"A Sword of Ice and Fire" -- George RR Martin

[Bizzaro_Exdeath]

I'm in the middle of Book Two (well near the end) of a Song of Ice and Fire, and I think it's quite excellent. When I finish (what's written so far), It'll probably be tied with Wheel of Time as my favorite series. George R. R. Martin is excellent when it comes to dialogue, especially when Tyrion Lannister and Varys are involved. I also respect his subtlety with the supernatural, as opposed to abusing it like many fantasy series do. His characters are easy to get absorbed into, and every one of his situations are exciting. He never writes a chapter unless something really important happens, which is a weakness of Robert Jordan. However, I do wish that Martin would spend a longer time with one character, seeing as how almost every time I read a new chapter, I have to flip back to the last chapter that was seen through that particular character, just so that I can recall what was going on with them when I left, because so many other situations filled my head between them.

I disagree that Wheel of Time went downhill from Book 2. I think that 4 was arguably one of the best in the series, and even 10 was exciting in it's own non-active way. However, Jordan is much better at action than Martin, while Martin is much better with politics than Jordan. Which is why Book 11, which is promised to have tons of action, seeing as how all of Book 10 was a setup for a major world war, will probably be competetive as among the best in his series. If Jordan and Martin ever teamed up to make a book - Jordan to fill in all the action, while Martin fills in all the conversations and politics - it would be a splendor, and probably better than each series separately. Besides, Jordan does have that style that I love, of being a fantasy writer after having been a physicist.