On April 03 2015 13:55 RagequitBM wrote: Stopped reading ASoIF halfway through the 3rd book because I was tired of the constant sex. Is the story really worth it to keep reading?
edit: and is the constant sex going to continue, or does it eventually tone down. I kinda cringe while reading them usually
lol how does this annoy you? are you reading the books out loud with your parents in the room or what its really a tiny % of the actual word count I don't complain about all the boring food porn
I guess the sex in the books is kind of weird since they like 13 years old lol.
It's more that most of the time it doesn't seem to serve a purpose in the story (not how I said "most", not "all"). The food porn is present too but I'm pretty sure food sells less than sex in stories so... I started reading more or less at the same time as I started watching Boardwalk Empire, I kinda oversaturated on useless sex scenes put there with the marketing subtlety of an indie Japanese game I guess zzz.
description doesn't serve a purpose in the story but it's still expected not everything is plot plot plot you know it's about creating world in grrms one its a pretty rowdy world kinda like you know, the real one
Different people like different things. If the sex bothers him then it bothers him. Don't really get why you trying to fight so hard when it's just what he thinks.
Some of the sex in AsoIaF do serve the plot in certain ways. Dany not getting mounted like a horse is part of her character development. Sure there may have been other ways to go about doing t hat but well Martin decided to do it this way. Rape is pretty common in dark fantasy as well although I'm not too sure if you can call AsoIaF that. Cook had it in the background which made a lot of sense to me at least. Crocker just wasn't that kind of man.
HBO is another beast. I think they just throw tits and sex randomly to keep people interesting sometimes. That whole exposition by Little Finger while having the two prostitutes finger each other was so in your face it's a little disgusting. Guess TV are so fucking afraid of being subtle.
In that case you can show it, allude to it, or mention it, without lengthy descriptions such as giving me 3 full pages of Daenerys' mariage and loss of virginity. I mean I don't expect to read about every single word of a plot either (Varys couldn't exist if GRRM had to document stuff he does instead of stating "that happened" anyway), it's just regardless of my own lack of concision if I'm reading a published book I expect them to be better at it.
Croaker actually mentioned in the beginning of the first tome how that's not the kind of thing that's tolerated within the Black Company because the Captain likes to make things run smoothly and that just because people are mercenaries and do what it takes doesn't mean they can't be decent people while they're at it. The fact that it's written in annals also means most deeds are recounted after the fact, so you only get a "after they got caught, X got raped by a couple men in the heat of the moment. They're getting punished for it and we're going to make sure it never happens again." and not a description of how they did it (I actually like the books less when a reliable narrator was involved, save for The Black Castle and The Silver Spike because it allows their settings and great atmosphere). Note that it works for most stuff, including negociations (so dialogue), battles, etc. + Show Spoiler +
Lady
's annals tend to be more descriptive but that's because she's less experimented in that trade plus she loves to paint herself in a good light.
GRRM isn't that great an author so obviously he could have written stuff better. I'm not really defending him so much as saying sex in stories can serve multiple purposes and be done well but there's nothing wrong with it bothering you. It's kind of funny that Abercrombie I feel does sex better than Martin by quite a bit even though those 2 are so close. Maybe he just learnt from Martins mistakes.
edit: I may be remembering wrong Alaric but I'm almost certain I remember after a big battle with the rebels he mentions it going on around him but specifically says it's kind of the "rookie" or new people that tend to get overzealous with it where as all the Black Company guys that have been there for most of their lives just don't really care for that sort of thing anymore. I can't remember him saying it's specifically punished. I loved the Lady book myself too. Seeing the difference in narration and knowing how she sees the world was cool. I don't think I've read the last 2(?) where it one of them changes narrator a few times.
Anyway GRRM likes setting up these "dark" or painful personal situations but doesn't really follow through with the personal aftermath. He's very much a grander scope kind of guy so it would have made sense for him to cut some of the lackluster personal stuff. Maybe he just got overconfident in his ability. idk. This also makes me mad that Erikson isn't as known or popular even though I think he does everything better than GRRM :<
In the later books, while Croaker is captain and they have 4 young prisoners for Khatovar, they try to escape at some point while Croaker (and Tobo, who'd already beaten then into submission earlier). Both men die, and the older of the girls gets raped, Croaker learns of it as he comes back. He's all but happy about that, and although he pardons the rapists (on the grounds of "heat of the moment" and the fact that during the escape attempt at least one sentry was killed) he also says that further misteps will be punished. I don't remember it all that well, but while true that they actually don't get punished, it's not because he thinks it's "normal".
As for the start of the series, doesn't he say that other mercenaries do it but that the captain frowns upon it within the company?
Arg I honestly can't say. I'd have to go read the books again to see exactly. I do remember Croaker not liking it but I can't remember if it was a company wide policy or not. Are the last books as good as the first books? Might pick it up again after finishing S&W. I tried rereading Malazan but I couldn't will myself to reread Deadhouse, heart can't handle ;<
The last book I read I think it was the Lady one where at the end they steal her child.There're 3 left after that right? It got confusing chronologically after that if iirc
(Vote): Not a Sinner Not a Saint (Vote): Roxie (Vote): I Will Always Love You
Haven't caught up yet, but Roxie, with "Moonbear" instead of Roxie ofc. Or he could do the advanced version of Fly me to the moon - Fly me to the moonbear!
There are 4, not all good (the next annalist tends to lose himself in contemplations) but plot-wise there's nice stuff mentioned, and Cook develops some of his themes. He starts going crazy on the political intrigues too.
Hmm not sure if I'll enjoy him going into political intrigue. I rather liked how Lady's struggles more than what was going on around her. Maybe I'm just a sucker for cold women . Neo-senpai would ridicule me at this point. Thankfully he doesn't visit here frequently.
Currently at the hospital. Girl friend's best friend's mom tried to off herself by drinking antifreeze. This is the best move in day ever. Luckily I'm finished moving my stuff.
EPT
. Neo-senpai would ridicule me at this point. Thankfully he doesn't visit here frequently. 
