stewartwolmark

Okay, so this was a very tedious read. It was all over the place, which is saying something for this series and its’ sprawling cast of thousands and hundreds of locations. There was a ton of set-up, and I hope we get some payoff in the next one. As the companion book to A Feast for Crows, it was the lesser of the two. AFfC mostly focused on people in the South and on the Iron Islands, and it felt pretty cohesive, even though it didn’t have a lot of action. A Dance With Dragons was supposed to focus on everyone else, but it was very fragmented. There were a few chapters from characters we saw in the fourth book, and I would sooner have just not seen them at all, and waited until the next book. Also, many of the POV were had titles rather than names, i.e. “The Merchant’s Man” or “The Iron Suitor” or “The Queensguard”. This was kinda cool in the fourth book, but now it’s just annoying. A few time it serves as a reveal, or when a character drastically changes (Theon, Arya, even Sansa), but the ones where it just reflects where they are, what their job is, etc, are pointless. It’s like calling Ned’s chapters “The Lord of Winterfell” in the beginning and “The Headless Guy” in the end. Asha, Barristan, and Quentyn all had different names for every one of their chapters….just, why? I do appreciate the ever growing world and complications, and how many characters are finally overlapping with Essos and Westeros, instead of Dany being on Essos and everyone else on Westeros (now if only she could bridge that gap. It seems so easy for every other character). Which brings me back to my main problem with this book. There was a lot of really potentially interesting set-ups and ideas that never came to anything. A whole lot of not doing anything, or waiting to do something, or wondering if they should be doing something. Dany, espeically...I feel for her. She’s obviously struggling to learn how tough it is to rule, especially as a woman, and especially as one with a heart for the people. But I am also frustrated with her stagnation. Just move the story along! I don’t mind if it’s not super realistic, which is why I also don’t mind if I never read another detailed paragraph about her diarrhea again in my life. All that being said, it’s still one of the most fascinating series, and the writing was beautiful as always, and I love the expansion of some characters. Wyman Manderly to be sure. Griff and everything he brings with him (love me some Westerosi history). I thoroughly enjoyed Theon’s stuff, and the wildlings, and Kevan Lannister’s epilogue.

2022-11-14 17:14