R.R. Martin - Ice & Fire.

Sup /book/. This is my first time here, so I wouldn't know whether or not you can hold a fairly decent discussion in here, or if this board, like almost all other 4chan boards, is just a means of holding a shitstorm. Hell, let's give it a shot.

So I just started reading the first book in R.R. Martin's Ice & Fire series after a ton of people recommended it to me.

I don't know how many pages I've read, as I use an electronic dictionary to read it.

Is it just me, or is the book total shit? Does he really expect us to remember 500 names of people and places that are given such a poor introduction and are often introduced far too fast?

I thought I was about to read a fantasy book, but it seems I am really reading a trivia of how well you can remember useless and uninteresting information. I wonder if there's a question sheet in the back to confirm my suspicions.

I've been looking for something new to read as well, and decided to sink back into the pile of shit that is fantasy novels (Only Pratchett has ever written ANYTHING worth reading in this misbegotten genre) and was looking up the series on wiki.

Seriously?  The western lands are named Westeros and the eastern lands are named Essos? Are you shitting me?  Is this indicative of the whole series? I guess that would be my question.

I just hope this doesn't turn into a debacle like that sword of truth horseshit.  What kind of ignorant man child could stomach more than half a book of that before throwing it away in disgust?  Well, other than Randroids of course.