Should I start reading GoT?

[lillumultipass]

Hello,

A bit of background first: I used to read a lot of fantasy and Sci-fi (my favorites being Elric saga, 9 princes of Amber and Foundation) when I was a bit younger (I am 28 now), but in my twenties, I didn't read that much, mainly because I was reading economics books for my PhD, and also because I dabbled in other genres.
For the past year, I have started reading again, and I have read the Ravens Chronicles (which is now one of my favorite), the Belgariad, the Farseer, Hamilton's Reality Dysfunctionn Ilium...
I now plan to read some of the best series in fantasy, that is Martin's ASOFAI, Erikson's books (I still can't write the name of the series), Williams' Dragonbone, Marco's 2 series, Kate Elliott's Crown of stars, The Liveship traders, The tawny man, pullman's "His dark materials"

I am going to start with "His dark materials" when I am on vacation next week. But then, should I read ASOFAI right away? I know it is not the easiest read, and it is considered one of the best. So maybe I should start with a lighter, and maybe not as good, series (even though I appreciate how subjective last criterion is).
I am eager to read Erikson's books, but I am going to wait till the series is more advanced I think.
I haven't mentionned WoT because, by what I have read, Jordan's style seems to be very very descriptive, something I don't really like.
Oh, and finally, I must add that the standard cliche of the yound lad saving the world with his friends (a la Tolkien or Eddings) is not what I prefer, even though I enjoyed reading the Belgariad. It is not that I don't like young heroes, but I prefer when they are at school/learning for instance (like in Harry Potter or some Ursula Leguin's books).

Thanks for any suggestions

P.S: retrospectively, I wonder whether this topic should have been placed in a more general section of the forum.

[Sparks the Knave]

Yes, Read ASoIaF!! it's outstanding and in my view the best fantasy I have ever read, perhaps even the best thing I have read full stop. While complex, it's not hard to follow as it's so well written. it's lush, it's harsh, it's twisty and it's hard to find a good read for me in comparison now days . GRRM is a writer that seems to have easy to read detail, flowing script, fleshed out interesting characters by the bucket (which other authors sometimes struggle to do) and advanced plots.

[lauren20062001]

Also you certainly won't come across the cliche. The best part, imo, of Martin's writing is that the characters seem real and act real, typically not in the expected way.

It is very descriptive, but the descriptions aren't of landscape and architecture, they're of personalities, actions and thoughts and add so much to the story. I recommend the series to any one, even people that don't typically like to read.

[lillumultipass]

Thanks for the answer guys, but I think you misunderstood me; mainly because my question was not clear enough.
Indeed, I am certain that I will read ASOFAI; the question is "should I read it now, before all the other stuff I can read?"
My point is that, if I start reading ASOFAI and then Erikson's books (which seem to be considered the best fantasy series with Martin's), I would have started with the best of the best, and I might desillusioned by what I read next.

[Sparks the Knave]

ahh I see. No contest. read ASoIaF first. the after effects be damned

[lillumultipass]

Originally Posted by Sparks the Knave

ahh I see. No contest. read ASoIaF first. the after effects be damned

lol
Of course, I might have not have chosen the right forum to get an objective answer

[Barristan]

Originally Posted by lillumultipass

lol
Of course, I might have not have chosen the right forum to get an objective answer

Lmao, methinks you could be right

Read them!!

[Lubbock]

Be carefull if you start your vacation with A Game of Thrones, you will not get anything else done, besides reading the rest of the series. It will be one hell of a good vacation, but be warned

[Werthead]

I'd read Martin before Erikson. Erikson is very dense and employs the tropes and cliches of the fantasy genre in an interesting way (as does Martin, but his style is more approachable). Or to put it another way, it's easier to read Erikson when you are familiar with the fantasy genre and what makes it tick. So I'd read GRRM before Erikson. I wouldn't bother with Marco as he's just dull and cliched. Elliott is reasonably good, but her series comes across as a lightweight version of GRRM's series, so I'd leave it until a way after (it does have the benefit of being complete though). Williams is pretty good, nearly as good as GRRM, and it's complete. It may be more worth your while to read Williams before GRRM, actually.

Leave Hobb until last. She has more books than anyone else on the list and you can go through them whilst waiting for Martin and Erikson's new books

Good to see another fan of Peter F. Hamilton as well!

[lillumultipass]

Ok, so I won't start with either Martin or Erikson, thanks for the advice.

I will start with His dark materials, then, I guess it will be Marco.
You don't seem to like it, but, the Kings and Tyrants trilogy does not seem cliche to me, and it is military-intensive, something I like.
Moreover, I found its first and third book at a bargain today.

As to Williams, what would you advise me to read? I am a bit lost between his different series.
Above all since, we in France, tend to split Sci-Fi books in multiple books and I think this is the case for Williams (I know that for instance, Martin's first and second books are split into 2 books each, whereas the 3rd one is split into 4 books!!! That's why I prefer buying them in english whenever I can, but sometimes they are not available).
So, should I start with the DragonBone Chair series?

I might also read Gemmell's Lion of Macedon and Dark prince.

[Werthead]

Yes, Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Trilogy, which starts with The Dragonbone Chair, is probably the best place to start with Williams.

[Boaz]

Welcome. Let me start with this caveat... don't start reading the other threads in the GRRM forum until you've read the four books in ASOIAF. The threads are full of spoilers without any warnings for the uninitiated.

Originally Posted by lillumultipass

Oh, and finally, I must add that the standard cliche of the yound lad saving the world with his friends (a la Tolkien or Eddings) is not what I prefer, even though I enjoyed reading the Belgariad. It is not that I don't like young heroes, but I prefer when they are at school/learning for instance (like in Harry Potter or some Ursula Leguin's books).

In defense of Tolkien, LOTR was the first adult fantasy that I ever read. I'd read and loved C.S. Lewis' Narnia series, but LOTR is what I cut my teeth on. I'd have to disagree that Frodo and Sam do not have the same feel that Garion, Pug, Jimmy the Hand, Rand al'Thor, Shea and Flick Ohmsford, and Tanis Half-Elven do. Mayhaps (oh, it's so hard to type without ASOIAF references), it's that I read Tolkien first and that his template is what most authors use, but Frodo and Sam seem much less formulaic and predictable to me.

Anyway, the previous paragraph was to say that if you don't want to read the innocent young man saves the universe story, then read ASOIAF. When I started ASOIAF, I thought it would be a Feist or Eddings clone... I was more than pleasantly surprised to find it's not.

Originally Posted by lillumultipass

P.S: retrospectively, I wonder whether this topic should have been placed in a more general section of the forum.

Don't worry about it. If it needs to be moved, Brian or another Jedi Thread Master will help out, I'm sure.

Originally Posted by Sparks the Knave

ahh I see. No contest. read ASoIaF first. the after effects be damned

StK is correct, imo. In a perfect world, we'd read the perfect story that corresponds perfectly to our age, our life experience, our personal interests, and our current emotional states. Since we're not in a perfect world and since I cannot gauge your current emotional, spiritual, and psychological status I'd say go ahead and read it... it's good.

I referred to LOTR above and if I'd been thirty-two years old the first time I read it instead of twelve I wonder how I'd perceive it. Would I treasure Gandalf, Aragorn, and Frodo or would I think that they are copied directly from Allanon, Panamon/Menion/Balinor, and Shea? I think ASOIAF is coherent, well thought out, consistent in naming patterns, very detailed, highly intriguing, full of moral quandaries, bloody, and frequently surprising.

In my opinion, a person could build themselves up for a filet mignon by eating Big Macs. Thinking "If I eat the filet mignon I'll never be able to enjoy a Big Mac again" will keep you from ever getting to the filet mignon.

My pardons for excessive advice... it's what I do best.

[Winters_Sorrow]

Welcome to the forums lillumultipass.
I echo some of the comments, especially Werthead's, already mentioned. Eriksson is more difficult to get to grips with, initially, than George Martin's are. Both are very good fantasy worlds and are different enough that they don't fit your cliche at all.
The only spanner in the works as far as ASOIAF series goes is that it's uncompleted! A poor guy like me who picked up A Game of Thrones when it was first released has watched a decade of his life go by and we're still only halfway through!

Oh and I fully endorse the Lion of Macedon/Dark Prince selection. Gemmell is vastly underrated as a fantasy author and those two books in particular are cracking reads.