A Song of Ice and Fire [2]

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Thing's are definitely changing, but I don't think we're there yet. I've seen an amazing change in my lifetime. When I was young and reading science fiction books in school, I had teachers take it away from me saying "You're a smart kid, why are you reading this garbage. You should be reading real books."

And that was the 1950s and early 1960s. That was kind of the attitude. There are still ghosts of that around. I mean, fantasy and science fiction are now taught in many colleges, they're revived in distinguished publications, places like the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, the New York Times. 40-50 years ago that wasn't true. If they covered science fiction and fantasy at all, it would be in a special column that appearred once a month. And they would be expected to review 12 books all at once. While the latest big mainstream novel got five pages all to itself. We are seeing that breaking doewn, but were still not there entirerly.

Yes, fantasy and science fiction is taught in colleges. But it's thought in special courses for science fiction and fantasy or in popular culture courses, as part of the popular culture curriculum. We don't see even a book like JRR Tolkiens Lord of the Rings thought in english literature as part of the canon of the great books of english literature. Which it should be. We often say that one of the greatest tests of great literature is "Does it survive over time?" And Tolkien wrote the book in the 40s, it came out in the 50s and here we are in 2014 and millions of peoiple are still reading it. So, I think it has suirvived the test of time. Far more than the books that were lauded and that may won the Nobel prize or the Pulitzer prize or whatever prize they were giving in 1956, but it still hasn't been admitted to canon.

But i think eventually that will come. I don't know if it will come in my lifetime or not, but I can't complain. I have a lot of readers and I have been reviewed in some amazing publications and we have this terrific tv show. So, I'm not going to do a Rodney Dangerfield number on you here.  

Bluebottle wrote:I found this talk with George and  Tom Doherty, the publisher behind Tor books, quite interesting.

"A sacrifice will prove our faith still burns true, Sire," Clayton Suggs had told the king. And Godry the Giantslayer said, "The old gods of the north have sent this storm upon us. Only R'hllor can end it. We must give him an unbeliever."

"Half my army is made up of unbelievers," Stannis had replied. "I will have no burnings. Pray harder.

"Her own father got this child on her? We are well rid of her, then. I will not suffer such abominations here. This is not King's Landing."

"Robert could piss in a cup and men would call it wine, but I offer them pure cold water and they squint in suspicion and mutter to each other about how queer it tastes." Stannis ground his teeth. "If someone said I had magicked myself into a boar to kill Robert, likely they would believe that as well."

"You haggle like a crone with a codfish, Lord Snow. Did Ned Stark father you on some fishwife?"

Stannis ground his teeth. “It is not my wish to tamper with your rights and traditions. As to royal guidance, Janos, if you mean that I ought to tell your brothers to choose you, have the courage to say so.”
That took Lord Janos aback. He smiled uncertainly and began to sweat, but Bowen Marsh beside him said, “Who better to command the black cloaks than a man who once commanded the gold, sire?
“Any of you, I would think. Even the cook.”

"He has kings' blood in his veins. You have seen what even a little of that blood could do - "

"I saw you burn some leeches."

"And two false kings are dead."

"Robb Stark was murdered by Lord Walder of the Crossing, and we have heard that Balon Greyjoy fell from a bridge. Who did your leeches kill?"

"Do you doubt the power of R'hllor?"

No. Davos remembered too well the living shadow that had squirmed from out her womb that night beneath Storm's End, its black hands pressing at her thighs. I must go carefully here, or some shadow may come seeking me as well. "Even an onion smuggler knows two onions from three. You are short a king, my lady."

Stannis gave a snort of laughter. "He has you there, my lady. Two is not three."

"To be sure, Your Grace. One king might die by chance, even two . . . but three? if Joffrey should die in the midst of all his power, surrounded by his armies and his Kingsguard, would not that show the power of the Lord at work?"

"It might." The king spoke as if he grudged each word.

"Or not." Davos did his best to hide his fear.

"Joffrey shall die," Queen Selyse declared, serene in her confidence.

"It may be that he is dead already," Ser Axell added.

Stannis looked at them with annoyance. "Are you trained crows, to croak at me in turns? Enough."

Jaime, sweetling, I have known you since you were a babe at Joanna's breast. You smile like Gerion and fight like Tyg and there's some of Kevan in you, else you would not wear that cloak...but Tyrion is Tywin's son, not you. I said so once to your father's face, and he would not speak to me for half a year.

Spoiler:

When she reminisced to Jaime about his father Tywin and felt less protected with him gone, Jaime tried to reassure her that Tywin had left a son, her aunt replied she knew that and that was what scared her the most. When Jaime asked why her reply was...

“Jaime, sweetling, I have known you since you were a babe at Joanna's breast. You smile like Gerion and fight like Tyg and there's some of Kevan in you, else you would not wear that cloak...but Tyrion is Tywin's son, not you. I said so once to your father's face, and he would not speak to me for half a year."

Every once in a very long while, Lord Tywin Lannister would actually threaten to smile; he never did, but the threat alone was terrible to behold.

Men say Tywin never smiled, but he smiled when he wed your mother, and when Aerys made him Hand. When Tarbeck Hall came crashing down on Lady Ellyn, that scheming bitch, Tyg claimed he smiled then, and he smiled at your birth, Jaime, I saw with my own eyes.

“Is it so? I wonder. If you would sooner drown in wine, say the word and it shall be done, and quickly. Drowning cup by cup wastes time and wine both.”

“My niece Myrcella is in Dorne, as it happens. And I have half a mind to make her a queen.”

Illyrio smiled as his serving men spooned out bowls of black cherries in sweet cream for them both. “What has this poor child done to you that you would wish her dead?”

“Even a kinslayer is not required to slay all his kin,” said Tyrion, wounded. “Queen her, I said. Not kill her.”

The cheesemonger spooned up cherries. “In Volantis they use a coin with a crown on one face and a death’s-head on the other. Yet it is the same coin. To queen her is to kill her. Dorne might rise for Myrcella, but Dorne alone is not enough. If you are as clever as our friend insists, you know this.”

Tyrion looked at the fat man with new interest. He is right on both counts. To queen her is to kill her. And I knew that.

“A man has duties to his friends as well. If not for us, Janos Slynt might be our lord commander. Lord Janos would have sent Snow ranging naked on a mule. ‘Scamper on up to Craster’s Keep,’ he would have said, ‘and fetch me back the Old Bear’s cloak and boots.’ We saved him from that, but now he has too many duties to drink a cup of mulled wine by the fire?”