A Dance with Dragons - George R.R. Martin

I first read A Game of Thrones when I was a 16 year old high school student. My mother had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and who couldn't use a little escapism at a time like that? A Clash of Kings was already on the shelves by then and I blew through them both. My mom recovered and I fell in love with a genre that would become a huge part of my life.

I remember my second year in college waiting eagerly for A Storm of Swords. Like any college kid I was still finding my way. I hated where I was living and was searching for some direction. I bought the hardcover on release day at the Barnes and Noble down the street. To this day, hundreds of book later - I have yet to be more blown away.

By the time A Feast for Crows was released I was an adult working in Washington DC. Better read and more mature, I reread all the first three books before starting the fourth. It was better than I'd remembered. By now Martin's world was as familiar to me as our own. It was alive in a way few authors could ever hope to create. And I was better for having read it.

I only tell this story because I think it's important for anyone reading this review to know how long A Song of Ice and Fire as been with me. If Harry Potter is the story of today's youth, and Middle Earth was the majesty that was my parent's, then Westeros is mine. It's the world I have escaped to more than any other in my life and I want nothing more that to love each book Martin gives us.

So this past week, when A Dance with Dragons was released, I found myself a husband and a father. Successful (or close enough) and happy, I waited up on July 11 refreshing my Kindle every minute until it arrived. I read the prologue that night and two more chapters over breakfast. I read at work and at the gym. I read while watching Dora the Explorer and while lounging on every piece of furniture in my house. This morning, as I turned the final page to the heraldry of the Boy King, I put down my Kindle and said out loud - seriously?

Strangely enough I was reminded of Tiger Woods. One night he got in a car accident. He came up with a story, but couldn't get himself out. He was in so far that the only way out was to tell the whole story no matter how long and sordid. He ended up on national television doing a tell all press conference. Dance is Martin's press conference.

The reckoning of Dance is the response to what he calls the "Mereenese Knot." This knot was tied when Dany decided to stay in Mereen and rule instead of continuing her march to the Seven Kingdoms. As the rest of Westeros became aware of Dany and her dragons, many different factions began to coalesce around her. How, why, and most importantly when all these factions arrive in Mereen is the knot Martin struggled to untie. Instead of choosing to cut the knot like Gordian and thus impeaching Dany's character, he actually untied it. Well, tried to untie it.

This untying is why as a novel(as fifth installment in a series, its success remains to be seen), Dance is a failure. The book's pace is abysmal with over half the chapters existing as travelogs. Tyrion on the ocean, Tyrion on a river barge, Tyrion on a horse! Several POVs are far longer than necessary and some exist for seemingly no reason. The timeline is convoluted with the first half of novel coinciding chronologically with the events in Feast. This leads to scenes being rewritten, word for word in some cases, in an alternate POV. All that aside, the most unfortunate part of the novel is that 1100 pages later Martin still has yet to bring all the disparate pieces together that compose his "Mereenese Knot." For all the talk about the second half of Dance advancing the story beyond Feast, the plot only advances a few days with none of the promised conflicts among the King's Landing crew coming to fruition.

Additionally, some of his tricks are getting a little tired. The imminent death fade to black has been used about ten times too many with survival being the end result nearly every time. There also seem to be some reoccurring themes that successful governing is irreconcilable with honor and duty. Or perhaps that honor and duty preclude the ability to compromise. This is of note most significantly in the Jon and Dany chapters where neither seem capable of or willing to listen to those around them. Given their ages, this is probably an accurate characterization. Nevertheless, I find it a bit dogmatic.

Despite its shortcomings in storytelling, Dance is beautifully written, as always. Martin litters his pages with suburb foreshadowing and Easter eggs. Nothing I've read urges a reader to comb through paragraphs for hints like A Song of Ice and Fire and nothing here changes that legacy. Some of the POVs are stunningly good - especially Reek/Theon and Victarion. There are exciting seminal moments for the series (dragons!) and in true Martin style he's not shy about putting his most cherished characters to the sword.

Like Tiger, I think Martin made the decision to tell the ENTIRE story instead of creating a compelling narrative. The difference being Martin has the ability to change his story at will. If this was the only way through the knot for my favorite author, so be it; but I can't help but be disappointed after seven years of anticipation. Does my disappointment reek of reader entitlement? Maybe, except the fact remains this just isn't a very fun book to read. I don't mind Martin's lack of progress with the plot so much as I lament the excruciating detail with which he wrote what is still the "first half" of a novel. My complaints have nothing to with what happened, only about how they happened. Had Martin written this same book with two thirds the word count minus a POV or two, I would surely be trumpeting the novel as the next great installment in the most brilliant series fantasy has ever seen (like nearly every other blogger is).

Instead I'm here saying to anyone who hasn't started A Song of Ice and Fire, wait until the it's done. A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, while being eminently better written, are the functional equivalent of the Wheel of Time post Crown of Swords and pre-Sanderson takeover. Martin has thrown so many balls into the air that to keep any from dropping he's got to painstakingly orchestrate all his chess (cynasse) pieces before he can go on the attack. If I were a new reader, I'd want to make sure the pieces start moving before I invest in 5,000 pages of reading.

On the other hand, to current fans of the series, I'll be hitting refresh on my Kindle at 12:01 the day The Winds of Winter is released. What can I say? I'm pot committed.

A Feast for Crows - George R.R. Martin

My re-read is complete as of Saturday afternoon - three days ahead of the release for A Dance with Dragons.  I immediately logged on to Amazon and pre-order Dance on my Kindle.  It will be delivered at 12:01 AM on Tuesday (I hope).  I may power through 100 pages or so before going to bed.  Showing up to work with dark circles under my eyes is always a win.

A Feast for Crows was better than I remembered in some ways, and worse in others. The narrative is paced so slowly and jumps into so many different points of view that it never gets great pace.  Some suggestions about reading each POV in order makes some sense.  Reading Arya or Brienne chapters all in a row would probably alleviate some of the difficulties with the books structure.  In any case, I read it as it was intended.

As I've completed my re-read of each of Martin's books I've posted a few major thoughts from each about what I found interesting. What follows is full of spoilers, obviously.

#1) Let's say A Song of Ice and Fire is an allegory for all of fiction. A Game of Thrones might be the Epic of Gilgamesh and A Storm of Swords might be Crime and Punishment. In this scenario there's no doubt in my mind that A Feast for Crows is the Tales of Canterbury. Stick with me here. 

Feast is a novel for the smallfolk as Martin calls them. Like Chaucer's classic was a peak into the life of the common man at a time when novels were written solely from and for the noble perspective, Feast is the window into the heart of Westeros people. Up until this point Martin hasn't shown much of anything when it comes to the vast majority of the population. I think it provided him with the opportunity to wax rhapsodic about injustice and natural rights. Reading Feast from that point of view, it's a wholly different book for me and something I can enjoy as I didn't the first few times through. 

#2) Lady Genna, Tywin's sister, is a great addition to the Lannister clan. When she says: 

"Jaime," she said, tugging on his ear, "sweetling, I have known you since you were a babe at Joanna's breast. You smile like Gerion and fight like Tyr, and there's some of Kevan in you, else you would not wear that cloak... but Tyrion is Tywin's son, not you." 

Oh baby, it doesn't get more awesome than that.

#3) I think the reason Martin's fans were so down on Feast when it first came out is that the novel is too disjointed with POVs. Seeing the Kingsmoot from three different POVs really chops it up and sucks out a lot of the energy. That's also true of Dorne where we see Hotah in the early going, Arys in the middle, and Arianne toward the end. I'm not entirely sure what Martin was trying to accomplish by doing this except maybe to set things up POVs for future books. Personally, I think it would have worked better if he'd only had one POV from both of those settings. 

#4) Jaime is almost as cool of a character as Tyrion. Man I love these two. Cersei is just a caricature and I can't get behind her as a character. She doesn't seem authentic to me.

Tune in around Friday for my Dance review!

A Storm of Swords - George R.R. Martin

This is one of the best books I've ever read and I think it's by far the pinnacle of A Song of Ice and Fire (thus far).  I read somewhere recently that the first three books in the series are really one long book - I totally agree.  What Martin sets up in the first three novels largely comes to conclusion in A Storm of Swords.  If I never read another page about Jaime Lannister, the Hound (could be I have), Cersei, or Tyrion, I would be satisfied.  Of course, I've read A Feast for Crows and there's a lot more to come from most of that list.

I think part of the frustration many readers had with Feast stemmed from the brilliance of its predecessor.  If I'm judging a novel by how many times it gives me the chills or ties my stomach in knots, then Storm would quickly be ranked as the best novel I've ever read.  The Red Wedding, Joffrey's wedding, Tyrion's escape, Littlefinger and Lysa, and all the rest just gave Martin's readers satisfaction.  Feast begins again a lot of the building of anticipation that's more associated with the first two books in the series.

Anyway, on to some quick thoughts on the novel:

• Red Wedding. Red Wedding. Red Wedding.  What an incredible scene.  My stomach was tied in knots from the first sentence of Cat's chapter because I knew what was coming.  At the turn of each page I glanced at the bottom to see if it was going to happen on THIS page and breathed a sigh of relief every time it didn't.  And then it did.  Man.

• When Jaime frees Tyrion and they talk about Tysha, how can someone not get a little emotional?  For the 2000 pages of the series before this scene Martin has exposed Tyrion time and again to abuse.  And then Jaime tells him that he had something real - or close enough - and it was snatched away by his father.  After Shae's betrayal (so appropriately good), Tyrion's emotions were so raw and Martin brought it home perfectly.

• Varys, Varys, Varys.  Obviously this guy is the key figure in what's been going in King's Landing.  How much of what's taken place has been at his behest?  The juxtaposition of him and Petyr is very compelling.  I never quite realized that Martin was setting them up as opposing forces until I watched the HBO adaptation.  So much of the body language in their scenes together made a light bulb go on in my head.  For whatever reason I just never focused on them the first few times through.  I'm sure it has something to do with Martin keeping me so engrossed in the POV characters.

I'm going to try to read a few things between Storm and Feast.  If I'm lucky I'll time finishing Feast with the release of A Dance with Dragons.  It is an exciting time!

A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin

My A Song of Ice and Fire reread continues and let me say - A Clash of Kings is bloody depressing.  I mean really, does anything good happen in this book?  Theon's a self-entitled jerk.  Tyrion is a good dude (generally) who gets constantly dumped on because he's dumpy.  Catelyn and Robb watch their family get annihilated.  Melisandre squeezes out shadow babies.  Joffrey is a real asshole.  And Tywin needs to get laid - badly.  The funniest part is - I know A Storm of Swords is going to be even worse!

Since all of these books have been reviewed endlessly I'm just going to offer a few thoughts here and there about what I read:

A.  I never quite understood why Quoran Halfhand takes Jon Snow on his trek and why the Old Bear would let him go.  It doesn't really make sense.

B.  This book is filled with chapters that I just didn't want to read.  Sansa. Catelyn. Theon. Bran.  Yet wouldn't you know, by the end of each of those chapters I was totally sucked into the story lines.  It's a real testament to Martin as a writer I think.

C.  I'm continually intrigued by Martin's choice to not use Robb as a POV character.  I'm now halfway through A Storm of Swords and it continues to perplex me.  So many items like Whispering Wood and Jeyne Westerling are pivotal to the plot, but we only see them through his mother's eyes.  I'd love to ask Martin why he did that someday.

D.  The battle at King's Landing is pretty bad ass.  Tyrion riding out, Pod Payne doing his thing, and the look ins on Cersei and Sansa are so tense.  Brilliant battle.

I'm already about 60% through A Storm of Swords.  Looks like I'll finish my re-read well before A Dance with Dragons hits the shelves (for real).

Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin

In recent weeks there have been no end of blog posts about George R.R. Martin's iconic A Song of Ice and Fire (which by the way, I've called the Song of Fire and Ice in my head for the last 15 years) - none better than the brilliant duology (Part 1, Part 2) posted by Adam over the at the Wertzone.  With A Dance with Dragons due out in three weeks I knew I had to join the club and starting rereading the series.  God damn I forgot how good it was.

Seriously, I forgot.  Most of the fantasy I read from the ages of 15-20 that I've subsequently picked up in my late 20's and now early 30's have left me disappointed.  My memory of the novels have outstripped how good they aren't.  The incredible work being done today by authors like Joe Abercrombie, Steven Erikson, N.K. Jemisin, and a host of others have far exceeded their predecessors (not in all cases, but still).  So I picked up A Game of Thrones again with some trepidation - would it be as good as I remember?  It was, and more.

Just in case anyone reading this has *not* read Game of Thrones or has not seen the HBO series, let me give a brief synopsis... yeah right.  Go read it.  Stop now.  Go to Amazon or your local library or local bookseller and get it done.  Then come back and read my ramblings.  Back now?  Great.

1. Bro.  There is some serious foreshadowing in this bitch.  I've read a lot of epic series in my day - name it and I've probably read it.  No one has more command of his world and story arc than Martin does.  I have no doubt that Martin has plotted every nook and cranny of his story and his world from the moment he put pen to paper on a Game of Thrones 20 years ago.

• Tyrion Lannister is the most iconic character in fantasy.  Gandalf?  Please.  Drizzt?  Pfft.  Pug?  Elric?  Belgarath?  Thomas?  No. No. No.  Tyrion is the cats pajamas, ok?  He's tortured, and callous, but also tries to do the right thing.  Or does he?  Is he only doing what he does to pay back his shitty father?  I have no idea!  That's what makes him so amazing.  That and he's a killer limbo player.

     B. Is Ned an anti-villain?  

So we hear all kinds of talk about anti-heroes, right?  A protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis.  Tyrion is clearly an anti-hero, for example.  An anti-villain would be someone who acts contrary to good, but does so with heroic intentions. 

Sure Ned was acting with honor - Stannis is the heir - yet if he had bent either in support of Joffrey or placed himself and/or Renly on the throne he could have stabilized the realm and kept his family alive.  He wouldn't do it and thus brought the evils of war to every doorstep in the realm.  Yes, Ned fits all the heroic stereotypes, but he's not a hero - just as Stannis isn't a hero in the later books.  Martin hammers the notion that honor and justice are not in themselves "good". And boy does he do it well.

Anyway, these are just some thoughts I had after my reread of the first book.  I've already started A Clash of Kings.  More thoughts in the days ahead leading up the release of A Dance with Dragons.