Honolulu_Blue
12-21-2005, 12:06 PM
Ok. I am only about a month late to the party, but, hey, I read slow. Always have, always will. I also had to finish "Storm of Swords" and was loathe to burn through this one. I wanted to savor it like a fine wine, sipping it over many long hours simply because I know that it will be a long, long, long time before I get another of this vintage...
Anyway, enough with the wine metaphors, though like a bottle of Chateau Neuf Du Pap, I'm fine like wine when I start to rap!
I have to agree with what Terps-K and GrantDawg have already said. This was the weakest of the four books. No question about that. It didn't feel nearly as epic as the other three, which isn't surprising considering the "war" is pretty much over and we're only getting a certain part of the story. The characters were all so scattered that there was no real unifying theme to most of the chapters.
Also, let's face it, the "epic" characters of these books, so far, have been Jon and Dany. Jon was a kid going to the Nights Watch and rose to Lord Commander. Dany was introduced as a young princess in exile under
the boot heels of her vicious brother and is now a queen of thousands and has three pet dragons. That's epic stuff. Arya? Sansa? Cersei? Even Brienne and Jaime, while fascinating and cool characters, aren't so epic. I think a lot of the epic feel of the first three books comes with those two and with arc the War of the Five Kings. Neither Jon or Dany are in this one and the war is over, so = not so epic.<O:p</O:p
Don’t get me wrong, by “epic” I don’t mean the best or most interesting. While I love the stuff on the Wall and all of the events and characters there, I tend to find Jon one of the least interesting perspective characters. I like him a lot, but he’s the closest thing to a stereotypical fantasy hero as we have seen. I tended to find Dany’s chapters to be a little dull too, though there were some great scenes.
So, yes, I do feel this book suffered from being split. That said, he did some interesting things this time around with what I consider "minor perspectives", e.g., Asha, Areo Hotah, and Aeron(?). Could I have done without Areo's chapter? Sure. But I liked it. He is cool. Big dude with a massive axe. What's there not to love?
While in the prior books you had different people doing different things each one sort of had a central story at its core: 1) Ned Stark in Kings Landing and all the associated mysteries/murders; 2) The assault on Kings Landing; and 3) The end of the war. This book lacked that core arc.
Also, it seems to me that most of the perspective chapters within each book had a particular arc that, though not complete by any stretch of the imagination, still had some notion of a beginning, middle, and end.
While some did here (e.g., Sam and Cersei) Too many felt like they didn't. Many of just felt like that just sort of were meandered around a bit, like Jaime and Brienne.
Still, I loved reading the book. I looked forward to it every time I sat down to read it. I love his world. I love the characters. I enjoy spending time there. While epic events and such are fun, I don't necessarily need them.
Some thoughts on each perspective character:
Cersei: Heh! She is so stupid and retarded. Up until she captured and started torturing the shit out of the poor Blue Bard, I was loving her chapters. It was such a relief to watch someone be stupid and fuck
things up but not really caring too much about the consequences because she's only screwing over herself or people I don't much care for (as opposed to say the old Ned or Catelyn chapters where I was pulling what little hair I have left out each time they did something stupid). I especially enjoyed how pleased with herself she always seemed to be while totally fucking up. Good times!
Martin's strength has always been his ability to write the perspective chapters exceptionally well so that you really get into the head of the character and see the world through their eyes. It was fun to do that
with Cersei. Not like with Tyrion, but a whole different kind of fun.
I thought the lesbian thing was stupid. But, oh well...
The last couple of chapters became pretty gruesome. I guess it should come as no surprise considering it was just Cersei reaping what she had sewn.
I loved the scene when she was in the bath and Tommen was demanding that he be allowed to joust and be taught by Loras and that he would get to have kittens and not eat beats while Jamie was laughing all the while. I laughed and laughed at that.
Solid moves with her choosing of her small council and restoring that holy order of knights. Very sound. Excellent. She is a genius.
Small points. WTF is that with Loras? Another very cool, interesting character killed "off screen." What was that about Davos' head and hands being cutoff? I am not buying that. I refuse to accept that as the truth. Also, what the hell is Qyburn doing with undead Gregor? Pupeteers? WTF?! It will be interesting to see what happens when Gregorstein is unveiled.
Arya: I was surprised (pleasantly so) to see she was in this book. I love Arya and the fact that the word "stupid" is mentioned well over two dozen times in each of her chapters. Not much really happened with her, though it was fun to see her run into Sam. I guess if she's going to become a super assassin woman than you have to have to obligatory super assassin
training stuff. BLIND? BLIND? WTF?!?!
Brienne: I really enjoyed her chapters. Her perspective was exactly how I would imagine it would be. She is what she is. Obviously she is in love
with Jaime, but there was one line in there where she mentions (in thought) that she was to find Sansa to restore Jaime's honor. That warmed the cockles of my heart.
<O:p</O:p
Here was my first reaction upon reading her final chapter: FUCK YOU CATELYN STARK OR LADY STONEHEART OR WHATEVER THEY CALL YOU, YOU FUCKING UNDEAD BITCH! You sucked when you were alive and you suck when you are dead, more so even. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU SO VERY VERY MUCH. (I apologize for the profanity)
<O:p</O:pUpon further reflection, ok... So, uh... maybe she's not quite dead yet. She did manage to get out a "word." If that word is "sword", mayhap they cut her down and send her off to kill Jaime. Maybe. I would be hard pressed to believe that Brienne would do that, but maybe she's learning that sometimes a little dishonor brings more honor in the future. She could say it just so that she, Pod (“Ser? My Lady?” I loved that), and Hyle live. It goes against her nature, but I assume that if your dangling from a tree by a noose you're apt to do whatever it takes to get down alive. I am still not convinced she's alive... And even if she does end up alive, I still hate Catelyn Stark.
Have you guys all read the Hedge Knight (the novella or graphic novel)? Do you remember Dunk's shield? A tree with the falling star above it? Brienne had her shield re-painted to match one she saw in her father's
armory. Here is a description of that shield on which her new shield is based: "She remembered how she'd run her fingertips across the cracked and fading paint, over the green leaves of the tree, and along the path of the falling star."
There was just too much Brienne in this book and she's too cool to die like that. Though I am still not convinced she's alive...
Speaking of Lady Stoneheart... Boy, I really sort of once liked
the Brotherhood without Banners or whatever they called themselves. Thoros seems to be the only one with any conscience left. They are hollow shells of
the men they once were. Lem, One-Eyed Jack, all of them. Wow. This war and Catelyn's hatred seems to really have taken its toll on them. They were totally different when it was Dondarrion in command. Wow. Speaking of Dondarrion, apparently yet another really cool character killed off screen.<O:p</O:p
There was one line from Maester Aemon I really liked that was something along the lines of "Fire consumes, but cold preserves." While obvious, I think it's a good parallel between the Other and R'hollor. R'hollor most definitely consumes. He consumed Dondarrion completely. He used him up and kept him alive until he found a more suitable vessel for his consumption (Catelyn). R'hollor seems to thrive on destruction, fire, consumption and Dondarrion was good for that. While he and his men believed that they were fighting for the smallfolk (which they were), they were also adding to the destruction of the land. Then Catelyn Stark comes floating down the river and what better fuel to add to the fire than revenge and pure hatred? So R'hollor leaves Dondarrion and inherits Catelyn. The all-consuming revenge and anger begins to infect the entire brotherhood as they start claiming more and more lives, not out of any desire to protect the land or smallfolk, but for pure vengeance. Not a good path. It's interesting that we didn't see certain other of that gang like Anguy the Archer and Greenbeard.
The Hound. Ok... So, uh... maybe he's not quite dead yet either. I guess the speculation is that the big gravedigger dude at the Quiet Isle is actually the Hound. He is described as bigger than Brienne and as being lame so both would seem to fit. Also, all the silent brothers wear cowls over their faces so only their eyes show. This would hide his scars. The Elder Brother (who I liked a lot) did say The Hound died there in his arms, but he also mentioned Sandor Clegane is “at peace” or “at rest”. He also said that he himself had “died” and was reborn in the Quiet Isle. I am thinking the whole Hound is dead/Sandor Clegane is at rest thing is just an Obi Wan like metaphor "Darth Vader killed your father." The Elder Brother did seem to know an awful lot about Sandor and is renowned for his healing hands. Also, he told his story about his brutal past, the killing, the rapes, etc. I am now convinced he's alive... It
would be sweet for him to atone for his sins and come back and kill the Gregorstein.
Ironborn: I was already to hate on these guys, but at the end of it I enjoyed their chapters. I much preferred Asha's and Victarion's chapters to Aeron's (he was pretty one note, Drowned God blah blah blah, What is dead cannot be killed blah blah blah). I liked the Kingsmoot. I liked the assault along the mander. They were badasses. Euron and his ship of freaks is a cool concept and I liked the notion of Victarion heading east. Could be very cool.
Sansa: I have long been in the “pity Sansa” camp much more so than “hate Sansa” camp. It's amazing how different her perspective chapters are in this one as opposed to the first three. She is a totally different person. Her innocence has been shattered. Sweetrobin is annoying. I hope he just dies soon. It's always fun to see Littlefinger play the game because he's so good at it. Other than that not much really happened in the Eyrie.
Speaking of the Eyrie, there was all of this talk (in all the books) about how impregnable the Eyrie is. While the Vale is large and has a lot of knights, who gives a shit about the Eyrie? I mean, seriously. Sure it might be impregnable, but it doesn't seem all that hard to keep whoever is in there trapped up there forever. It's totally impractical as a castle. It seems like it would be as easy keeping people stuck up there as it would to keep people from getting in. A very cool concept, but I always wondered... Why?
Jaime: His perspective chapters are always a joy. Always. I loved his relationship with Ilyn Payne. Jaime has a ton of issues and is in a bit of a
mid-life crisis. A guy who can't speak, read, or write is a perfect sounding board for him. I enjoyed the siege on Riverun. I was glad to see the Blackfish escape (aka the only non-annoying, non-competely fucking useless, nay, harmful Tully we've ever met) even though he came across as an asshole to Jaime. Then again, a lot of people do when dealing with Jaime. He brings that out in people. Poor guy...
Dorne: I liked these chapters. Some very interesting stuff here. I was pretty convinced that Doran Martell had a plan all along. I wasn't too surprised to see that the others weren't all that bright. Oberyn clearly wasn't a bright guy. Sassy and kick-ass with a spear, sure, but not overly bright. Even before we met them Dornish folks were sort of described as
fiercesome hot-heads, which most appear to be. Some good stuff here. I liked the Darkstark. I loved Areo Hotah and I do like Doran Martell even though the descriptions of his gout make me uncomfortable.
As with Victarion, it will be interesting to see the interplay between Dorne (Quentyn) and Dany in the East play out.<O:p</O:p
Tom O Sevens: I forgot about his run in with Edmure. It was descibed in SoS, I think. He wrote some song about a floppy fish which was about Edmure's inability to seal the deal with some woman who Tom then slept
with. There was that great moment after Jaime released Edmure when Jaime asks Tom to sing for Edmure and he replies "No. Not him. Get him away from me." Good stuff! I also enjoyed Tom and Jaime's meeting in Riverun when Jaime says he will be leaving soon and Tom replies "I'm sorry to hear that, my lord." (i.e., that's too bad, I would like to have them hang you).
The Prologue: I sort of over looked this a bit. It was nice to see the prologue swing back in the end. Pate was obviously killed by a faceless man who then took his place. I just wonder if Marwyn hired the faceless man or there is some other player at work here. I think it's the former. I did like the faceless man's reply to Pate when he asked "Who are you?" The reply "A stranger. No one. Truly." Good stuff!
Another thing, Alleras, who is a novice at the citadel and in the prologue and the guy who intercepts Sam and brings him to meet Marwyn is actually... a Sand Snake. Alleras = Sarella, one of Oberyn's daughters. The only one not captured. She is pretending to be a man and is obviously working some sort of revenge angle. The description of him/her is dead on Oberyn: "He had
skin the color of a light brown ale and a cap of tight black curls that came to a widow's peak above his big black eyes." (S)he even admits to being half-Dornish.
I may be forgetting someone and I know this is long, rambling, and likely incoherent.
As for the future of the books... I think that this was a cleaning up the political stuff for the "main event" the whole Others vs. Dragons (R'hollor) thing. I still think there is a lot of political activity left hanging out there. I mean, Littlefinger is still around and will be poised to strike soon. You also have the resurgence of the Seven. We read a TON more about the Seven thanks to the new High Septon, Meribald, the Quiet Island, etc. than we had read in the first three books combined. The books will likely to start taking a more fantastical/religious course in the future. It will be interesting to see how that unfolds...
At the moment, I have no love for R'hollor. I never liked Melisandre, but always liked Dondarrion, Thoros, and that crew. I now hate that crew (except Thoros), so that god has nothing going for it.
I am still have no clue where Cold Hands fits into the picture. Does he have any relation to the Others?
General notes:
I found the sex scenes to be poorly written. They seemed more like fan fic nonsense than anything else. It’s not that I am a prude or get offended about sex in a book, I just didn’t like how the scenes were written/unfolded. I didn’t have much of a problem with Tyrion’s sex scenes in prior books. Dunno, just a small thing in any event.
Too much description of food, herb encrusted this and that and too many descriptions of coats of arms. Then again, we all know George RR Martin is a big fella (loves his food) and loves those little toy knights, so I guess those vivid and constant descriptions should come as no surprise.
In closing...
Like I said at the beginning of this rambling post, this was the weakest of the four. That said, to me, it's like saying "Two Towers was the weakest of the LOTR trilogy." It's still a fucking great movie. I enjoyed reading this book a lot. While I don't think the story was pushed that far along at all, Martin certainly did nothing to "ruin" or sully the series in this book. I had fun with it and look forward to re-reading it once more a month or so before Dance With Dragons comes out... Whenever that will be.
Did I mention that I cannot fucking believe that I hate Catelyn Stark/Lady
Stoneheart so very, very much? Brienne’s sword should be called Oathbreaker, MY ASS!!!!! DAMN SHE'S SO FUCKING ANNOYING! GAHHH!
I'm sure there's more, but that's all I got now.
<O:p</O:pLet’s discuss, people!
(Sorry for some of the weird formatting. Tried to fix it and couldn't.)
Anyway, enough with the wine metaphors, though like a bottle of Chateau Neuf Du Pap, I'm fine like wine when I start to rap!
I have to agree with what Terps-K and GrantDawg have already said. This was the weakest of the four books. No question about that. It didn't feel nearly as epic as the other three, which isn't surprising considering the "war" is pretty much over and we're only getting a certain part of the story. The characters were all so scattered that there was no real unifying theme to most of the chapters.
Also, let's face it, the "epic" characters of these books, so far, have been Jon and Dany. Jon was a kid going to the Nights Watch and rose to Lord Commander. Dany was introduced as a young princess in exile under
the boot heels of her vicious brother and is now a queen of thousands and has three pet dragons. That's epic stuff. Arya? Sansa? Cersei? Even Brienne and Jaime, while fascinating and cool characters, aren't so epic. I think a lot of the epic feel of the first three books comes with those two and with arc the War of the Five Kings. Neither Jon or Dany are in this one and the war is over, so = not so epic.<O:p</O:p
Don’t get me wrong, by “epic” I don’t mean the best or most interesting. While I love the stuff on the Wall and all of the events and characters there, I tend to find Jon one of the least interesting perspective characters. I like him a lot, but he’s the closest thing to a stereotypical fantasy hero as we have seen. I tended to find Dany’s chapters to be a little dull too, though there were some great scenes.
So, yes, I do feel this book suffered from being split. That said, he did some interesting things this time around with what I consider "minor perspectives", e.g., Asha, Areo Hotah, and Aeron(?). Could I have done without Areo's chapter? Sure. But I liked it. He is cool. Big dude with a massive axe. What's there not to love?
While in the prior books you had different people doing different things each one sort of had a central story at its core: 1) Ned Stark in Kings Landing and all the associated mysteries/murders; 2) The assault on Kings Landing; and 3) The end of the war. This book lacked that core arc.
Also, it seems to me that most of the perspective chapters within each book had a particular arc that, though not complete by any stretch of the imagination, still had some notion of a beginning, middle, and end.
While some did here (e.g., Sam and Cersei) Too many felt like they didn't. Many of just felt like that just sort of were meandered around a bit, like Jaime and Brienne.
Still, I loved reading the book. I looked forward to it every time I sat down to read it. I love his world. I love the characters. I enjoy spending time there. While epic events and such are fun, I don't necessarily need them.
Some thoughts on each perspective character:
Cersei: Heh! She is so stupid and retarded. Up until she captured and started torturing the shit out of the poor Blue Bard, I was loving her chapters. It was such a relief to watch someone be stupid and fuck
things up but not really caring too much about the consequences because she's only screwing over herself or people I don't much care for (as opposed to say the old Ned or Catelyn chapters where I was pulling what little hair I have left out each time they did something stupid). I especially enjoyed how pleased with herself she always seemed to be while totally fucking up. Good times!
Martin's strength has always been his ability to write the perspective chapters exceptionally well so that you really get into the head of the character and see the world through their eyes. It was fun to do that
with Cersei. Not like with Tyrion, but a whole different kind of fun.
I thought the lesbian thing was stupid. But, oh well...
The last couple of chapters became pretty gruesome. I guess it should come as no surprise considering it was just Cersei reaping what she had sewn.
I loved the scene when she was in the bath and Tommen was demanding that he be allowed to joust and be taught by Loras and that he would get to have kittens and not eat beats while Jamie was laughing all the while. I laughed and laughed at that.
Solid moves with her choosing of her small council and restoring that holy order of knights. Very sound. Excellent. She is a genius.
Small points. WTF is that with Loras? Another very cool, interesting character killed "off screen." What was that about Davos' head and hands being cutoff? I am not buying that. I refuse to accept that as the truth. Also, what the hell is Qyburn doing with undead Gregor? Pupeteers? WTF?! It will be interesting to see what happens when Gregorstein is unveiled.
Arya: I was surprised (pleasantly so) to see she was in this book. I love Arya and the fact that the word "stupid" is mentioned well over two dozen times in each of her chapters. Not much really happened with her, though it was fun to see her run into Sam. I guess if she's going to become a super assassin woman than you have to have to obligatory super assassin
training stuff. BLIND? BLIND? WTF?!?!
Brienne: I really enjoyed her chapters. Her perspective was exactly how I would imagine it would be. She is what she is. Obviously she is in love
with Jaime, but there was one line in there where she mentions (in thought) that she was to find Sansa to restore Jaime's honor. That warmed the cockles of my heart.
<O:p</O:p
Here was my first reaction upon reading her final chapter: FUCK YOU CATELYN STARK OR LADY STONEHEART OR WHATEVER THEY CALL YOU, YOU FUCKING UNDEAD BITCH! You sucked when you were alive and you suck when you are dead, more so even. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU SO VERY VERY MUCH. (I apologize for the profanity)
<O:p</O:pUpon further reflection, ok... So, uh... maybe she's not quite dead yet. She did manage to get out a "word." If that word is "sword", mayhap they cut her down and send her off to kill Jaime. Maybe. I would be hard pressed to believe that Brienne would do that, but maybe she's learning that sometimes a little dishonor brings more honor in the future. She could say it just so that she, Pod (“Ser? My Lady?” I loved that), and Hyle live. It goes against her nature, but I assume that if your dangling from a tree by a noose you're apt to do whatever it takes to get down alive. I am still not convinced she's alive... And even if she does end up alive, I still hate Catelyn Stark.
Have you guys all read the Hedge Knight (the novella or graphic novel)? Do you remember Dunk's shield? A tree with the falling star above it? Brienne had her shield re-painted to match one she saw in her father's
armory. Here is a description of that shield on which her new shield is based: "She remembered how she'd run her fingertips across the cracked and fading paint, over the green leaves of the tree, and along the path of the falling star."
There was just too much Brienne in this book and she's too cool to die like that. Though I am still not convinced she's alive...
Speaking of Lady Stoneheart... Boy, I really sort of once liked
the Brotherhood without Banners or whatever they called themselves. Thoros seems to be the only one with any conscience left. They are hollow shells of
the men they once were. Lem, One-Eyed Jack, all of them. Wow. This war and Catelyn's hatred seems to really have taken its toll on them. They were totally different when it was Dondarrion in command. Wow. Speaking of Dondarrion, apparently yet another really cool character killed off screen.<O:p</O:p
There was one line from Maester Aemon I really liked that was something along the lines of "Fire consumes, but cold preserves." While obvious, I think it's a good parallel between the Other and R'hollor. R'hollor most definitely consumes. He consumed Dondarrion completely. He used him up and kept him alive until he found a more suitable vessel for his consumption (Catelyn). R'hollor seems to thrive on destruction, fire, consumption and Dondarrion was good for that. While he and his men believed that they were fighting for the smallfolk (which they were), they were also adding to the destruction of the land. Then Catelyn Stark comes floating down the river and what better fuel to add to the fire than revenge and pure hatred? So R'hollor leaves Dondarrion and inherits Catelyn. The all-consuming revenge and anger begins to infect the entire brotherhood as they start claiming more and more lives, not out of any desire to protect the land or smallfolk, but for pure vengeance. Not a good path. It's interesting that we didn't see certain other of that gang like Anguy the Archer and Greenbeard.
The Hound. Ok... So, uh... maybe he's not quite dead yet either. I guess the speculation is that the big gravedigger dude at the Quiet Isle is actually the Hound. He is described as bigger than Brienne and as being lame so both would seem to fit. Also, all the silent brothers wear cowls over their faces so only their eyes show. This would hide his scars. The Elder Brother (who I liked a lot) did say The Hound died there in his arms, but he also mentioned Sandor Clegane is “at peace” or “at rest”. He also said that he himself had “died” and was reborn in the Quiet Isle. I am thinking the whole Hound is dead/Sandor Clegane is at rest thing is just an Obi Wan like metaphor "Darth Vader killed your father." The Elder Brother did seem to know an awful lot about Sandor and is renowned for his healing hands. Also, he told his story about his brutal past, the killing, the rapes, etc. I am now convinced he's alive... It
would be sweet for him to atone for his sins and come back and kill the Gregorstein.
Ironborn: I was already to hate on these guys, but at the end of it I enjoyed their chapters. I much preferred Asha's and Victarion's chapters to Aeron's (he was pretty one note, Drowned God blah blah blah, What is dead cannot be killed blah blah blah). I liked the Kingsmoot. I liked the assault along the mander. They were badasses. Euron and his ship of freaks is a cool concept and I liked the notion of Victarion heading east. Could be very cool.
Sansa: I have long been in the “pity Sansa” camp much more so than “hate Sansa” camp. It's amazing how different her perspective chapters are in this one as opposed to the first three. She is a totally different person. Her innocence has been shattered. Sweetrobin is annoying. I hope he just dies soon. It's always fun to see Littlefinger play the game because he's so good at it. Other than that not much really happened in the Eyrie.
Speaking of the Eyrie, there was all of this talk (in all the books) about how impregnable the Eyrie is. While the Vale is large and has a lot of knights, who gives a shit about the Eyrie? I mean, seriously. Sure it might be impregnable, but it doesn't seem all that hard to keep whoever is in there trapped up there forever. It's totally impractical as a castle. It seems like it would be as easy keeping people stuck up there as it would to keep people from getting in. A very cool concept, but I always wondered... Why?
Jaime: His perspective chapters are always a joy. Always. I loved his relationship with Ilyn Payne. Jaime has a ton of issues and is in a bit of a
mid-life crisis. A guy who can't speak, read, or write is a perfect sounding board for him. I enjoyed the siege on Riverun. I was glad to see the Blackfish escape (aka the only non-annoying, non-competely fucking useless, nay, harmful Tully we've ever met) even though he came across as an asshole to Jaime. Then again, a lot of people do when dealing with Jaime. He brings that out in people. Poor guy...
Dorne: I liked these chapters. Some very interesting stuff here. I was pretty convinced that Doran Martell had a plan all along. I wasn't too surprised to see that the others weren't all that bright. Oberyn clearly wasn't a bright guy. Sassy and kick-ass with a spear, sure, but not overly bright. Even before we met them Dornish folks were sort of described as
fiercesome hot-heads, which most appear to be. Some good stuff here. I liked the Darkstark. I loved Areo Hotah and I do like Doran Martell even though the descriptions of his gout make me uncomfortable.
As with Victarion, it will be interesting to see the interplay between Dorne (Quentyn) and Dany in the East play out.<O:p</O:p
Tom O Sevens: I forgot about his run in with Edmure. It was descibed in SoS, I think. He wrote some song about a floppy fish which was about Edmure's inability to seal the deal with some woman who Tom then slept
with. There was that great moment after Jaime released Edmure when Jaime asks Tom to sing for Edmure and he replies "No. Not him. Get him away from me." Good stuff! I also enjoyed Tom and Jaime's meeting in Riverun when Jaime says he will be leaving soon and Tom replies "I'm sorry to hear that, my lord." (i.e., that's too bad, I would like to have them hang you).
The Prologue: I sort of over looked this a bit. It was nice to see the prologue swing back in the end. Pate was obviously killed by a faceless man who then took his place. I just wonder if Marwyn hired the faceless man or there is some other player at work here. I think it's the former. I did like the faceless man's reply to Pate when he asked "Who are you?" The reply "A stranger. No one. Truly." Good stuff!
Another thing, Alleras, who is a novice at the citadel and in the prologue and the guy who intercepts Sam and brings him to meet Marwyn is actually... a Sand Snake. Alleras = Sarella, one of Oberyn's daughters. The only one not captured. She is pretending to be a man and is obviously working some sort of revenge angle. The description of him/her is dead on Oberyn: "He had
skin the color of a light brown ale and a cap of tight black curls that came to a widow's peak above his big black eyes." (S)he even admits to being half-Dornish.
I may be forgetting someone and I know this is long, rambling, and likely incoherent.
As for the future of the books... I think that this was a cleaning up the political stuff for the "main event" the whole Others vs. Dragons (R'hollor) thing. I still think there is a lot of political activity left hanging out there. I mean, Littlefinger is still around and will be poised to strike soon. You also have the resurgence of the Seven. We read a TON more about the Seven thanks to the new High Septon, Meribald, the Quiet Island, etc. than we had read in the first three books combined. The books will likely to start taking a more fantastical/religious course in the future. It will be interesting to see how that unfolds...
At the moment, I have no love for R'hollor. I never liked Melisandre, but always liked Dondarrion, Thoros, and that crew. I now hate that crew (except Thoros), so that god has nothing going for it.
I am still have no clue where Cold Hands fits into the picture. Does he have any relation to the Others?
General notes:
I found the sex scenes to be poorly written. They seemed more like fan fic nonsense than anything else. It’s not that I am a prude or get offended about sex in a book, I just didn’t like how the scenes were written/unfolded. I didn’t have much of a problem with Tyrion’s sex scenes in prior books. Dunno, just a small thing in any event.
Too much description of food, herb encrusted this and that and too many descriptions of coats of arms. Then again, we all know George RR Martin is a big fella (loves his food) and loves those little toy knights, so I guess those vivid and constant descriptions should come as no surprise.
In closing...
Like I said at the beginning of this rambling post, this was the weakest of the four. That said, to me, it's like saying "Two Towers was the weakest of the LOTR trilogy." It's still a fucking great movie. I enjoyed reading this book a lot. While I don't think the story was pushed that far along at all, Martin certainly did nothing to "ruin" or sully the series in this book. I had fun with it and look forward to re-reading it once more a month or so before Dance With Dragons comes out... Whenever that will be.
Did I mention that I cannot fucking believe that I hate Catelyn Stark/Lady
Stoneheart so very, very much? Brienne’s sword should be called Oathbreaker, MY ASS!!!!! DAMN SHE'S SO FUCKING ANNOYING! GAHHH!
I'm sure there's more, but that's all I got now.
<O:p</O:pLet’s discuss, people!
(Sorry for some of the weird formatting. Tried to fix it and couldn't.)