BTW, you heard it here first, AFAIK I'm the first to come up with this totally non-tinfoil-hat, non-crackpot theory:

I think Bran is going to summon the red comet (the horn of winter) and smash the wall with it, causing the next long night with the nuclear-winter-style ash. Mayhap he summons the comet by eating Bloodraven. Because in Ragnaroc, the Fenris Wolf must kill Odin, and then swallow the sun, after having been confined to a cave with it's hindlegs tied up by Tyr, the onehanded god of war.

patchface wrote:It's always summer, under the sea
I know, I know, oh, oh, oh
The birds have scales, and the fish take wing
I know, I know, oh, oh, oh
The rain is dry, and the snow falls up
I know, I know, oh, oh, oh
The stones crack open, the water burns
The shadows come to dance, my lord
The shadows come to play
The shadows come to dance, my lord
The shadows come to stay

"Winter is coming" isn't a warning. It's a boast. When you break the rights of hospitality... Winter Comes.

Animavore wrote:Benjen Stark is not Cold Hands.

http://www.cinemablend.com/television/G ... 69419.html

All your salty tears belong to me.

When did we meet Coldhands in Season 4

We didn't.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/30/george-rr-martin-the-winds-of-winter-publication

George RR Martin’s The Winds of Winter: no plans for publication in 2015

Another year of waiting for The Winds of Winter to blow is in store for fans of George RR Martin, as his publisher confirmed there are no plans for the much-anticipated latest volume from his A Song of Ice and Fire series to appear in 2015. Instead, readers will have to comfort themselves with an illustrated edition of three previously anthologised novellas set in the world of Westeros.

As if anyone expected otherwise.

Ugh...

I don't really care anymore - he can go fuck himself. I've discovered many other similar, or arguably better, fantasy writers in the meantime.

Coastal wrote:I don't really care anymore - he can go fuck himself. I've discovered many other similar, or arguably better, fantasy writers in the meantime.

Who do you recommend?

Thommo wrote:

Coastal wrote:I don't really care anymore - he can go fuck himself. I've discovered many other similar, or arguably better, fantasy writers in the meantime.

Who do you recommend?

Such a subjective thing... I've simply loved some authors that others have hated, so I don't like giving recommendations. I really started with George RR Martin and Terry Pratchett and Tolkien and I was never interested in trying anything else but when I had read everything that they had written (except for Terry Pratchett, still missing a few books) I stumbled upon authors like Robin Hobb, Brandon Sanderson, Steven Erikson and sci fi like Neal Stephenson and Peter F. Hamilton.

All very good and all very different.

Have a look at this link, it might help you choose what you like from some of the more mainstream fantasy writers:

http://bestfantasybooks.com/top25-fantasy-books.php

Please don't say R Scott Bakker, please don't say R Scott Bakker...

No seriously, I'd like to see some recommendations too.

Edit: oops, too slow. Ah well, at least you didn't say R Scott Bakker.

Fallible wrote:Please don't say R Scott Bakker, please don't say R Scott Bakker...

No seriously, I'd like to see some recommendations too.

Edit: oops, too slow. Ah well, at least you didn't say R Scott Bakker.

Now you have to explain

The Wiki does not tell me much.

Oh and how can I forget Robert Jordan, although the ending left a bit to be desired I thought, I loved the journey. sniff.

Ah well lots of people said how brilliant Bakker was, that his books are philosophy as much as fantasy, so in my normal impulsive way I bought all three books in the trilogy which were his only published works at the time. I only ever read the first one and that was a struggle. Perhaps I didn't have my correct brain in at that time, but I found it to be a handful of really good ideas buried under a mountain of incomprehensible wittering and stereotypical characters. Neal Stephenson is much better IMO.

I think every author tries to inject their pet philosophies into their novels but only some will resonate with you. The story has to be good as well.

Coastal wrote:

Thommo wrote:

Coastal wrote:I don't really care anymore - he can go fuck himself. I've discovered many other similar, or arguably better, fantasy writers in the meantime.

Who do you recommend?

Such a subjective thing... I've simply loved some authors that others have hated, so I don't like giving recommendations. I really started with George RR Martin and Terry Pratchett and Tolkien and I was never interested in trying anything else but when I had read everything that they had written (except for Terry Pratchett, still missing a few books) I stumbled upon authors like Robin Hobb, Brandon Sanderson, Steven Erikson and sci fi like Neal Stephenson and Peter F. Hamilton.

All very good and all very different.

Have a look at this link, it might help you choose what you like from some of the more mainstream fantasy writers:

http://bestfantasybooks.com/top25-fantasy-books.php

Thanks, I'm looking for some new authors, since I finished all the main series books by Mark Lawrence and Peter V Brett.

Fallible wrote:Ah well lots of people said how brilliant Bakker was, that his books are philosophy as much as fantasy, so in my normal impulsive way I bought all three books in the trilogy which were his only published works at the time. I only ever read the first one and that was a struggle. Perhaps I didn't have my correct brain in at that time, but I found it to be a handful of really good ideas buried under a mountain of incomprehensible wittering and stereotypical characters. Neal Stephenson is much better IMO.

If you feel this way, I can only say NEVER EVER read a book by Terry Goodkind.

PS: Robert Jordan kinda sucks.

Don't be dissin' Robert Jordan now. I guess it had a lot to do with my state of mind when I read it. I really needed something like that at the time.

Coastal wrote:Don't be dissin' Robert Jordan now. I guess it had a lot to do with my state of mind when I read it. I really needed something like that at the time.

My brother absolutely fucking loves him to be fair. I can see what people like - the wide sweeping world, grand vision and epic plot. But he surely doesn't do characters (and let's be fair, mostly female characters) even one hundredth as well as George Martin.

I don't know if it's a typical comparison, but if you like ASoIaF, I recommend Steven Donaldson's The Gap Sequence. It's a sci-fi, but it's written in the same format with each chapter named for the character whose perspective you'll take. And like Martin, (in fact, much more so than Martin) he uses this to expose a disconnect between a character's internal perspective and their outward appearance.

It's also extremely brutal, with black and black morality, at points having you sympathise with utter fucking scumbags.

The best part though is that it's finished, and the plot is beautifully tied together at the end, something which I now think is beyond possibility for Martin's saga.

Thommo wrote:

Coastal wrote:Don't be dissin' Robert Jordan now. I guess it had a lot to do with my state of mind when I read it. I really needed something like that at the time.

My brother absolutely fucking loves him to be fair. I can see what people like - the wide sweeping world, grand vision and epic plot. But he surely doesn't do characters (and let's be fair, mostly female characters) even one hundredth as well as George Martin.

It's more of a teenage or young adult narrative - very prim and proper at times and innocent. George Martin is all about shock value and guts, but yes, much better characterisation.

Thanks to both of you for the recommendations.