Re: _Feast for Crows_ on its way!


JavaJosh wrote:
> David Cowie wrote:
> > On Thu, 13 Oct 2005 23:33:30 +0000, Mike Ward wrote:
> >
> > > I'm so glad I'm loosing interest in the series. With any luck by the
> > > time it hits paperback, I'll have stop caring completely.
> >
> > Funny you should mention that.
> > I discovered ASOIAF in 2003, and read all three volumes within a few
> > months. When I had finished, I was keen to find out how the wars would
> > turn out, and what would happen to my favourite characters. Time passed.
> > So did some (probably speculative) publication dates. Some more time
> > passed. Then we got the announcement that _A Feast For Crows_ was
> > genuinely going to be published, and I was surprised to find out that I
> > didn't care very much any more. By the time it hits paperback, I probably
> > won't care at all.
>
> While of course I still care about the series, I have to admit being
> affected by this effect, albeit to a lesser degree. There are three
> parts to the creeping malaise: 1) Soap operas can't hold interest for
> five years, 2) it's hard not to interpret the delay as somehow
> disrespectful of readers, and 3) given the delay between books 3 and 4,
> it does not bode well for the delay before book 5, 6, or 7.
>
> Luckily for Martin, there is no modern epic fantasy that compares.
>
> Regarding the disrespect thing: I don't necessarily believe that Martin
> is disrespectful of readers, but there can be no doubt that I found
> this long delay annoying (my hind-brain comes up with this stuff and I
> have no control over it's speculations). While I am appreciative of the
> artistic requirements of writing, I also have to admit that there is an
> expectation of artists to "produce", crass though that expectation may
> be. If a director had done what Martin did (started production and
> missed deadlines for 5 years), the movie would never have been
> completed and the director would never work again.
>
> The fact that this book is, in a sense, "damaged goods" because it is
> not complete (several POV threads will be missing) is yet another
> reason to not look forward to any more of these books. I have seen
> project managers struggle and finally get the okay from top management
> to release software that is not what the client expected, but good
> enough to get *something* out the door and allow the development team
> the sense of completing *something*, which is preferable to working on
> something interminibly. Needless to say this is not a good outcome
> (though not the worst), and it reminds me of what Martin has done here,
> "Dearest publisher, I've been having a hard time with this book - how
> about if I just release what I've got and call it a day? This has been
> a huge monkey on my back for 5 years, and I want it off. Get it off -
> GET IT OFF!!!).
>
> So given all of this, why did I buy the book in hardcover, and even
> from the UK so it will get here sooner? The answer can be summed up in
> one word: hope. I hope that this book will be very good, even with the
> missing threads. I want to give hope to Martin that he can get through
> this series (although I'd like to temper that hope with the admonition
> to not get caught up in this problem again. He remonstrated impatient
> fans on his website who said that he should have cancelled engagements
> because those engagements had been set up years in advance. I hope that
> at that point in 2001 he stopped making engagements for 2005, etc). I
> hope that Martin can start writing with skillful ease, and wrap this
> series up soon. _Feast_ was a major stumbling block for him, but I
> think he can recover.

I am an idiot. I just read the review on Amazon from publisher's
weekly. Daeny, Tyrion and Jon are missing. My 3 favorite characters,
gone. 3 cliffhangers. I should have waited to buy a used copy.

.

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