Asymmetrical Information

Those first two paragraphs of the New York Times article are a bit of a spoiler, don't you think?

Surely you have the official George R.R. Martin "Song of Ice and Fire" Boardgame?

Jane, I don't know whether to thank you or curse you. ;-) I'd never heard of this series of books until you posted about them a month or two ago. Based 100% on your recommendation, I went out and bought "A Game of Thrones".

Honestly, it took me a couple of hundred pages to get into it. There were so many characters it was hard to keep everyone straight. I nearly stopped reading, which is something I rarely do. But I kept going.

And got thoroughly, thoroughly hooked.

Now you are indirectly to blame for me not being able to sleep at night, because it's so hard to put the book(s) down. There have been numerous times I've thought "Just one more chapter", only to find myself still reading two hours later.

So, thank you... darn it!

I greatly enjoyed the first two books, but the enjoyment lessened with book 3 and turned to dislike in book 4. The plots became too convoluted, nearly every decent character was killed (or became as amoral as the "bad" characters), and "A Feast for Crows" dragged on (and on) while introducing a slew of new characters who could not hold my interest. So, even after investing dozens of hours on the first four books, I will not bother reading the fifth.

For balance, let me be the first curmudgeon. I couldn't finish the first book in the series. I think that the old George RR Martin of "A Song for Lya" or "The Storms of Windhaven" was a vastly better writer with tighter prose and more interesting stories.

I don't begrudge him the extra money he makes by catering to the sword and sorcery crowd. I just wish he would give us fans of the old Martin who wrote for Ben Bova's Analog something to read now and again.

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