Has anyone read the new book in the series, A Dance With Dragons? I am about halfway through, and am less than impressed.
Has anyone read the new book in the series, A Dance With Dragons? I am about halfway through, and am less than impressed.
It was alright, it moved the plot forward a bit, I felt the third novel was a bit dragged out.
"If the national mental illness of the United States is megalomania, that of Canada is paranoid schizophrenia."
- Margaret Atwood
I think the third was the best. A little long, but it definitely had the best plot twists. I'm hoping something of the sort happens in ADWD (don't tell me, lol). So far it's been 500 pages of conversation and traveling.
As someone who has read all of them thus far, I honestly wish that I had stopped after A Storm of Swords. The last two have been horrid in my humble opinion. Either he is now dragging the series out to make more money off more books, or he has lost his story and has no idea where he is going. I've no idea which, but the result is effectively the same.Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandi
I liked it. I thought it was a significant improvement from A Feast of Crows. It's the only 500+ page book that I burned through in like two days this year. It has some major plot events that happen, though granted many of them are during the cliffhanger ending, it introduces some new plot events that will complicate matters even further, and shows the aftermath of A Storm of Swords. Many major characters may or may not be dead. We get to explore in depth the previously restricted other continents. It's the only book in the series so far where I actually liked Theon Greyjoy's POV.
"You understand well enough what slavery is, but freedom you have never experienced, so you do not know if it tastes sweet or bitter. If you ever did come to experience it, you would advise us to fight for it not with spears only, but with axes too." - Herodotus
https://consolationofreading.wordpress.com/ - my book blog!
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I am enjoying Theon's POV. Probably the most interesting of the book.
I think that I'm not reading it very fast (been reading it for two weeks now) is one of the reasons I'm not enjoying it. I think these books should be read fast so it does seem like more happens faster . . . reading a few chapters a night just doesn't cut it. Still, it seems like I've run into more than a couple chapters in which I read them and thought, "Was that even needed?"
Still, I'm not done yet. Need to pick up the pace.
Theon's chapters were the best of the book and Ramsay Bolton one of GRRM's most disturbing creations. (Since The Pear Shaped Man anyway) Possibly inspired by Giles De Rais?
I enjoyed all 5 books immensely. Dance with Dragons suffers the same fate as Feast For Crows....I don't think his decision to split the two books the way he did really paid off. They result in books that start off slow and lag a bit more than the others....but the endings (particularly Dance With Dragons) are fantastic!
I wrote a poem on a leaf and it blew away...
Yes, Ramsay was quite disturbing (and I agree, since I do know the Pear Shaped Man reference--what a creepy story).
I finished. Spoilers ahead.
I still feel disappointed with ADWD. For a 1000+ pages, it just didn't seem to move the plot forward enough. Bran had, what, three chapters? They were kind of neat, but didn't lead much of anywhere. GRRM seemed to have really been building up his character arc in ASOS, and it just kind of stalled once he started being a Greenseer. Arya had some interesting progress, though I don't think GRRM knows where to go with her character. Cersei got out of the jail, and Gregor is back which was not a surprise. Brienne showed back up, but we were given no explanation of how she escaped Corpse-Catelyn's noose, nor did we get any new info of Corpse-Catelyn. Tyrions's story was quite disappointing. He traveled for most of the book, and then had no impact on anything, and never even met with Daenerys. I guess that'll be for the next book, maybe. Jon's story went no-where until the very end, when it felt like GRRM was forcing in another shock for the reader, though I think it's becoming less shocking since the Red Wedding. Plus, I'm sure Meslisandre is just going to resurrect him. There's no way Jon will stay dead. Davos had a few chapters then disappeared. Victarion's chapters seemed pointless--seeing Euron Crow's Eye's exploits would have been much more interesting. Likewise with Asha--boring. As said before, Theon's chapters were excellent, though mostly due to the character writing, and not the plot (and plot is what carries ASOIAF). Quentyn ended up being a useless character. Sansa wasn't even mentioned.
The most disappointing was Daenerys' story arc, though. When she finally rode the dragon, I was like, "YES! Finally!" And then . . . nothing. She left the dragon! And then what happens? She runs into another Khalasar? That AGAIN? So, what, she becomes a Khaleesi again? That was extremely frustrating.
I did like seeing Varys show back up at the end. He's one of my favorites. I've come to the conclusion that he isn't really a eunuch. I'd bet money on it. Also, where was the Hound? Come on, after the huge tease in AFFC, and we don't even get a taste of where he is? Lame.
Last edited by Mutatis-Mutandis; 10-01-2011 at 01:58 PM.
I'm going to have to disagree with you on a bunch of points, Mutatis-Mutandi. I think, while ADWD was not as fast-paced, plot turning as SOS, I like how Martin took the time to develop some characters in a way he hadn't in the first 3 books. Such as Tyrion: while Tyrion is not as badass or maybe witty as earlier, I think Martin grew him as a character. So even though he doesn't impact much in this book, his chapters are still quite revealing.
Jon's plot - I don't think these were pointless. I enjoyed how we saw all the problems that forced Jon Snow to tear down centuries worth of tradition before he (SPOILERS) suffered a Caesar-like fate. And I do not think he will be revived (I really hope not) - I think his death is necessary for the stand-off between the Wildlings and Stannis' forces. Also I think Stannis is still alive and that letter was a fake.
Bran's plot - I think it became clear in the last Bran chapter, where it is hinted that he is the "enemy" to Azhor Azhai, that we would have to wait until at least book 6 for his story to develop further.
Dany - Since she birthed the dragons, there has been this push for "when will she just conquer the Seven Kingdoms?" But Martin has kept her on a tight leash and put up so many road blocks in her way - meanwhile paving the way for Aegon to come and take over. I think it's an intended frustration on Martin's part that Dany is constantly dragged away from her goals. And I don't think she will stay with Jhaqo.
Quentyn's plot is not the greatest - but I like Martin's style of building up someone's journey just to kill them off before they really do anything (see Eddard Stark). It's kind of a middle finger to those expecting traditional fantasy plot lines.
I agree with you that Victarion seemed pointless - and not all that interesting. It is clear that he will become important during the inevitable sea battle at Slaver's Bay - but he could have done more, or been in the book less.
There were some gaps in the book, I agree. The fact that Davos and Brienne show up, suggest what is about to come but don't do anything seems to just be a "screw you, wait for the next book" - which isn't a good thing. In that way, both AFFC and ADWD suffer the middle of the series syndrome in which they just move things on a bit so the final strike can happen.
That being said, I don't think ADWD was as pointless as you paint it.
I wrote a poem on a leaf and it blew away...
Spoilers.
I highly doubt Jon won't be revived. Plus, we don't even really know if he died. He was stabbed four times and then blacked out. Tons of room left open, there. Too much to be coincidence.
Tyrion had some character development, true, but I also found his chapters to be quite annoying. Hoe many times did we have to hear his inner thoughts about killing his father with a crossbow, or where whores go? It got really old.
Aegon is another problem I had with the book, actually. All of a sudden, it turns out Aegon didn't die? He just seemed to pop up out of no where.
the sex is not preferable mainly because its been a literary tradition for quite a long while to kinda to hint at sex but not come out and yell at it. wasn't until the mid to late 1800s that sex in literature got a lot bigger? i can't remember. anyway. i mean its a great book so far. I think that fact that Martin makes the characters so relatable its very easy to get immersed in the story. I think the character of Arya really takes me back to my childhood when I was in similar situations as her like getting into trouble and what i felt like when my dad came and talked to me. yeah im not a girl but its still relatable. tyrion, tho, is my favorite character so far. hes sarcasm makes laugh lolz
Arya and Tyrion always get the most votes for favorite characters. They're awesome.
It's all about Littlefinger, or Barristan
I wrote a poem on a leaf and it blew away...
Just saw on Amazon that Martin is now putting out a Game of Thrones graphic novel. He's having Daniel Abraham (a better writer) do the "adaptation," so basically he gets to do nothing but collect the money. Seriously, how many money-grabs does this guy need?
I can't wait for Game of Thrones: The Animated Series.
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