Balance. Such a simple concept, and yet when it happens it can set your world right. Balance is a beautiful concept. The equal matching of light and shadow, of hot and cold, of light and sound.

Sometimes when you have had a bad day, or you just have a bad hour, it can make the rest of the time spent feel out of wack. And then, sometimes when you find yourself down a bit, something that you wish for, some event can change your whole outlook. If you read the previous post in the blog, you know I had a dfficult night last night. But tonight I feel much better. And it had nothing to do with last nights events.

Tonight I finally got to meet in person my favorite author of all time, Mr. George RR Martin. George is probably the single best write I have ever read, and one that deserves a place among the greats such as Tolkien, Heinlein, Dick, and others. George has written a number of books, but the ones that have taken me captive are the Song of Ice and Fire series.

If you have never read them, but have the time and patience, they are masterful reading. Its a fantasy setting, not unlike Tolkiens books. It contains many of the standard fantasy fare - Dragons, knights, kings and queens. But there are a few things that really set this series apart from the norm.

One is that its of epic scale. Now, Tokien's War of the Ring, originally concieved as a sequal to the short story of The Hobbit, grew to what was called "epic" size. Mr Martin's books are much bigger, and just as detailed. Tokien gave you the names and backstory of just about every character in the history of Middle Earth. Martin does almost as much but fleshes out the characters of the present of the book to the degree that you feel like you know them. I mean really know them.

Two is that he is absolutely UNAFRAID of killing off a maint character. And this is not simply because he has so many. At the Q&A session this evening Mr Martin spoke at length of this. To paraphrase his words, he basically said that in the setting of a feudal system torn by war, it is dishonest to portray death as anything but common. The hero if surrounded by hundred of enemies will not likely survive. He spoke of a real medieval knight he has studied (I forget his name) who was noted as the single greatest warrior of his time. This knight was the protector of the children of the King and Queen, and when a coup took place, he was jailed. After a bit, he was tried on some very loose charges, and was convicted. He was then marched to the headsman and beheaded. This was a knight who won tournament after tournament, in both jousting and sword, and yet he was powerless in such a situation. Martin's belief is that its dishonest to ones fans to try to convince them that it could end any different.

Believe me when I say, when these characters meet their fate, you actually care. It affected me to the point of a bit of depression, but that is a sign that a book really has you hooked. This book is violent, but it could be told no other way and be true to itself. Its a very addictive read.

Another thing that makes this series such a treasure is that when you read the story, its told from many points of view, or POVs. Now, this doesnt do a retelling of the same scene from two different POVs, but it does provide such insight into a character that you start to see the characters in different ways. A character that would first be considered evil, starts to seem justified in his actions. A character that first stands out as good, well...you get the idea.

His books are so good, because they have - balance. Good and Evil, light and dark, etc. Pick them up sometime, you will be glad you did.