Tag Archives: Song of Ice and Fire

Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin

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I wanted so much more from A Dance with Dragons, I really did. What I got was a rehash of Feast with a tiny nibble towards the end of the book.

The hardest part about reading this book was that I had already read a lot of it. Most of it takes place during Feast so at best it was what someone else was doing and at worst the exact same chapter with the thought bubbles reversed. It wasn’t until Martin caught up with himself that the story started getting interesting again. Of course he does away with the only piece of information in Feast that was worth while. So you could skp Feast and get most of the pertinant information, though it might be worth while to read Arya’s chapters and and the end of Cersei’s.

As for Dance, the profficy continues, I’m not sure whether John is justified or not and frankly, I cheered for Greyjoy when he jumped the wall. There is no doubt that Martin is a great writer, but he can’t seem to separate the wheat from the chaff in his own writing.

Feast of Crows by George R. R. Martin

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I saved reading this book until the next came out and I was warned. And while I remained hopeful, Feast of Crows could have been summed up (and was summed up in Storm of Swords) in much less time. The important points could have been summed up.

I’m on the fence on whether or not they should have been.

Overall, good writing continues. I think we could have had much less of Cersei. I mean, we know she’s crazy and stupid, I don’t need hundreds of pages of reminders. I thought it was funny that the answer to every questions, comment and prophecy was Daenerys. Seems like a tiny bundle though if that’s going to be end of this opus.

Rereading Storm of Swords and Observations on Feast of Crows

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I’ve reviewed Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin before on this blog. I still cried when Sansa made Winterfell; I still hated that the Starks kept missing each other; and I still cheered a bit for Tyrion and Jaime.

Then I finally picked up Feast of Crows. I have been putting off reading this one because I knew he was working on a fifth and now sixth book. If you read my blog then you know that if I have comments on a book I’m not finished with, there are issues.

Martin is missing something. Somewhere along the line, he decided that every minor character must have their say. He’s now giving full chapters to Head of Guards, The Priest, etc. These don’t further the story anymore than one sentence would. Instead of a couple of thousand words from the Head of the Guards, he could have said, “Dorne may go to war with the Lannisters” which he did say in Storm of Swords. Instead of a chapter from the priestly Greyjoy, he could have said, “Now with Balon dead, the ironmen are fighting over their next ruler.”

I’m staring at a 1000 pages of fluff. Stuff that the author knows that we really don’t need to know. Martin isn’t writing a story any more. He’s interviewing characters. We already know that Cersei is batshit crazy, being in her head doesn’t help matters. Martin isn’t answering questions but harping on what we already know from the last three books. I have yet to find any story forwarding material in Feast of Crows. I’m hesitant to say you can skip this book…but I am afraid that when it comes time to review the fourth Song of Ice and Fire book, that I’ll be able to say you can skip this and you’ll never know the difference.

A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin

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They were already going to war but everyone wanted their own king. I don’t know a better way to sum up A Clash of Kings.  The Seven Kingdoms already have war on their hands against the Lannisters but they splinter inside themselves creating a bigger problem.

We have a few new POVs in this book, but otherwise if the character lived through the last book we still hear from them. I continue to like Tyrion, and Arya. I’m not sure what’s going to happen to the characters next as far as this book goes (pretend this is not a re-read). I thought that reading this book again may change my mind about Catelyn, however she is to blame for most of what happens and continues to be someone I have no sympathy for.

It is a good middle book.  Though I wish it was the only middle book. On to A Storm of Swords.

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

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Since A Dance with Dragons came out, I decided to re-read the Song of Ice and Fire series before reading that and A Feast for Crows. I left the fourth book until the fifth book came out but since there is now going to be a sixth book, I figure what they hey.

Let me say first that I love this book and this world. Richly detailed, and great plotting make for an engaging story. I’d love to watch the HBO adaptation but I don’t have HBO.

So to the book! The old/new king is fool, his Queen an incestuous harlot, and the realm is soft after ten years of peace and ten years of summer. The old Hand of the King has died and King Robert wants his old friend Ned for the job. This starts a series of events that may lead to war. At the center of the story is Ned’s family the Starks of Winterfell. The story is told from the families point of view and a selection of various opposition view points. This includes Tyrion the Lannister dwarf and Daenaerys the daughter of the previous king that Robert overthrew.

Did I say I love this book? I do. There are characters to love and characters to hate. Story is very detail oriented and much of the story is description. Martin handles the details well so they do not detract from the story. The world is beautiful and tragic. I highly recommend this book.

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

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I walked into King Soopers hoping to find an epic fantasy. George R R. Martin’s third book in his Song of Ice and Fire series delivers. A Storm of Swords took a little bit for me to get it into. I was taken aback at the multiple point of views, so until he started repeating the POV’s I could not quite sort them out. I carried the book with me to Bencon during the reading struggle of the first few chapters. I was constantly bombarded with people telling me how good the book was.

And they were right.

Martin has created a world in the shade of gray. I found myself cheering for the good and evil, with never a clear definition of who was who. The similarities to the War of the Roses which lead to the succession of the House of Tudor in England are superficial. The action is constant and very personable.

Girls, read this book. This not just a guy fantasy. I can guarantee you will cry when Sansa builds Winterfell.

Martin does not stick with one theme. The definitions of honor, mother love, duty, and magic all play parts, neither more significant than the last. I have read some complaints that many of the side plots don’t seem to have a point but I think that is because the bigger picture is still being played out. There are multiple climaxes at which any author could close the book but Martin plows on.

Even though I started with third book, it was very easy to piece together what had happened, the links to the claims on the throne and so on. I plan to get the first and second book, as well the fourth, which just came out.