off-topic, but what would you guys consider good fantasy? I'm new to the genre and would like to hear your opinions.

>> No.2682851

>>2682846

invisible cities

>> No.2682853

>>2682846
http://greatsfandf.com/authors-lists.php

in particular, Jack Vance, RA Lafferty, Mervyn Peake, Gene Wolfe, and JRR Tolkien. Also some John Crowley, M John Harrison, Michael Moorcock, and Patricia McKillip. That's not mostly your typical epic fantasy that gets a lot of sales, but it's all pretty fucking good.

>> No.2682861

>>2682846

Mervyn Peake
Gene Wolfe
Ursula LeGuin
John Crowley
Lord Dunsany

>> No.2683124

I don't hate it, I just don't give a shit about it.

>> No.2683210

They're decent fantasy schlock but there's much, much better out there. I mean, schlock. I'm not even comparing it to Tolkien. There's a lot better intentionally campy, forgettable escapist high fantasy than ASOIAF.

>> No.2683233

The tv series is awesome. I've enjoyed the last two series more than the entire 3 LOTR films.

>> No.2683918

Same reason anyone hates anything on 4chan: too popular. 4chan is disgustingly hipster place for an anonymous board.

>> No.2683944
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2683944

Pictured: a superior generic medieval fantasy.

>> No.2683947

I enjoyed the first few books, but it got real boring, real fast. Too long, too many characters I don't give a shit about and felt like skipping their chapters. I just felt I could use my leisure time better.

This generally happens with any really long fantasy series, eventually the author is just writing filler material to make the series as long as possible. It's the bane of modern fantasy.

>> No.2683999

>>2682853
>>2682861
Not that guy, but I'm in the same boat and I prefer low fantasy. Who are my go-to people for that?

>> No.2684004

I don't hate ASOIAF, I've never read it.
What I hate are ASOIAF threads.

>> No.2684036
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2684036

obligatory

>> No.2684042

>>2682768

But AFFC and ADWD are the best books in the series. Maybe you should develop some taste.

>People want cool events and resolutions

Ugh, you sound like a dumbass. Just speak for yourself, please.

>>2682836

A lot of noise comes out of you but no actual substance.

>>2683947

>eventually the author is just writing filler material to make the series as long as possible

Baseless conjecture.

>> No.2684062

Because both the books and now the show are popular. It's well known and has a large readership. And if you know /lit/, you know that being popular is an instant no-no.

Also, the books are part of the fantasy genre. It doesn't matter that they're low fantasy, that they're actually closer to historical fiction than typical fantasy (even though the story takes place in a fictional universe). As long as the books are somehow associated with the fantasy genre, then /lit/ will consider them 'childish' or beneath them. It really is as illogical as that.

Since /lit/ is mostly english lit undergrads, anything that falls outside of their prescribed or recommended circle of books automatically sets off alarm bells. Also, and perhaps this is generally the only legitimate critique most of /lit/ has of ASoIaF, is that the author isn't creating prose the likes of the best prose authors. That's because he's not intending to. Anybody who reads A game of Thrones expecting typical 20th century Russian literature is a fool. The books' strengths lie in the incredible cast of characters and the complex and intricate story and plots. This is where the books excel. And in this they're ridiculously good.

>> No.2684083

I'm about halfway through A Game of Thrones.
It's... Okay.
The prose is simple and accessible, so I can see why it's so popular. The plot is sort of interesting, and if I had nothing to read I'd certainly go through the series. It's nothing special, though, and other books are just too damn fantastic to justify spending my time on this one. I have an extremely long "to-read" list and think I'll be dropping the series, at least for now.

>> No.2684094

>>2684036
“Read, read, read. Read everything - trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out the window.”

-William Faulkner

>> No.2684103

>>2684036

Not only those are plebby clasics but also the quote is wrong (how can you develop a critical sense if you only read what you've been told is good?). The person who made that picture is either trolling or sucks at life.

>> No.2684109

>>2684103
>The person who made that picture is either trolling or sucks at life.

come on, man, seriously? how do you not know that d&e made that picture, or, even if you don't know that, at least that it's a blatant and obvious and legendary troll

>> No.2684116

>>2684036
>>2683233

lol?

>> No.2684120

>>2684083
I don't know how you can describe the plot in got as 'sort of interesting' and 'It's nothing special'. The plot is phenomenal. Granted, it does reach its full strength in later books, but come on.

>> No.2684129

>>2684120

This series isn't even about the plot though, it's character-driven.

>> No.2684149

>>2684109

New to the board, sorry. But anyway, yeah, i'm against it!

>> No.2684165
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2684165

>> No.2684174

The plot of asoiaf is amazingly, dizzyingly intricate and complex, all in a good way. The politics, intrigue of the court, the wars, everything the story does is incredible. In a word, addictive. The cast of characters is huge, and they are all brought to life in a way that makes even the most morally detestable of them fascinating. The author makes you become very attached to them.

There is no concept of 'good versus evil', except for the battles within individual characters. Most of them are fundamentally flawed in one way or another, which serves to highlight the tragedy or struggle of their stories. And I've never encountered a world that does a better job of convincing me just how brutal, dangerous, and uncertain it is. The story says something about how every character, no matter how dangerous or cunning or powerful, is a pawn within a wider game.

But the prose is relatively simple and it is part fantasy, so /lit/ will hate it.

>> No.2684186

>>2684129
It's obviously character drive, but the plot is one of the most crucial parts to the story. It's something the author has obviously intended to be one of the story's main strengths

>> No.2684202

>>2684174

>The author makes me become very attached to them.

Fix'd.

Keep your "enjoying art through emotional attachment" to yourself.

>> No.2684204

>>2684186
*character driven

>> No.2684216

>>2684202
Wow, check out this hostility.

>> No.2684515

"Because /lit/'s a bunch ah fuckin' hipsters. And cause ya touch yerself at night!"
-Gordon Ramsey

>> No.2684570

>>2682853
Please go kill your fucking self. You forgot China Mieville.

>> No.2684581

>>2684570
sorry, not a huge fan of mieville. just not my bag, man.

>> No.2684590 [DELETED] 

>>2682628
You'd must love a Wheel of Time.