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Apr. 1st, 2013 07:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. Finished The Captive Prince - and damn it, I want Volume 3 now. Stupid thing ended just when it got good. My main quibble with it - is that writer is far too interested in building up the romance and sex scenes, and less interested in the intriguing plot, which feels a bit cobbled together in places. But it did motivate me to go back to GRR Martin's Dance of Dragons - Martin is sort of the opposite extreme of SU Paget. Paget barely develops her supporting characters, who feel like snapshots, while George RR Martin over-develops his supporting characters - actually he not only develops them, he gives them a whole chapter to us their point of view. Say what you will about Martin, at the end of his books, no character regardless of how small or minor their role is left untouched - you even know what the character smells like by the time you're done. Undeveloped characters is not a crime that Martin is guilty of.
Also as much as I hate to say this ladies? But male writers appear to be a whole lot better at writing fight scenes and battle strategies. Maybe because they are just more interested in it? All that testorone has to go somewhere I guess - if you can't go out and fight someone, might as well write about it. Plotting a battle is a bit like plotting a football game - similar goals - get the ball in the other guy's territory without getting slaughtered.
While female writers are better at writing sex scenes - mainly because this is more like a game of cards or battle of wits...more focus on the foreplay, then on well on the actual goal. For women the longer it's drawn out, the more fun and better the climatic moment. It's all about the slow-build. The goal, eh...it's all about the means fellas. Two different ways of thinking at any rate. (Yes, I've clearly been jumping between romance fiction and violent guy books. You'd think it would be more jarring. Why I like both, is beyond me.)
2. Speaking of George RR Martin - had an interesting conversation with co-worker.
Co-worker: George RR Martin's books need to come with cliff-notes. You remember cliff-notes, right?
Me: Yep (although I rarely used them, being of the somewhat insane view that it was more fun to read the actual book and make up my own mind than read someone else's analysis of it instead. That said, I'd make an exception with Moby Dick and anything written by Henry James, who I was able to avoid - because I went to a Western Liberal Arts School as opposed to an NorthEastern Ivy League one...weird I know, but there it is. The US is oddly regional in its cultural tastes.)
Co-Worker: would certainly help with figuring out who everyone is. I'm reading Feast of Crows.
Me: Well there is a list of names at the back of each book - an appendix that has a list of all the characters in each house and their family trees and who's who, but you have to be careful about reading it. That's how I got spoilt on who died in the third book, Storm of Swords, which was frankly rather annoying.
Co-worker: I don't think I've read that book.
Me: You are attempting to read Feast of Crows without reading Storm of Swords?
Co-worker: is Feast the 3rd book?
Me: No, Storm is.
Co-worker: Oh I skipped that one. (So, basically co-worker skipped the best book in the series and started on the worst book in the series. Seriously if you wanted to skip one - it would be Feast of Crows. And even then...Granted co-worker has a low tolerance for gore, violence, and violent character deaths...so it may have been a good idea. Storm is the most of violent of the books, to my knowledge. And yes that's a warning to anyone who is about to watch the third season on HBO.)
Me: It's not going to make any sense. You should at least watch the tv series season 3 - it just started.
Co-worker: Oh I think I can figure it out.
Me: Okaay.
This reminds me of another work discussion regarding GRR Martin's books.
Co-worker: Catelyn is not a zombie, she's just mute. (this is co-worker 2 who has read all the books)
Me: No, she's a zombie.
Co-worker: It never says that.
Me: She died. Berdric brought her back to life with the unnatural fire, half her skull is still visible and she is speaking from her throat because her tongue is gone.
Co-worker: I thought she was just mute. I didn't she was a zombie.
Me: Well, zombies are a bit different in these books - undead might be a better word.
Co-worker 2 to Co-worker 3: Did you think Catelyn was a zombie?
CW3: No, didn't pick up on that.
Me: You do realize there are people online who have read these books five times and think she is a zombie, right?
Both: Really? Why would anyone do that?
See this is why I don't discuss pop culture at work.
There are spoilers in the comments for Game of Thrones Book 3, S3, and for Captive Prince, so may want to avoid reading them if you want to stay unspoiled.
Also as much as I hate to say this ladies? But male writers appear to be a whole lot better at writing fight scenes and battle strategies. Maybe because they are just more interested in it? All that testorone has to go somewhere I guess - if you can't go out and fight someone, might as well write about it. Plotting a battle is a bit like plotting a football game - similar goals - get the ball in the other guy's territory without getting slaughtered.
While female writers are better at writing sex scenes - mainly because this is more like a game of cards or battle of wits...more focus on the foreplay, then on well on the actual goal. For women the longer it's drawn out, the more fun and better the climatic moment. It's all about the slow-build. The goal, eh...it's all about the means fellas. Two different ways of thinking at any rate. (Yes, I've clearly been jumping between romance fiction and violent guy books. You'd think it would be more jarring. Why I like both, is beyond me.)
2. Speaking of George RR Martin - had an interesting conversation with co-worker.
Co-worker: George RR Martin's books need to come with cliff-notes. You remember cliff-notes, right?
Me: Yep (although I rarely used them, being of the somewhat insane view that it was more fun to read the actual book and make up my own mind than read someone else's analysis of it instead. That said, I'd make an exception with Moby Dick and anything written by Henry James, who I was able to avoid - because I went to a Western Liberal Arts School as opposed to an NorthEastern Ivy League one...weird I know, but there it is. The US is oddly regional in its cultural tastes.)
Co-Worker: would certainly help with figuring out who everyone is. I'm reading Feast of Crows.
Me: Well there is a list of names at the back of each book - an appendix that has a list of all the characters in each house and their family trees and who's who, but you have to be careful about reading it. That's how I got spoilt on who died in the third book, Storm of Swords, which was frankly rather annoying.
Co-worker: I don't think I've read that book.
Me: You are attempting to read Feast of Crows without reading Storm of Swords?
Co-worker: is Feast the 3rd book?
Me: No, Storm is.
Co-worker: Oh I skipped that one. (So, basically co-worker skipped the best book in the series and started on the worst book in the series. Seriously if you wanted to skip one - it would be Feast of Crows. And even then...Granted co-worker has a low tolerance for gore, violence, and violent character deaths...so it may have been a good idea. Storm is the most of violent of the books, to my knowledge. And yes that's a warning to anyone who is about to watch the third season on HBO.)
Me: It's not going to make any sense. You should at least watch the tv series season 3 - it just started.
Co-worker: Oh I think I can figure it out.
Me: Okaay.
This reminds me of another work discussion regarding GRR Martin's books.
Co-worker: Catelyn is not a zombie, she's just mute. (this is co-worker 2 who has read all the books)
Me: No, she's a zombie.
Co-worker: It never says that.
Me: She died. Berdric brought her back to life with the unnatural fire, half her skull is still visible and she is speaking from her throat because her tongue is gone.
Co-worker: I thought she was just mute. I didn't she was a zombie.
Me: Well, zombies are a bit different in these books - undead might be a better word.
Co-worker 2 to Co-worker 3: Did you think Catelyn was a zombie?
CW3: No, didn't pick up on that.
Me: You do realize there are people online who have read these books five times and think she is a zombie, right?
Both: Really? Why would anyone do that?
See this is why I don't discuss pop culture at work.
There are spoilers in the comments for Game of Thrones Book 3, S3, and for Captive Prince, so may want to avoid reading them if you want to stay unspoiled.
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Date: 2013-04-01 11:30 pm (UTC)I wonder about people who didn't pick up on her being killed, and her body dumped in the river for a while before she was reanimated.... did they just thing the author hadn't really meant it like that? LOL
Oh well. It will make the TV show more exciting for them if/when they watch that!
no subject
Date: 2013-04-02 01:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-02 10:16 pm (UTC)I did read the Catelynn bit twice...I know that. Because I couldn't figure out what happened the first time around.
(I'm really bogged down in the Quentin chapter at the moment in Dance, I keep jumping to other books. Mainly because I don't care about Quentin. Martin and his need to bring in new points of view at random.)
no subject
Date: 2013-04-02 02:31 am (UTC)I was like - eh, no, she was dead. For a while. Like two days. Stunk.
Then they re-animated her. Which makes her "undead".
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Date: 2013-04-02 02:48 am (UTC)It is going to be really cool when she 'comes back' on the show... all 1/2 decayed but able to walk and talk... so creepy... I can't wait (I find her to be kind of tedious and annoying in her living self righteousness and holier than thou state).
Am I ghoulish?
no subject
Date: 2013-04-02 10:08 pm (UTC)I don't know...I think it's just going to be gross. Her skin is hanging off one side of her face, she has no tongue and her lips are sewn. Eww. I'm really hoping the tv series doesn't feel the need to go quite as far as the books. They didn't with Tyrion (who just has a nasty scar, and unlike the books, did not lose his nose). So perhaps...
Not a fan of gore. I struggle with the Walking Dead. Heck, I struggled with Buffy and Angel. Spend half the time, hiding my eyes. When I tell people I don't really like horror, I'm not kidding. Watched 95% of Cabin in the Woods, with my hands over my eyes. There's a reason I don't like hospitals, biology and could not become a veternarian - I ran into brick wall with dissection. Eww.
ETA: Although it may not even happen this season. We know that the Red Wedding will and my three favorite scenes in the book: Jamie/Brienne scenes. But I also know they are splitting Book 3 into two seasons.
Assuming they get a second season, I'm curious to see how many people jump ship after the Red Wedding (because that basically makes Ned Stark's death look like a walk in the park by comparison, actually it makes all death scenes on tv a walk in the park by comparison. When people complain about Ianto and Tara's deaths, I think - go read GRR Martin's Storm of Swords, and get back to me.)
I'm guessing they'll end with the big Joff scene, but not certain.
no subject
Date: 2013-04-02 10:59 pm (UTC)But yeah, it will take a while for HBO to get there.
no subject
Date: 2013-04-03 01:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-03 04:29 pm (UTC)but at the moment I am in a bit of shock: at water aerobics this morning I learned that one of my best friends thinks that Catelynn is still alive!!!! My friend is a careful reader who has read the books more than once... I think she got it in her head that Catelynn was alive when she talked to Brienne (was going to hang Brienne) , and she just wasn't paying enough attention to how dead Catelynn was after the Red Wedding (but she was really sure Catelynn lives... so weird).
no subject
Date: 2013-04-03 10:48 pm (UTC)My discussion with the co-worker who decided to skip over Storm of Swords and read Feast of Crows, was amusing.
Co-worker: they apparently killed off Rob Stark?
Me: Yes. There's actually four major characters who die in Storm, plus Jamie has a huge redemptive arc (I explain it to him and tell him who dies, although not in gritty detail - because he REALLY doesn't want to know.) And there's Wiki which gives plot summaries.
Co-worker: So (Coworker 2) was right and they did kill off Rob.
Me: Yes. Although that didn't bother me all that much, wasn't a huge fan of Rob Stark to be honest, or Catelynn for that matter. The way they did it though...ugh.
Co-worker: You are cold. (joking)
Me: What? They are fictional characters. Once you've dealt with real death and people close to you that have actually died...
Co-worker: True. Plus in sci-fi and fantasy, they can always bring them back.
Me: Sometimes as undead zombies...or if you are watching General Hospital as tangible ghosts. (As long as the actors are still alive, although that isn't always a pre-requisite.)
no subject
Date: 2013-04-04 03:46 am (UTC)And all the reports of her death were exaggerations.
I actually wrote up the most convincing evidence of Catelyn's death at my lj: http://embers-log.livejournal.com/297441.html
(although I'm sure my friend will want to read it for herself).
Of course your co-workers are way harder to talk to, I mean if people are going to skip entire books then there is no way you can actually discuss the books! LOL