Frankly, the last two released books in the series also experienced a notable drop off in quality, after (supposedly, as I understand it) GRRM stopped enlisting

Frankly, the last two released books in the series also experienced a notable drop off in quality, after (supposedly, as I understand it) GRRM stopped enlisting the services of his editor. The story is still great and I did still enjoy the books. But it’s surprising how much a change in editorial oversight had for both the Star Wars franchise and the ASOIAF series of books.