The Martin Effect

George R.R. Martin, author of the immensely popular A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy book series, has fundamentally changed the way readers enjoy fictional literature. For those of us who have become familiarized with his style, it is known that nothing is as it seems. Dialog is riddled with prophecy and double meaning. Characters carry out deceptions on top of deceptions on each other. Even death is inconclusive and left to interpretation. Each page seems to bring to fruition what was indirectly introduced on the one before it, or foreshadow to an event on the next.

As such, we readers have developed a necessary reluctance to accept what is being presented, and instead search for the true, underlying meaning. We have become courtroom lawyers and private investigators, where a single witness account is never enough evidence to support a claim. Nothing can be trusted, and nothing is final. We’ve been conditioned to pick up on the subtle clues, take note of peculiar descriptions, and make connections by reading between the lines.

In truth, this involved process of reading is wildly enjoyable. There is a sense of accomplishment in identifying the truth before it is finally revealed. The constant feelings of mystery and suspense create an emotional involvement with the story’s characters that allows you to celebrate in their triumphs and suffer in their defeats. Reading these books is an active experience; you cannot help but invest yourself into them.

This is all well and good when exploring the expansive world of Westeros, but when reading any other piece of fiction, it can pose problems. Not every author writes with the sadistic pleasure of keeping their readers in the dark. Some writers simply wish to tell a straightforward story. The trouble is, as readers existing in a post-Martin world, it’s not so easy to accept things in such a plain fashion.

Hidden meanings are discovered in things that have none. Connections are drawn between characters that have no such connection. We are in constant doubt over the information being read, unwilling to be caught off guard as we were with the Red Wedding. Things simply cannot be as black and white as they seem,there must be a deeper significance!

This can harm the effectiveness of books by authors not named George Martin. As we readers have become accustomed to this in-depth process of sifting through a story, when things are laid out directly there can be a sense of frustration or disinterest. When deep discussion and back reading are not needed, books become too easy to understand, and too predictable. The murderer was her husband all along? I figured that out in the first chapter!

This is hardly the fault of authors, but rather Martin’s fault for spoiling us so completely. He’s created a style of reading that dissects every word and considers every angle, eliminating the possibility for an unexpected twist. We’ve lost the ability to sit back and let a piece of fiction take us on an adventure. We’re on point like a hawk, hell bent on finding the hidden message.

For the sake of our own sanity, and the possibility of ever enjoying a fictional book ever again, we are going to have to come to terms with this reading realization, and understand that some books can be taken at face value. A conscious effort is needed to stop holding every piece of fiction under the microscope.Otherwise, we’ll be stuck reading nothing but George R.R. Martin for the rest of our lives. Fortunately, his books are quite long.

Written by the marketing department for the Los Angelescar accident lawyers at AA Accident Attorneys