I'm lucky, too, that I was able to find a mass-market paperback version of the book in English, since that isn't scheduled to come out until October. (Since I move a lot, I refuse to buy bulky, heavy hardcovers) Lots of people have complained about both this book and A Feast for Crows, but I have to say, I love them nearly as much as the earlier books. The writing grips me just as strongly and sweeps me away into a world that fits my sense of adventure perfectly.
I do have some minor quibbles, though not about how slowly Martin
produces his books--as far as I'm concerned, he should take the time he needs
in order to get them right. My main quibble is that Daenerys Targaryen is
simply too passive, naive, and almost stupid in her chapters. I know she is
very young still, but she has been through so much that she should have grown
up a bit and gained some wisdom...or at least be able to listen to some of the
wisdom of people like Ser Barristan Selmy. Instead she sits around moaning and
doing almost nothing except stupid things like agreeing to marry someone very
wrong for her. I haven't yet read far enough to see how badly that turns out,
but I don't have to in order to know that it will turn badly very quickly, and
she should have known it would. Her naivete regarding the slave
trade and slave cities is just astounding--you can't make such sweeping changes
without shaking up the world and turning almost everyone against you.
The last thing I wanted to mention was that I saw a riddle that Martin threw in to one of Dany's chapters, and it made me guess that the two dragon riders other than Dany will most likely be Tyrion and the 'Frog' prince of Dorne who has just arrived in her city at the point where I am reading. Of course, it could be another Dornish person or another Lannister, but that seems doubtful. Anyone else think this when reading the book?
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It's hard to get a grip on where Martin is going with this. Indeed, it seems like the books are spiralling off, killing what seemed to be key figures of the core plotlines in the early-mid books, and pacing things quite slowly. While I like the writing, it feels to me like there isn't the clear series arc I was expecting.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts on Dany... I really wanted more out of her in this latest book. I also thought Davos wasn't given enough screen time. All in all though I really loved it and I thought Reek (rhymes with meek) stole the show! Enjoy finishing it, there's some real twists and turns there towards the end!
ReplyDeleteI don't skip pages. I read every word form front to back. I read slowly because of it, but I catch things my speed-reader friends don't. While I enjoyed Feast for Crows, there were certain characters whose chapters began with a set-up, included thousands of words of meaningless fluff, and ended with something relevant. I would read the first and last pages of the chapter and miss nothing.
ReplyDeleteA Dance with Dragons was even worse. Martin seems so unrestrained by his popularity while simultaneously being terrified of losing it that he ignores his craft and just infodumps over and over and over again. I won't spoil the ending for you. The "big outrage" didn't outrage me for happening so much as how poorly it was handled. And when I saw where the characters were compared to where they started, I wondered why I bothered with the book at all.
Stu, I think the core story arc has always been there, though it became more convoluted as new characters sprang up and he also added the in-between story line (he had intended to leap ahead five years originally). I really don't believe he has changed the original plot lines. I wouldn't be at all upset if he needed an extra book or two to complete the series, as long as he lives long enough to manage them. I'm a patient person...
ReplyDeleteJoseph, I understand from comments others have made that this book is mostly set-up with little actually pushing the final plot forward...but I don't mind personally, because I just enjoy the world so much. I haven't minded at all the parts you mention--the long chapters with filler and world-building details that don't necessarily have to be there. That is all gravy to me, but then I feel that way about worlds like this one and Middle Earth. I can read all of Tolkien's notebooks and such and be happy!
ReplyDeleteI have different theories on the dragon riders. One has to be Jon Snow since he must be a Targaryeon. The other I think is the new character introduced. Forget his name.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Danys acted very weak in the last book. I was disappointed by that.
Martin does write slow and I often wonder if he even knows what the end game is in his novel because he meanders all over the place.
That said, I can't wait for the next book.
Susan, I also thought that Jon might end up as one, but while reading ADWD there is a point where Dany thinks about a prophecy given to her, and she mentions both a Lion and another animal that I am currently forgetting since I'm not at home, but I thought it had to do with Dorne, so that made me feel like she was setting it up to be Tyrion (a Lion who happens to be heading her way) and the Frog prince from Dorne, also headed her way.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I feel like Dany would most likely use riders whom she had grown to trust quite well, so how does Jon reach that point when he isn't even on her horizon yet, while both of the others are.
I think it will be Bran... I am rereading Clash of Kings and Jojen Reed's green vision that Bran will fly on a flying wolf... The dragons will need to go north to save the kingdom at some point, and I think that's where and how that will happen. Or Jon Snow, who I believe is Targarean (Lyanna's son, fathered by Rhaegar)--there was a hint at that in Game of Thrones... it is said John looks like Arya (I remembered that from the first time) but the second time reading I noticed Ned telling Arya she looked like Lyanna (which means Jon does, too).
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with loving the world and story A LOT. My only real frustration is investing us with characters who then die right away. Either bring them in and have them do something, or don't invest us.
ReplyDeleteI won't spoil anything for you, but I will say Dance is my second favorite volume after Storm.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I expect Jon and Dany to marry, and be the riders along with possibly Tyrion. The Dragon, the Lion, and the Wolf.
ReplyDelete