It makes sense now.

They aren't, but I think that oracle (or whatever she was) said her hands were covered in blood

7/23/2011 12:56:04 AM

I caught something else with the Faceless Men. Remember on the voyage to Braavos how the crew members would tell Arya their names and make her repeat them? During the council in the basement, some of the members would say, "I know this man." And the kindly man told Arya that they kill as a sacred duty, not out of vengeance. I think the Faceless Men are only allowed to kill strangers.

7/24/2011 2:22:23 PM

Not gonna read this thread because I've still got a couple hundred pages left, but does anyone else hear Hedonsimbot's voice when they read Wyman Manderly (the fat lord from White Harbor)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpugML3CsSQ&NR=1

7/24/2011 2:43:49 PM

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553801473/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img

It's getting killed in user reviews. I haven't finished the book, but I'm not particularly impressed with what I have read so far. The fat fuck lost focus and vision in the last 6 years. The time off and side projects are killing this series.

7/25/2011 10:37:39 PM

I thought it was awesome, way better than Feast for Crows. I've learned long ago to never care about user reviews on the internet.

I'll tell you what annoyed the hell out of me by the end of the book though, the phrase "he was not wrong"

WHAT THE HELL BRO, DO YOU NOT KNOW THE WORD RIGHT? I READ THAT PHRASE AT LEAST 300 TIMES OVER THE COURSE OF THE BOOK.

Quote :

"Whats the general consensus on Theon? I personally started sympathizing with Jamie during his chapters, despite his pushing Bran out the window, he really wasnt a bad guy. But I don't think I've forgiven Theon at all for backstabbing the Starks, even with all the trauma he has been through."

I mean I felt great sympathy for him, and wished for him to get exactly what he wanted; a quick, noble death.

7/28/2011 1:30:42 AM

It's going to take me months to finish this book. It's a painful slog.

7/28/2011 8:28:49 PM

we need an over under how many characters are brought back from the dead, and at this rate the series seems like it could go on forever

7/29/2011 3:31:45 PM

SPOILERS

Quote :

"He saw himself getting stabbed in the back.. "

Actually the book says he didn't see it coming. I'd like to think Snow might be coming back but who knows.

One problem I think this book suffered from was introducing new characters through someone's PoV chapters, then when the original character splits off from those characters suddenly they both have PoV chapters. I didn't really find any of the characters particularly boring but there were just too many for their stories to really go anywhere.





/Spoilers

7/29/2011 3:54:11 PM

I liked the book, but nothing really happened! It reminded me of the Itchy and Scratchie episode where they meet Poochie and never make it to the fireworks factory

7/31/2011 10:55:14 AM

^ agreed.

I finally finished (lots of studying has largely cut into my reading time lately ) and I definitely enjoyed the book from a standalone perspective; however, when compared to the other books in the series it is definitely tied with AFFC as my least favorite. Also, if you haven't read...then you shouldn't be reading this thread yet, but beware of spoilers anyway...




One thing that annoyed me in this book that really wasn't a problem for me in the others (at least the first three) is that the words:meaningful plot movement/character development ratio was a little high. That's one thing that drove me away from fantasy related stuff in the first place after reading a lot of it growing up. The first 3 books were not like that at all imo which I loved. Yes they were long and had a lot of words but a lot of stuff actually happened as well as a lot of great character development. I felt like I really needed to pay attention to every word. This book, I felt myself skimming some at a few points which didn't really happen previously. Also, his editor sucked in this one. My wife has a list a mile long of grammar mistakes and inconsistencies. She was considering sending a marked up copy to him and offer to copy-edit the next book .

I enjoyed Davos' chapters and Theon's chapters the most probably. Selmy's were entertaining as well. Wish we had more Arya and Bran (whose few chapters were both good) and also some Rickon. Both Tyrion and Jon's chapters were a little disappointing, if only because they are two of my favorite characters and I guess I was excited to follow them again and expected more meaningful stuff to happen for both of them. Also, for some reason I have never been as interested in Dany as we are supposed to be (her arc in GOT was pretty good though) and I continue to not be which probably didn't help in this book. Aegon not being dead was definitely a surprise but I am still not sure if I like it. I was also disappointed that Brienne was proved alive but we didn't even get a hint of how she saved herself? "Robert Strong" would have been cooler if not so telegraphed (or if there wasn't as long of a break between books); I really wanted that to happen but for some reason wasn't that excited when it came to be.

Overall, I did enjoy it. I think my expectations just got the better of me due to the wait. There were still a lot of cool things going on (and probably lots I missed this first time through too), he has setup a ton of awesome possibilities, and I am definitely still excited for the next book. He has had two parallel decent books though after three awesome books and my excuse is that AFFC and ADWD suffer from being the "setup" books, serving a similar role as the 2nd book in a trilogy. I am expecting a lot of stuff to happen in TWOW...


[Edited on August 2, 2011 at 9:06 AM. Reason : ]

8/2/2011 8:48:06 AM

Anyone read the Dunk and Egg novellas? We own all the ones that are out currently but I haven't read them before. My wife enjoyed them and I think I am finally going to get around to reading them myself.

8/2/2011 9:17:17 PM

i've got them on my kindle but haven't gotten around to them either.

8/3/2011 12:12:57 AM

Just finished it today. Spoilers, of course. **


You guys really think Stannis died? I think the whole letter is a feint from Ramsay. sure he probably caught Abel and the washerwomen but assuming the time between Asha's last chapter (where she finally sees Theon/Reek) and Jon's last chapter isn't all that far, I doubt that would've been enough time for Bolton and Stannis to meet. Plus Ramsay/Roost were getting pretty pent up in Winterfell and were likely planning to meet Stannis in the field, which would have given Stannis the advantage.

I doubt Jon is dead. GRRM has a way of "bringing people back to life". Here are the examples I remember:
1) Tyrion getting hacked at the battle on the blackwater
2) Theon dying when Winterfell is besieged
3) Brienne gets hanged by the brotherhood without banners
4) Asha taking an axe "to her temple"at Deepwood Motte

In all honesty though, when I was reading over Jon's death, I totally accepted it. I mean, it was pretty much justified when he was in the hall looking for people to ride with him south to fight Bolton and was looking for volunteers, and when none of the Black Brothers volunteered, he said something like "well if i'm going to be an oathbreaker, at least i'll be oathbreaking on my own". So I'm really not that pissed off. I totally didn't see the links with the Azor Azhai prophecy though, so thats pretty interesting.

Overall, what a terrible book. I think there was one time where i cheered (when Jon beheads Janos Slynt and Barristan). No exciting battle scenes, no real "OH SHIT" moments (I saw Jon's assassination coming from a mile away). Literally, nothing fucking happened except some major filler on the Daenery's arc.

8/7/2011 11:57:26 AM

I didn't feel at all like nothing happened in the book especially compared to book 4.

8/7/2011 12:25:12 PM

so does anyone else think Coldhands is Benjen Stark?

8/7/2011 7:07:33 PM

Actually IMO that's such an obvious conclusion that I think it will probably end up not being benjen stark

8/7/2011 7:20:49 PM

I think Stannis was pretty well stuck in the snow and wasn't going to encounter Roose any time soon

8/7/2011 10:09:46 PM

there is no way jon is permanently dead. thoros of myr, who isn't anywhere near as powerful as melisandre, brought beric back to life like 7 times. beric, who isn't even a red priest, brought catelyn back to life by transferring his life to her. if anything "killing" jon was a way for grrm to release him from his vows.

8/7/2011 10:14:47 PM

I agree that he won't be permanently dead, but I'm not quite convinced that Melisandre is really as powerful as she seems. Outside of the shadow-creatures early on, most of her "power" is more magician than sorcerer; she uses more illusion with glamors and powders for effect than actually getting anything done with her power. Also, her visions are often wrong or at least she lacks any strength in properly understanding/deciphering them.

She has some power, I just severely question the scale of it. She is largely a sham right down to her appearance.

8/8/2011 8:35:13 AM

Also, I just finished The Hedge Knight and really enjoyed it; it was a good story with more of a "classic" and lighthearted feel. By that I mean there is still death and blood a la ASOIAF but the realm as a whole seems a more stable place. I'll probably start The Sworn Sword tonight.

8/9/2011 1:02:38 PM

Quote :

"I doubt Jon is dead. GRRM has a way of "bringing people back to life". Here are the examples I remember:"

don't forget Arya getting axed by the Hound, Manderly demanding Davos' head, and Tyrion falling in the water with the stone men! (although that last one happened so early in the book I knew it couldn't be a legit death) And that's just off the top of my head, I know there's more.

8/9/2011 6:10:46 PM

Finished The Sworn Sword. Really enjoying these novellas. Also, after reading THK and TSS now, Jaime's and Bran's chapters in ADWD are a bit more interesting (not that they weren't already since I enjoy those characters).

8/15/2011 11:02:40 AM

So I just finished the 3rd book and am about 300 pages into the 4th book....does it get better, cause this shit sucks compared to the 2nd and 3rd.

8/24/2011 3:21:20 PM

I'm on book four right now and I'm not reading the thread but I wanted to write this out so I can think it through.

The fourth book almost completely swapped characters that it was following and it's like I'm reading almost a new story. I really wish I could know wtf Bran was doing and Jon Snow and Stannis and yadda yadda yadda. Who cares about Brienne?

8/24/2011 3:31:48 PM

The 4th book does not get much better, no.

The 5th book is better than the 4th but not as good as the 3rd.

8/24/2011 3:35:55 PM

Finally finished the 5th book. You could have cut it down to 100 pages and had a better book. So much pointless filler. I now skip any paragraph that looks like it is about food. We get it -- you're fat and you're proud, GRRM.

It's been so long since I read this other books, but has he always done the snarky italics comments in between character dialogue? It's annoying as shit and makes the characters look like spoiled brat teenagers. I used to like Tyrion, but now he is completely emo. Dany is similar. Even Jon snow.

I'd say the most interesting chapters were the Arya ones. Jon, Dany, Tyrion flopped (Except for the last chapters, obviously).

I think this book series is done quality-wise. It's been over a decade since he wrote a good ice and fire book. He's lost the touch. I thought working on the TV series would get his creative juices flowing again, but that was not demonstrated in the 5th book. You have a time limit on TV, so that forces you to edit out junk.

[Edited on September 5, 2011 at 1:28 PM. Reason : ,]

9/5/2011 1:27:03 PM

Quote :

"I now skip any paragraph that looks like it is about food."

Doing that could cause you to miss one of the best parts of book 5.

9/5/2011 2:22:45 PM

I think I did. Was it the frey's getting cooked in there? Oh well. It was worth skipping. I'd rather just read the cliff notes of what happened.

9/5/2011 4:23:35 PM

I just finished Feast for Crows. It actually got better at the end. I'm expecting more from Dance with Dragons though.

Wish it would go ahead and come out in paperback.

9/16/2011 12:52:14 AM

all the cool kids read it on their kindles/nooks/tablets/whatnots these days.

9/16/2011 1:47:02 AM

SPOILER ALERT

Just finished ADWD, kind of hating GRRM super hard...yet throwing in Varys at the end was super badass. There's no way Jon Snow will stay dead. I really liked Arya's stuff, but kinda like the last one I don't feel like a whole lot happened, at least enough to justify the length.

Also, is it just me or are the religions in ASOIAF completely unbalanced? R'hllor is clearly the most powerful, with the old gods in a distant second. The 7 can't do shit.

Also, was that the first time Daenarys (sp? lolz) had her ladytimes since MMD fucked her vagparts up?

10/9/2011 9:13:20 PM

I thought that ADWD was pretty awesome IMHO.

When's the next one coming out? Hope it's not another six year wait.

11/1/2011 4:57:56 AM

He said he's going to start writing the sixth book in January. He has like 100-200 pages already from stuff he moved out of ADWD into Winds of Winter.

i think that now we're past the portion of the book he didn't plan to write (cause of the originally planned time jump), we'll see him take a bit less time for the next one. I'd guess maybe 2.5-3 years? Never know with this guy though, he doesn't seem to give a fuck about finishing.

11/1/2011 9:22:55 AM

Yeah some people are already starting to say that they are pretty sure he doesn't care if he finishes or not. Makes you wonder what type of "ending" he has in mind.

11/1/2011 5:14:39 PM

well people can say whatever they want. I think he has made it clear he does want to finish it. I don't think that is the problem at all.

I think the problem is that he is just not a good manager of his time and he doesn't have any real deadlines to meet so he isn't good at holding himself to anything. He also is so into his world that he gets wrapped up in all kinds of extra history books he is working on as well as short stories and novellas etc. (which are all good but still...) and now he is fairly involved in the tv show too.

11/1/2011 5:17:52 PM

One would hope that the TV show would give him some fire. It would be embarrassing if the show caught up with the books and ran out of materials.

11/2/2011 1:16:35 PM

GRRM just updated his sample chapter, and it's now a Theon chapter from Winds of Winter!

http://georgerrmartin.com/if-sample.html

his site is so fucking putrid it might be worth it to post the chapter in this thread in its entirety.

[Edited on December 29, 2011 at 7:11 PM. Reason : seriously, that site has not changed in at least 10 years]

[Edited on December 29, 2011 at 7:11 PM. Reason : also, cracka writes his manuscripts in some basic text editor in DOS. dead serious.]

12/29/2011 7:10:18 PM

he posted on his blog recently that the site will be completely redone soon.

12/29/2011 9:14:06 PM

^just like the book how the book will be done soon?

12/30/2011 9:16:50 AM

i would imagine not book slow as george isn't a web designer.

http://grrm.livejournal.com/255103.html

12/30/2011 9:33:39 AM

Bump

Just finished. After reading through some forums it looks like I missed a lot of subtle hints like Abel and his washerwomen = Mance Rayder and Aegon possibly being fake. I'm sad now that I'll have to wait years to read the next book after reading the first five back to back.

2/14/2012 2:51:47 PM

if you want, you can at least read a Theon chapter from TWOW on GRRM's website

2/14/2012 2:53:51 PM

Spoilerish if youI havent read theand new chapter:














So I guess we can assume that Stannis is still alive or is this first chaper possibly a timeline prior to the letter to John?

2/15/2012 1:15:55 PM

I think it is before the snowstorm, which would make it before the battle where Stannis "died".

I really liked him more after reading it, so I hope it was just a crazy bluff or something.

[Edited on February 16, 2012 at 9:45 PM. Reason : ]

2/16/2012 9:43:38 PM

Cant wait for the reaction to the Red Wedding in the GoT thread...

4/5/2012 10:40:15 AM

lol

at least they'll have Joffrey's death to console them.

4/5/2012 3:21:15 PM

I don't think there are going to be any 'oh shit' moments in season 2. I'm really curious how they'll disguise Selmy as Whitebeard.

4/5/2012 3:29:08 PM

^
- Theon's entire arc in the second book, which includes Bran (and Rickon)
- Renly dying - both the act and how it is committed
- Battle of the Blackwater
- Arya/Jaqen

4/5/2012 4:02:28 PM

What about the demon shadow thing that Melisandre gives birth to under that castle? I saw a brief glimpse of what I imagine is that scene in the season highlights and was wondering how they will portray it. I'm fairly certain there will be plenty of "WTF??" going around.

4/5/2012 4:17:52 PM

^^ Idk, those are big, but not as big as RW, Ned Stark dying, etc. I wonder if they'll change the outcome of Battle of the Blackwater so Tyrion doesn't lose his nose.

4/5/2012 4:21:14 PM