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Loading... A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5) (original 2011; edition 2011)by George R.R. Martin
Work InformationA Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin (2011)
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All the various factions have gained so much momentum, with ever more joining the fray, that I’m losing hope that there is a definite resolution in the offing. I was pleased the dragons made an appearance, but confess, I was disappointed there wasn’t a conclusion and wonder now, if there ever is, if it will feel like one. I am so glad I am finally done with this series and really can't explain why I kept going except being stubborn. This was extremely long, never really wound up any plot line, had so many characters that I think I knew nothing about and generally meandered and stumbled about with excessive violence or sex or violent sex that did allow me to skip many pages (plus!) that I found it a slog of epic proportions. My friends who read the series earlier have told me that there isn't much chance of the final books appearing and I am very glad to get back to books I will enjoy more. Warning! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD This book was a mixed bag for me. Partly because the long wait probably made me hyper critical, and also because I think that one of my favorite characters is dead. And also because things I wanted to happen did and....you get my drift. All in all, I was pissed, excited, disgusted all in turn so I guess GRRM did his job. I will say that at the beginning of the book I was wondering when things would start happening--be careful what you wished for cause I got a few things that went down hard. Others are giving impressions of every aspect of the book and series. So I'll just talk about my favorite things--the characters. Before I start, there was one bite on the tinfoil moment for me. WTH is up introducing another contender for the freaking Iron Throne?! It seemed a little late in the game for that, IMO, but I'll ride the wave to see what happens. Although he's described differently by the end of the book, his actions just have me seeing a politer Joffrey. *shrugs* Jon, oh Jon, please don't be gone! At the end of that chapter, I literally jumped off the couch (narrowly missing the dog) yelling--causing the hubby to think we were being robbed or something. I'm still giving the 'heavy sigh' everytime I think about it. Hopefully there will be some major maester healing involved, but I'm only holding out faint hope. After ignoring all the signs and advice, Dany finally remembered who the heck she is! Finally! I've been wanting to slap her since she settled in Mereen, because, man did she destroy a continent or what? Hopefully now that she's jumped on the back of a dragon and been thru the fire a 2nd time (literally)--she will straighten up and fly right. Hehehe CERSEI finally got her just desserts! Happy dance! Fist pump moment extraordinaire. GRRM did some great prose there. He got the humiliation down absolutely perfectly, then used another character to illustrate how far-reaching that humility reached. Tyrion. What can I say? He has to be one of the most memorable characters that I've ever read. It is impossible for me to dislike him at all and I desperately want him to have as much of a HEA as is possible. No matter what he does, he gets judged on his looks, not actions or motives--its just not fair. Anyway! I have NO idea whatsoever what to think about his storyline, I pretty much just watch the fishbowl and hope for the best for him. Reek. Ugh. I hated his character. I kept trying to feel sorry for him. Frankly, I just can't connect with any of the ironborn. I just don't like them-good or bad. Asha should have sailed off into the sunset and Victarion seems to be as much of a nutjob as Reek without the torture. Last but not least, my girl Arya. There is nothing I don't like about her. Frankly, at this point, GRRM could pluck her storyline out and make an entire series out of IMO. Sort of the anti-Night Angel night angel. My only worry about her character is that she's lost her wolf, but if anyone can come back from that, she can. She is a perfect candidate for the where she's going. Here's to the Many Faced God. At the beginning I thought I was going to hate this book, looking back on it--it was thoroughly enjoyed. I'm hoping the next two won't take as long, but then again, if they do, that means I can enjoy them in my retirement years. Last question. Will someone tell me what purpose Rickon served? My Highlights: Who are you, child?” “No one,” she replied. Note: Arya is the shit. Dany could feel the heat of him between her thighs. Her heart felt as if it were about to burst. Yes, she thought, yes, now, now, do it, do it, take me, take me, FLY! Note: ABOUT TIME! “Let me tell you what will happen,” Jon said. “The dead will rise again, in their hundreds and their thousands. They will rise as wights, with black hands and pale blue eyes, and they will come for us.” He pushed himself to his feet, the fingers of his sword hand opening and closing. “You have my leave to go.” Note: Oh shit. Never thought of that. what had become of Benjen Stark. Note: Feeling stupid. Is coldhands Benjen? Dany did not want to talk about the dragons. Note: She has totally forgotten who and what she is Soon comes the pale mare, and after her the others. Kraken and dark flame, lion and griffin, the sun’s son and the mummer’s dragon. Trust none of them. Remember the Undying. Beware the perfumed seneschal.” Note: Freaking oracles You can give them land and mercy, but the free folk choose their own kings, and it was Mance they chose, not you. Note: Stannis never listens. It will be his death Not my favorite of the series but still good, I suppose. I am beyond bored by Dany & the Slavers and want her to go to Westeros or not but make a decision already! I'm ready for some resolution and I'm not sure I want two more doorstop novels to get to it. I want to see how all the Stark children come back together and I hope I find out. Also - what was the point of even creating Rikkon stark when he is such an utter non-factor. Do we need him or his wolf? Where are they? What's the deal with the half dead folk too? They seem important and yet nothing comes of them. I found this one to be far more crude than some of the others. In particular I found a ridiculous overuse of the word "c--t". (I hate it so much I won't even type it!) In fact, at one point even one of the characters comments about the overuse! I get that sellswords are crass but enough already.
It's terrible. Martin has taken the concept of the pot-boiler to an extreme — it's a novel where nothing happens other than continual seething, roiling turmoil. He whipsaws the reader through a dozen different, complex story lines where characters struggle to survive in a world wrecked by civil war — one other problem is that I'd hit a chapter about some minor character from the previous four books, and struggled to remember who the heck this person is, and why I'm supposed to care — and again, nothing is resolved. Well, not quite: major characters are brutally killed, if they're male, and graphically and degradingly humiliated into irrelevance if they're female. I guess that's a resolution, all right — perhaps the last book will be a lovingly detailed description of a graveyard, draped with naked women mourning? Martin remains boundlessly creative, sketching out intricately realized new civilizations, societies, religions, and factions on one continent while continuing to complicate the established political agendas on another. No part of his world ever feels like an afterthought or an easy fantasy cliché. Even so, “A Dance With Dragons,” for its bounty of adventure, is more about Mr. Martin marshaling his forces in anticipation of the cycle’s final two books. Was "A Dance With Dragons" worth the six-year wait? Absolutely. Is contained inContainsHas the adaptationAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
References to this work on external resources. Wikipedia in English (16)New threats emerge to endanger the future of the Seven Kingdoms, as Daenerys Targaryen, ruling in the East, fights off a multitude of enemies, while Jon Snow, Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, faces his foes both in the Watch and beyond the great Wallof ice and stone. No library descriptions found. |
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Sorry, George. For six years effort -- during which you relaunched more Wild Card books, reprinted Fevre Dream, and merchandised the hell out of ASOI&F and got a TV show up and running -- we should have had a much better, tighter piece of work. This? This was not that work.
I don't know if I'll bother with the next one... providing it comes out before I turn forty. This was a huge disappointment. Hope you're looking forward to losing another Hugo next year! ( )