Just finished Feast of Crows.

[Orlun]

Man, I forgot that Martin adds 30 pages of character background at the end. I was reading along, getting more excited the more I read, expecting a big finish, when WHAM. "the end" Still had a quarter inch of pages left! ARRRRRG! /sigh

Actually, it wasn't "the end" so much as "to be continued in the second part" now to wait a year or more... sigh sigh sigh. :eek:

[Havelock]

I just got up to the first Arya chapter. It was slow going at first, as I thought none of the characters I really cared about (Jon, Bran, Arya, Tyrion) were going to appear at all, but then the Samwell chapter came and I got a lot more interested. I'm still reading it much slower than the others, but part of that might be fatigue.

I can't wait to finish it so I can chat about it with everyone - Fozzik and DCPunk and Emily and I were talking about the series at the DC Vanguard Summit and it was good fun. I'm still waiting to see whether anything in this book supports or disproves my "Jon Snow is not Ned's son" theory.

[Sergo]

I didn't even know it was out. How much is this going to set me back? I guess I'm not going to hurry out to buy it if it has an Empire Strikes Back ending.

[Fozzik]

I just finished it myself. I don't know why I subject myself to this... it would be so much better just to wait and see if he finishes the series. So much more to write... I seriously hope George RR lives to a ripe old age.

It's going to be two years at the very least before many of the cliffhangers are continued, since the next book isn't going to deal with the same characters. I'm frustrated, to say the least.

[Eclipse]

what the crap are you guys talking about???

-Eclipse

[nubbins]

what the crap are you guys talking about???

-Eclipse

lol damn
u beat me too it ;)

[Havelock]

Noobs.

[Saediien]

So good. So very, very good. Havelock: obviously, Jon is Rhaegar's son.

What's interesting to me about this book:

Daenerys' story is finally beginning to weave, in a meaningful fashion, into Westeros politics.

More information about the workings of Highgarden and Dorne (and to a lesser extent Oldtown--there is so much more I would like to know about what the Maesters are up to).

The Iron Islanders are a bunch of crazy Vikings. EDIT: (Except for the Reader, who is uncommonly cool.)



Even though the plot won't necessarily advance in the next book, at least we will get a much fuller picture of the events that took place in this book. Also, let's be thankful that Martin hasn't dropped the ball and is still writing interesting books!

[Valerius]

what the crap are you guys talking about???

-Eclipse

An awesome series of books. If you like reading, then I suggest you pick up the first book. It's very engaging and you'll soon find yourself getting into the story because the characters are so well crafted. At least I think so. You actually care about the characters... I just wish I had discovered the series after it had been completed.. I hate all this waiting around for new books...

[Valerius]

So good. So very, very good. Havelock: obviously, Jon is Rhaegar's son.

Hmm what makes you think that? Do you think Jon Snow is the child of Ned's sister? The one that was raped by Rhaegar?

[Saediien]

Raped? Pretty inconsistent with everything we've ever heard about the noble and courageous Rhaegar, isn't it?

[Havelock]

Hmm what makes you think that? Do you think Jon Snow is the child of Ned's sister? The one that was raped by Rhaegar?

I don't think it was rape. That whole tourney (at Harrenhal, right?), and the mystery surrounding it, and the people who were surprised that Ned had not told Bran about it (it wasn't just Jojen who was surprised, someone else in A Storm of Swords was too), raises my suspicions. Plus all we know of Rhaegar, aside from the propaganda Robert Baratheon (who hated the man fiercely) said, indicates that he was a very intellectual and sensitive guy who rather reluctantly took up the sword - he does not come across as the sort inclined toward brutal rape.

Add to that the fact that the Stark seed is generally not strong - only Arya of Ned's children with Catelyn looks like a Stark, right? - and the attention paid to that sort of thing with respect to other characters also makes me suspicious.

Plus, given how Ned was depicted as a man so devoted to duty and honor that he would die rather than take the easy route, such a major lapse on his part strikes me as extremely out of character. Not impossible, but certainly not anything close to expected. Plus, Jon was not allowed to sit with the Starks when the Baratheons came to Winterfell - that's the reason Jon gave Mance Rayder for his defection. We're supposed to think it was because of his illegitimacy, but what if Ned were trying to keep Jon out of Robert's sight?

The fact that the last Targaryen in Westeros is at the Wall also strikes me as not coincidental - maybe Ned sent Jon there to leart about his heritage, or maybe he just wanted to put him with the one person he could trust to care for Jon as much as Ned did.

There are some other points, too, but I need to get back to work. :)

[Miron]

That last quarter inch of character names and the preview chapter is killer. It got me.

What really gets me about the book is there was a lot of talking and not a lot of doing. That's a pretty big departure from the previous books and I hope he moves the story along more in "A Dance with Dragons." The only real exception is the Cersei chapters. Those really get pretty crazy and I hear the next Girls Gone Wild will be filmed in King's Landing.

The Sansa chapters are the best example of him not moving the story along. We had to read through all those pages to get to the final paragraph where Littlefinger explains his plan. The leadup to that final paragraph felt like filler.

[Valerius]

Raped? Pretty inconsistent with everything we've ever heard about the noble and courageous Rhaegar, isn't it?

I think I may have been confusing Rhaegar with "The Mountain that Rides". It's been awhile since I read the books.

I just got my copy of "A Feast for Crows" from Amazon so I know what I'll be doing this weekend. :)

[Saediien]

Who are Jon Snow's parents? (http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/mlarchives/faq/jon.html)

[Havelock]

Who are Jon Snow's parents? (http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/mlarchives/faq/jon.html)

That link is awesome. Definitely a site to spend some time at.

[Havelock]

Ok, I finished aFfC. And I am pissed. It's going to be *years* before we find out what happened to those characters. Grrrr.

Anyway, a few spoiler-y thoughts:

1. Is Brienne really dead? If she is, was the whole purpose behind introducing her to show how nasty Evil Dead Catelyn is and to flip Jaime and Catelyn so the former is our new favorite? And boy, Lem is a jerk now.

2. Who's the younger and prettier queen who's going to supplant Cersei? I'm guessing Daenerys, but it could be Margaery or even Sansa. I think a Frankenstein's Monster-type Gregor Clegane is going to lay some serious smack down for her in a trial-by-combat thanks to Qyburn (which of course means Dorne will be even more upset). It was great to see Cersei get the smackdown she had coming, even though she'll probably weasel her way out of it.

3. Man did the last line of the book irk me - it was a beautiful way of tying the prologue back to the start, but again, it'll be years before we find out what the deal is.

4. The politics around King's Landing are in the most interesting place they've been in since the Joffrey's wedding - I'm really curious to see how things go from here.

5. Not nearly enough Arya in this one. More more more!

I'm optimistic that the companion volume will be out soon, but after that it's going to be a long and painful wait.

[Orlun]

"she screamed a word" would indicate to me that the hanging wasn't completed.

[Havelock]

"she screamed a word" would indicate to me that the hanging wasn't completed.

Yeah, probably. There's too much invested in her. And I'm still suspicious of anybody whose body we don't see - heck, I halfway expected Rhaegar to be hanging out on the Quiet Isle.

Speaking of, is Aurane Waters really Prince Aegon? And will he be the third head of the dragon?

[Orlun]

I don't know. One thing I realize now is that I read it much to quickly and skimmed too much stuff. I'm going to have to find some quiet time next summer to re-read them all slowly and savour the details. Thats my biggest problem with multiple viewpoints, you get caught up in one and when its interrupted, you (or I do actully) tend to skim others until your current favorite returns.

[Miron]

1. Is Brienne really dead? If she is, was the whole purpose behind introducing her to show how nasty Evil Dead Catelyn is and to flip Jaime and Catelyn so the former is our new favorite? And boy, Lem is a jerk now.

1. She said Arya's name I'm pretty sure. She had just heard the rumors of Arya being alive. All Catelyn wants is her children and that is what Brienne swore to get for her.

Edit: Trying to fix colors.

[Havelock]

1. She said Arya's name I'm pretty sure. She had just heard the rumors of Arya being alive. All Catelyn wants is her children and that is what Brienne swore to get for her.

Edit: Trying to fix colors.

Yeah, I can't find the right spoiler color either - I tried a few. I'm not sure it's one of the options. I might have to pester Nola about that. :p

[Doresain]

Wow, glad there are some people around here who read Martin. A few thoughts on AFfC...

1. Hound dead or on the Quiet Isle? I can't make up my mind.

2. The Iron Fleet showing up in Meereen will sure give Dany those ships she needs, now won't it?

3. Watching Cersei make one obviously stupid move after the other was the high point of this book. "Sure, have an autonomous military force, I don't care." We'll see if even Mecha-Gregor can save her now.

4. If Davos is really dead I will NOT be pleased.

As far as Rhaegar + Lyanna = Jon... well, it almost makes TOO much sense, you know?

-Doresain Courdelion

[Miron]

Wow, glad there are some people around here who read Martin. A few thoughts on AFfC...

1. Hound dead or on the Quiet Isle? I can't make up my mind.

2. The Iron Fleet showing up in Meereen will sure give Dany those ships she needs, now won't it?

3. Watching Cersei make one obviously stupid move after the other was the high point of this book. "Sure, have an autonomous military force, I don't care." We'll see if even Mecha-Gregor can save her now.

4. If Davos is really dead I will NOT be pleased.

1. My initial thought while reading the book was that he was dead, but now after thinking about it a bit more Arya has not removed his name from her list. I wouldn't suprised to see him pop later so Arya can do him in.

2. I wonder if he will make it there in time for "A Dance with Dragons."

3. My favorite chapters!

4. One of my friends really liked Davos. I never really cared for him and wonder what the attraction to him is. I wont believe he's dead until we can see it happen.

[DCpunk]

Excellent thread with some awesome speculations.

[Havelock]

1. My initial thought while reading the book was that he was dead, but now after thinking about it a bit more Arya has not removed his name from her list. I wouldn't suprised to see him pop later so Arya can do him in.

2. I wonder if he will make it there in time for "A Dance with Dragons."

3. My favorite chapters!

4. One of my friends really liked Davos. I never really cared for him and wonder what the attraction to him is. I wont believe he's dead until we can see it happen.

1. I'm waiting to be surprised on this one. Though it seems to me that the Hound was primed to be a champion of one of the gods - either experience a conversion and jump on board the fire bandwagon, or rely on his long-standing fear and hatred of fire to champion the as-yet-uncertain enemy (is it the many-faced god? The drowned god, who is supposedly unique to the Ironborn? This is one of the big mysteries I'm waiting to learn more about.

2. I bet he shows up right about the end - he leaves around the middle of AFfC so there's time for him to get to the eastern continent by the end of the next one, assuming the timeline for both is about the same. Of course, Dany might move on by then and meet him in Old Valyria or something - finally getting more info on that setting is going to be one of the high points of the upcoming books for me.

3. Yeah, Cersei is a moron. Jaime, on the other hand (heh heh), rocks. He was so loathsome at the beginning of the story arc, but he's since become one of my favorite characters. He's certainly the most interesting character in the current book. His promise and threat to Edmure Tully was my single favorite part of AFfC.

4. I dig Davos. I don't think there's any way he's really dead - as I recall, Manderly was a good and decent guy, and Davos is exactly the type who would have clicked with the boisterous white-hat crowd that followed Ned Stark and later Robb.

5. Oh, btw, can anybody aside from Ned and Barristan keep a damn vow? It seems like the whole point of the vow of chastity in these books is to make people feel really guilty.

[Miron]

3. Yeah, Cersei is a moron. Jaime, on the other hand (heh heh), rocks. He was so loathsome at the beginning of the story arc, but he's since become one of my favorite characters. He's certainly the most interesting character in the current book. His promise and threat to Edmure Tully was my single favorite part of AFfC.

5. Oh, btw, can anybody aside from Ned and Barristan keep a damn vow? It seems like the whole point of the vow of chastity in these books is to make people feel really guilty.

3. I've started liking Jaime more since Catelyn let him go in Swords. I can't wait to see what he'll be up to next. REALLY BIG POSSIBLE SPOILER, DON'T READ IF YOU'RE SENSITIVE ABOUT THEM: I think he's going to be the one to finally choke Cersei. The prophecy she keeps thinking about in Crows says her "younger brother" will kill her. She always curses Tyrion right after that but she was born before Jaime!

[Doresain]

I think he's going to be the one to finally choke Cersei. The prophecy she keeps thinking about in Crows says her "younger brother" will kill her. She always curses Tyrion right after that but she was born before Jaime!

-Thats an excellent point, I had forgotten that she was first out of the womb.

Havelock-

Yeah, Jaime has one heck of an arc. His line in SoS really says it all I think: "I set out to become Ser Arthur Dayne and ended uo the Smiling Knight." Please excuse my paraphrase.


The next book is going to be excellent. Bran and Coldhands (what the heck is he? Benjen Stark?), Dany possibly linking up with the Iron Fleet, John on the wall, Tyrion...

Where is Tyrion? With Varys and Illyrio perhaps?

[Havelock]

3. I've started liking Jaime more since Catelyn let him go in Swords. I can't wait to see what he'll be up to next. REALLY BIG POSSIBLE SPOILER, DON'T READ IF YOU'RE SENSITIVE ABOUT THEM: I think he's going to be the one to finally choke Cersei. The prophecy she keeps thinking about in Crows says her "younger brother" will kill her. She always curses Tyrion right after that but she was born before Jaime!

Yeah, that thought crossed my mind, too. Martin rules.

[Ieranii]

Not to derail or anything...but what's with all that purple text that I can't read? :o

[Havelock]

It's spoiler text to protect you from learning in advance that which you should learn in its proper dramatic context. ;)

[l0cke]

waaaaa I didn't know book four was out!

/me goes to the store and gets it.

TY

/salute

[jigger]

OMG yall read martin this rocks. Any of you guys read any other fantasy like Erikson or some of the other guys?

[Doresain]

OMG yall read martin this rocks. Any of you guys read any other fantasy like Erikson or some of the other guys?

I read Weiss/Hickman way back in the day. Used to read Jordan and Goodkind, although I'm behind in their series as of now. Tolkien of course. I'm a huge Gaiman fan.

[Miron]

I've read lots of stuff, but one of my more recent favorites is Gene Wolfe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Wolfe). If you consider yourself a strong reader I highly recommend his work.

I'm a huge Gaiman fan.

I have not read too much of Gaiman, but I read "American Gods" this fall and enjoyed it very much.

[jigger]

Gaimen's new one Anasias boys it shows how great gaimen is. And wolfs wizard-knight series was very good as well(love how he dont make everything super detailed and lets you fill in the blanks for alot) What about R Scott Baker (the prince of nothing series is simply breathtaking)
And Doresain love the pic of littlefinger there

[Doresain]

I have not read too much of Gaiman, but I read "American Gods" this fall and enjoyed it very much.

If you liked American Gods I would reccomend Neverwhere. It was the first Gaiman work I read and was, in my opinion, excellent.

And Doresain love the pic of littlefinger there.

Thanks, glad someone noticed! :) I love Amok's work and wanted something quick and easy for the first version of my sig. Petyr Baelish in front of Winterfell seemed appropriate.

[jigger]

Buy the Art of ice and fire (its like 20$ and its amazing collection of artwork alot of amok'stuff yet