It Doesn’t Matter That A Song of Ice and Fire Will Never Be Completed – You Should Still Read It

The Fantasy Review’s opinion: It Doesn’t Matter That A Song of Ice and Fire Will Never Be Completed – You Should Still Read It.

There has been a trend in recent years of readers refusing to start a new fantasy book series before all the books are out. If you are interested in supporting authors and publishing, this move does the opposite, but it is an understandable decision some readers are making.

Readers want to make sure that the story they are investing their time in has a conclusion, or will definitely get a conclusion. This is why Brandon Sanderson continues to be popular, as he has a reputation for writing quickly and giving his fans writing updates on future projects.

Again, this is understandable, but… it doesn’t matter that A Song of Ice and Fire will never be completed – you should still read it! Or at least, read the five books we have.

George R.R. Martin has been putting Winds of Winter, book six, off for a very long time. His writing updates have been irregular and often result in disappointment. Another author guilty of the same habits would be Patrick Rothfuss.

There is little to no hope we will ever see the conclusion to A Song of Ice and Fire, but that does not mean you shouldn’t read the series. And I have three reasons for this:

Firstly, the first three books of A Song of Ice and Fire are some of the best fantasy books of all time. A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords are often favourites for readers (mine being A Clash of Kings, but it’s close!). Even without a conclusion to the series as a whole, there is plenty in just those three books alone to totally enthral you, more than any recent epic fantasy book possibly could.

That brings me on to the second reason you should still read A Song of Ice and Fire even though it will never be completed: the characters! Few authors rival Martin in the creation of characters who will live rent free in your mind for the rest of time. Joe Abercrombie, Robin Hobb, and Robert Jordan aside, George R.R. Martin is one of the best character writers in all of literature; with people like Cerci, Tyrion, Littlefinger, Jamie… basically everyone in these books, you will probably feel disappointed when reading other books.

And finally, the world. Martin’s worldbuilding is epic! Perhaps not to the scale of Steven Erikson and Ian C. Esslemont’s Malazan books, or as in-depth as Tolkien’s work, but you could argue for a third place position in the race for best worldbuilding in epic fantasy!

Most epic fantasy readers will devour a series with incredible worldbuilding; that’s what we love so much about the genre! Don’t deprive yourself of Westeros and its rich history, lore, and complex cultures and political machinations. Yes, the series might never be completed, but you will still have the joy of reading and theorising about the world’s history and future for the rest of your life.

I am serious when I say that you are missing out if you refuse to read these books. Go read Brandon Sanderson and feel secure in knowing the next book is coming in a year or two, but while you wait, why not pick up A Game of Thrones and get absolutely blown away?!

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