What first drew you, and still draws you, to aSoIaF/GoT? [READ OP] [SPOILERS]

[Inarus]

A simple question, but some points of thought:

Firstly, what was it that first drew you to this series?
The depth of detail? A love of fantasy? The "realism" of it all?
Or was it just Sean Bean in a fantasy drama with hints of horror produced by HBO?

Secondly, and this is where I see issues arising, what keeps you drawn to this series?
Because aSoIaF threatens your comfort in the belief that a character will survive,
The brutal slaughter that concludes A Game of Thrones challenges the security typically attached to the protagonist(s), the main character(s) of a novel,
And yet you read on, despite the fact that your beloved characters
- Daenerys, Stannis, Cersei, Walder (), Arya, Tyrion -
All face the realistic doom of death that aSoIaF faces head on...

Of course, I exaggerate the point, the attractions to the series are beyond count,
...So the question is, what do you feel and think drives you to read on, the resolution? Or something more...?

(Sod's law there'll be an old thread but bugger it )

[The Forgotten]

I hated GoT at first. Mostly because I watched the series first and I couldn't understand a single word they were saying. Then once I saw the kid get chucked off a tower by two characters I instantly hated, killed any idea of watching the next episode . The blatant nudity was annoying too.

Then later I tried watching the series again and started liking it. I could remember who was who, and what was going on. Then once Ned got his head chopped off it hooked me. By the time I had finished the season I wanted more... So I got the books and read all 5 of them in only a couple months.

Like I said, Eddard getting killed was really something to me. All the books I had read went the usual, Hero arises, faces insurmountable challenges, and over comes any odd to win the day. When the great bearded glacier killed off who I thought was the main character I got mad, confused, depressed, and a lot of other emotions . Drogo's death and the dragons propelled me into CoK.

Now that I have made peace with Ned, Oberyn, and Robb , I find it is more than the surprise Stark deaths that keep me interested. It is how nothing is black and white. Everybody is just a shade of grey and there is no clear outcome at all. I even found that the Lannisters, who I once hated with a passion, are now one of my favorite houses. Even Cersei is entertaining to read even though I actually do hate her. Also now that Joff is dead I really like them.

Also if I hadn't found this mod and other people to talk about aSoIF with, then I might not have stuck with the books half so much.

[Mount Suribachi]

A simple question, but some points of thought:

Firstly, what was it that first drew you to this series?

A friend of mine who was reading the books ~5 years ago and kept going on about them, and how everyone kept dying. I didn't realise it was a fantasy though, I thought it was like a War of the Roses type thing. Then last year she was reading ADWD and going on about it again, and I expressed an intrest in reading the series. I went onto Amazon and read the sample chapters of AGOT prologue and Bran I and was instantly hooked, she lent me the books and 12 months later I'm about to finish my first re-read.

Secondly, and this is where I see issues arising, what keeps you drawn to this series?

The multiple layers of the story. Its a murder-mystery, its a thriller, its a political drama, its a fantasy, its a historical fiction, its a horror.
The characterisation - From Ned Stark to Ramsay Snow and everyone in between, the range of character and their personalities, emotions, desires, way of thinking acting and speaking run the whole gamut of human experience.
Martins turn of phrase. Like no author I have ever read, Martin has the ability to make his characters mutter great quote after great quote. Wonderfully memorable, wonderfully pithy. He's like a Churchill or a Wellington for producing pithy one-liners, and he's produced hundreds of them.
The depth of the story. How one throw-away line written 10 years ago comes back to have massive impact 3 books later. All the little clues that are there for the eagle-eyed reader, so that even now we can make educated guesses about the future of the series.

...So the question is, what do you feel and think drives you to read on, the resolution? Or something more...?

What drives us on to read any book? The desire to find out what happens next! Will our favourite characters make it? Will the baddies get whats coming to them? The answer to both with just about every author in history is "of course!", but not with GRRM.

Also, we've all developed our pet theories, we want to know if our predictions are true.

[deusvult6]

It was 2007. I had just moved to Guam and was perusing the fantasy/sci-fi shelf in one of the two wretched, little bookstores on that island debating with myself whether or not to buy doubles of the Wheel of Time to re-read while waiting for my household stuff to catch up with me. Some random old guy saw me fiddling with them and recommended ASOIAF to me saying that they were also an excellent fantasy series. He also said that at least the author wasn't likely to die anytime soon unlike some(knock on wood), which is also how I found out about Robert Jordan's death the previous day. A fair trade-off, I suppose; terrible news and an excellent recommendation. Where or whoever he is, thanks dude.

What really does it for me, is the depth and complexity of the plot, the unpredictability of, well, everything, and the excellent storytelling which brings it all together and delivers it to the reader. It was almost too much so, as after finishing them the 2nd time (well, the 4 that were out then) I realized I had difficulty getting into almost any other books as they just seemed so shallow and vapid without even a conscious comparison. It was like my mental bar of quality determination had been raised and my standard for interest felt made stricter.

I will come back to the series over and over even after it ends because it has made me really think almost more than anything else I've ever read. And I love thinking. It's what books are all about; an entire universe of thought.

[Mikail Mengsk]

Firstly, what was it that first drew you to this series?

A lot of internet friends telling me how awesome the books were, so i bought the first one.

Secondly, and this is where I see issues arising, what keeps you drawn to this series?

Wars and political schemes are well described, the background is awesome and the characters are very good and often very deep. I don't really like when magic is involved (the whole "Others" plotline don't catch me at all), the rest is fantastic. It's a whole world buried deep in wars and strategies, i like it.

...So the question is, what do you feel and think drives you to read on, the resolution? Or something more...?

What happens next and how will it end. Making previsions and looking to see them fulfilled or not.

[toluas]

Outstanding writing, great characters.

Realism. Not being a fan of those overly fantastic worlds full of snarks and grumpkins, I loved the pretty realistic approach of GRRM. Mystery, but not always noble elves, evil orcs and huge trolls. And part of that realism is the fact that every character is constantly in danger of a mishap – something that is not in particular appealing to me, but a trademark of a realistic idea behind the story.

Time. GRRM takes the time to really TELL a story, and that is something that quite simply takes time. You cannot do that in the limited time (page count) of a single book.

Plan. I like to believe that GRRM really has – as he stated – an idea how things will turn out in the end. Honestly, when it takes a couple of years to finish another book, I start to question the plan; but for now I’ll give the great bearded glacier the benefit of doubt.

Suspense. The POV structure opens the possibility to feed us false/one sided information, which keeps us all in the dark. Was Rhaegar a good man or a monster?; will Daenerys claim the Iron Throne in the end?; what’s the matter with Aegon?; who are Jon Snow’s parents? Or: why does GRRM tell us the story of Aegon V. in such epic detail – a story that is more than half a century in the past?
This suspense makes for eager anticipation and a devoted fanbase.

[Badger-dude]

When I was in Thailand, I saw a 10 minute preview of Game of Thrones on Fox or CNN or some other American station. I was intrigued.

When I returned home, my mum had been watching it an recommended it to me. Sadly, she also spoiled 'Baelor' for me...

I liked Series 1, so read all 5 books over the course of 6 months.

[ByzantineCaesar]

Swords, knights and politics.

[Heiro de Bodemloze]

Gather around. It all began one faithful Thursday night as the snows fell deep and heavy outside in the cold and unfriendly North. Norway, that is. I scrolled through the channels and came across something called "Game of Thrones", I recalled seeing some things at newspages etc about it and started watching. I think the first episode I saw was like the fourth or something. So I found out there was a book series for it and bought them. Never regretted or looked back, you know until I found out I have too wait so long for the next season..

Cheers .

[complete noob:(]

To be completely honest... this mod and hotseats. I was playing over at the main forum, and saw someone post about westero hotseats. So I found this mod, promptly downloaded it, and began to recognize the words "Game of Thrones". When I was in the airport for a 8-hour flight, I realized I had forgotten a book, so I went to a small bookstore. The first one that caught my eye was "A Game of Thrones". And now I have read them 10 times each because each time you see another amazing example of foreshadowing, or another detail you missed. The way GRRM writes makes you want to reread it a few times.

[Deska140]

I learned about the whole saga from the trailer of tv series.My thoughts were: "this has to be good".
After the first season i started to read books and after the second one i found this mod.
The main thing that draws me to this series is the politics, backstabbing and ambiguity of the characters.

[Namorath]

ill started with my brother picking up a book at the airport to pass the time
he gave it to me and ive been hooked since

the politics and history intrigues me and the prophecies too ... sadly the tv show doesnt cover that

i also like that mostly everyone has a reason behind their actions that can be relatable even littlefinger or Tywin and that makes for good storytelling

[Captain Zoran]

Incest!

[Namorath]

Twincest!!!

[Mhaedros]

This mod on both questions really People talked about how interesting Westeros is and I saw multiple sigs that linked here, so I clicked one, got here and saw the alpha and left A couple of weeks after that I started watching GOT cos people liked it and it seemed good. Well, I liked it too, so I came back here and downloaded the alpha and like a week later I bought the books on internet

Nowadays I just want to see what happens and get this mod done

[Mr.Lannister]

My lord father introduced me and keeps me attached to ASOIAF.

[TheDude117]

Been reading aSoIaF since 1996 when the books first came out. My dad is an amateur fantasy writer and saw this on the self at a bookstore one and decided to buy. He read it first, and was really impressed by it, he knew I like fantasy so he gave it to me to read and I could not put it down. I loved all the characters... the realism... the plotting... just about everything about it I loved.. stuck with it thick and thin... I read it when I was in the Army in Iraq... out of the middle in the desert... I remember reading a Feast for Crows and losing myself in the details... really helped me get through out there... so I kind of have a special bond with series... even though the character I love may die... when you have that much of a bond with them they tend to live on in your head

[Mount Suribachi]

Been reading aSoIaF since 1996 when the books first came out.

Impressive How have you coped with the long delays between books? Is going to the sandpit for a couple of years the recommended coping strategy?

[TheDude117]

I usually cope with long waiting times between books by trying to write down what I think the next book will be like... being an amateur author myself... to say the least I have not been right most of the time