he stretched it out and elaborated because he had a good thing going.
Unfortunately I have a more pessimistic analysis :( The story IS a trilogy, and it ends with A Storm of Swords. The real story Martin wanted to tell is the Red Wedding. The complete destruction of the Stark family and the moment society turned on itself and destabilized. It used to be held together by the act of eating together and the references to bread and salt. The Red Wedding is a comment on how we rely on flimsy and meaningless social conventions to "protect" us but they're helpless in the face of power.
Martin insists that he has another thing going on after that event (we fans view it as the midpoint of the story) but he really doesn't. He just said that because nobody is gonna buy a book as described above. That is why the story totally falls apart after that book. Even TV only watchers know that is the point (season 4) show and books diverge in plot. Because there is no story after that.
It is the same concept we see in politics these days. For example at the Kavanaugh hearing Democrats just making up rape allegations. It doesn't matter if you have rules if people don't play by them or only one side observes them. The side breaking the rules will always have the advantage.
Haha. I like this analysis. I actually haven't read the books. Tried to start them, but I really don't like Martin's prose. Maybe one day if I've got tons of time.
I can believe that Red Wedding was the real point. In my experience, sometimes a writer will have a great idea, hit it, and then gets lost for the rest of the story. You see it all the time in movies where after a great first act or opening sequence the movie just goes three sheets to the wind.
. It doesn't matter if you have rules if people don't play by them or only one side observes them. The side breaking the rules will always have the advantage.
Yup. This is the exact problem we're having. Authorities can always get around the rules, or use the rules to destroy, if they're determined to do so. Ultimately, it's the morality and humanity of the people in the system that hold it together.
Btw, this reminds me of an old philosophy scenario concerning moral imperatives. The most self-advantageous rule of behavior is to cheat as long as you can do so without getting caught. I guess the Democrats are the real world proof of this.
Unfortunately I have a more pessimistic analysis :( The story IS a trilogy, and it ends with A Storm of Swords. The real story Martin wanted to tell is the Red Wedding. The complete destruction of the Stark family and the moment society turned on itself and destabilized. It used to be held together by the act of eating together and the references to bread and salt. The Red Wedding is a comment on how we rely on flimsy and meaningless social conventions to "protect" us but they're helpless in the face of power.
Martin insists that he has another thing going on after that event (we fans view it as the midpoint of the story) but he really doesn't. He just said that because nobody is gonna buy a book as described above. That is why the story totally falls apart after that book. Even TV only watchers know that is the point (season 4) show and books diverge in plot. Because there is no story after that.
It is the same concept we see in politics these days. For example at the Kavanaugh hearing Democrats just making up rape allegations. It doesn't matter if you have rules if people don't play by them or only one side observes them. The side breaking the rules will always have the advantage.
Haha. I like this analysis. I actually haven't read the books. Tried to start them, but I really don't like Martin's prose. Maybe one day if I've got tons of time.
I can believe that Red Wedding was the real point. In my experience, sometimes a writer will have a great idea, hit it, and then gets lost for the rest of the story. You see it all the time in movies where after a great first act or opening sequence the movie just goes three sheets to the wind.
Yup. This is the exact problem we're having. Authorities can always get around the rules, or use the rules to destroy, if they're determined to do so. Ultimately, it's the morality and humanity of the people in the system that hold it together.
Btw, this reminds me of an old philosophy scenario concerning moral imperatives. The most self-advantageous rule of behavior is to cheat as long as you can do so without getting caught. I guess the Democrats are the real world proof of this.