More fangirly praise.

I just finished Martin’s A Clash of Kings , and will be starting on A Storm of Swords tomorrow.

I love this epic series, and the fourth book comes out in November. I don’t know how I can weasel a copy of the audio version from a library, but I’m going to try.

It’s so nice to read any bit of genre fiction where characters act like bloody people and not just cardboard cutouts with a passing nod toward flaws. The book’s not an easy read, and there are lots of jarring plot twists.

And I also really shouldn’t have been skimming GRRM message boards. because I got spoiled for some of the stuff that happened near the end, which enabled me to laugh maniacally at certain key passages.

And on another gushing note, I love some of this man’s names. Some of the characters he mentions with the coolest names are only briefly mentioned in passing, and I find myself wanting to know why they’ve got those names. Why is there a soldier called Raff the Sweetling, for instance? And where did Lark the Sisterman get that name? Probably none of those will be answered for me, but I think it’s the mark of a good author that even throw-away characters get some intrigue.