Still slogging my way through this. I'm trying to stay interested in these characters and their (lack of) action, but have not been so successful. I'm considering just waiting for the fan-edit combination of AFFC and ADWD. Shaving 400 pages off each book and putting them together in chronological order might improve things greatly.
Really surprised people enjoyed the Reek chapters. Maybe they get better, but if I have to hear what Reek rhymes with one more time I'll throw this book out the window. WE FUCKING GET IT ALREADY. Martin's writing has gotten so unbelievably repetitive in the last two books where the first three were so concise and forward leaning. I blame his editing team. They've lost any power to control his bloat and until they do this series is doomed in my eyes.
I disagree. As much as I was disappointed with the pacing of ADWD, Martin now has all the Chess pieces in play on the table, and final two books should be epic. I just don't want to have to wait for 5 years to see the next one unfold, and when we do finally get it, he had better kick things into gear.
You seriously don't get how fuck up that incident was do you? Tyrion has proven he's not like his father or sister and has the capability of feeling guilt and remorse when an innocent person has been victimized and tortured brutally.
Really surprised people enjoyed the Reek chapters. Maybe they get better, but if I have to hear what Reek rhymes with one more time I'll throw this book out the window. WE FUCKING GET IT ALREADY. Martin's writing has gotten so unbelievably repetitive in the last two books where the first three were so concise and forward leaning. I blame his editing team. They've lost any power to control his bloat and until they do this series is doomed in my eyes.
ADwD is MUCH better on re-read, when you already know what to expect. Then you can take the book for what it is and really appreciate how well written and evocative it is, and start reading between the lines and figuring out how everything ties together. There is a lot of beautiful writing in this book and a lot of subtle clues about the overall story that may not be immediately apparent on first read.
Some spoilerish comments:
The lack of satisying resolution to 2 of the book's major storylines (Boltons vs Stannis/Mance for Winterfell; & Mereen-Yunkai, etc. war) is a seriously frustrating flaw. There is lots of build-up, then it seems to end too suddenly. It does not give the reader the emotional release that he/she requires after reading such a long book with such an intricate plot. I am convinced that GRRM did plan to include these resolutions in the book, but pushed them to the next book in order to finally get ADwD published. (GRRM's editor did say that 2 major events that were planned for ADwD got pushed to TWoW for timing reasons.)
As for the "other Targaryen" that is taking action in Westeros while Dany struggles to control Mereen, well, he is not really a Targaryen. He is the "mummer's dragon" that Dany was warned about in the House of the Undying in Quarth. He does have dragon's blood, buuuuuuut he is a Blackfyre dragon, not Targaryen. Illyrio and Varys are Blackfyre loyalists, most likely with Blackfyre family ties. There are lots of subtle clues in the book that lead to this conclusion. It helps greatly to have read the Dunk & Egg novellas, which tie into events in ASoIaF in suprising ways. (Why do you think the novellas give so much attention to the Blackfyre rebellions and Bloodraven? It's not accidental.)
That's how I pronounced it personally, until I heard Roy Dotrice pronounce it Bry-een. Which I would assume makes it the canon pronunciation. How does GRRM pronounce it himself?
That's how I pronounced it personally, until I heard Roy Dotrice pronounce it Bry-een. Which I would assume makes it the canon pronunciation. How does GRRM pronounce it himself?
I've never heard him pronounce it but I guess he can pronounce it any way he wants, since it's his character. The way it's spelled though it should be Bree-en. If he wants it pronounced a different way he should spell it that way. A little pet peeve of mine. Like the way he pronounces "Dany" "Danny." If you want it to be "Danny", then spell it that way!
I've never heard him pronounce it but I guess he can pronounce it any way he wants, since it's his character. The way it's spelled though it should be Bree-en. If he wants it pronounced a different way he should spell it that way. A little pet peeve of mine. Like the way he pronounces "Dany" "Danny." If you want it to be "Danny", then spell it that way!
As for the "other Targaryen" that is taking action in Westeros while Dany struggles to control Mereen, well, he is not really a Targaryen. He is the "mummer's dragon" that Dany was warned about in the House of the Undying in Quarth. He does have dragon's blood, buuuuuuut he is a Blackfyre dragon, not Targaryen. Illyrio and Varys are Blackfyre loyalists, most likely with Blackfyre family ties. There are lots of subtle clues in the book that lead to this conclusion. It helps greatly to have read the Dunk & Egg novellas, which tie into events in ASoIaF in suprising ways. (Why do you think the novellas give so much attention to the Blackfyre rebellions and Bloodraven? It's not accidental.)
ADwD is MUCH better on re-read, when you already know what to expect. Then you can take the book for what it is and really appreciate how well written and evocative it is, and start reading between the lines and figuring out how everything ties together. There is a lot of beautiful writing in this book and a lot of subtle clues about the overall story that may not be immediately apparent on first read.
Some spoilerish comments:
The lack of satisying resolution to 2 of the book's major storylines (Boltons vs Stannis/Mance for Winterfell; & Mereen-Yunkai, etc. war) is a seriously frustrating flaw. There is lots of build-up, then it seems to end too suddenly. It does not give the reader the emotional release that he/she requires after reading such a long book with such an intricate plot. I am convinced that GRRM did plan to include these resolutions in the book, but pushed them to the next book in order to finally get ADwD published. (GRRM's editor did say that 2 major events that were planned for ADwD got pushed to TWoW for timing reasons.)
As for the "other Targaryen" that is taking action in Westeros while Dany struggles to control Mereen, well, he is not really a Targaryen. He is the "mummer's dragon" that Dany was warned about in the House of the Undying in Quarth. He does have dragon's blood, buuuuuuut he is a Blackfyre dragon, not Targaryen. Illyrio and Varys are Blackfyre loyalists, most likely with Blackfyre family ties. There are lots of subtle clues in the book that lead to this conclusion. It helps greatly to have read the Dunk & Egg novellas, which tie into events in ASoIaF in suprising ways. (Why do you think the novellas give so much attention to the Blackfyre rebellions and Bloodraven? It's not accidental.)
I'd like to know what these hints are (I just finished the book this week, and probably won't do a reread until next year). I've had the feeling since he first showed up that we don't know his whole story, and that he won't end up being one of the three heads of the dragons.
On a similar note, I suspect that the three heads are probably Dany, Jon and Tyrion, and they will all end up fighting one another at the endgame. We know this series won't have a feel good ending, and it would be brutal to watch the characters that he has built up in the most sympathetic/heroic light tearing each other apart. I don't think it will be all doom and gloom, but I don't see the story ending well for any of them.
I finished the book today. Got it back in October but only really started to put more time into it in December. I was at about 150-200 pages then. Anyway, having now completed the reading I have to say that I loved it. I haven't read any criticism of the book yet as I've been trying to avoid spoilers but I don't undestand how people can feel so differently about AFFC and ADWD compared to the other books. I think they're as consitent as the previous books in every way that makes those other books enjoyable. I'd go as far as saying that ADWD is close to ASOS as my favorite in the series.
My only complaint is that (like AFFC) it started off slowly. I feel the turning point was the chapter where
Jon decapitates Slynt.
That's what I recall as the first holy shit moment in the book.
Reek/Ramsay
... HOLY SHIT I... What can be said about that story. When
Jon read that letter at the end and chooses to attack Winterfell
I was just so fucking pumped and then Martin trolled me. LOL So freaking good.
I have enjoyed the books. So happy that I decided to go ahead and read the books instead of waiting for the tv series to air the seasons before going to the books. Now I find myself joining the ranks of fans who now have to wait years for the next installment... FUCK LOL Anyway, I'm debating whether to read Stephen King's It or some historical/non fiction stuff next but I also have my eyes set on Martin's Dreamsongs collection of stories. Has anyone here read any of them?
I always read it as Dane-ee. Probably because I knew a girl in high school who spelled and pronouncedher name that way. Not sure if that's correct from a phonetic stand point though.
Edit: Oh God I just realized these posts are like four months old. :x
I finished the book today. Got it back in October but only really started to put more time into it in December. I was at about 150-200 pages then. Anyway, having now completed the reading I have to say that I loved it. I haven't read any criticism of the book yet as I've been trying to avoid spoilers but I don't undestand how people can feel so differently about AFFC and ADWD compared to the other books. I think they're as consitent as the previous books in every way that makes those other books enjoyable. I'd go as far as saying that ADWD is close to ASOS as my favorite in the series.
My only complaint is that (like AFFC) it started off slowly. I feel the turning point was the chapter where
Jon decapitates Slynt.
That's what I recall as the first holy shit moment in the book.
Reek/Ramsay
... HOLY SHIT I... What can be said about that story. When
Jon read that letter at the end and chooses to attack Winterfell
I was just so fucking pumped and then Martin trolled me. LOL So freaking good.
I have enjoyed the books. So happy that I decided to go ahead and read the books instead of waiting for the tv series to air the seasons before going to the books. Now I find myself joining the ranks of fans who now have to wait years for the next installment... FUCK LOL Anyway, I'm debating whether to read Stephen King's It or some historical/non fiction stuff next but I also have my eyes set on Martin's Dreamsongs collection of stories. Has anyone here read any of them?
Only just finished ADWD recently myself. I took a little extra long due to heavy work commitments. But anyway...
...I honestly thought the book was dogshit. Things didn't get genuinely interesting until the 600-page mark, and by then you could sense that the story had to start winding down.
- None of the major story arcs came to a resolution. The book just feels like a random part of a story drifting about aimlessly like a fart in the wind.
-
Nothing on Jaime, Brienne or Sansa
- The final scene with
Jon
was a terribly unsubtle red herring
- Portions of Robert's Rebellion was completely retconned
- I disagree with Martin's decision to make the events of AFFC and ADWD concurrent. There was no need for it. It would've been much easier to follow if they'd simply been put in chronological order.
- Many of the new characters to whom entire chapters are devoted seem to be in there purely to fulfill the "cast of thousands" boast. Most were unnecessary distractions, imo.
Haven't read all of it but I'd say Dreamsongs is worth getting. Some awesome sci-fi horror stuff like Sandkings, the Ice and Fire short stories and Tuf stories are really great.