Clear your dance card

March 3, 2011 11:49 AM

A Dance With Dragons, the fifth book in George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, will arrive on July 12.

At some 900 pages, Dragons will run only slightly shorter than this year's other hotly anticipated door-stopper fantasy sequel, Patrick Rothfuss' The Wise Man's Fear.

Previously: "Okay, I've got the message."

posted by Iridic (163 comments total)

DIES
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:51 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

No, seriously, I am now dead.
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:51 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm not touching A Song of Ice and Fire until it's finished. I learnt my lesson with Wheel of Time.
posted by zamboni at 11:51 AM on March 3, 2011 [14 favorites]

Let me be the first to say.....SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURE.
posted by jondunc at 11:51 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

I roll to disbelieve.
posted by Palindromedary at 11:52 AM on March 3, 2011 [7 favorites]

(In my best Troll 2 voice)

OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!
posted by Sandor Clegane at 11:54 AM on March 3, 2011 [7 favorites]

I just started WMF today.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:54 AM on March 3, 2011

Yeah, and my ass will hatch dragons.

Like the copy I advance ordered over two years ago, back when I had a job allowing me to afford to splurge on books.

Then, oh no, George "Fucknugget" Martin has to ignore the fans putting money up, sight unseen, to spend time wallying around with a bunch of johnny-come-lately asskissers giving readings and publicizing himself shamelessly like the ego-infested bitch he is.

Yeah, I'm a little bitter.
posted by Samizdata at 11:55 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

Martin writes a little more about this at his site.
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:55 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm about a 1/3 through Wise Man's Fear, and it is good. I'd say more, but I really need to get back to my kindle...
posted by Inkoate at 11:57 AM on March 3, 2011

The real news here is that Martin has confessed to being behind the asteroid strike/world war/terrorist attack/general strike that's going to happen in June.
posted by nasreddin at 11:57 AM on March 3, 2011 [3 favorites]

I need to find a good "what has gone before" summary. It's been so long I can't remember who's where and in what peril. This book better have Tyrion in it.
posted by beowulf573 at 11:58 AM on March 3, 2011 [5 favorites]

Samizdata, I'd be willing to be that he never saw a penny of that money. It's not at all his fault that Amazon and B&N are willing to take pre-orders on a book that is known not to be finished.
posted by Etrigan at 11:58 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]

So he is our bitch?

I'm confused.
posted by Joe Beese at 11:58 AM on March 3, 2011

this year's other hotly anticipated door-stopper fantasy sequel

Erickson's "Crippled God" doesn't qualify as a "door-stopper"? 'Cause I anticipated that shit up and down the street.
posted by thanotopsis at 12:00 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

This book better have Tyrion in it.

Martin specifically wrote that Jon Snow, Tyrion and Daenerys will all be in it.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:00 PM on March 3, 2011

Not to be confused with this new age book in which the author suffers hallucinations of having pet spectral dragons.
posted by munchingzombie at 12:01 PM on March 3, 2011

Also, at his "not a blog. I actually sort of believe him that it's a firm publish date. Yes, I am ready to be disappointed when it turns out this belief was foolish.
posted by stoneweaver at 12:02 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

My hope is that he introduces 70-80 new characters. The current cast of thousands seems a little trite in this modern time of waiting.
posted by Senator at 12:02 PM on March 3, 2011 [7 favorites]

Needed one more quote mark there. Insert it mentally.
posted by stoneweaver at 12:02 PM on March 3, 2011

I got pretty fed up with the last book, but I'll read this one for sure.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 12:03 PM on March 3, 2011

It's been so long I can't remember who's where and in what peril. This book better have Tyrion in it.

Doesn't matter where they are, they are all in peril if not dead(ish). Tyrion is in the book.
posted by never used baby shoes at 12:03 PM on March 3, 2011

Dammit, what have I gotten myself into? I started reading Game of Thrones a couple weeks ago, prompted by the growing buzz with the upcoming HBO series, and also someone on Twitter said it did for fantasy what The Wire did for cop procedurals. I did not realize the story wasn't done yet. ARGH.
posted by shiu mai baby at 12:06 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

George R R Marin and Robert Jordan are the reasons I no longer start reading unfinished, multi-volume fantasy serieses. I hadn't learned my lesson yet, and was reading these as they came out. I read the third one in high school. I was nearly done with college when the next one came out. And then this, which was originally supposed to be a quick-to-finish back half of the last book has a date... And it's going to be as long as the third one.

I didn't bother reading the 4th because I figured I'd read it and the "second half" book together when it came out... And then more years went by. Ell oh ell.

I'm not bitter or anything. And I'm certainly not complaining that much as long as he keeps the quality up. I'm just buying them and placing them on a shelf until I can read them all in one go, because I sure as hell don't remember many details about the plot at this point.

At least I can start in on Erickson soon, eh?
posted by sparkletone at 12:06 PM on March 3, 2011

>I learnt my lesson with Wheel of Time.<

A lesson looking to be soon over, for many of us...(thank god).
posted by twidget at 12:06 PM on March 3, 2011 [3 favorites]

He says that it'll be close to Storm of Sword's 1200-some pages. And (theoretically) released 4 days before my wedding.

GRRM, my guests are all going to blame you when I'm reading this monstrosity instead of cutting the cake.
posted by specialagentwebb at 12:07 PM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]

New aSoF book in July, Duke Nukem Forever in May.

So its settled, I guess, the world will end sometimes late April.
posted by Greald at 12:07 PM on March 3, 2011 [3 favorites]

WOLF! WOLF! EVERYBODY HELP! I SAW A WOLF!
posted by garius at 12:08 PM on March 3, 2011 [4 favorites]

I just finished Wise Man's Fear at 6AM last night. Good stuff, for the most part, but frustrating to even imagine how many years I'll have to wait for the third book.
posted by Rinku at 12:09 PM on March 3, 2011

A lesson looking to be soon over, for many of us...(thank god).

I've been pleased with Sanderson's handling of things. I'm just deeply confused by the idea that it will actually be done, and would have been so even if Jordan had lived to finish the series himself.

I mean, I've been reading these things since I was in 7th grade. I have friends who met by discussing Eye Of The World on usenet when it was brand new.

I have trouble imagine something that's been a (small) part of my life, but which has led to me meeting a lot of really cool people actually, like, ending. And it's not that I don't want the series to have a real ending. And it's not that I want more stuff set in the same universe. I don't.

It's just... Man. What do you mean it's over, you know?

PS. As far as Dance With Dragons delays go... I feel like I'm watching the "How could an entirely female population of dinosaurs manage to breed?" scene. How will this book get delayed? Life will find a way.
posted by sparkletone at 12:10 PM on March 3, 2011 [5 favorites]

Just read 'em all again each time a new one comes out. Easy. :)
posted by aeschenkarnos at 12:14 PM on March 3, 2011

I didn't give up on these because of the long wait.

I gave up on them because they started to get quite bad, really.
posted by kyrademon at 12:14 PM on March 3, 2011 [3 favorites]

I cannot believe they changed the cover art style AGAIN. NNNGH. So much pain and suffering inflicted on those of us OCD enough to want a matched set of books on the shelf.
posted by trunk muffins at 12:14 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

I get the feeling this book is just going to dig him a deeper hole. Still excited, though!
posted by ignignokt at 12:15 PM on March 3, 2011

No, seriously, I am now dead.

Everyone in the books is dead, it makes sense that he'd start going after the readers.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 12:16 PM on March 3, 2011 [9 favorites]

Just read 'em all again each time a new one comes out. Easy. :)

I used to do just that! In fact, I went back and did that for Wheel of Time, because I'd skipped the last couple books before Sanderson took over. Starting where I'd left off seemed non-sensical, so I started from the beginning.

I'll do the same when I finally start in on the Martin books as well, but doing that when I don't expect the next one of these to be out before 2020 ... I'd rather go read new things at this point and save the re-reads for when I only need to do it the once.
posted by sparkletone at 12:18 PM on March 3, 2011

re: George R R Marin and Robert Jordan are the reasons I no longer start reading unfinished, multi-volume fantasy serieses. and many others like them:

Finish it in your mind. I bet halfway through most of them you are plotting out what could / might happen as part of the suspense. I read the first two of the Sword of Truth books because somebody told me I HAD TO, and I mentally finished the story with them all dying in a fire. My previous plan for a "conclusion" to song of fire and ice.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 12:21 PM on March 3, 2011

I cannot believe they changed the cover art style AGAIN. NNNGH. So much pain and suffering inflicted on those of us OCD enough to want a matched set of books on the shelf.

I'm the opposite: I love have a mismatched set from the first runs as the cover art inevitably changes. It makes me feel special.
posted by jmd82 at 12:21 PM on March 3, 2011

HODOR!
posted by futz at 12:22 PM on March 3, 2011 [7 favorites]

Finish it in your mind.

Enh. I don't generally mind lack of resolution. At least not in cases like this. That said, I'd see what I think as speculation, and would much rather get the actual canonical ending, instead of just making one up myself.

If I wanted to make up the ending to a story myself, I'd go to the trouble of making up the rest of the story too, instead of fanfic'ing it.

I read the first two of the Sword of Truth books because somebody told me I HAD TO, and I mentally finished the story with them all dying in a fire

BUT FIRE IS ILLEGAL.

(Seriously. Those are among the worst books I've ever read.)
posted by sparkletone at 12:23 PM on March 3, 2011

I remember when I was happy that GRRM had cranked out another Haviland Tuff story for analog or asimov or whatever. I loved those. I had no idea he was a mainstay of fantasy, since that's one of those areas I normally avoid, having been tricked into some of that Sword of ShaNaNa crap decades earlier. Man, I could use some new Haviland Tuff. You hear that George? While everyone else is bitchin'? I want me some new Tuff Voyaging sequelization!
posted by umberto at 12:24 PM on March 3, 2011

Maybe its years of reading comic books, but the fact that the long term story is unfinished hasn't made the individuals books less enjoyable for me. I tend to read this series like its a Thieves World style collection of short stories set in the same milieu. While I agree that A Feast For Crows largely didn't live up to the quality of the first three books, those first three books are outstanding.

Part of what hurt A Feat For Crows was that he moved away from following the adventures of several of the most fascinating characters. Their return in book #5 will, one hopes, will raise the quality of the novel - and the absence of some of the characters that were focused on in Feast may help as well.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:26 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

I also have established a rule for myself to never read multiple volume stories until all of the volumes are published -- GGM is directly responsible for this, after I read the first two books and realized it would be forever before the story even had a break, let alone a conclusion. Series in which volumes can stand alone and have some closure are fine. But I I ever return to GRR Martin, it will be when he finishes the series. (Though probably not even then -- he's too blood-thirsty an author for my tastes. I like at least a few of the characters I like to stay alive.)

There are some great -- and finished -- epic fantasy stories out there. Crown of Stars by Kate Elliot is definitely epic at 6 volumes (7 in paperback), and they are 6 well-written and finished volumes. There are also wonderful, stand-alone fantasies of magic and intrigue -- Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana, Lois McMaster Bujold's The Curse of Chalion and The Golden Key by Elliott, Melanie Rawn and Jennifer Roberson are all gems.
posted by jb at 12:27 PM on March 3, 2011 [3 favorites]

having been tricked into some of that Sword of ShaNaNa crap

Tastes vary, but for what it's worth, I found the one of those so boring and generic that not only was I unable to finish it when I was 15 (when I was 99.999% incapable of not finishing a book I'd started), I can't remember a single detail about it beyond the title and the author.

You can do a lot better than those, anyway, IMO. You can also even do stuff that isn't Tolkienesque at all.
posted by sparkletone at 12:29 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

Tastes vary, but for what it's worth, I found the one of those [Sword of Shannara] so boring and generic that not only was I unable to finish it when I was 15 (when I was 99.999% incapable of not finishing a book I'd started), I can't remember a single detail about it beyond the title and the author.

The details are easy to remember because they're all in The Lord of the Rings too.
posted by dfan at 12:31 PM on March 3, 2011 [6 favorites]

This is great news considering how well A Feast of Minor Characters Traipsing Back and Forth Between Places fulfilled expectations.
posted by Wolfdog at 12:31 PM on March 3, 2011 [10 favorites]

Yes, this one will really make or break the series - A Feast of Crows was quite dull, but the preceding volums were brilliant. I wonder if we're about to see the practical end of a great series or a return to form after what will be considered a bit of a stumble.
posted by Palindromedary at 12:34 PM on March 3, 2011

Samizdata, I'd be willing to be that he never saw a penny of that money. It's not at all his fault that Amazon and B&N are willing to take pre-orders on a book that is known not to be finished.

Is fine. I know he didn't from my order, when I had to cancel and get the earnest money back when I lost my job and house in short order.

I am also pretty sure that that same "known not to be finished" book shouldn't be having book tours and readings when it's not a book yet.

I have been a loyal, book buying fan of Martin's since before Wild Cards and his self-promoting behaviour on this one makes me feel betrayed. About as much as by George Lucas' coprophiliac necrophilia of my childhood memories.

Look, I understand "It's done when it's done." I respect that. What I don't like is "It's not done because I am busy promoting it while it's not done. It'll be done when I have time to get it done. My name is George RR Martin, NYT Bestselling Author of NYT Bestselling Authors: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"
posted by Samizdata at 12:35 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

Does this book end the series or his planning more books? I'm leery about getting back into this series if he's going to keel over before the series is good and finished.

Erikson/Esslemont's Malazan epic is my current undertaking. Erikson's finished with his 10 and Esslemont seems to be nearly finished. It's probably not as well written as Martin's work but it's pretty solid.
posted by vuron at 12:35 PM on March 3, 2011

Does this book end the series or his planning more books? I'm leery about getting back into this series if he's going to keel over before the series is good and finished.

Stated plan is for two more after this.
posted by sparkletone at 12:40 PM on March 3, 2011

Specifically, those two more books after this one are:

The Winds of Winter
A Dream of Spring
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:41 PM on March 3, 2011

I love this story so much I almost don't care if it's never finished.
posted by emeiji at 12:41 PM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]

He's not finished writing it, it's going to be 1000+ pages, and it's going to be published in July? I guess people really don't need editors these days, eh?
posted by kmz at 12:45 PM on March 3, 2011

I guess people really don't need editors these days, eh?

One hopes they've been editing as they go at least for grammatical/continuity stuff. As for length or whatever... It's doorstop fantasy. Less might be more, but more is usually more too.

It's like getting into prog rock and being annoyed by the 12-minute guitar solos.
posted by sparkletone at 12:47 PM on March 3, 2011 [5 favorites]

trunk muffins: "cover"

Is this where I lodge my complaint about the intensely awful, makes-me-want-to-punch-kittens cover art for the Wheel of Time? 'Cause I hate it. Very, very much.
posted by that's candlepin at 12:51 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

My quote skills leave much to be desired.
posted by that's candlepin at 12:51 PM on March 3, 2011

Oh, it's not the length itself that bothers me, but rather the length/time-for-editing ratio. But yeah, maybe there's been some continuous editing going on.
posted by kmz at 12:51 PM on March 3, 2011

(For what it's worth, the book's a monster. Think A STORM OF SWORDS.)

I like the subtle implication of "Don't think ABOUT THAT LAST ONE, IT WAS A STINKER."
posted by Wolfdog at 12:54 PM on March 3, 2011 [4 favorites]

A Dance With Dragons, the fifth book in George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, will arrive on July 12.


I'll believe it when I see it. SPOILERS The Something Awful threads SPOILERS have brainwashed me to believe this will ever occur and exposed me to things I wish I had never seen or known.

Seriously though, the last Malazan book is out, I'll worry about GRRM later. I'm much more excited for the HBO show than Dance anyway.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 12:55 PM on March 3, 2011

Are these worth reading?
posted by Ad hominem at 12:55 PM on March 3, 2011

I loved the first book of this series but I got very, very bored with the second one. I ended up reading the summary for it on Wikipedia and found that much more satisfying than hundreds of rambling pages. It was like, "blah blah blah run around in the woods for 500 pages and then BAM! shocking death! and more blah blah blah run around in the woods."

Anyway, is the second book supposed to be particularly worse than the other ones? Because I do really like getting lost in well written fantasy, but I need there to be a plot for most of it.
posted by something something at 12:56 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

Is this where I lodge my complaint about the intensely awful, makes-me-want-to-punch-kittens cover art for the Wheel of Time? 'Cause I hate it. Very, very much.

That's why I buy the hardcovers. Then I get the satisfaction of burning the dust sleeves.
posted by Pendragon at 12:56 PM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]

I am really puzzled about what "not finished" means.

For context: my first book came out in June 2010. I finished my absolutely-final go-through for typesetting errors and that kind of thing in December 2009, after about a full year of editing passes, line edits, and copyediting.

I know that you can rush a book through printing fast when it's time-sensitive, like the books that were shoved through press within a week or two after Michael Jackson's death. But it's kind of hard to imagine a (long, long!) book that's not even finished yet being able to get even a cursory copyedit if it's gotta be on shelves in July.
posted by Jeanne at 12:56 PM on March 3, 2011

I guess that is partially my problem.

I figured "finished" means there's a book I can buy. And I will confess I have a hard time distinguishing between "finished enough one can ponce around and give dramatic readings from" and "finished enough so that I can finally read it myself."
posted by Samizdata at 1:02 PM on March 3, 2011

Yes, when it comes to this topic, the GRAR is strong in this one.
posted by Samizdata at 1:03 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

If I had to make a WAG, I'd say that Martin knew he was coming up on the end, was willing to check off most of it as finished, and send those portions in early to be copyedited ahead of the rest. The ability to finish the rest of the editing and print it speedily comes from having the full might of a major publisher who knows they have an undisputed bestseller on their hands and is willing to do everything to get it out, stat.
posted by Palindromedary at 1:03 PM on March 3, 2011

I think the current era of great television is making me more tolerant of unifinished works. There are plenty of television shows lately that are canceled before they manage to finish their big story, but they're still good and still worth watching. Better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all, right?

Besides that, fantasy books are like road movies, in that they're about the journey. I love the Martin books and I'm curious to see what happens at the end, but I won't be too surprised or broken up if I never see the climax. The characters are great and many have had big, and multiple stories of their own that could stand alone as novels unto themselves apart from the big arc (how the hell did he make me like Jaime?!).

For now I'm assuming I won't see the story finished, so I've made up a vague ending on my own. I see Jon and Danaerys at odds, then joining their forces and marrying each other as they square off against... oh, I guess Stannis, his witch her and dark god. Tyrion will likely martyr himself somehow. 95% of the characters will end up dying horrible, ignoble deaths, of course. Something like that.
posted by picea at 1:09 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

Yes, I do believe that most of it has been to the editor and back several times. In fact, it's been sounding that way for some time, with most of the things that are still being written are edits. (Impression I get from living in the general vicinity of GRRM and knowing some people. No cites and nothing more than idle chatter, really.)
posted by stoneweaver at 1:10 PM on March 3, 2011

I know that you can rush a book through printing fast when it's time-sensitive, like the books that were shoved through press within a week or two after Michael Jackson's death. But it's kind of hard to imagine a (long, long!) book that's not even finished yet being able to get even a cursory copyedit if it's gotta be on shelves in July.

I suspect that because he has been writing this book for so long that the majority of the editing is already done. And by "not finished" he means that while he hasn't technically written the last word yet he has solved all the major challenges so now it's just a matter or dotting the I's and crossing the T's.

At least...that's what I hope. Because this is the make or break book for me. That last one was not very good. And more than being just boring - he fundamentally changed the way the story was told. Removing half the characters was a major blunder. Aside from missing out on what happens to some of the best characters you actually find out about things through second or third hand information instead of seeing it yourself.

He also added in random POV chapters which broke one of the highlights of the books for me. I loved getting to know characters who I may once have hated. But with Pike and Dorne only have random characters tell the story I felt more like the characters were in service to the plot and nothing more.

SPOILER





At least he killed off my damn brother.

/SPOILER
posted by Sandor Clegane at 1:11 PM on March 3, 2011 [9 favorites]

I just want to say that I hope you guys aren't disappointed by this alleged upcoming book.
posted by tumid dahlia at 1:12 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

I need to find a good "what has gone before" summary.

I wonder if the author had the same problem...

I stopped reading the series at "A Feast of Crows" when I learned it was only half a book. I figured I could wait until the next book was published and read them both in one go. It's been a very long wait.

The upcoming HBO series probably put a lot of pressure on G.R.R.M. to get back to these books.
posted by the_artificer at 1:13 PM on March 3, 2011

He's not finished writing it, it's going to be 1000+ pages, and it's going to be published in July? I guess people really don't need editors these days, eh?

As others have pointed out, the major editing for point of view and plot continuity and so on has probably been ongoing for a while, and finishing that sort of thing is probably what he means when he says it's not quite done.

A copyedit goes fast if you have a professional editor. I just finished a 500-page copyedit that took me about a week (and it's a good thing, too; any slower and I wouldn't be able to make a living wage at this).
posted by Hypocrite_Lecteur at 1:19 PM on March 3, 2011

Upon further reflection, I suppose all my anger stems from my perception of his handling of this as "You fans, back from the beginning? Old and busted. I need fans of new hotness."
posted by Samizdata at 1:22 PM on March 3, 2011

I just want to say that I hope you guys aren't disappointed by this alleged upcoming book.

If Bran's promised epic skateboarding scene does not live up to GRRM's promises I WILL BURN THIS MOTHERFUCKING SHED DOWN!!!!!11
posted by robocop is bleeding at 1:30 PM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]

New and best trailer for Game of Thrones
posted by The Devil Tesla at 1:37 PM on March 3, 2011

So 2 more books after this? I assume that he's already selected a ghostwriter to finish because at the rate he's been writing these + general poor health + being a slacker the chances of seeing this series finished by Martin seem well nigh infinitesimal.

Is it really that hard to limit yourself to 3-5 book cycles? Finish that and start on a new trilogy with new characters, you can even re-use the setting if you want because world-building is hard.
posted by vuron at 1:39 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

I like Abercrombie's approach after he finished the First Law trilogy: turn a minor character in the last book into a major character in the next. That way you still get that epic feel, but you also have each book concluding feeling 'done.'
posted by robocop is bleeding at 1:43 PM on March 3, 2011 [4 favorites]

Is this where I lodge my complaint about the intensely awful, makes-me-want-to-punch-kittens cover art for the Wheel of Time? 'Cause I hate it. Very, very much.

No, it isn't.
posted by BrotherCaine at 1:44 PM on March 3, 2011

I hate to be a fanboy, but that Game of Thrones trailer makes my hair stand on end. In a good way.
posted by mcstayinskool at 1:46 PM on March 3, 2011

Yeah, I've pretty much never been this hyped up for a TV show. The casting looks perfect and every trailer and teaser looks like it is getting the feel of the books right. HBO brings enough production value to make sure it doesn't look cheap. My only worry is it will end up too expensive to make.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 1:49 PM on March 3, 2011

Is this where I lodge my complaint about the intensely awful, makes-me-want-to-punch-kittens cover art for the Wheel of Time? 'Cause I hate it. Very, very much.

I am kind of with you ... Eye of the World (which is generic at worst) aside, they've been increasingly awful to the point of comedy. And I always take the dust jackets off hardbacks while I'm reading them. But at this point... Sweet's art for these books has been so bad for so long (and he's getting so old) that I find it more charming than anything.

The new art for the ebook editions is 100% badass, but I dunno... I want my weird misshapen horses, inexplicable character heights, and Rand jacking off an ogre outside of a blown up house.

I can't wait to see what he does for the final one.
posted by sparkletone at 1:51 PM on March 3, 2011

NEEDS MOAR ARYA

TEMP BLIND OR FOR KEEPS

I DONT CARE BUT I NEED TO KNOW AND ALSO SHE SHOULD KILL MOAR GUYS PLS

KTHNX
posted by paisley henosis at 1:52 PM on March 3, 2011 [12 favorites]

Don't forget the lemoncakes Paisley.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 1:53 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

Sandor --

SPOILER








I really wouldn't get your hopes up on the chances of your brother staying dead, if I were you.

/SPOILER
posted by kyrademon at 2:03 PM on March 3, 2011 [4 favorites]

I just feel sorry for the poor fool that's going to have to update this site.
posted by stoneweaver at 2:05 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

Are these worth reading?

I loathed them. They were 'gritty fantasy', which means that we have magic and dragons and mystical secret crap, but to make it 'realistic' we have to have the routine and systematic brutalization of women on every page.

Yeah, men have it rough too, but it was extremely off-putting after a while to get the idea that his editor said 'George, make it grittier!' so he adds a woman getting assaulted.

Exaggeration may be involved, but the central takeaway I had from the books is that it's probably best if born a woman in GRR's little world is to cut your own throat the moment you get old enough to hold a knife.
posted by winna at 2:06 PM on March 3, 2011 [4 favorites]

This is clearly some sort of psychotic delusion on my part. This cannot be happening. There is no fucking way that Duke Nukem Forever and ADwD can come out in the same year. It strains credulity past the breaking point. I think I will drive myself to the hospital.
posted by Justinian at 2:10 PM on March 3, 2011 [5 favorites]

This is clearly some sort of psychotic delusion on my part. This cannot be happening. There is no fucking way that Duke Nukem Forever and ADwD can come out in the same year. It strains credulity past the breaking point. I think I will drive myself to the hospital.

Chinese Democracy was the harbinger.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:12 PM on March 3, 2011 [3 favorites]

Exaggeration may be involved

May? Just may? By contrast, I think that most fantasy totally glosses over the way women were usually treated before a few hundred years ago. If you thought it would have been better to cut your own throat if born a woman in GRRM's world, I must believe you would think the same thing about being born the average woman in, say, 14th century England or Rome in the 6th century or whatever.

Sandor:

Yeah, others have pointed this out but I wouldn't bet the homestead on never seeing Gregor again. A new, improved, giant Frankenstein's monster clad in nearly impenetrably thick steel armor kind of Gregor.

Also, is everyone clear on Jon Snow's parentage at this point? 'Cause it's so obvious once you figure it out. And perfect.
posted by Justinian at 2:17 PM on March 3, 2011 [5 favorites]

spoiler zone:

Speaking of women character Caitlyn and Brienne were both incredibly hard to like, and I was happy when the one died and happy again when the second one died. Though the first happiness was ruined with the book-throw-inducing return, and the second happiness was hampered by the fact that it rendered moot fully a third of the fucking book.

grarararar
posted by paisley henosis at 2:19 PM on March 3, 2011

Boy I'm glad I stopped reading fantasy when I was in high school.
posted by nanojath at 2:19 PM on March 3, 2011

I'm trying to figure out of that was some sort of backhanded insult or an admission that your soul has withered away and you are dead inside.
posted by Justinian at 2:22 PM on March 3, 2011 [9 favorites]

Despite the fact that everything Caitlyn did was a disaster, I liked her. And I liked Brienne.

But I found Danerys (or however you spell it) annoying and boring. And I read somewhere that she's GRRM's favorite character. Typical (for me).

On the other hand, I just re-read The Armageddon Rag and thoroughly enjoyed it.
posted by Crabby Appleton at 2:24 PM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]

paisley: As with Gregor, I am confident we will see Brienne again. We didn't actually see her die.
posted by Justinian at 2:25 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

The four-fingered guy is also going to be coming back, btw. Even though they mounted his head on a wall. Either that or we will get incredibly pointless Onion Knight chapters leading up to something we already know about.
posted by paisley henosis at 2:28 PM on March 3, 2011

Brienne may have staved off her fate at the end of Feast so she may yet face off against a certain Lannister. I just want to see a dwarf flying home on a mount that will make his pain-in-the-ass sister piss herself.

Last thread fantasy thread I got the piss taken out of me for saying that GRRM was almost done. Well, looks like I am laughing now.
posted by Ber at 2:32 PM on March 3, 2011

The four-fingered guy is also going to be coming back, btw. Even though they mounted his head on a wall. Either that or we will get incredibly pointless Onion Knight chapters leading up to something we already know about.

I figured that, of all the rumors we heard about the other characters in Feast, that this was the one most likely to be proven false.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:48 PM on March 3, 2011

Boy I'm glad I stopped reading fantasy when I was in high school.

And I'm gonna shit in your thread just to show you what a grown-up I am!
posted by nasreddin at 2:51 PM on March 3, 2011 [16 favorites]

Joey Michaels: I figured that, of all the rumors we heard about the other characters in Feast, that this was the one most likely to be proven false.

It was written by GRRM in the postscript to Feast of Crows: "Tyrion, Jon, Dany, Stannis and Melisandre, Davos Seaworth, and all the rest of the characters you love or love to hate will be along next year (I devoutly hope) in A Dance With Dragons" signed George R. R. Martin, dated June 2005.

From the SA thread linked above: "I'm going to be reading all of the cliffhanger POVs at the end of the novel and go: "He could have finished HERE, he could have finished HERE" and my hate will remain strong. "
posted by paisley henosis at 2:56 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh, SPOILERS for Jon's parentage!


It's Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen! Obviously!
posted by Justinian at 2:58 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

spoiler zone:

Speaking of women character Caitlyn and Brienne were both incredibly hard to like, and I was happy when the one died and happy again when the second one died. Though the first happiness was ruined with the book-throw-inducing return

I actually liked Zombie Caitlyn a lot better. Well, like isn't exactly the right word, but her character is more satisfying as a merciless revengebot than it was when she was alive and had feelings and stuff.

The four-fingered guy is also going to be coming back, btw. Even though they mounted his head on a wall.

Is that the one where the guy died offscreen and you heard about it fourth-hand or am I confusing that with another pointless death?
posted by Copronymus at 2:59 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

Copronymus: I actually liked Zombie Caitlyn a lot better. Well, like isn't exactly the right word, but her character is more satisfying as a merciless revengebot than it was when she was alive and had feelings and stuff.

Except sub "whined about everything and then never did jack shit except whine fucking more" in where you put "had feelings." Yeah, dead and mute is a big step up. Also the talking bit was creepy and cool.

Copronymus: Is that the one where the guy died offscreen and you heard about it fourth-hand or am I confusing that with another pointless death?

Bingo.
posted by paisley henosis at 3:05 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

She did stuff, just mostly the wrong stuff because her information was incomplete. Robb fucked stuff up more than she did.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 3:09 PM on March 3, 2011

Robb really only made one serious fuckup happen, it's just that it was the most colossal fuckup of all time. All he had to do was keep thinking with the big head instead of the little one and it would have worked out.
posted by Justinian at 3:13 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

People have gotten pretty worked up over a book that's only taken six years to come out. Wake me up when David Gerrold has a publishing date for the next Chtorr book. I'm not starting any more unfinished series until that happens.
posted by Uncle Ira at 3:13 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

A Method for Madness will be out real soon now! Promise!

I can't die without finding out the result of the Baby Cooper Dollar Bill lawsuits!
posted by Justinian at 3:14 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

Guess I'll get started on a re-read tonight. Was hoping the HBO series would have been a good refresher course. I figured that Dragons would have dropped a year or so after the HBO version of Crows. In 2018 or so.
posted by eyeballkid at 3:17 PM on March 3, 2011

Locke Lamora has also been twiddling his fingers for some time.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 3:17 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

People have gotten pretty worked up over a book that's only taken six years to come out.

I think it's a little more than that. Martin's explanation at the time the last book was released was that both books were done, but his publisher had to split them in half.

Which turned out to be less than true.
posted by eyeballkid at 3:18 PM on March 3, 2011

Eh, it's only be a couple years since the last Locke Lamora book and the next one is scheduled to be published late in 2011. So that's nothin'. Also, The Wise Man's Fear! (girlie squeal) It's out! It's out RIGHT NOW!
posted by Justinian at 3:20 PM on March 3, 2011

Man, I loved the first two books of this series, and dutifully slogged through the next two. But I think Martin has used up my goodwill. I like a big read, but these books are becoming needlessly bloated and I have the distinct feeling he's great at getting the plates spinning but not so sure how to end the act.

In some ways I view this series as one of the great tragedy of post-Brooks/Donaldson/Eddings etc megafantasy.

There was one shining moment - not even all that brief - where Martin was redefining what popular fantasy could be. Aside from Glen Cook, Abercrombie's books wouldn't have been publishable without Song of Ice and Fire. Compared to the blockbusters that preceded him - Eddings, Feist etc - Martin was writing undeniably intelligent, un-wishfulfillment fantasy with an ambition and reach that went well beyond teenage boys. He wasn't the first or only to do it, but he was the first to do it and be wildly popular, and be a multibook epic.

Watching the slide of his writing, the telescoping of the plot and the steep increase in gratuitous and terrible sex and fairly passe violence was so disappointing. He had something that would have stood the test of time for a while there.

Now, I feel like he's going to be consigned to the dustbin of fantasy history - like Eddings, Brooks, Jordan (controversial!) and Feist etc will be - defined more by sales numbers than literary significance or contribution to the field, nothing more than a idle what-if posed by older geeks. This series could have put with the greats, the Leibers, Howards, LeGuins etc. Game-changers and rulebreakers, artists with real vision.

Now he's just Wilbur Smith with dragons. Sigh. Note: I can't see Rothfuss being any different. I enjoyed Shadow of The Wind, but really failed to understand the hyperbole and excitement its enjoyable but hardly incredible bloated mass and slight plot generated.

Robin Hobb may not be everyone's cup of tea, but goddamn at least she finishes her frigging books on time, and with excellent closure.
posted by smoke at 3:22 PM on March 3, 2011 [4 favorites]

Smoke: I don't think that's fair to Martin. He would not have been consigned to any dustbins even had he never even started A Song of Ice and Fire. Not known among the general public, of course, but then how known is Leiber among the general public these days? Dying of the Light and Fevre Dream are generally considered classics, and Sandkings is one of the great works of short SF.

I liked Swords a lot better than you did while mostly agreeing with you about Feast. But he still has a shot to turn it around here. But if this book is lacklustre then all hope is lost.
posted by Justinian at 3:28 PM on March 3, 2011

I enjoyed Name of the Wind but it did make it pretty clear that in this post-Hogwarts world, fantasy authors really need to skip Magickal University Settings and the cast of allied faculty, jerkass foes, and student allies they entail.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 3:29 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

To be fair, although Glen Cook is amazing, the end of the Black Company series was clearly padded-out--the later characters didn't receive nearly enough development for the amount of screen time they got. To his credit, though, he didn't stop pushing the envelope even when he was padding.
posted by nasreddin at 3:30 PM on March 3, 2011

Also, Brooks is crappy pablum but to gloss over his towering importance and call him insignificant is a gross misreading of the history of the fantasy genre. Brooks and Donaldson are the progenitors of modern fantasy, with Brooks having been ascendant for a few decades and Donaldson proving more influential starting with Martin.
posted by Justinian at 3:30 PM on March 3, 2011

The first three or four I read, I liked the creepy bits beyond the wall to the north. Anything good unfolding up there? I would buy those excised chapters if they were put into a book.
posted by tumid dahlia at 3:31 PM on March 3, 2011

Wow, Chtorr even beats P. C. Hodgell's God Stalker Chronicles, whose longest gaps were:

Book 2 (Dark of the Moon): 1985
Book 3 (Seeker's Mask): 1994
Book 4 (To Ride a Rathorn): 2006

Of course, it helps that the books are coming out more frequently now (Book 5 in 2010, Book 6 in December of this year.) It also helps that this series in the best fantasy series in the history of ever.
posted by kyrademon at 3:31 PM on March 3, 2011

To be fair, although Glen Cook is amazing, the end of the Black Company series

There are rumblings of a future novel titled A Pitiless Rain. Although is it The Black Company without Croaker?
posted by Justinian at 3:32 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

People have gotten pretty worked up over a book that's only taken six years to come out.

They way he split the last one and this one in half contributed to the angst. The last Tyrion chapter was a decade ago.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 3:36 PM on March 3, 2011

There are rumblings of a future novel titled A Pitiless Rain. Although is it The Black Company without Croaker?

I am simultaneously ecstatic and terrified.
posted by nasreddin at 3:36 PM on March 3, 2011

"... great at getting the plates spinning but not so sure how to end the act."
"I don't think that's fair to Martin ... Dying of the Light and Fevre Dream are generally considered classics ..."

To which I, for one, would respond -- yes and I like them, but "great at getting the plates spinning but not so sure how to end the act" is also a pretty perfect description of Fevre Dream, and possibly both books.
posted by kyrademon at 3:37 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

Justinian, I agree more broadly about Martin's contribution to the field, but these books. Sigh. Just looking at Feast makes me think of shadow novels - smaller, tighter novels like the first two - that could have been rather than the large but unsatisfying meal he supplied for us instead.

Nasreddin, ah, I haven't reach the latter part of The Black Company yet. I only started the series for the first time last year, and was genuinely shocked (pleasantly!) at how progressive it was for its publication date, and how good Cook's writing was (functional, not flashy except where it needed to be). Bummer to hear it goes downhill.
posted by smoke at 3:38 PM on March 3, 2011

Anyone wanting to get some spoilers for ADWD should check out the spoiler thread over at the Westeros.org forum. They have summaries from the advance chapter readings that GRRM has done at cons and whatnot (although some or all of them have undergone rewrites since.)

I enjoyed Name of the Wind but it did make it pretty clear that in this post-Hogwarts world, fantasy authors really need to skip Magickal University Settings and the cast of allied faculty, jerkass foes, and student allies they entail.

Have you read Lev Grossman's The Magicians? He managed to martin Potter and Narnia.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 3:40 PM on March 3, 2011

Bummer to hear it goes downhill.

No, trust me, it's still worth it. Sleepy is one of my favorite fantasy characters of all time.
posted by nasreddin at 3:42 PM on March 3, 2011

I dunno if it's already been asked and answered (elsewhere), but is the series going to be six books? After this one, just one more and then done? Or has Martin not said anything?
posted by zardoz at 4:08 PM on March 3, 2011

Two more then done. Supposedly. Don't hold your breath.
posted by Justinian at 4:09 PM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]

Justinian--is that six books or seven books?
posted by zardoz at 4:12 PM on March 3, 2011

Chinese Democracy, DNF and now this? The Mayans were right, the world is going to end 2012.
posted by MikeMc at 4:17 PM on March 3, 2011

Seven but he'll get to book seven and decide it needs to be split into three more.
posted by the_artificer at 4:17 PM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]

As for Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind, I found it compelling throughout and gobbled it down like a cheeseburger, but, like a cheeseburger, in retrospect I had to revise my opinion of it. SPOILERS!

The main character suffers from being a musical genius, a math genius, a science (magick) genius, a genius swordfighter, etc. And subject to more disaster and abuse this side of a Dickens novel. Yet through all this he is utterly humble. He's broke all the time, but doesn't see the wisdom in pocketing a little bit of (what is essentially) heroin to sell to the magicians because he has to use it to rescue the town from the dragon...in the end the Kvothe is just too perfect a character for me. And he falls for a woman who is utterly dull and uninteresting, who changes his motivations for no apparent reason; she's the Yoko Ono of the story. On top of that, almost the entire first novel is "origin story", and the real story is barely scratched.

I may give it another shot, but I dunno. Dance of Dragons? Hell yes. I don't even begrudge Martin the wait.
posted by zardoz at 4:41 PM on March 3, 2011

specialagentwebb: GRRM, my guests are all going to blame you when I'm reading this monstrosity instead of cutting the cake.

When I saw the date, I immediately counted backwards to my baby's due date and tried to figure out if I will be far enough out of the woods that I can read a book. At least I'll be on maternity leave, so I won't be suffering at work while the book -- and the baby -- are at home without me.
posted by Toothless Willy at 4:47 PM on March 3, 2011

I will believe any GRRM announcement when I am actually holding the book, but hey, the HBO series looks like shiny, shiny fun.

I'm with you, robocop - I'd like Scott Lynch to get back to writing steadily and away from the depression (a sentiment I suspect he shares.)
posted by tautological at 4:49 PM on March 3, 2011

Nth'ing the plate-spinning-how-to-stop conundrum. Perhaps Martin should get Sanderson to finish off ASoI&F - that bloke is going greatguns stopping all of Jordan's plates from spinning. It's like he's got a checklist, and he's challenged himself to resolve as many plot threads with the least amount of verbiage as possible. I mean, sure, perhaps he's taking them out with an automatic shotgun at times, but DAMN if he's not resolving shit every chapter.

Bet he'd have I&F finished in 200 pages.
posted by coriolisdave at 5:16 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

Sanderson has his own supermegahuge epic to finish, so let's not get him distracted.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 5:18 PM on March 3, 2011

Think you've been waiting a long time for a book series to finish? I bought the first Guardians of the Flame book 28 years ago, and I've been waiting for Rosenberg to tie everything up since about book 6, 20 years ago. And he'll never do so, I know this. He's more or less lost interest in writing, as far as I can tell.

And sure, it's been six years since the last novel in GRRM's series, but consider that he's 62 and has never been in good health. Two more books after this one? I don't hold out much hope that we'll be any happier than the Wheel of Time readers in the end.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 5:42 PM on March 3, 2011

Pffft, A Matter for Men came out several months before The Sleeping Dragon. Chtorr wins!
posted by Justinian at 6:09 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

It took me some time to realize the date's this year, not next. I'll go find out when the ebook's coming so I don't throw out my back.

In the meantime I have more of Guy Gavriel Kay's backlist to read.
posted by dragonplayer at 6:44 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

I think we can all agree that Beric Dondarrion is a badass.
posted by haveanicesummer at 7:32 PM on March 3, 2011

Oh - I forgot about Robin Hobb. Great epic fantasy -- and each trilogy (except maybe Tawney Man, though it's my favorite) stands firmly on its own. I'd recommend them to any fan of dark, intricate fantasy.

Kate Elliott still hasn't finished her excellent SF Jaran series, but at least she has a good excuse -- she's been writing the fantasy series that sells much better and actually pays her a living wage.
posted by jb at 7:44 PM on March 3, 2011

WEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
posted by stratastar at 7:48 PM on March 3, 2011

As an aside: I hope the HBO series does well, because one of my dream games is a tactics style RPG set in the GRRM universe.
posted by codacorolla at 8:08 PM on March 3, 2011

Ok now that excitement has passed:

Zardoz - Yeah the best way I heard NoTW described was that it was the best written tedious fantasy of the year. However I loved this recap in comic form.

Armageddon Rag? Man, after my 3rd grade teacher read us Sand Kings, the most mind blowingest thing EVAR, I went to the library and found that piece of trash which made me wonder what deal Martin struck with the devil.
posted by stratastar at 8:27 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

Carcetti is Petyr?! Awesome!
posted by stratastar at 8:31 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

As an aside: I hope the HBO series does well, because one of my dream games is a tactics style RPG set in the GRRM universe.
posted by codacorolla at 10:08 PM on March 3 [+] [!]

Well, have I got news for you. Here is news about an RTS based on A Song of Ice and Fire

Also, apparently the same company is making an RPG based on A Song of Ice and Fire. Not much news about that yet though.
posted by lizarrd at 8:57 PM on March 3, 2011

stratastar, try it again. Now that you're in the sixth grade, you'll understand it better.
posted by Crabby Appleton at 9:01 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

Speaking of Sanderson, and tying in with multiple recent threads here (BYU, Watson), apparently Sanderson and Ken Jennings were roommates at BYU for a short time. The rest of Ken's Reddit IAMA is pretty fun too, though I'm not fond of the rape jokes.
posted by kmz at 9:02 PM on March 3, 2011

Carcetti is Petyr?! Awesome!

Oh yeah. Perfect casting.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 9:03 PM on March 3, 2011

Opens book: The Rock and the Roll is manufactured by the devil?! The what?!
posted by stratastar at 9:50 PM on March 3, 2011

Very much liked the casting of Littlefinger, and also Tyrion (even if he is a little too functional for my tastes.)

Now to see if the series is true to it's inspiration and actually makes it on TV.

([checks] Yup! Still embittered!)
posted by Samizdata at 10:43 PM on March 3, 2011

At least with 'A Game of Thrones' I don't need to worry about what will happen next after HBO cancels it on a cliff hanger (still bitter about Carnivàle.)
posted by the_artificer at 10:58 PM on March 3, 2011

At this point he owes his fans more than this "it's for sure almost 100% really close to being done this time and even has a release date and everything that couldn't possibly be missed" announcement. The endless delays and the endless merchandising* have been grating enough. But this really takes the cake. Finish the last two chapters so you can announce that you're actually done with the book. Until then shut about about it and keep writing. Gah, what an asshat.

*Hey guys, I found another box of the water damaged 2004 ASOIAF calenders in my study. The art is still great even if it's not 2004, and you can always use the calenders in 2032. Most of the damage is pretty minor so as a special one-time only deal I'm selling these for $58 each with $10 shipping. I'll even give you free shipping if you buy three or more. I only have a few boxes left so hurry!
posted by 6550 at 11:06 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

I won't quite believe this until I've got a copy of the book to read. And honestly, after the last one, I'd probably be ok if he said "fuck it, I've got other stuff I'm more enthusiastic about writing. HBO, here's my list of how the characters all end up, knock yourself out and give me a percentage of the profits". Like a lot of people, GRRM is the reason I no longer start multi-part books until they're all written (and hence why I haven't read any Locke Lamora stuff yet).

And yet, if it's a return to form, I will be sucked in again. And love it.
posted by harriet vane at 11:40 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

codacorolla: As an aside: I hope the HBO series does well, because one of my dream games is a tactics style RPG set in the GRRM universe.

There are actually quite a few Fire & Ice games already including a few tactics games
posted by paisley henosis at 3:17 AM on March 4, 2011

Entertainment Weekly's article had a couple posts from Martin's UK and US editors. They have manuscripts on their respective desks and are just waiting for the last two chapters.
posted by Ber at 6:01 AM on March 4, 2011

The discussion of his latest release just recently hit the 100 page mark over at the Terry Brooks Forum: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
posted by Fizz at 7:44 AM on March 4, 2011

What was disappointing to me in the third book was that he'd clearly lost interest in the story. Interests shift, especially after such a long time, and GRRM wants to explore other things - like the religion of the world he's created, and different characters. I'll read the next book, but I see no good reason that the shift won't be evident there too.
posted by lriG rorriM at 8:34 AM on March 4, 2011

The Maester's Path: promogame for the tv series
posted by Sparx at 11:59 AM on March 4, 2011

I couldn't find anything about an ebook version's release date. Have you?

Found out yesterday that the translation of Murakami's IQ84 is coming out Oct. 25. Another 1000 pages to look forward to!
posted by dragonplayer at 12:00 PM on March 4, 2011

Found out yesterday that the translation of Murakami's IQ84 is coming out Oct. 25. Another 1000 pages to look forward to!

I'm excited about this also!

The unfinished DFW in April, Martin in July, Murakami in October. Good times.
posted by sparkletone at 1:15 PM on March 4, 2011

Really? Two weeks before the bar? I need this to not happen.
posted by prefpara at 2:17 PM on March 4, 2011

I'm very glad to see this post (supposing he upholds the release date, eh?) and worried that Erickson finished the Malazan books. I've read the first and had next 3 or 4 on my shelves for years.

Here's hoping for the success of the RTS as well.
posted by ersatz at 6:39 PM on March 4, 2011

Well, thanks for the post, regardless. I am on book two of Rothfuss, and I have the first Locke Lamora, so despite my urges to kick GRRM in a Enderian fashion, I am happy and newbooky right now.
posted by Samizdata at 3:29 PM on March 6, 2011

Coming late to the party (Hopefully resulting in less flaming)

As excited as I am about 'Dance with Dragons', I am ten times as excited for the latest in Jean Auel's 'Earth's Children' series, The Land of Painted Caves.

I literally grew up with this series. I read 'Clan of the Cave Bear' when I was seven. I can't speak to the authenticity of any of it, but it's one of the few series that drew me -into- the world, and sparked interest in learning more about that era.
posted by waxlight at 4:52 PM on March 9, 2011