OPT I don't disagree with his original intent. I suppose what I'm saying is that the entire thing feels manufactured, which it obviously is. This is not a historical recollection of the WotR, and he's not fooling anyone IMO. What I mean is that if you go into your project believing that people act in a particular fashion (ie. greed, backstabbing, etc.) and that death is an inherently random and constant occurrence, then the longer your series runs the more likely those manufactured notions will become tired and played out.
The WotR was a real event with real people who acted both logically and illogically. Some things were predictable and others weren't, but it would have been very difficult to map out that entire conflict and every odd twist and turn from afar. In real life people die, perhaps with no warning and/or for no good reason, and their deaths don't further plots because it isn't fiction. Martin's approach keeps all characters at risk, which really stood out early on, but I feel like it's just become a game at this point. Is there a calculated end game to his new characters and/or the rise of old characters, other than to hold them in reserve for yet another so-called 'realistic, random' death?
Historical fiction on a grand scale is not impossible, but I just don't feel like Martin has done a great job as the size of his story has expanded.
