I have made it through the rest of George R.R. Martin's books that belong in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. I quite enjoyed the first couple, but then my enjoyment began to decrease. This often happens with the middle books of a series. I like to call them "bridge books" because they tend to have necessary plot and character development without tying up many loose ends. Since the series is not complete (two more books are currently scheduled for the future on George R. R. Martin's website) this makes the last three books currently available middle books for the entire series.
After some pondering, I realized that the fact that these books were middle books wasn't the only frustration I was having with the books. I like my books to generally work out for characters. I don't enjoy investing in a character and then having that character die. Martin clearly has no qualms about killing off characters, as well as thwarting them in ways that seem impossible to reverse. I am not saying I never read or enjoy books in which main characters die, because that isn't true. But I felt that these books were brutal. The books also deal with a lot of darker issues of humanity, and I just don't find that as enjoyable as other books. Will I read the rest of the series? Yes. I think I will. Will I stay up and have an all night read session? No, probably not.
Many people will enjoy these books. They are well written, epic fantasy. The characters are developed and seem real. The story is fascinating, and Martin's writing moves along quickly even though the books are large. If you enjoy epic fantasy, and aren't put off by the idea of you favorite characters failing, you will want to read these books.
Jamis has decided to stop reading this series for similar reasons. His review: "These are some of the darkest, most painful, most depressing, most incredibly-well written books I've read." He summarizes the books as a study of betrayal. Yeah, not my kind of book for sure!
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