This is a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately. I read all of the “Lord of the Rings” books years ago, and I'm currently reading my way through Martin’s series. Just a few days ago, I finished reading the second book in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, “A Clash of Kings.”
“A Clash of Kings” was originally published in March 1999, and follows the first book in the series, 1996’s “A Game of Thrones.” Many of you will be familiar with the events in both books thanks to the extremely popular HBO television series, "A Game of Thrones," which is based on Martin's books. As a stand-alone book, “A Clash of Kings” is pretty awesome in its own right. It won the 1999 Locus Award for Best Novel and was nominated for a 1999 Nebula Award in the Best Novel category.
It’s hard not to compare “The Lord of the Rings” and the “A Song of Ice and Fire” books. In fact, the two series draw so many comparisons that Martin is often called “America’s Tolkein.” I like both series for different reasons, and it’s hard for me to say which one I like the best.
“A Song of Ice and Fire” seems to be the more realistic of the two series. Its cast of characters is almost entirely human, and very little magic comes in to play. “A Song of Ice and Fire” reminds me a lot of the Robert E. Howard “Conan the Barbarian” stories in that the most successful and dominant characters are those who are most skilled with their swords and wits.
“The Lord of the Rings” seems to be more suitable for children. It’s not as adult-themed as “A Song of Ice and Fire” and takes place in an almost fairy tale-like world full of wizards, goblins, elves, dwarves, etc. To put it plainly, I’d have no problem with one of my children wanting to read “The Lord of the Rings,” but I’d want them to be at least old enough to drive before they tackle “A Song of Ice and Fire.”
I’m currently reading the third book in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, “A Storm of Swords,” and I’ve got a long way to go before I can said I've read the entire series. To date, Martin’s only published two other books in the series, “A Feast for Crows” and “A Dance with Dragons.” It’s been widely reported that he intends for there to be seven books in the complete series. In other words, fans of the series have a lot to look forward to.
In the end, how many of you have read all or a portion of Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series? What do you think about it? How does it stack up against Tolkein’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy? Let us know in the comments section below.
No comments:
Post a Comment