Ex-RPGNet Review: A Song of Ice and Fire

Originally Published March 24th, 2004 REVIEWING THE NOVELS I think a very strong argument can be made that George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is the finest work of epic fantasy since J.R.R. Tolkien first defined the genre with The Lord of the Rings. And that’s pretty much the only comparison which can be made between Martin’s emerging masterpiece and Tolkien’s classic. Where Tolkien is a romantic, Martin is a realist. Where Tolkien is evocatively poetic, Martin is powerfully blunt. Where Tolkien is mythic, Martin is historical. This review covers the first three books in the series: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords. The fourth book, titled A Feast of Crows, is scheduled to come out later this year. (Of course, it was also scheduled to come out last year. So don’t hold your breath.) The series is not done, and so it would be premature to judge it as a whole. But I will say this: If Martin finishes as he has begun, he will have crafted the first work…