There's no denying that GRRM is a master worldbuilder- all of the lore behind his world is incredible and echoes in several modern series, video games, and D&D campaigns that I follow. I'm so inspired by his character creations, geography, naming conventions, language, and ability to weave historical events into the plot of his stories.

That being said, I have a huge problem with GRRM. After reading A Game of Thrones , I'm fairly convinced that GRRM had a specific audience in mind while writing this book, and didn't consider how his use of rape and sexual violence as plot advancement would affect his readers. For a world that's so creative, fantastic, and unrealistic, I'm thoroughly disappointed that GRRM would go the lazy writing route of using sexual violence as a plot device. I'm well aware that the historical time period in which A Song of Ice and Fire reflects was chock full of terrible things, but frankly, GRRM has gone overboard.

GRRM doesn't give any of his female rape victims agency. He denies them the ability to tell their own story, except for two women out of the whole series (and they're both villains). He doesn't even give them names.

What does it say about an author who uses women solely as character development for his male characters?

I'm going to continue this series, but I won't hold my breath for anything revolutionary in terms of women's agency in his newest book.