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Books

George RR Martin Finishes A Dance With Dragons 279

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the blind-guardian-seems-to-like-it dept.
Lil'wombat writes "George RR Martin has completed his long awaited conclusion to the A Song of Ice and Fire series. A Dance with Dragons will be published on July 12, 2011. Let the celebrations begin! And everyone was worried that he was going to pull a Jordan."
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George RR Martin Finishes A Dance With Dragons More

George RR Martin Finishes A Dance With Dragons

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  • I don't believe that this is the end... More books in the series are anticipated.

  • This is not the end (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Dance with Dragons is the 4th of 7 planned books. It is not the conclusion to the series.

  • Definitive proof the world will end in 2012 (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 04, 2011 @12:45PM (#35381470)

    First Duke Nukem Forever and now this.

  • He really had that second half written alright.. (Score:5, Informative)

    by turtledawn ( 149719 ) on Friday March 04, 2011 @12:46PM (#35381486)

    I'll echo someone I read a couple of days ago and say this is the longest wait for half of a book I've ever encountered.

    • I'll echo someone I read a couple of days ago and say this is the longest wait for half of a book I've ever encountered.

      Agreed. If you can't see a big "F-U" from Martin between the lines, you aren't paying very close attention. 100% due to Martin and Robert Jordan, I will never, EVER pick up and start reading another book series that isn't completed the day I buy the first one. Screw you guys, screw you all.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by osgeek ( 239988 )

        EXACTLY why I refuse to read Stephen R. Donaldson's latest Thomas Covenant series. That jackass can release the last one before I even crack open the first one. I bugged my local SciFi bookstore for ages when I was in high school, waiting for White Gold Wielder.

        I'm actually thankful to Robert Jordan for making the later books of the WoT series unreadable, thus saving me from caring about how the series would have ended had he written it.

    • may i introduce you to the chtorr [wikipedia.org]?

      • He's been upstaged, thank you. I'll avoid picking that one up if I find it on the rack before I'm fifty.

    • And this might be the longest half of a book ever clocking in at 1008 pages!

  • two corrections (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 04, 2011 @12:47PM (#35381502)

    1) The link says specifically that the book isn't done but it's close enough to done to give it a publication date

    2) It's not the series conclusion. It's the 5th of 7 planned books that was originally supposed to be 3 books total :)

  • Aside from it not being the conclusion... (Score:3)

    by fireduck ( 197000 ) on Friday March 04, 2011 @12:50PM (#35381548)

    According to his own website, GRRM hasn't even finished it yet. I'm not believing anything about this book until I can buy it.

    • His Livejournal had a confirmation a couple of days ago, but his editor posted somewhere else saying it wasn't in the can yet and she'd sleep better if it was. Like always I'll believe it when I see it.

    • No doubt. He's promised this book twice before and those promises were false.

  • Just hope.. (Score:3)

    by malkavian ( 9512 ) on Friday March 04, 2011 @12:51PM (#35381552)

    That it's not as disappointing as the last one..
    Maybe it's just me, but it seemed like a great departure from his normal style (the bad guys actually think about what they're doing, which makes them interesting), and had the "bad guys" acting like they'd never encountered politics before in their lives.. Just had a few "belief no longer suspended" moments in it..
    Hope this one goes back to the old "dark and gritty".. Victories are great and all, but in the earlier volumes, they were earned..

    • and had the "bad guys" acting like they'd never encountered politics before in their lives.

      That held true for Cersei sure, but then I think he's trying to describe her as paranoid and borderline insane. It's not completely clear who else is a definite bad guy in Feast.

    • If you are referring to Cersie, I thought it was very believable. She became psychotic -- it's a real thing that happens to people, including leaders (think Gaddafi), and Martin wrote the character very well.

  • I will still read it though ... (Score:3)

    by sirdude ( 578412 ) on Friday March 04, 2011 @12:52PM (#35381566)
    I loved the series until the whole Caitlyn-returns-from-the-dead-and-becomes-a-witch-queen incident. That was just ridiculous and smacked of one of his TV scripts. I will still read DWD though ...

  • Monumentally stupid headline (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Tridus ( 79566 ) on Friday March 04, 2011 @12:54PM (#35381584) Homepage

    The first LINE of TFA says " No. Sorry. Not done yet."

    How the hell do you go from that to "hey it's done!"?

    I mean come on. Even for Slashdot this is retarded.

  • My day is officially made (Score:5, Funny)

    by mikeabbott420 ( 744514 ) on Friday March 04, 2011 @12:54PM (#35381594) Journal

    I remember back in the day, as a young man full of optimism and energy, eagerly anticipating the second half of this marvelous novel.

    Now at last I might take it in my wrinkled, trembling hands and gaze in wonder through rheumy eyes, ever so slightly before the reaper takes my withered husk from this world!

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Quirkz ( 1206400 )
      This is tagged funny, but it's really true.

      I read the first book in the series in the month after I graduated college. Since that time I have held eight jobs, been laid off from two; tried four separate freelance/personal businesses on the side; changed career paths three times; lived in nine houses in three significantly different geographical locations; visited 44 of the 50 US states; had two romantic relationships with two big dry spells in between; met, romanced, and married my wife, and just celebra

  • This book has had so many ridiculous setbacks and delays that it's become comical. How many times was book 4 rewritten, only to have become split (and disappointing)? And then it's another six years before book 5, which is simply the other half of book 4? According to him, he's already written some chapters from the next two books. Why? I understand the value of having notes for what's going to happen, but to take the time to write full chapters when your current work isn't finished, and fans are chomp

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Tridus ( 79566 )

      Well there's another issue with the summary. If he's got stuff for two more books, this is hardly the end of the series.

      This one is so bad it's comical. "The completed conlusion of the series" is actually the not-completed not-conclusion of the series.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by godefroi ( 52421 )

      Extremely ironic note:

      I originally started reading GRRM specifically because he was recommended to me by fans that claimed he was the anti-Jordan because I wouldn't have to wait for him to get around to publishing the ending to his series.

      Hah. The joke's on me, Sanderson is going to finish WOT (and do an absolutely brilliant job at it too, by the way) but who's going to finish this series?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Cinder6 ( 894572 )

        Yes, Sanderson is doing a surprisingly good job, and I look forward to A Memory of Light. I wonder, though, if The Wheel of Time is a series that can be ended in a way that's satisfying to most fans. I guess we shall see in one year.

        If you enjoy darker fantasy, I recommend the Malazan Book of the Fallen. The magic isn't subtle like it is in A Song of Ice and Fire, but it's an excellent (if somewhat unconventional) series. Looking at the release dates, the first book was published in 1999, and the 10th a

  • And everyone was worried that he was going to pull a Jordan."

    There's still two books to go, and Martin is 62 years old. Since it was SEVEN years between "a feast for crows" and "a dance with dragons", he would be 76 at this rate before he finishes. That's beyond the average american lifespan, so yes...a "jordan" is a very real possibility.

  • Lots of hate for Jordan? (Score:3)

    by Onuma ( 947856 ) on Friday March 04, 2011 @01:00PM (#35381684)
    While Robert Jordan may have died before he finished the series, I think he and his wife/editor made a good decision in selecting Brandon Sanderson as co-author to complete the final 3 installments. While many people got jaded around books 4-5-6-7 (YMMV), I think Jordan picked up his original style around books 10-11; A Knife of Dreams was fantastic. 12 and 13 were co-authored, but were both excellent works. A Memory of Light is still in the process, but it is expected to be just as good, or better than, the previous two.

    So even if GRRM does kick the bucket, if he "pulls a Jordan" that means that he'll have written out enough notes for a solid conclusion to his fictional world and have selected a competent co-author who can finish out strongly. Is that such a worst-case-scenario?

    • HA! And I thought it was book 10 that everyone hated, I have found a fan!

      But yes, selecting Sanderson was a good decision, he was highly motivated, and the goal was in sight. He cut the crap and ran it full steam, and so far, it has worked awesomely.

    • my biggest beef is that sanderson doesn't seem to know (or care) how to write genre-appropriate dialog and narration. there's a huge pile of epic fantasy language conventions which he completely ignores, both in his own stuff and in his two WoT books. in ToM, a firework or something was said to have "zipped" into the sky--abysmal. that word has no business in an epic fantasy novel. half his aes sedai talk like sitcom characters, with snark being their main mode. i keep expecting rand to say "hey you" or "wh

      • It's a matter of offsets. For example, I absolutely hated his "Ladies and Dice" rant for Mat in TGS, but seeing as the over all story flow had improved amazingly, I forgave these minor niggles.

      • While I agree there's something off about the tone of Sanderson's dialog, I'm not sure I agree that you've identified it. I'm not even sure that epic fantasy language conventions are in and of themselves a good thing.

        There is something tonally off at times, but really I think he just writes poor prose and poorer dialog (although I did enjoy Lightsong and to a lesser extent Denth in Warbringer -- he seems to be able to pull of snark, although Shallan in the Way of Kings was a big step back in that regard).

    • George R.R. Martin has stated in the past that he has directed his notes and unfinished writings to be destroyed when he dies. So, if we want this series concluded, he needs to finish before he dies or depend on fanfiction (which he opposes).

  • It isn't done. It's just 'done enough' that the publishers feels like they should roll out a date. The publisher has, at various times, rolled out dates in the past only to have them be missed. I will believe it when I see it.

  • meanwhile (Score:3)

    by bhcompy ( 1877290 ) on Friday March 04, 2011 @01:10PM (#35381832)
    Meanwhile, Steven Erikson just completed the 10 book Malazan Book of the Fallen series, which is at least the equal of ASoIaF, as of Tuesday with the release of the 10th book. He started the series 4 years after Martin started ASoIaF.

    • I have not read the it, but I have heard Malazan is a nice series. Would you recommend it?

      And talking of long series, Jim Butcher is also good on doling out instalment on his Dresden series, and so is Terry Pratchett on his Discworld set (though technically, they are at least half a dozen separate series rolled into one).

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Corbets ( 169101 )

        The Malazan series is the most fascinating work of fantasy I've ever read. Highly recommended.

        Butcher's Dresden Files are also highly entertaining and well written, though I strongly suggest avoiding his pure fantasy works (the name escapes me at the moment, but they're absolute crap, and I'm surprised they're written by the same man).

        • You wouldn't be talking of Codex Alera, would you? I kinda liked those, though yes, the style was markedly different, I guess he was trying to experiment with a different style with those six. But not bad, just...different.

      • Sorry for the all caps, but yes, Malazan Book of the Fallen is far superior to Song of Ice and Fire. It's dark, it's gritty, and yet it's redeeming, portrays all the characters as more than one dimensional stock, and manages to include philosophical critiques of the world, religion, philosophy, economics, emotion, and fanaticism of all stripes without breaking stride or tone. It's the only series that has made me care about a couple of villains as well as the heroes. It is simply amazing. Just be warned: to
        • Yes. You have to go into knowing that Erikson does NOT provide you with any handholding to explain how things work. This isn't Dragonlance. There is no explanation about anything other than when it uncovers itself throughout the series. I found it to be an interesting way to get into a very deep and broad world, and I respect the author for not spending any time to dumb it down, because in the end it's worth it.

          Your best friend will be the list on characters in the front of the books and the append

      • Eh.

        Malazan reads like it's the author novelizing his D&D game. That's not really a complement, even though I'm a longtime pen and paper gamer.

        (In actuality, apparently it's his GURPS game -- but I figure more people will know what D&D is.)

    • While you were writing that comment, Stephen King just finished and published 18 books. So there!

  • I won't believe it until it actually ships from Amazon. They had a publishing date set years ago, I think they even put it up for pre-order...everything sounded like the book was done and at the printers. Now we find out it STILL isn't really finished?

    What's really a shame is I'm just wrapping up re-reading the previous four books in anticipation of the new TV series. We can probably thank that for him finally (hopefully) getting this book finished. The teaser preview for the series sounds good. Hopefu

  • Gaiman's perspective (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mblase ( 200735 ) on Friday March 04, 2011 @01:11PM (#35381844)

    May be a good time to post Neil Gaiman's blog entry on why George R.R. Martin is not your bitch [neilgaiman.com].

    • That post makes me glad my name is not Gareth! Thanks for sharing.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Drathus ( 152223 )

      While I normally love Neil, in response to that particular piece he can kiss my lily white ass.

      There's a vast difference between someone "out there typing what you want to read right now" (Neil's assertion) and thinking that it's a disappointment that someone is failing to meet the delivery expectations they themselves have set.

      If at work I were to promise my boss that I could complete a project in six months, then turn around and have it take 24 times as long? I wouldn't have had a job after twice as long

    • I'm a paying customer and I have the right to bitch, complain and moan all I want. I spent money, not to mention time and mental energy, on Martin's books and I certainly wouldn't have done so if I didn't feel that there was at least an implicit promise that he would make a reasonable effort to finish the series and not leave me hanging out to dry with a thousand cliffhangers.

      I understand about missing deadlines and writers block and all that. But if you can't write, then at least shut up about it, for G

  • I know several people who are very happy about this news, and I admit I actually have no idea who he is or what series this is the next book of. I know, Google is my friend, etc., but what I'm really asking is, and this is the perfect place to ask, "Why should I read this series, especially given that it seems he seems takes an awful lot of time to complete a book". Sounds like he'd give Knuth a run for his money.

    I'm honestly not trolling: I'm really interested and am just looking for more subjective inform

    • The first 3 books of the series are among the best 3 consecutive books written in the fantasy genre. 4 dropped off a lot, though. It's an extension of Glen Cook in that it is gritty and people die, but it is in the style of high fantasy rather than Cook's rather accessible everyday writing style(and book length). The books are very light on magic, but high on mysticism and legend. Think of it mostly as a historical middle age book with a bit of fantasy/magic thrown in(it does grow with the series thou
    • I just picked up this series a month or two ago for similar reasons and it is definitely worth the read. It is very well written and the only series in the fantasy genre that I think is better is Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles.

      The two series are very different though and the real defining feature of GRRM's series is that it is epic in the truest sense of the word while still keeping very organized separate plot lines that interact in meaningful ways. I enjoyed the sci-fi books "The Dragon Never

  • "The dragons are coming. Prepare to dance."

  • Jordan (Score:3)

    by mseeger ( 40923 ) on Friday March 04, 2011 @01:26PM (#35382060)

    Hi,

    i consider the reference to Jordan as bad taste and offensive toward Jordans family. Do you think he intended to die? As a comment, i would have expected such a missstep, but as story this is a very, very low level.

    Furthermore: the story belongs to the author and only him. If he decides to take 17 years for the next book (as Tokien did after The Hobbit), one has to wait. I would rather wait in vain, than pushing for a book the author feels not happy with.

    Disappointed, Martin

    • I think he realized he had a guaranteed income stream which was larger than what he would get from residuals alone and decided to milk it. Did he intend to die before finishing? No - very few people have a stated intention to die, after all. But I do not believe he had after book six or so any intention of writing the story he initially set out to write in the way he initially expected to write it.

  • If the HBO series is successful he will be forced to finish the series. He can't very well let the series get ahead of the books. Assuming 1 season = 1 book, I'd say that gives him ~6 years to finish the last two books.

    He was going to announce Dance with Dragons over Christmas, but he was in the hospital for a week or two. Since he seems to have a lot else on his plate[ie tv series premieres in a month] this delayed him more than 2 weeks as he needed to find a new free time in his schedule instead of jus

  • and what? Die? That's a tad insensitive even for Slashdot. I know we are all emotionless robots here but come on...

  • How about pull a Harlan? Just how's that The Last Dangerous Visions thing coming anyway?

  • And the Tolkien estate sues him (Score:5, Funny)

    by Culture20 ( 968837 ) on Friday March 04, 2011 @02:25PM (#35382792)
    And the Tolkien estate sues him for writing fantasy and using two Rs as middle initials.

  • dont care... (Score:3)

    by Charliemopps ( 1157495 ) on Friday March 04, 2011 @04:10PM (#35383942)
    A lot of people will lam-bast him, or defend him... whatever... here's my take on it:

    I started reading his incredibly good books 11 (that's ELEVEN) years ago. They were great books! But waiting 5 years for a Feast for crows? I waited till it came out on paperback, got about half way through it and realized there was no point. I didn't remember any of the characters or the plot, and didn't feel like re-reading 4000+ pages just to catch myself up. Now, 17 years after the series started he finally writes the last book. Good for you George. Maybe my kid can read it when he gets old enough. But as for me and a lot of your audience? You lost us a decade ago. You got too involved in other projects, even politics for gods sake.

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