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[Cpt.Underpants]

Anne, although you're the envy of many a GRRM fan, do you ever wish you didn't have to edit the books so that you could be surprised by them all at once along with the rest of us?
Answer from: Anne G.

No. As above, he doesn’t tell me a lot. He feels I am most effective at my job if I am surprised along with everyone else. And it is easier to tell when he’s overplaying a hand and revealing things too early if you don’t actually know going in what will happen. That said, now that I’ve realized his three-fold revelation strategy, I see it in play almost every time. The first, subtle hint for the really astute readers, followed later by the more blatant hint for the less attentive, followed by just spelling it out for everyone else. It’s a brilliant strategy, and highly effective.
- See more at: http://universe.suvudu.com/q-and-a/anne-groell#.U499ZPldUxj


"Rhaegar had a sadness about him. I'd never met someone quite so puzzling, until I met your brother." - Baristan to Dany, ADWD.

"There is a sadness about you Jon Snow, and you puzzle me."- Melisandre to Jon, ADWD.

Then these two-

"My father always said that Rhaegar's melancholy would bring his downfall." - Cersei, AFFC

"Fix your melancholy boy. We don't need it here. It will bring your downfall one day if you don't." - Mormont to Jon, AGOT

From the asoiaf forums

 

[Paganmoon]

"Rhaegar had a sadness about him. I'd never met someone quite so puzzling, until I met your brother." - Baristan to Dany, ADWD.
"There is a sadness about you Jon Snow, and you puzzle me."- Melisandre to Jon, ADWD.

Then these two-

"My father always said that Rhaegar's melancholy would bring his downfall." - Cersei, AFFC

"Fix your melancholy boy. We don't need it here. It will bring your downfall one day if you don't." - Mormont to Jon, AGOT

From the asoiaf forums

Or, you know, it could just be that GRRM is a lazy writer and reuses dialog?

Spoiler

I kid, I kid...

 

[Morrigan Stark]

"Rhaegar had a sadness about him. I'd never met someone quite so puzzling, until I met your brother." - Baristan to Dany, ADWD.

"There is a sadness about you Jon Snow, and you puzzle me."- Melisandre to Jon, ADWD.

Then these two-

"My father always said that Rhaegar's melancholy would bring his downfall." - Cersei, AFFC

"Fix your melancholy boy. We don't need it here. It will bring your downfall one day if you don't." - Mormont to Jon, AGOT

From the asoiaf forums

Well shit. This is why I love GRRM and why I still have faith in the books.

Or, you know, it could just be that GRRM is a lazy writer and reuses dialog?

Spoiler

I kid, I kid...

Haha, that'd be a fair point except now it's Rhaegar and Jon sooooooo.... yeah

 

[M.Bluth]

Anne, although you're the envy of many a GRRM fan, do you ever wish you didn't have to edit the books so that you could be surprised by them all at once along with the rest of us?
Answer from: Anne G.

No. As above, he doesn’t tell me a lot. He feels I am most effective at my job if I am surprised along with everyone else. And it is easier to tell when he’s overplaying a hand and revealing things too early if you don’t actually know going in what will happen. That said, now that I’ve realized his three-fold revelation strategy, I see it in play almost every time. The first, subtle hint for the really astute readers, followed later by the more blatant hint for the less attentive, followed by just spelling it out for everyone else. It’s a brilliant strategy, and highly effective.
- See more at: http://universe.suvudu.com/q-and-a/anne-groell#.U499ZPldUxj


"Rhaegar had a sadness about him. I'd never met someone quite so puzzling, until I met your brother." - Baristan to Dany, ADWD.

"There is a sadness about you Jon Snow, and you puzzle me."- Melisandre to Jon, ADWD.

Then these two-

"My father always said that Rhaegar's melancholy would bring his downfall." - Cersei, AFFC

"Fix your melancholy boy. We don't need it here. It will bring your downfall one day if you don't." - Mormont to Jon, AGOT

From the asoiaf forums

Yeah, I noticed that on my second read through, and I picked up loads of hints, especially after reading some theories before going through it.

I especially liked this from Sansa's last AGoT chapter regarding Janos Slynt, which is one of the most explicit foreshadowings:

Sansa stared hard at his ugly face, remembering how he had thrown down her father for Ser Ilyn to behead, wishing she could hurt him, whishing that some hero would throw him down and cut off his head. But a voice inside her whispered, There are no heroes...

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Sansa stared hard at his ugly face, remembering how he had thrown down her father for Ser Ilyn to behead, wishing she could hurt him, whishing that some hero would throw him down and cut off his head. But a voice inside her whispered, There are no heroes...

Holy shit. These are the things GRRM really excel at. I love this.

 

[Paganmoon]

Holy shit. These are the things GRRM really excel at. I love this.

Wasn't it supposed to be a hanging of Slynt to begin with and he changed it after a reading after feedback from fans? Or is that just some internet rumor?

 

[PhoenixDark]

Wasn't it supposed to be a hanging of Slynt to begin with and he changed it after a reading after feedback from fans? Or is that just some internet rumor?

It's true. The original chapter featured Slynt getting hanged, and a fan at a convention asked Martin how come Jon wouldn't behead him.

 

[M.Bluth]

It's true. The original chapter featured Slynt getting hanged, and a fan at a convention asked Martin how come Jon wouldn't behead him.

Seriously? I'm glad I didn't know that before, then ::lol

 

[PhoenixDark]

There are a lot of great examples of the revelation strategy throughout the series.

Aegon:
Step 1: Aegon's face was destroyed beyond recognition (AGOT)
Step 2: House Of The Undying (ACOK)
Step 3: Full Aegon reveal (ADWD)

this thread has a bunch of others:
http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/26wqxo/spoilers_all_grrms_threefold_revelation_strategy/

 

[butzopower]

Did Rhaegar die before or after Jon was born? What if Rhaegar was a warg, and warged into Jon as he died, and Jon IS Rhaegar, reborn?

 

[Van Owen]

Did Rhaegar die before or after Jon was born? What if Rhaegar was a warg, and warged into Jon as he died, and Jon IS Rhaegar, reborn?

Only Starks and other northerners warg bro.

 

[butzopower]

Only Starks and other northerners warg bro.

Did Bloodraven have northern blood?

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Bloodraven isn't a warg. Also, lol @ Rhaegar warging into baby Jon.

I think Rhaegar died way before anyway. He died on the Trident, then Ned and Robert went to King's Landing, then had a fight over the dead Targ babies and Ned stalked off in search of his sister, and when he found her at the Tower of Joy months later, she had seemingly just given birth.

 

[Snake]

Bloodraven isn't a warg.

He's a greenseer, which also makes him a skinchanger.

“Only one man in a thousand is born a skinchanger,” Lord Brynden said one day, after Bran had learned to fly, “and only one skinchanger in a thousand can be a greenseer.”

 

[butzopower]

Okay, so Rhaegar warging Jon is pretty stupid, but I feel like there's hints about having to warg simple people, and all the themes of rebirth in the series. What would happen if you warged a child and then lost your real skin? You slowly become them, but do they also become you?

 

[Moff]

Rhaegar warging into Jon is my new favourite theory

 

[Brakke]

He's a greenseer, which also makes him a skinchanger.

You people are beautiful.

Rhaegar warging into Jon is my new favourite theory

Huh that quote is kind of nonsense though. Jojen hasn't ever warged, right?

Also, Bloodraven has First Men blood? I thought that was just their thing.

 

[Basileus777]

Also, Bloodraven has First Men blood? I thought that was just their thing.

His mother was a Blackwood, who have first men blood and still keep to the Old Golds.

 

[Wh0 N0se]

Huh that quote is kind of nonsense though. Jojen hasn't ever warged, right?

Also, Bloodraven has First Men blood? I thought that was just their thing.

I don't agree with the theory but Jojen hasn't warged in the books, doesn't mean he can't. He seemed to know a lot about warging when he spoke to Bran.

 

[elrechazado]

I don't agree with the theory but Jojen hasn't warged in the books, doesn't mean he can't. He seemed to know a lot about warging when he spoke to Bran.

Jojen talked about skills and how he has green dreams as his skill, how meera can do mud magic stuff, specifically contrasting with bran's talents. Makes it very clear he's not a warg.

 

[fallout]

Wargs? Targs? Wargtargs!

 

[Yonafunu]

Wargs? Targs? Wargtargs!

Wargaryens!

 

[Cpt.Underpants]

I'm still wondering how the first men/andals inherited the gifts of the Children of the forest.

*sigh* Would want a release of twow by now

 

[butzopower]

I also wonder if Lyanna could have been a warg. She was called the she-wolf and was wild and tomboyish like Arya, who also seems to be able to warg over long distances. Maybe she warged into Jon while pregnant with him in some crazy Dune-esque abomination scenario.

Woah guys, Lyanna was Nissa Nissa, warged into Jon before giving birth to him, and Bowen Marsh is Azor Ahai reborn!

 

[Moff]

no, lyanna warged into ned, and then into sansa when he is killed

 

[Brakke]

Guys what if it turns out there's a progenitor machine race that created humans and childrens and white walkers and there's a space prophecy for a human to fulfill to unlock their destinies.

 

[Cornballer]

- Tor.com: Feuding Targaryens: A Non-Spoiler Review of George R. R. Martin’s “The Rogue Prince, or, A King’s Brother”

 

[Incandenza]

Just finished reading the Dunk & Egg novellas. Jesus, the stuff in there about the Blackfyres and Bloodraven is, like, essential to ADWD. Can't believe I didn't read them until now.

 

[Lionheart1337]

Just finished reading the Dunk & Egg novellas. Jesus, the stuff in there about the Blackfyres and Bloodraven is, like, essential to ADWD. Can't believe I didn't read them until now.

Exactly why I started on em....love it so far.

 

[Frank the Great]

Where can I get the Dunk and Egg novellas? I only see the graphic novels on Amazon.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

Just finished reading the Dunk & Egg novellas. Jesus, the stuff in there about the Blackfyres and Bloodraven is, like, essential to ADWD. Can't believe I didn't read them until now.

Utter bullshit that they're not really available outside the US.

 

[DC1]

There are more released chapters than that.

I'm hungry.. do you have a couple of key 'searchable' words that I can use the close the gap?
Very much appreciated.

 

[timetokill]

Where can I get the Dunk and Egg novellas? I only see the graphic novels on Amazon.

I would also like to know this.

 

[TheCowboyPoet]

Just finished reading the Dunk & Egg novellas. Jesus, the stuff in there about the Blackfyres and Bloodraven is, like, essential to ADWD. Can't believe I didn't read them until now.

Finished the second one last night, onto the third one. I'd really love to see a Dunk & Egg miniseries after GoT finishes on HBO.

 

[Incandenza]

Finished the second one last night, onto the third one. I'd really love to see a Dunk & Egg miniseries after GoT finishes on HBO.

Three Sherlock-style 90-minute episodes would probably fit it perfectly.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

I would also like to know this.

The first two were in anthologies called "Legends" and "Legends II", respectively. The third one is in an anthology called "Warriors". I believe (not 100% sure) the Legends anthologies are out of print, unfortunately, but Warriors should be fairly easy to find.

I really recommend the graphic novels. I read both the novellas and the comics, and they are very faithful adaptations, and the art is gorgeous. If you can't find the novellas it's the next best thing, and if you can, well, it's still worth reading the comics for the art. The art is wayyyy better than the art in the actual AGoT comics. I really dislike the way they drew the characters in AGoT (Arya looks particularly terrible). I wish they had gotten the same artist as the Dunk & Egg graphic novels.

 

[DKehoe]

Three Sherlock-style 90-minute episodes would probably fit it perfectly.

Yeh, I'd much prefer this (or ideally actual feature films) than trying to stretch each story into a 10 episode season.

The Dunk & Egg stories are a lot of fun and as others have said they add to your understanding of the main story.

They have a different feel than the main stories, it's more of a typical adventure story.

 

[Paganmoon]

Just a heads up @grrmspeaking on Twitter is grrm himself (or one of his assistants), del rey books are in the process of getting the account verified.

On mobile, sorry for lack of link.

 

[Basileus777]

Just a heads up @grrmspeaking on Twitter is grrm himself (or one of his assistants), del rey books are in the process of getting the account verified.

On mobile, sorry for lack of link.

I don't tweet all that much, please check out my live journal page. #myfirstTweet

Perfect.

 

[Frank the Great]

The first two were in anthologies called "Legends" and "Legends II", respectively. The third one is in an anthology called "Warriors". I believe (not 100% sure) the Legends anthologies are out of print, unfortunately, but Warriors should be fairly easy to find.

I really recommend the graphic novels. I read both the novellas and the comics, and they are very faithful adaptations, and the art is gorgeous. If you can't find the novellas it's the next best thing, and if you can, well, it's still worth reading the comics for the art. The art is wayyyy better than the art in the actual AGoT comics. I really dislike the way they drew the characters in AGoT (Arya looks particularly terrible). I wish they had gotten the same artist as the Dunk & Egg graphic novels.

Thanks! I got all three anthologies on my Kindle.

The stories should really be collected and released together as one book though, I wonder why they haven't been.

 

[Beyonce Beytwice]

Just a heads up @grrmspeaking on Twitter is grrm himself (or one of his assistants), del rey books are in the process of getting the account verified.

On mobile, sorry for lack of link.

Twitter should ban that account instantly instead of verifying it. We need grrmwriting books 6 and 7, not grrmspeaking nonsense on Twitter. He should be blocked from everything that can distract him on the internet.

 

[Jayof9s]

Twitter should ban that account instantly instead of verifying it. We need grrmwriting books 6 and 7, not grrmspeaking nonsense on Twitter. He should be blocked from everything that can distract him on the internet.

While I wish the books were out sooner, of all the things George does, do you really think tweeting from time to time is going to make the difference of when we get the book?

Unless you're literally suggesting he should do nothing but sit on his ancient computer typing material for 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, until he finishes writing the series.

 

[Tubie]

Twitter should ban that account instantly instead of verifying it. We need grrmwriting books 6 and 7, not grrmspeaking nonsense on Twitter. He should be blocked from everything that can distract him on the internet.

That's a good way for the poor guy to go insane and write nothing at all or write very bad books.

 

[PhoenixDark]

While I wish the books were out sooner, of all the things George does, do you really think tweeting from time to time is going to make the difference of when we get the book?

Unless you're literally suggesting he should do nothing but sit on his ancient computer typing material for 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, until he finishes writing the series.

I'll just point to Neil Gaiman's blog post on this subject.

This is Martin's last month of "no events" until late August btw; he'll be in Europe starting next month. Once he gets back in late August he doesn't have another event until August 2015, ie an entire year. I think people don't understand that one of the biggest problems that caused the last two books delays was Martin's schedule. He would struggle with the Meereenese Knot for a few weeks then fly to a convention; he'd come home and struggle with the five year gap for a month, then leave for a week. ADWD was completed once his schedule was cleared in mid 2010/early 2011.

In short, when he has time to write without interruption he gets stuff done. From November 2013 to late May 2014 he didn't have any events, outside of attending the S4 premier; that's about six months. As I've said before, there are seven months between this August and April 2015, when S5 premiers. I think he goal is to try to finish by then to get a summer release date. I could be very wrong obviously but I really think that's the goal. I think his 2015 schedule is empty to give him time to finish and to make room for a book tour.

 

[Zod the Bear]

His theater helps a lot with the schedule too. He really likes going out and doing these conventions, but now he can just do local events without completely gutting his writing schedule.

 

[Basileus777]

I'll just point to Neil Gaiman's blog post on this subject.

Please don't.

 

[Purple Cheeto]

Please don't.

Seriously. I love Neal but that blog post is more asinine as time passes.

 

[PhoenixDark]

from the other thread

ADWD question: why do some people think Ramsay didn't write the pink letter?

A few reasons. First is the general idea that the contents of the letter are too ridiculous to be true. Seven days of battle in a blizzard seems ridiculous. Then there's the fact that we've seen letters from Ramsay before. He flays people, and puts their skin in letters. Yet he claims to have beheaded his enemies and mounted their heads on the walls of Winterfell.

Then there's the fact that we know a few things about the set up of the battle. We know the Manderly army not holds ill intentions toward the Freys, they also left Winterfell through a separate gate and plan on marching behind the Freys. We know that Jon learned of the Karstark betrayal and sent warning to Stannis. TWOW

Spoiler

We know Stannis got the letter and dealt with the Karstarks. We know Stannis has a plan.

To me, all this adds up to make it impossible for Stannis to get routed off page like that.

I think Mance wrote the letter, given the language. People have looked at it and noted the language in it is very similar to the way a wildling would write/talk. The letter refers to the Watch as "black crows," and that phrase is only used in the series by wildlings (and Jon, who spent time with the wildlings).
http://branvras.free.fr/HuisClos/Epilogue.html

I think Mance wanted Jon and the wildlings to attack Winterfell. I also think Stannis is going to route the Frey army.

 

[Fuzzy]

Thanks! I got all three anthologies on my Kindle.

The stories should really be collected and released together as one book though, I wonder why they haven't been.

The collection of the three stories is being released in 2015 and will be called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and will be illustrated.

Since the collection is comprised entirely of previously-published material, we wanted to add something extra for the fans who might already have read the stories in LEGENDS and WARRIORS. Some illustrations would be great, I thought (my love of illustrated books is well known by now, I suspect) and my British and American publishers agreed. We reached out to the amazing GARY GIANNI, who did all the artwork for the stunning 2014 Ice & Fire calendar, not to mention Prince Valiant and those absolutely gorgeous Solomon Kane and Bran Mak Morn collections from Wandering Star. Gary was interested in the project... but after reading the stories, he decided he did not want to do just a small handful of illustrations. He wanted to bring the whole book to life with his artwork. Last year at San Diego Comicon, he presented my editor Anne Groell and myself with a mockup of A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS as he envisioned it, with art on almost every page. Even as roughs, Gary's sketches were gorgeous. They blew us away. Of course we said yes.

http://grrm.livejournal.com/365715.html

 

[Brakke]

I'll just point to Neil Gaiman's blog post on this subject.

Please don't.

Seriously. I love Neal but that blog post is more asinine as time passes.

Y'all are subtweeting this; what are you talking about?