Is a Song of Ice and Fire better than Lord of the Rings? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Luinëaglariel · 03-14-2014, 06:18 PM

They (LotR and ASOFAI) are good stories. They are invented histories. They have fascinating characters, plots, and places that you get caught up in and have strong reactions to. They are epic in scope. They are both well written, and . . . this is where it just starts to diverge. ALL of LotR is well written--even brilliantly and "geniusly" (gosh, he might really take me to task for making up that word, or, he may like it--?? ;o)). ASOIAF is well written in parts, but you can easily detect a formula--especially if you burn through the books as I did last summer. Introduce a character, set a situation, sex/degradation, butchery/bloodshed, introduce/revisit a character, set a situation, sex/degradation, etc. Martin piques the prurient; Tolkien piques the soul. Martin gets carried away and overwrites ("overwroughts"?) certain scenes--especially the sex scenes; Tolkien--well he just doesn't do those things.

ASOIAF is a bodice-ripper, epic and captivating, yes. But compared to LotR, Silmarillion, Hobbit, etc., they are romance novels. I would never go to Martin with life & death questions or for inspiration. I would not re-read them every 2-3 years.

;o) Dininziliel (I think my username is different, but my "real" Barrowdowns name is Dininziliel!

cellurdur · 03-20-2014, 09:41 AM

No it is significantly inferior in terms of character development, realism, world building and even pacing.

ASOIAF is good entertainment, but lacks the realism, the depth and philosophy behind Tolkien's world. The characters in Tolkien's world are very real. In ASOIAF you constantly have suspend you sense of belief and ignore the cheap tactics the author uses to make you like a character.

03-14-2014, 06:18 PM	#1
Luinëaglariel Newly Deceased Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 2	WWF--In This Corner, Tolkien; In That Corner, Martin! They (LotR and ASOFAI) are good stories. They are invented histories. They have fascinating characters, plots, and places that you get caught up in and have strong reactions to. They are epic in scope. They are both well written, and . . . this is where it just starts to diverge. ALL of LotR is well written--even brilliantly and "geniusly" (gosh, he might really take me to task for making up that word, or, he may like it--?? ;o)). ASOIAF is well written in parts, but you can easily detect a formula--especially if you burn through the books as I did last summer. Introduce a character, set a situation, sex/degradation, butchery/bloodshed, introduce/revisit a character, set a situation, sex/degradation, etc. Martin piques the prurient; Tolkien piques the soul. Martin gets carried away and overwrites ("overwroughts"?) certain scenes--especially the sex scenes; Tolkien--well he just doesn't do those things. ASOIAF is a bodice-ripper, epic and captivating, yes. But compared to LotR, Silmarillion, Hobbit, etc., they are romance novels. I would never go to Martin with life & death questions or for inspiration. I would not re-read them every 2-3 years. ;o) Dininziliel (I think my username is different, but my "real" Barrowdowns name is Dininziliel!

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03-20-2014, 09:41 AM	#2
cellurdur Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 276	No it is significantly inferior in terms of character development, realism, world building and even pacing. ASOIAF is good entertainment, but lacks the realism, the depth and philosophy behind Tolkien's world. The characters in Tolkien's world are very real. In ASOIAF you constantly have suspend you sense of belief and ignore the cheap tactics the author uses to make you like a character.