feast for crows

[verbicide]

Finished.



So that's done. I've started Dance with Dragons, but I'll comment on that separately.

FfC was a tough book to get through. First, there were all the Greyjoy chapters to suffer past, by skimming largely. And then ...nothing much seemed to happen. Especially after the flurry of SCREAMING BIG EVENTS in A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows felt like a letdown.

And I knew that half the character arcs would be missing, and thought gleefully that it would be okay since Dance with Dragons was already out. But the book felt so incomplete. And the knowledge that I was just going to be going back in time to read about things that had already happened, but from a different perspective is a bummer.

Not to mention the hilarity of GRRM's note at the end of FfC, back in 2005, where he says that the next book will hopefully be out in a year.

So, what happened even?

- Euron Greyjoy is king. And I don't care. Don't know if I believe his horn can control dragons.
- Cersei is hoisted with her own petard. That was satisfying to read about. As was Jamie putting her letter for help into the fire.
- Curious to see how badly things are going to get fucked up with the Faith of the Seven.
- I was convinced Cersei was going to murder Tommen's kittens and was glad that didn't happen.
- I still don't know if I love or trust Margaery outside of enjoying watching her thwart Cersei. Hope she gets out of her dungeon okay.
- I never felt connected to Loras Tyrell so his injury didn't have much impact on me. He seems decent, enough. We'll see if he lives.
- Though I feel if he dies, his character was sort of a weird waste.
- I did like seeing Jamie's decency and desire to uphold his oath to Catelyn. I was glad when Blackfish escaped, too.
- Brienne. Oh, Brienne. I do nothing but worry about you. HATE that we don't know what happens to her, hate that sort of plot-dangle, when maybe we won't know until the 6th book? Unless some cross-over character-timeline-thingie works to tell us in DwD.

Tangent: One of the things I've liked about the books is that they each felt very satisfying and left characters at the start of a new interesting plot point, versus just leaving us hanging. Or maybe it just felt that way since I've torn through the first 4 books so fast?

- Petyr continues to absolutely gross me out, however clever he is. Nice to see Sansa at least learning and starting to see things more cleverly.
- Cannot wait for Robert Arryn to die. What a miserable and wretched existence.
- Dorne: I was interested at first, but totally did not care by the end. In reading the Wikipedia summary of FfC I see that there's some greater secret plan with Quentyn, which I totally missed because I was skimming so much of those chapters.
- So Pate is clearly Jaqen H’ghar. Curious to see where that goes.
- I refuse to believe Arya is blind until I see more proof.

And that was all, right? Meh.

Comments

[silmaril.livejournal.com]

So glad that I'm not the only one that irritated by the Greyjoy chapters. (I believe my reaction was along the lines of "Shut up all you overgrown squid people no one cares about you or your horn." I wouldn't complain if one of Dany's dragons ate Euron, though. That would be fun.)

Though I feel if he dies, his character was sort of a weird waste.

You can say this of... so, so many people and things in ASOIAF.

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

Ooo, I now will wait hopefully for one of the dragons to eat Euron.

And, you are so right about that last part.

[pinkminx.livejournal.com]

"Ooo, I now will wait hopefully for one of the dragons to eat Euron."

That would be awesome.

[rolypolypony.livejournal.com]

I read this entry despite being only 2/3 of the way through the book, because I JUST DON'T CARE ANY MORE! Ugh. I'm only reading now to see how things turn out for Jaime, Brienne, and Tyrion. Westeros can fall into fiery hell for all I care about it at this point!!!

(ok, that was a little harsher than I actually feel - I like the book when I'm reading it, but if I think about it when I;m not, it just annoys me! SOMETHING HAPPEN!!)

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

The wikipedia summary does a good job of catching you up on everything that matters. This book was so disappointing after SoS!!!

(And Tyrion isn't even in this book--though he's already heavily featured in DwD.)

I am resolved to finish, even though I feel so petulant that I will now have to wait along with other longer-suffering fans to see wtf happens!!

[rolypolypony.livejournal.com]

I know!! I hate no Tyrion! I keep telling myself I have to get through this one to see him in the next!

I bet it'll be like 900 years before the 6th book comes out. BAH.

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

I KNOW! We can stomp around and punch imaginary walls together.

So mad. SO MAD!! SMASH BOOK!

[rolypolypony.livejournal.com]

SMASH!!!!!!!!!

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

PUNCH!!!

[muffet.livejournal.com]

It was definately a change of pace from A Storm of Swords. I think you summed up quite neatly all the feelings and events in the book. Hopefully it was a bit of a bridge to some more interesting events in Dance with Dragons. I will say though that I did appreicate the breather from all the mayhem and sudden deaths! I needed that :)

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

I think I'd rather face more carnage than so much inconsequence!

So far, nothing very exciting happening in DwD, but I remain hopeful :)

[richboye.livejournal.com]

I have comments, but they shall have to wait as I am "over-served" on Oktoberfest Becks... and keep losing my train of thought, which as you know, is awesome... until it derails.

[richboye.livejournal.com]

reminder: much of whhat you say is prescient!

Also re: Secret Plan with Quentyn: re-read that: it's central to the a plot axis on aDwD.

Here's my CHOW* on it.

* afgrrm's coordinated re-read, the CHapter Of the Week (CHOW).

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

Are you sober yet?? Curious for your comments!

[richboye.livejournal.com]

Okay, sorry about that - long weekend.

Regarding the whole shebang with Margaery and Cersei's arrest (based upon Cersei's Evil Plotting), and also the news regarding Ser Loras' wounds, if you pay attention,.... Lady Taena Merryweather is smack dab in the middlle of it all.

There is much theorization that she was a Tyrell plant (hah!) at Cersei's side and the whole "Ser Loras' is mortally wounded" thing is a ruse so that they might use him as Margaery's champion.

If you watch, Taena is there at Cersei's side and immediately starts trying to defang Cersei's awful, horrible plot against Maragery and her ladies.

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, she's totally a Tyrell plant. I didn't cotton on to the notion that Loras wasn't actually injured, but that would be pretty badass!

[richboye.livejournal.com]

it's generally based upon the bit that the information that we see Cersei being given (and, if ou re-read that scene, it seems like the Tyrells had the information first - they didn't just get woken like Cersei did) is inconsistent with what was told about the Fall of Dragonstone to other characters.

It's also likely that the Tyrells lied to Cersei about the Fall of Dragonstone so Cersei would let them re-assign the fleet to protect the Reach, or that they somehow secured Dragonstone through other means (bribery?) and the whole thing about Deep Fried Loras was a) make the fall seem like it happened or b) hold him in reserve so *Cersei* doesn't think of using him as *her* champion.

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

Very curious.

DwD is going slow, but I just can't wait to be done with it and read all the stuff that's out there.