196 replies to this topic

[Martin Smith]

Spoiler

The price she pays for not being able to suppress being Arya, or just the next stage of her training?



There are 'Arya' chapters in Dance, but there's at least the possibility that they will be fake Arya/Jayne Poole chapters instead of Arya Stark ones. Sansa's later chapters in Feast went under the 'Elayne Stone' name rather than her own.

If that chronology is right though, Arya's story is already told well in advance of everyone else in the story, so it'd take a while to catch back up to her.

Feast for Crows

Spoiler

I hope it's not the false Arya. I would have thought Theon's chapters will cover that area. Now that she's (hopefully temporarily) blind, Arya's warg abilities might strengthen. I could see her being reunited with her direwolf with it acting as her eyes. Although that is a bit similar to Bran's current situation.

[Ricardo_C]

So I'm just starting A Feast for Crows, and realizing how many plotlines from A Storm of Swords are being left dangling, presumably to be picked up again in A Dance with Dragons. It's killing me that I have to wait until July to get the whole (as 'whole' as it will be till the series is done in about 2050 or so), but you old hands have been waiting for 11 years for some of these plots to be updated! I guess GRRM is not only sadistic toward his own characters

[Mike]

Yes.

Though to be honest, it's been so long since I first read them that if the TV series hadn't come along and reignited my interest, I doubt I'd be as eagerly anticipating Dance as much as I am now.

I hope he manages to finish the series quicker than it has taken him to write this one.

[kieranbeech]

Well I'm reading the first book at a comfortable trot and I am just passing the halfway marker now. I'm glad I watched the series first because it has helped me become immersed in the story, I love the bits that can't be portrayed as well on TV, all of Ned's inner moments build on this character very well, and though I know he will meet his untimely demise very shortly, I still find myself routing for him to pull through

He's the type of hero I've enjoyed reading for sometime now, the gallant noble and honorable hero. The hero stories are built around, yet the thing that makes this story so good is that it rips that very character from you quite unexpectedly, (well it was whilst I watched the series) it toys with you and leads you to some unexpected paths, I'm thoroughly enjoying the story and wish I could discuss more with you all but I'm still a few weeks behind on that.

[Ricardo_C]

So I'm halfway through AFFC, and frankly, I'm not enjoying it as much as the other three. Thankfully, GRMM knows how to keep the story interesting even when dealing with the entr'acte of sorts the book is, but the amount of exposition needed to bring us up to speed on the Dorne and Pyke storylines has been a little too much, at times. It's obvious GRMM hadn't anticipated the plot branching off in this direction. GRMM's favorite world-building trick, mentioning characters and events in passing in such a way that you accept them as part of the story without further detail, is pushed to the very limits in AFFC, to the point where I'm almost wishing for less detail and more plot development. Also, the retcon involving

Spoiler

Cersei and the prophecy that is so damn important it wasn't mentioned at all in the previous 3000 pages

is the most contrived bit in the story yet. I hope the payoff justifies it, but so far, it's a distraction more than anything, and reeks of lack of foresight.

Mind you, when I say I'm not enjoying it as much, it just means I'm reading 50 pages a day rather than 200, so I'm still very well entertained, but hoping ADWD closes out the intermission on a good note.

Edited by Ricardo_C, 10 July 2011 - 04:54 PM.

[David Chapman]

A Dance With Dragons is out on Tuesday, in case anyone missed the announcement. Do not post unprotected spoilers, or I shall cut off your manhoods and feed them to the goats.

[Gavin Meakings]

The Kindle version of Dance with Dragons has some pretty poor formating errors right from the start Given that they are only charge slightly less then the hard copies you would think the publishers would actually proof read the digital copies as well.

[Mike]

Comment with no spoilers: Well, fuck.



It's going to be a long wait until The Winds of Winter now.

[Patrick A]

You read the whole thing already? Did it come out earlier in Europe?

[Mike]

I've just come off nights - I was wide awake for a few hours in the middle of the night and it had already downloaded to my iPad by then, so I read half of it last night, and the rest this afternoon.

Reading quickly is my mutant power.

Obviously, I now need other people to read quickly too so I can talk about it. Mush! Mush!

[David Chapman]

The Kindle version of Dance with Dragons has some pretty poor formating errors right from the start Given that they are only charge slightly less then the hard copies you would think the publishers would actually proof read the digital copies as well.

The Kindle version of ADWD actually costs more than the hard copy, because 20% VAT is added onto the price.

I have my dead tree edition and have begun.

[Ricardo_C]

I've just come off nights - I was wide awake for a few hours in the middle of the night and it had already downloaded to my iPad by then, so I read half of it last night, and the rest this afternoon.

Reading quickly is my mutant power.

Obviously, I now need other people to read quickly too so I can talk about it. Mush! Mush!

Well come on, doc! Give us a grade at least. You know, 1-10, A-F, 1%-100%, give us something to go on. Or just compare it to the others, if you would.

[Mike]

I enjoyed it, though not quite as much as some of the early reviewers seem to have done.

I think it could have done with some tighter editing; without spoiling, two of the major plot threads share a feeling of being padded, only to accelerate towards the very end to generally evil cliff-hangers. I think, given the difficulties there has been in Martin advancing his story, that it was a brave thing to do to end with quite as many significant cliffhangers as he does.

Taken together, the fourth and fifth books serve to bridge from the events at the end of A Storm of Swords towards the bigger stories that will presumably now occupy the remaining two books. I think that'd have been great if they'd come out soon after SoS as a single book, with what is now the sixth book following on close behind.

But it's well written, it barrels along readily enough, there are a couple of game-changing revelations about the players in the Game of Thrones, there are great moments for several of the characters, and the cliff-hangers do genuinely leave you wanting the next book as soon as possible. But it's another book that is more about set up, about moving the pieces around the board, than about major events happening in their own right.

[kieranbeech]

How the flying frig have you read it that quick Mike, I know you've explained sort of , but are you Jonny Five? Geez thats some majorily quick reading.

Well on my reading, I slowed down over the weekend by a considerable ammount, it took me 2 days to read Davos chapter, but I made up for it yesterday with quite a few chapters.

[ADevenney]

Comment with no spoilers: Well, fuck.



It's going to be a long wait until The Winds of Winter now.

I second this. Man...

[kieranbeech]

Well I've just reached

Spoiler

Arya and Gendry getting caught

I like this story alot but please tell me at least some good happens to one character. Oh well more reading to see how things pan out. Tyrion has really grown as a character in ACoK.

[kieranbeech]

Right reading on I'm starting to wonder ....

Spoiler

..... whether Bran has a more major connection to Summer since falling (being pushed,) that his dreams are not mere dreams per say, but are something more. Like some form of telepathic connection of a sort.

[Mike]

I like this story alot but please tell me at least some good happens to one character.

Almost everyone gets a shag at some point.

[kieranbeech]

Almost everyone gets a shag at some point.

Ha!

[Paul F]

Well, fuck.


A Dance with Dragons Spoilers:

Spoiler

That was mostly really good, if a bit too long.

Also, far too many death fake-outs. I hope TWoW goes back to the end of Brienne's story from AFfC, because that cliffhanger was bizarre.

I was expecting to get something in this about Loras, who apparently got horribly burned and possibly killed offscreen in AFfC. I was expecting that one to be a fake-out.

I'd missed Tyrion. His chapters were great, especially the early ones with Griff et al. The Theon stuff was good too.

I don't see things ending well for Varys or Aegon.