SerScot wrote:Hiro,
GRRM has made no promises. Therefore, he's broken his word to no one. I'm a bit surprised most fans agree that ASOS is the best of the series so far.
Alright, he made no promises. My phrasing was wrong, but you understand what I mean, right?
As for ASOS, I guess it gave me no further incentive to wait for further installments. Compared to other books that I had and have been reading. While the series have given me many hours of pleasure, somehow it was not enough. This was many years ago already, and since then I have read so many other books that it's hard to put it in a precise context. What I can say is that my reading has diversified to such an extent, and shifted more towards enjoying literature and nonfiction, that I have become wary of delving into *long* fantasty / scifi series. For example, I have not read beyond 'Gardens of the Moon' either.
Perhaps I should be more sympathetic for the struggle GRRM found himself in, but I have a feeling that the series got out of control. That is my personal impression, and while I don't deny the sheer ambition of it, there is also something to be said for working within limitations. Best expressed by Goethe:
It is in self-limitation that a master first shows himself.