Mark

In terms of the how this compares to the original text novel I feel like it is one to one and maybe a bit shortened but nothings appears completely cut out. So I am not going to review that already well discussed original. Lets talk about Josep Homs art - love it. Gives the story a earthy look and I caught an Enki Bilal, Heavy Metal vive to the art. Not hyper realistic but grounded in reality with real dimensionality to characters and settings.

Okay, this audiobook came with a ton of hype - both good and bad. I will lead with a quote from Jason Sheehan's review on NPR: “It is altogether its own thing — brilliantly original, messy and weird straight through.” What is original about it for me? The universe it is set in is completely new to me, the sci-fi/gothy horror/murder mystery/swords & sorcery mash-up, and the way Tamsyn Muir uses language - never seen somebody nail using the language of the present in a novel that is not the present to such great and frankly, funny effect - laugh out loud snarky fun. I found the bouncing around genres and their tropes to be like watching sparks fly from flint - waiting for what was next in the mix. Through parts of this book I thought of Riddick, Mad Max, Bauhaus (the band) and those “just graduated”angst ridden coming of age tales as personal reference points. So many ideas and so much story that the author holds together right at the edge of a chaotic overdone mess. It works for me because the characters' arcs are the center of the novel. Seeing who the characters were/are/become and how that resolves the story held my attention. I can understand why some folks can be let down by this novel, because of everything I just said can be turned around: Pick a genre and stick to it, why so many characters - can't follow them all, and so on. This novel is just brimming with ideas and while it was a bit work to keep up with at times (all those characters) I let the novel take me somewhere rich with new possibilities.

What is left to be said? Better than the tv series, I like the tv series and understand that it is just one interpretation. So setting aside the GRRM's bit I do want to talk about the performer Roy Dotrice. His reading is a barrier, not a complete barrier but an annoyance. The esteros characterizations are just a bit too cliche for me and overall well he feels a bit ponderous these ears but that may be the material. So I sped it up to 1.35 speed playback and that sorted it out for the most part.