A Dance With Dragons
I liked A Dance With Dragons so much more than A Feast For Crows.
I positively flew through this book. I've been trying to put my finger
on exactly why this was. I think it was a mix of liking the characters
more, the book itself being more action-packed, and having two
interesting plots to bounce between with plenty of side stories thrown
in for spice.
This book mostly bounces back and forth between the North and the East.
In the North, Jon Snow is trying to figure out how to defend the wall. Stannis is preparing to battle the Boltons. And Bran is off turning into a tree. There's some cool stuff about integrating the wildlings in with the men of the Night's Watch. Plus Melisandre gets a chapter that shows she really is a true believer which I wasn't entirely expecting from her. I really liked getting to see things from her perspective.
In the East, Dany is trying to maintain control of Meereen. Meanwhile, suitors are descending on her from all corners of the world and all the slavers that she pissed off are laying seige to her city. Tyrion, Quentyn Martell, and Victarion are heading towards Meereen to lend her aid in their own ways. There were also several chapters from Barriston Selmy's point of view and I want more. He's a great character and he knows so much about the history of the Targaryens. But the most important part of these chapters is that Dany's dragons are awesome.
We also drop in on some characters that had longer stories in A Feast For Crows. Cersei has lost all of her power. Arya is training to be an assassin. Davos is off looking for Rickon. The Martells down in Dorne are still biding their time while they wait for Dany to come home. Another Tagaryen (one believed dead) has turned up and is starting to ransack castles. And a zombified Brienne is leading Jaime straight into Catelyn's trap.
I absolutely cannot wait for the next book. I'm excited to see where all these stories go. My main complaint about this book is that a lot of the threads seem to have been cut off rather abruptly. The story didn't so much end as reach some turning points. I suppose that makes sense. Mostly I'm mad that I didn't get another chapter apiece from Bran and Davos. Their stories were both abandoned roughly halfway through the book and I spent too much time hoping for another chapter from either of them.
The other thing that concerns me is that characters keep coming back. There's another Targaryen heir making a bid for the Iron Throne. Brienne, Davos, Theon, Asha, and Jeyne Poole were all characters that I was sure were dead but who somehow survived until the end of this book. GRRM still seems to be creating new plot threads rather than bringing them together. And with only two books left I'm beginning to feel like it's time to start wrapping some of this up.
That said, Jon Snow had better not be dead. Everyone is doomed if he dies and the Wall falls.
This book mostly bounces back and forth between the North and the East.
In the North, Jon Snow is trying to figure out how to defend the wall. Stannis is preparing to battle the Boltons. And Bran is off turning into a tree. There's some cool stuff about integrating the wildlings in with the men of the Night's Watch. Plus Melisandre gets a chapter that shows she really is a true believer which I wasn't entirely expecting from her. I really liked getting to see things from her perspective.
In the East, Dany is trying to maintain control of Meereen. Meanwhile, suitors are descending on her from all corners of the world and all the slavers that she pissed off are laying seige to her city. Tyrion, Quentyn Martell, and Victarion are heading towards Meereen to lend her aid in their own ways. There were also several chapters from Barriston Selmy's point of view and I want more. He's a great character and he knows so much about the history of the Targaryens. But the most important part of these chapters is that Dany's dragons are awesome.
We also drop in on some characters that had longer stories in A Feast For Crows. Cersei has lost all of her power. Arya is training to be an assassin. Davos is off looking for Rickon. The Martells down in Dorne are still biding their time while they wait for Dany to come home. Another Tagaryen (one believed dead) has turned up and is starting to ransack castles. And a zombified Brienne is leading Jaime straight into Catelyn's trap.
I absolutely cannot wait for the next book. I'm excited to see where all these stories go. My main complaint about this book is that a lot of the threads seem to have been cut off rather abruptly. The story didn't so much end as reach some turning points. I suppose that makes sense. Mostly I'm mad that I didn't get another chapter apiece from Bran and Davos. Their stories were both abandoned roughly halfway through the book and I spent too much time hoping for another chapter from either of them.
The other thing that concerns me is that characters keep coming back. There's another Targaryen heir making a bid for the Iron Throne. Brienne, Davos, Theon, Asha, and Jeyne Poole were all characters that I was sure were dead but who somehow survived until the end of this book. GRRM still seems to be creating new plot threads rather than bringing them together. And with only two books left I'm beginning to feel like it's time to start wrapping some of this up.
That said, Jon Snow had better not be dead. Everyone is doomed if he dies and the Wall falls.
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