ddickinson: So I have heard. My brother's wife always says he must have his brain in his big toe after he comes out with or does something silly. :-)

ddickinson: Be careful, there are a lot of Potter fans here who will string you up :-). Personally I hate her and her books, they just take so much from other works and try to pass them off as this great work of fantasy. Sadly I think as many people read her work first they think she is this genius, not just someone who stole a lot off other authors and based her characters on characters from other novels. There were even Potter fans accusing Tolkien of stealing her ideas, which kind of proves how much she must have taken from Tolkien for them to even think that. It also shows how intelligent those kind of fans are given the time period between each series of books. But that is a lack of education with classical literature for you, many think all these new authors are incredible, not realising they are reusing older works.

ddickinson: Be careful, there are a lot of Potter fans here who will string you up :-). Personally I hate her and her books, they just take so much from other works and try to pass them off as this great work of fantasy. Sadly I think as many people read her work first they think she is this genius, not just someone who stole a lot off other authors and based her characters on characters from other novels. There were even Potter fans accusing Tolkien of stealing her ideas, which kind of proves how much she must have taken from Tolkien for them to even think that. It also shows how intelligent those kind of fans are given the time period between each series of books. But that is a lack of education with classical literature for you, many think all these new authors are incredible, not realising they are reusing older works.

So that is Star Wars and Potter, between them and the Game of Thrones (or to give it its proper name, A Song of Ice and Fire) lot I am gonna get lynched for sure. :-)

And again, I have no problem with people who love those books or movie, we all like different things, but those fanboys really need to calm down with their fanaticism and praise for what is often just overrated dribble.

IAmSinistar: Mine apparently is located in my posterior, since it seems to function best when seated. ;)

Both of you are spot-on here. It's one thing to build upon an existing mythos, as Tolkien did with the Nibelungenlied, and quite another to just pastiche together existing material and established fictional tropes and then try to pass it off as original.

There is an old saying along the lines of "average people are attracted to art that looks like something they could have made themselves". This apparently applies across the board to creative media, since predictable bestsellers and borderline fan-fiction dominate the literary checkout line.

ddickinson: Game of Thrones (or to give it its proper name, A Song of Ice and Fire)

Stilton: So few people are capable of or prepared to see things in the correct context. The adults who read her dreadful tomes, for example. The kids who liked them are too young to know better, but surely the grown-ups knew about The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Even Terry Pratchett, who was a far better writer than she'll ever be. Before they became a huge success I tried reading the first Potter book and I couldn't get past the first half dozen pages, despite three or four attempts. So badly written and completely vacuous. At least Pratchett's stuff has an opinion and makes you think about things. And Tolkien is so deep you can't see the bottom. Rowling's shallower than a puddle and about as interesting as a box of coat hangers.

IAmSinistar: Mine apparently is located in my posterior, since it seems to function best when seated. ;)

IAmSinistar: Both of you are spot-on here. It's one thing to build upon an existing mythos, as Tolkien did with the Nibelungenlied, and quite another to just pastiche together existing material and established fictional tropes and then try to pass it off as original.

There is an old saying along the lines of "average people are attracted to art that looks like something they could have made themselves". This apparently applies across the board to creative media, since predictable bestsellers and borderline fan-fiction dominate the literary checkout line.

moonshineshadow: *big hug for correct name* :D

Stilton: A dog turd on a gold chain will sell enough units if the 'right' celebs are seen wearing one.

ddickinson: Ever since you told me how much you like them and how it annoys you when people call them Game of Thrones, I always try to make the effort to use the proper name.
*big hug*

moonshineshadow: Yeah it annoys me. But in contrast to Harry Potter it shows clearly who read the books and who just watched the TV series :D

And a slight correction. I liked the first three books very much. The next two were not that good anymore and now it seems some script writers for the tv series are going to continue/finish the story since Martin never really managed to go anywhere with the story... *yeah* -.-

ddickinson: That is a shame. I guess that is a risk with all these books that just have to be a series. It seems that every new book these days is at least a trilogy or more. Which is great if the books are good, but it does leave a risk of the author not finishing them or the books changing too much over time, often changed to meet the demands of the readers/viewers, not the thoughts of the author, which seemed to be the case with Potter and A Song of Ice and Fire.

ddickinson: Ever since you told me how much you like them and how it annoys you when people call them Game of Thrones, I always try to make the effort to use the proper name.

*big hug*

ddickinson: Not quite the same, but I read that a year or two ago that one of the big art galleries in London, you know the ones that do "modern art" (maybe the Tate, but I can't be sure), paid over £16,000 to some "artist" who stuck Scottish sheep poo on spikes and put them on a base. Isn't it lovely to see our tax money being invested in the arts. [/sarcasm] :-)

moonshineshadow: I think the problems with the Song of Ice and Fire books is that Martin lost track of his own story and was not motivated anymore to go on. He kept introducing tons of new characters (which sometimes were quite interesting), but the main story stalled. And the times between the publishing of the books got longer and longer. It is not like he stopped writing, he wrote other stuff, just not in this series.

Stilton: Having gone through art college myself I know what a load of pretentious bollocks the art world is. Everyone's a wannabe or a failure, including those who are making a good and sometimes spectacular living at it. The dealers have a failure of conscience and the 'artists' think the drivel they create is actually worth looking at. The art 'teachers' (nobody can teach art - artists find their own answers through constant search) are mostly misfits in my experience. I'd rather paint accessible pictures which simply please than try to make biting social observations with elephant shit or soiled bed sheets. Poor old Turner was a genius and to attach his name to the annual roll call of inepts who are invited to flaunt their worthless wares is plain insulting.

ddickinson: Is he like that with his other works? Does he normally have a good start but lacks the ability to progress his stories? I guess he could have felt it best to write what he is in the mood to write, rather than force himself to finish something and regret it later. Who knows.

moonshineshadow: No clue about the other stuff. They are mostly science fiction and horror, so I have not read anything else.
And I could understand if he said "ok I don't feel like writing these books now" or even saying "Sorry, but this saga was a mistake, I am stuck"... but he never said that, it is always like "The next book will come soon".... it is an even worse soon™ than gogs.

ddickinson: I can see how that would be frustrating not having a solid answer. It is kind of insulting to his fans to not really tell them if the books are even being worked on or not given how many people like his series. Shall we ask Agent to pay him a visit with his box of matches? :-)