It's time for everyone's favorite/least-favorite/only abominable reviewer to come clean about one of the skeletons in his closet. I don't know any good way to sugarcoat it so here goes nothing....
I have never read George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones.
I'll give you a couple of line breaks to let that sink in.
Done yet?
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| I don't know what this is but it looks awesome |
I know, I know. Everyone's so excited for April 17th. Game of Thrones. Sean Bean. Peter Dinklage. The Iron Throne. Wooooooo!!!!!!!!!...........?
Or if you're not geared up for April 17th, then you've got July 12th circled on your calendar. It's the closest thing the fantasy genre has to Christmas. A Dance With Dragons! For reals. Finally. We swear, even more so than the last time we set a final date.
Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to see HBO take on what is undoubtedly the most significant epic fantasy series of the Oughties. They really look like they're doing it justice. And I've always had every intention of catching up on GRRM's modern masterpiece once the end was in sight, assuming of course that he hadn't gone Goodkind by that point.
But with the pilot debut mere weeks away, I had to ask "Can I sample HBO's version of A Song of Ice and Fire without first experiencing it as originally intended?"
A quick twitter survey revealed the answer wasn't just "no", but rather a much longer and harsher no preceeded by several explicitives unfit for even an abominable soul like myself to publish. Just for context, Brad Beaulieu (author of April's The Winds of Khalakovo) suggested that I should read Game of Thrones before reviewing his own debut novel. If that's not a killer recommendation, I don't know what is.
So while I do have a lot of promising books I need to finish in the near future (including The Winds of Khalakovo, The Dragon's Path, Up Against It, and The Quantum Thief among others), I've decided to take a break from the never ending new release pile and finally fill the gaping hole in my fantasy reviewer resume. Otherwise, I risk depriving myself of the first-read experience that is Game of Thrones - something I've been assured I'll regret.
Feel free to let your disgust show in the comments. The more contemptuous the better, I can take it. That is, if you're still will to talk to me at all. I won't blame you if you don't.
And if you're like me - a fantasy fan with this shameful secret - don't be afraid to admit it. There's still time for us to redeem ourselves.
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| But not long... |
