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Thread: A Song of Ice and Fire

  1. #31
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    I have this feeling that the first time we see Theon is season 3 will be him tied up with Dagmar and perhaps a few others in the back of a wagon or something on its way to the Dreadfort. And that Yara will spend the season looking for him, though most of the Ironborn will think he's dead.

    I wonder if they'll bother with "Arstan" or just have Barristan already in the open, as it were, as well.

  2. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by slave2thewage View Post
    I wonder if they'll bother with "Arstan" or just have Barristan already in the open, as it were, as well.
    I can't wait for Strong Belwas.

  3. #33
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    I'm halfway through A Feast For Crows and really having to force myself through it. It feels like the story's evaporated and the characters are left floundering around from one chapter to another with no real motivation; Jaime and Cersei bicker for 20 pages, Samwell is sick on a boat for another 20, Brienne wanders around the countryside asking after Sansa for another 20...and so on and so forth, and nothing ever seems to progress. The book could be half the length if edited properly. I can't help but wonder where any of it is actually going; the Lannisters seem to have won the Throne, the Starks are all but wiped out, the Wildlings appear defeated and there's still no sign of the Others or Dany showing up in the Seven Kingdoms any time soon. So what's it all about now; will there ever be an answer to what the three-eyed Crow is, who or what the Others actually are, and whether or not it's really all a great battle between Melisandre's Lord of Light and his enemy beyond the Wall? Ugh, I like Ice and Fire a lot and want to know where it's all headed...but man am I getting frustrated with it! [/rant]

  4. #34
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    yeah, Feast for Crows is a boring chore to read. It has its moments, but overall it's a meandering mess, especially by comparison to the preceding books.

  5. #35
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    I found A Dance With Dragons much harder to get through, to be honest.

  6. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by slave2thewage View Post
    I found A Dance With Dragons much harder to get through, to be honest.
    I agree. With Feast for Crows, the change of pace was more understandable. Dance with Dragons, especially with Feast before it, is much more demanding in terms of patience. The next installment (if and when it comes) should really pick things up, there really isn't any more sense, artistic or otherwise, in maintaining the sluggish pace. On the whole, I'm very curious as to how Feast and Dance will get translated to TV. The fact that they'll follow the chronological order and mix them up will probably make things a bit more fast, but still...it will be a big test for the show's popularity I think.

  7. #37
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    I think it helped that I love the Greyjoys and I thought the Sansa chapters were oddly fascinating, in a slightly creepy way. Plus Cersei vs Margaery is AMAZING.

  8. #38
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    Yeah, I don't know. I devoured the first three books, but I've been stuck trying to finish Feast for Crows. I was also really hoping Dance with Dragons would pick things up, and my friends who have read it said it does.

    It just seems like NOTHING happens in Feast for Crows.
    ...and now that I've invited people to tell me what actually does happen before I finish reading it, I should probably bow out of this thread for a bit.

  9. #39
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    I definitely enjoyed AFFC way more on my re-read.

  10. #40
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    Spoiler Alert: EVERYBODY FUCKING DIES I HATE THESE BOOKS

  11. #41
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    I've never read such long books in my life (1200 pages!) and it was kind of a struggle to finish the third book. It was amazing as the first two books, but it was so heavy to carry with me in my bag.

    So I'm taking a break and reading "smaller" books.

  12. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alexandros View Post
    The next installment (if and when it comes) should really pick things up, there really isn't any more sense, artistic or otherwise, in maintaining the sluggish pace.
    I think the next book will start with a lot of action. You know, Iron Islanders arriving at Meereen with all their battleships and what happens beyond the Wall.
    Personally, I really liked A Dance With Dragons, it was probably my second favourite book after A Storm Of Swords.

  13. #43
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dr.Z View Post
    Personally, I really liked A Dance With Dragons, it was probably my second favourite book after A Storm Of Swords.
    I'm halfway through it and have to say I agree with you, I'm really enjoying it. It feels like there's a lot more progression of events this time around, and some interesting developments. Plus any book that features Jon Snow and the Night's Watch as much as Dragons does is alright in my books.

    That said, I'm still not into the Dorne or Greyjoy sub-plots and kind of inwardly groan whenever the story returns to those threads.

  14. #44
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    man... for a YEAR now I've been trying to finish A Feast for Crows, and I cannot STAND this book. I keep picking it up, reading maybe 20 pages, and then shelving it again while I go read another book instead. Seriously, the sections centered around Brienne the Boring are AWFUL. They go on and on forever, and it's additionally intollerable because we already know where Sansa is, so we know she's not going to show up on her doorstep anytime soon. I'm going to try again. I just don't understand how he dropped the ball so hard with this one.

    He kills off most of the characters I like, and then he centers around the goofiest, most obnoxiously two-dimensional character in the entire series.

  15. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jinsai View Post
    man... for a YEAR now I've been trying to finish A Feast for Crows, and I cannot STAND this book. I keep picking it up, reading maybe 20 pages, and then shelving it again while I go read another book instead. Seriously, the sections centered around Brienne the Boring are AWFUL. They go on and on forever, and it's additionally intollerable because we already know where Sansa is, so we know she's not going to show up on her doorstep anytime soon. I'm going to try again. I just don't understand how he dropped the ball so hard with this one.

    He kills off most of the characters I like, and then he centers around the goofiest, most obnoxiously two-dimensional character in the entire series.

    That's exactly where I am and how I feel. :-/

  16. #46
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    it's maddening. Maybe there will be a payoff if he superkills Brienne? Like if he kills her, resurrects her, and then kills her again, and again, and again.

    PS: I don't know if he actually kills her or not, so please don't anybody spoil whether or not she gets super killed.

  17. #47
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    Finished reading through all the books again. I didn't have a problem with A Feast for Crows the first time and I didn't mind it this time either, it's my least favorite of the books so far but I don't think it's bad. I really want the next book to come out right now! The end of A Dance With Dragons kills me. Here's hoping he actually finishes the damn thing within the next 2 or so years...

  18. #48
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    now that I've finished A Feast For Crows and I'm 200 pages or so into Dance with Dragons, I can see what he was trying to do there, but it was a really bad idea to split the books like this. At some point he should hire and editor to go through and rearrange these books into chronological order.

    But so far Dance with Dragons is a much more entertaining book. At least there's no Brienne in it.

  19. #49
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    I'm a long time fan of this series- started reading it back in high school when there were only the first three books out, and remember finishing Storm right before Feast came out... I was ravenously waiting for that book, as I thought (and still do think) that Storm was the pinnacle of the fantasy genre. I was so fucking disappointed when the follow up was as boring as it was. Storm was excellent because it was so perfectly paced, it's stunning to me how Martin was able to write a 1,000+ page novel without any really excruciatingly boring parts. It was so full of action and huge reveals and cool things happening with characters I loved, and Feast is like the polar opposite of that. I remember slogging through about half of Feast and being so disappointed that I didn't even bother finishing it. I hated Cersei, couldn't stand Brienne, and it just seemed like nothing important was happening. Finally decided to get back into the series when the show got super popular and the fifth book was on the way.... I re read the first three books and fell in love all over again, and this time was able to appreciate Feast for what it was. It's definitely boring when compared to its predecessor, but I think it contains some of Martin's best prose, and I liked reading about the Dornishmen and the Greyjoys. It's definitely guilty of some gratuitous, unnecessary world-building, but assuming there is a payoff in the end of the series being awesome, I'll continue to appreciate it. Dance is probably the worse of the two books, though. It has some awesome reveals, but for the most part its just a whole lot of nothing going on again. Of course I got excited when I saw all the Jon, Tyrion, and Dany chapters, but they're all so fucking repetitive for the most part. I could accept, and even appreciate the lull that happens in Feast, but enough is enough. Dance needed some explosiveness to contrast that, and it didn't really have much of it. Hopefully he gets his shit together in books six and seven, because this series deserves a great ending and not the bumbling bullshit that comprises so much of the fantasy genre.

  20. #50
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    Getting ready to hop in the bath and start the first one (bathtub reading is one of my idiosyncratic habits.)
    I'm going into it blind...haven't seen the show, didn't read the thread, don't know what the fuck it's about.
    So let me ask you this....is it good> If you're into Stephen King, is it SK good?

  21. #51
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    I read a post on another board about the possibility of Jon Snow being Rhaegar and Lyanna's illegitimate son. Has anyone else heard about this?

  22. #52
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    Quote Originally Posted by elevenism
    So let me ask you this....is it good> If you're into Stephen King, is it SK good?
    I'm not sure what exactly you mean. If you mean that it has the "can't put it down" quality, for me it certainly did for the most part of the series. Also, really, stay away from both this and the tv show threads because SPOILERS abound.

    Quote Originally Posted by Miss Baphomette View Post
    I read a post on another board about the possibility of Jon Snow being Rhaegar and Lyanna's illegitimate son. Has anyone else heard about this?
    Yes it's a popular speculation and quite reasonable from what I remember (I'm getting hazy on the details, I need to brush up on my AFFC and ADWD).

  23. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alexandros View Post
    I'm not sure what exactly you mean. If you mean that it has the "can't put it down" quality, for me it certainly did for the most part of the series. Also, really, stay away from both this and the tv show threads because SPOILERS abound.
    You understood me perfectly, and thanx for the warning. I still haven't started it (had 11/22/63 plus On Writing by SK) but i'm out of shit to read, so its on.

  24. #54
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    Just started reading! Finally.

    I started the first season a year back and decided it was too good not to read first. I'm an avid fantasy reader so I was not about to "ruin" a great series by watching it first. Am I'm super glad I waited. This is fucking awesome.

  25. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jinsai View Post
    man... for a YEAR now I've been trying to finish A Feast for Crows, and I cannot STAND this book. I keep picking it up, reading maybe 20 pages, and then shelving it again while I go read another book instead. Seriously, the sections centered around Brienne the Boring are AWFUL. They go on and on forever, and it's additionally intollerable because we already know where Sansa is, so we know she's not going to show up on her doorstep anytime soon. I'm going to try again. I just don't understand how he dropped the ball so hard with this one.
    a feast for crows was hard to get through, when i had finished it the first time, luckily there was only a few month wait for dance to be released, i can only imagine how folks who had been following the books as they were published reacted to it. then were rewarded with the 5-6 year wait for dance. after a quick check of wikipedia... fans of tyrion and some of the other main pov characters had an eleven year wait from 2000-> 2011 for new chapters about them.

    on a re-read, the cersi, jaimie & arya chapters were good, sam's were decent. i still couldn't bring myself to care for dorne or the iron islands and the brienne chapters were borderline miserable, i really like her but like you said totally pointless since we know the stark kids are out of her reach.

  26. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by koz-ivan View Post
    on a re-read, the cersi, jaimie & arya chapters were good, sam's were decent. i still couldn't bring myself to care for dorne or the iron islands and the brienne chapters were borderline miserable, i really like her but like you said totally pointless since we know the stark kids are out of her reach.
    I mostly liked the Ironborn and Dornish chapters for some indeterminate reason. Especially Dorne is quite interesting as a rival culture to your typical Westerosi ways.

  27. #57
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    I've started re-reading the series, so far about half way through A Clash of Kings. Has anyone listened to the audio books? I go back and forth between reading on my Kindle and listening to the audio version. It's okay but good lord, does Roy Dotrice use the same dialect for several characters, especially the women. Everyone who isn't highborn speaks with an Irish brogue.

    edit: Oh, god, I've gotten to Qarth and even Pyat Pree speaks with a brogue. Ugggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh.

  28. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by orestes View Post
    I've started re-reading the series, so far about half way through A Clash of Kings. Has anyone listened to the audio books? I go back and forth between reading on my Kindle and listening to the audio version. It's okay but good lord, does Roy Dotrice use the same dialect for several characters, especially the women. Everyone who isn't highborn speaks with an Irish brogue.

    edit: Oh, god, I've gotten to Qarth and even Pyat Pree speaks with a brogue. Ugggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh.
    I have the first two audiobooks that I bought because I had some leftover credits on Audible. I listened to about half the first book, but not the second. Pyat Pree with an Irish brogue sounds... fascinating.

  29. #59
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    A Song of Ice and Fire

    Oh, god his pronunciation of Brienne and valar morghulis is cringeworthy.

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    OK y'all, i read a few pages of the first one and decided it wasn't for me, but now im REALLY out of shit to read.
    Should i go for it?
    I don't get into fantasy, but is this one of those genre transcenders...a fantasy book that can be enjoyed by someone who doesn't normally go for that type of shit?

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