[quote=@PlatinumSkink]
Now answer me this.

Can someone explain the appeal of [u]Game of Thrones[/u]? Song of Ice and Fire?

The only thing I've heard about it is that people die a lot in it, when people least expect it. Why would I willingly get myself into a journey where I know that people I'll start liking will get killed off left and right? What's the point in that? It feels like I would be subjecting myself to torture. What's the appeal in that?
[/quote]

I'm very late on the bandwagon here, but I think that Game of Thrones is popular primarily because A: It's dark, edgy, and scandalous and B: It has a tv show, which is easier to digest than literary fiction (it would take at least 20 hours to read one 1,000 page book), which leads to more interest in the book version for people who don't read anything that doesn't have a visual equivalent. Also, the fact the prose is poor and basic, somewhat like a dollar-store version of Steven Kings writing, makes it easier to read.

Oh also people have shit taste. That's probably the real reason.