#A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE CASTLES SERIES#

But as we discover, these people should be paying less attention to their own squabbling and more attention to the nearly deserted northern reaches of the kingdom. Of particular importance are noble families like the Starks (good guys), the Targaryens (at least one good guy, or girl), the Lannisters (conniving), the Greyjoys (mostly conniving), the Baratheons (mixed bag), the Tyrells (unclear) and the Martells (ditto), most of whom are feverishly endeavoring to advance their ambitions and ruin their enemies, preferably unto death. They are written in the third person, but each chapter takes the point of view of a single character, with several characters recurring throughout. MartinвЂ™s books are essentially the War of the Roses with magic, set largely in a land called Westeros. If kids are reading this stuff, God help their parents.

#A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE CASTLES SERIES#

Thus far, the series has included a boy being thrown off a balcony, a woman having her face bitten off, a man having his nose cut off, a girl having her ear sliced off, multiple rapes, multiple massacres, multiple snarfings of people by animals, multiple beheadings and multiple discussions of revenue streams in medieval economies. MartinвЂ™s immensely popular new book, вЂњA Dance With Dragons,вЂќ follows вЂњA Feast for Crows,вЂќ which in turn followed вЂњA Storm of Swords,вЂќ вЂњA Clash of KingsвЂќ and вЂњA Game of ThronesвЂќ (even if you admire these books, as I do, itвЂ™s hard to argue that Martin has A Knack for Titles). Martin, the present and future king of The New York Times best-Вseller list.

There are reasons to think this view of fantasy is needlessly limited, and one of the most obvious is the titanic success of George R. Sounds like fun, but arenвЂ™t we a little old for this?вЂќ And with that, hundreds of years of fantastical writing are reduced to 20-Вsided dice, pencil nubs, half-filled Coke cans and the crushing realization that no, your elven rogueвЂ™s dagger is not going to be effective against green slime. As Michael Agger put it in 2009, reviewing Lev GrossmanвЂ™s Harry Potter-Вinfluenced novel вЂњThe MagiciansвЂќ: вЂњPerhaps a fantasy novel meant for adults canвЂ™t help being a strange mess of effects. Yet for all of fantasyвЂ™s successes, there remains a chip on the spaulder of the genre. Novels about wizards outsell (and often outshine) the most glittering literary fiction titles the contemporary romantic hero generally sports a pair of fangs and even now the five remaining earthlings who havenвЂ™t read вЂњThe Lord of the RingsвЂќ are being hunted down and put to the sword.

A song of ice and fire castles