Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

My friend decided he wanted to check out other fantasy novels, after a lifetime of only Tolkien. I reccommended the first book in ASoI&F and he adored it.

...right up until the end of GoT, at which point he was so pissed off at Martin that he DID throw he book at the wall and refuse to read any others in the series.

hi nataliya...you might want to try the legends of the red sun series which starts with Nights of Villjamur...i've read the first 2 now, and i think they are really great.

Well, the book I was reading belonged to a friend, who would definitely be unhappy with me if I had damaged her copy.
And I would be unhappy with myself if I had damaged the wall of my rented apartment and lost my deposit.

No book throwing for the above reasons.

Bill wrote: "hi nataliya...you might want to try the legends of the red sun series which starts with Nights of Villjamur...i've read the first 2 now, and i think they are really great."

Added! Will give it a shot.

Ha ha, that friend had anger management problems -- he'd already dented the wall by throwing a mouse, a remote, a keyboard and a Wii-mote at it. ;)

Amazing amazing review, really your intro captures everything I went through, "This book made me want to throw it against the wall in anger and disbelief. It made me root for the death of a child (and then despise myself), love a hated character, cry angry tears, and bite my nails because of all the suspense."

And bad bad girl for missing class!

Ian wrote: "My friend decided he wanted to check out other fantasy novels, after a lifetime of only Tolkien. I reccommended the first book in ASoI&F and he adored it.

...right up until the end of GoT, at whic..."

My husband did this with the end of #5. He was so frustrated -- I have no idea way b/c I am slowly going through the series and only up through Storm. The ending of Game of Thrones is a harsh intro to GRRM's brutal world.

Thanks, Regina!

Oh, and the end of Book 5... I know exactly the source of your husband's frustration. You will see... And we all will find out how THAT ultimately plays out soon in 6-7 years, if the current book release trend is any indication.

You explained so well my exact reaction to this book, especially with Jaime, which is also why this series will always be tops for me.

I know exactly which part you are talking about because I just passed that part and I had the same reaction! Ahhhh! Must keep reading. :)

was I the only one who cried a little when Jon and Ghost was reunited? God I dont how I'm gonna make it through AFFC without them =(

Idunsses wrote: "was I the only one who cried a little when Jon and Ghost was reunited? God I dont how I'm gonna make it through AFFC without them =("

The Jon-less AFFC was not as fun of a read. At least Jaime's chapters made it worth reading for me. But at least now you have the option to immediately move on ADWD for more Jon-related action (I wish I were that lucky years ago when I read AFFC).

Ahh, jesus. you could've said the spoiler was for a future book, rather than the one you're talking about(that also happens to be one of the ones I've finished)

Joseph wrote: "Ahh, jesus. you could've said the spoiler was for a future book, rather than the one you're talking about(that also happens to be one of the ones I've finished)"

Joseph - which spoiler are you talking about? I tried to be careful and vague enough to not give away any of the plot points of the books that follow this one. I can't pinpoint the particular spoiler you're talking about, but please let me know so that I can remove it or put a double warning there.

"Both of them at the end of this story carry such potential for the future of this series. [Having read book 5..." It's not too revealing, so don't worry about it too much, it just hasn't let me rest easy and has made it even harder to resist going on asoiaf.wikia, to find out what happens. I may have misinterpreted it though (and am clinging onto the hope that I have).

Ah, really? I did not think of it as really much of a spoiler. The thing it, shortly before writing this review, I was venting on GR about book 5 which I did not care much about (too many POVs, too little story progression, too much of the same thing going on, in my opinion). This is really what I was referring to - the set up for the story of both Jon and Dany was excellent in book 3 but in book 5 Martin did not follow up that much on what book 3 promised, getting caught up instead in side plots. In my opinion, book 5 would have benefitted from heavy editing and gentle but firm redirecting of Martin's naarrative flow (or should I say, narrative stagnation). That's the wasted potential, without further spoilers.

Oh ok. Glad to hear I misinterpreted you. I kinda got the impression was wasted due to a sudden death. I probably wouldn't have made that mistake if we were talking about any other author, but it was enough to get me worried.

Phew, I immediately interpreted the book 5 spoiler to mean that both Jon and Dany die!! At least I've come to expect that no character is safe... :D

Emma wrote: "Phew, I immediately interpreted the book 5 spoiler to mean that both Jon and Dany die!! At least I've come to expect that no character is safe... :D"

Oh, I wouldn't so casually spoil something as huge as THAT! it's just that Martin's writing in the last 2 books is becoming too clogged by filler - that's what I'm griping about.

Even if it HAD been a casual spoiler it serves me right for reading it after you'd hidden it, haha! But, yeah, I figured it was just my overactive sense of pending doom (that I always have to shake off after reading these books) which was making me assume the worst. I'm glad to know ahead of time that the next books won't be as well-paced as A Storm of Swords, that way my expectations won't be so disappointed. Thanks for that!!
I can't believe how much GRRM is trying to juggle. Maybe my next review will make a list of all the side plots he didn't need :P However, I hold high hopes that the next book will lend them some more importance...perhaps nothing is as mundane as it seems at first glance, but I might end up being guilty of some skimming.

Great review ;)

Thanks, Emma! I agree with you on all the side plots. I think he adds way too many of them, and expresses them through too many POV characters. It gets tiring to read, honestly. I think he needs a firm input from his editors redirecting him in this series towards the finish line.

Great review! I loved how my opinion on Jamie changed after reading this book. i just wish it didn't take the whole book for (view spoiler)[Arya to reunite with Ja'quen. The hound is more interesting with Sansa. That girl got more compuence than she deserved. As for Tyrion and Shae... the overwhelming self hatred and feelings he had for Shae it didn't surprise me. She really betrayed him. I'm trying not to judge him or Ayra for killing though in our time frame that would be a more burdensome thing. Jon's my man. I'm worried reading your spoiler about book 5. I already read a spoiler by accident about Robb dying... i was looking up my theory that Lyanna Starke might be Jon's mom and found out Robb died. I still don't know what to make of Varys but littlefinger is a creep. (hide spoiler)]

Great review, imagine my shock to discover after 700 pages or so... That Jamie Lannister had become one of my favorite characters! also i can't question what the imp does in the last pages you mess with the imp you're gonna get impslapped, it is known.

Fenixxx wrote: "Great review, imagine my shock to discover after 700 pages or so... That Jamie Lannister had become one of my favorite characters! also i can't question what the imp does in the last pages you mess..."

Thanks! Yes, I had the same shock with Jaime - Martin does do an excellent job turning a villain into a quite sympathetic character, doesn't he?

wow! I felt exactly the same when IT happened. I thought I had misread or something. I just sat there, book falling shut on my lap, not able to comprehend how he could've written such a thing!! I didn't want to read on being so cross but I just couldn't stop either. worst thing was not to spoil my boyfriend who awaits me having finished storm of swords.

Yes, when IT happened it was pretty soul-crashing. I still resent him for that a bit. It was so senseless, honestly!

Are we talking about the IT from ADWD..? Because I DID throw my book against the wall! Still holding out hope that IT wasn't truly what it seemed. :(

No, in this case we are talking about IT from A Storm of Swords (view spoiler)[The Red Wedding (hide spoiler)].

I don't really think IT from ADWD is actually real ((view spoiler)[Jon Snow, right? (hide spoiler)]). I'm sure IT will be reversed with a help of a certain Red Priestess come book 6. Because otherwise the whole long 5-book plotline including the character involved in IT would have been entirely pointless, and that would be beyond frustrating.

I think this is the best book in the series

Anton wrote: "I think this is the best book in the series"

I agree; it's the strongest of the five so far.

I read the same as you! I had to get up and pace the room, make a cup of tea and get over the shock of what I just read!! AMAZING BOOK!! xx

Hermione wrote: "I read the same as you! I had to get up and pace the room, make a cup of tea and get over the shock of what I just read!! AMAZING BOOK!! xx"

I clearly agree :D

Excellent review! Unbelievable story!

Kris wrote: "Excellent review! Unbelievable story!"

Thanks, Kris!

Then tell me, if your heart still aches when you listen to "The Rains of Castamere" by The National. Because, like you, I'm still in disbelief.

Abdulaziz wrote: "Then tell me, if your heart still aches when you listen to "The Rains of Castamere" by The National. Because, like you, I'm still in disbelief."

I had no idea it was an actual song...

I never knew that until I got the 2nd season's OST.. it's part of the official soundtrack so I guess they will play it in the next season. :(

Agh! I thought the spoiler was for this book, not for the next books. With GRRM's track record, I take it to mean one or the other dies (or both). This series is killing me! Anyway, thanks for your review! I just finished reading it a few minutes ago and ran to Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ to see what others had to say. You put my exact thoughts into words in a way I couldn't have. :)

Penelope wrote: "Agh! I thought the spoiler was for this book, not for the next books. With GRRM's track record, I take it to mean one or the other dies (or both). This series is killing me! Anyway, thanks for your..."

Thanks, Penelope! And as for the spoiler - I tried to be vague, but it does not necessarily mean death (I'm still trying to be vague as you only read the first three books). Basically, book 5 disappointed me - maybe because I spent so many years waiting for it, and it just did not live to the promise this book hinted at. There was a lot of meandering and plotting but very little in the way of happenings and resolutions, including the storylines of Jon and Dany. That's really the wasted potential I'm referring to. ADWD was not a bad book, really, but it could have been easily edited into a much more compact volume, and could have been easily combined with Book 4 given how little either of them moved the story forward.

I wonder, however, if the experience of the people who did not have to wait for the long years between books 4 and 5 will be different than mine. But right now, for me book 3 remains the high point of this series.

Great review Nataliya! I too loved this series, very quickly becoming a gushing fan, my praise would gusheth-over at times, into phrases going well past the praise stage, bursting out of me sounding more like a stalker, a freaky, awe-ish, babble, my heart-felt attempt to convey just how high the heights could be, where I had placed this pedestal for Mr. Martin to sway amidst my reverent and fan-gushing love. I tell you true, I fell hard for these books.
Now—delayed gratification as a concept, a philosophy of day to day living is one I studiously avoided most of my life. But of course people change as they get older, hopefully getting a little wiser. These changes are not only internal, but external as well, visible in ones circumstances and what have you. NOW I do subscribe to every worthy value inherent in delayed gratification. It doesn't always have to be "now," or even soon. Or let's say, I'm capable of doing so, when the need arises.
So... I read Books 1-4 in like 2 weeks, maybe 2 1/2, a crazed, reading, madwoman, I couldn't stop. (No DG there!) I was hooked! However, realizing Book 6 wasn't even written yet, realizing only God and GRRM has a clue about any of THAT, I decided to wait on Book 5 until Book 6 got here, as I'm sure I'll go back and read them from the beginning, whenever that day comes. (When—Not IF—I *BELIEVE*)
Funny though, this is not a book I would have read. I had ignored it for years..."Not my genre," I'd say with a yawn. Then it (Book 1) came up in a book club I was in. And Oh Wow, was I hooked! Looking back though, several of us were of an opinion this was one of those rare books that weren't right for a BC read, especially if trying to make it a stand-alone. Because if (some of) you have gone on to Books 2, 3 or 4, it's hard to keep the discussion relevant only to Book 1, as things change so quickly and are no longer relevant if you HAVE gone on.
You said:
"The previously unseen connections between characters and events are mind-blowing"
Absolutely. I always say it's like chess on acid. Stacks of chess boards, connected at the corners making a huge tower. All these boards. All these games. All these pawns/players/characters. All these lives. Every move affects another. But no one knows where that move is coming from or who will be affected by it. What will be affected? How will the who or the what be affected? And with all these pawns/players/characters moving all the time, sometimes (ofttimes) at the same time, the world can (and does) change on a dime. The turn of a page. Nothing is ever as it seems.
Between you and Steven I feel this compelling urge to re-read a few of my (longer) books. Arghh, no time, at this time. I'll have to make-do with your great review.

I can't wait to finish this book so I can read the spoilers!! :)

What a fantastic review! I was also as pissed as you were. When I finished reading the mentioned part it was 3 a.m. and I really needed to sleep. I couldn`t! I was for 1 hour on my bed hating everything like it happened in real life. I came back to loving the book later, though.

An amazing review. Thank you for hiding spoilers. I've just purchased "ASOS" and "AFFC" yesterday and would rather not see the spoilers, as many people have up on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. Your review really makes me want to read the book! Crossing my fingers that they'll come quickly!

Arielle wrote: "An amazing review. Thank you for hiding spoilers. I've just purchased "ASOS" and "AFFC" yesterday and would rather not see the spoilers, as many people have up on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. Your review really make..."

Thanks, Arielle! Hiding spoilers was a rare feat of self-discipline for me, actually (I'm one of those readers who does not mind being spoiled - but it seems that we are a minority in the book-reading world).

ASOS is my favorite novel of the current five even if bad things happen to "good" people.

StoryTellerShannon wrote: "ASOS is my favorite novel of the current five even if bad things happen to "good" people."

I agree - I thought it was the strongest entry in the series so far, the high point before the (relatively) much-disliked fourth book.

I agree that AFFC was a drop but I'd still give it a B to B plus, especially if you like the world building. The big issue with that one was that GRRM used the "B Team" and slowed down the story pace and then you get some people saying "Nothing happens" which really means they wanted the plot to move along faster and probably with their one or two favorite characters.

The slowing of the pace was a big issue in AFFC - I think mostly due to expansion of the storyline to include the sizeable side cast. By the time everyone gets a POV, there's not too much room to move the story forward.

I'm in a camp who wishes he'd just split the AFFC-ADWD book in two based on chronology and not geography - it would have been a tad more bearable to go through the slow pacing knowing that Tyrion or Jon (or even Dany) chapters were to come.

Had GRRM not taken so long between his books, the slow story progression after the events of ASOS would have not seemed so frustrating. But the long wait between volumes invariably leads to readers building up so many expectations that it's near impossible to meet them all.

Off topic, I'm rereading Druon's 'The Iron King' which apparently GRRM calls 'the original Game of Thrones' - and my childhood wide-eyed impression of it still stands. Nice intrigues - no wonder they have inspired GRRM. (And all seven books have been finished for decades, and we can always consult history textbooks to learn what happened after the end of the series ;)

I'll check it out with the other twenty billion books. Thanks.

Nataliya wrote: "Arielle wrote: "An amazing review. Thank you for hiding spoilers. I've just purchased "ASOS" and "AFFC" yesterday and would rather not see the spoilers, as many people have up on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. Your re..."

You're welcome, Nataliya. I'm about thirty pages away from starting A Clash of Kings. I literally flew through Game of Thrones (the first book). I'll have to check out 'The Iron King' in future, for future reading! Sounds awesome!