BOOKS: A Song of Ice and Fire

[Matrix_Refugee]

I kind of see that. Cersei is the conniving, sexualized incesterized woman. Dany was the innocent doe taken in by a ‘pedophile’ type situation. (though in the middle ages early teens did marry to older men.

Still I do prefer Dany and Anya to any of the other females in the book. Sansa has her head in the clouds. Catelyn I had a dislike for, as I see her as a boor a bit.

Mmm, indeed, re: medieval women marrying younger; if I remember correctly, St. Benedict of Clairvaux’s parents were aged fifteen years apart (Alice, his mother was fifteen and his father Tescelin was in his thirties: shocking to modern sensibilities, but kids tended to mature younger back then).

I have to admit, my personal jury is out on Dany’s characterization, but she’s become a much more shrewd individual as the story progresses. I’m two-thirds the way through A Clash of Kings, and am waiting to get A Dance of Dragons in paperback so I can switch back and forth between it and A Feast of Crows. The books are doorstops in hardback and my shelves are getting crowded, so I really gotta wait till the mass-market paperback comes out.

 

[TrueLight]

I love this series.

I have to admit I did get mad at him a couple of times. He is the only author I know who kills off so many of his main characters!

 

[rocklobster]

Currently halfway through the latest book. Very good story, but you almost want to have a character sheet around sometimes. I’m really hoping HBO releases their A Game of Thrones miniseries on DVD soon.

 

[Matrix_Refugee]

Currently halfway through the latest book. Very good story, but you almost want to have a character sheet around sometimes. I’m really hoping HBO releases their A Game of Thrones miniseries on DVD soon.

Yeeeeeaaaah, I tend to flip back and forth to the appendices a lot to keep track of that cast of thousands.

 

[ZhaneAugustine]

Mmm, indeed, re: medieval women marrying younger; if I remember correctly, St. Benedict of Clairvaux’s parents were aged fifteen years apart (Alice, his mother was fifteen and his father Tescelin was in his thirties: shocking to modern sensibilities, but kids tended to mature younger back then).

I have to admit, my personal jury is out on Dany’s characterization, but she’s become a much more shrewd individual as the story progresses. I’m two-thirds the way through A Clash of Kings, and am waiting to get A Dance of Dragons in paperback so I can switch back and forth between it and A Feast of Crows. The books are doorstops in hardback and my shelves are getting crowded, so I really gotta wait till the mass-market paperback comes out.

Or you could always spring for a Kindle or a Nook, and save a lot of space, ^^

 

[ZhaneAugustine]

Currently halfway through the latest book. Very good story, but you almost want to have a character sheet around sometimes. I’m really hoping HBO releases their A Game of Thrones miniseries on DVD soon.

It will be released March 6, 2012

 

[Matrix_Refugee]

Or you could always spring for a Kindle or a Nook, and save a lot of space, ^^

I’ll admit that I’m a bit resistant to investing in an e-book reader: I’m far from adverse to the device, but the thing is, I read a lot while riding on the bus, and I don’t really feel safe using it in those circumstances (ie. in case it got damaged, someone stole it, etc).

 

[ZhaneAugustine]

I’ll admit that I’m a bit resistant to investing in an e-book reader: I’m far from adverse to the device, but the thing is, I read a lot while riding on the bus, and I don’t really feel safe using it in those circumstances (ie. in case it got damaged, someone stole it, etc).

That is understanable. My 8 year old little brothers who my parents adopted both tried to steal mine. The younger one actually had it in his hands, and I did what I could to get it out, fearing it might drop. Both are a pain and need tons of work and prayers.

 

[Oren]

I like Dany a lot…but I’m never that interested in female characters anyway. I like Tyrion and Jaime the best. I found the Arya Sansa juxtaposition to be kind of cliched…the tomboy and the girly girl…but I ended up feeling more for Sansa as it went on because of the situation she was thrust into. Arya is fine as a character too. Catelyn…I didn’t like her because of how she treated Jon Snow.

 

[ZhaneAugustine]

I like Dany a lot…but I’m never that interested in female characters anyway. I like Tyrion and Jaime the best. I found the Arya Sansa juxtaposition to be kind of cliched…the tomboy and the girly girl…but I ended up feeling more for Sansa as it went on because of the situation she was thrust into. Arya is fine as a character too. Catelyn…I didn’t like her because of how she treated Jon Snow.

I can understand how she felt about Jon, even though I didn’t agree with it. It shows a bit od depth there for a woman who was to this point for me, not very interesting to begin with.

 

[Oren]

Nah, I just found her shrill. Why wouldn’t she treat Ned badly for what he did? Why treat Jon Snow badly when he didn’t do anything wrong? Completely twisted.

 

[Aelred_Minor]

I was going to start a thread on this but I see it’s already here. I started skimming the posts when things I haven’t gotten to started being referenced, since I don’t want surprises spoiled if I do end up reading through the series.

I got the first four books for Christmas and am about a third of the way through the first one now. So far the universe seems very dark and brutal, in a way Middle Earth for example never was even under the oppression of the gloom of Mordor- because even there, there were small glimmers of real light, but not here. Even in the much shallower Pern books of Anne McCaffrey, which are probably the fairer kind of thing to compare this with, you tended to fall in love with her world at least a little, unlike this world, which seems only worthy of hate. Whether its god(s) don’t exist or are evil, in any case this universe seems cold and cruel, with the few good elements in it fragile and ultimately doomed by the surrounding darkness. There are innocent characters, but from the feel of it all they seem to have a hopeless fate ahead of them, and they are already loosing that innocence.

Does anyone concur with this impression? Have I just not read far enough in the books? Am I being overly sensitive? I admit I’m being drawn into the drama and unanswered questions of it all, and the more supernatural plotline regarding the Others interests me, but is the series really the moral and spiritual vacuum it’s striking me as at first?

 

[ZhaneAugustine]

I was going to start a thread on this but I see it’s already here. I started skimming the posts when things I haven’t gotten to started being referenced, since I don’t want surprises spoiled if I do end up reading through the series.

I got the first four books for Christmas and am about a third of the way through the first one now. So far the universe seems very dark and brutal, in a way Middle Earth for example never was even under the oppression of the gloom of Mordor- because even there, there were small glimmers of real light, but not here. Even in the much shallower Pern books of Anne McCaffrey, which are probably the fairer kind of thing to compare this with, you tended to fall in love with her world at least a little, unlike this world, which seems only worthy of hate. Whether its god(s) don’t exist or are evil, in any case this universe seems cold and cruel, with the few good elements in it fragile and ultimately doomed by the surrounding darkness. There are innocent characters, but from the feel of it all they seem to have a hopeless fate ahead of them, and they are already loosing that innocence.

Does anyone concur with this impression? Have I just not read far enough in the books? Am I being overly sensitive? I admit I’m being drawn into the drama and unanswered questions of it all, and the more supernatural plotline regarding the Others interests me, but is the series really the moral and spiritual vacuum it’s striking me as at first?

Well great minds think alike!

Anyway in all seriousness, I don’t think your too far off but at the same time, with two more books to go, I think what will happen is the villains get theirs in the end, and the good guys will return to restore what order can be restored in a to be honest real life medieval world and situation.

 

[Aelred_Minor]

Well great minds think alike!

Anyway in all seriousness, I don’t think your too far off but at the same time, with two more books to go, I think what will happen is the villains get theirs in the end, and the good guys will return to restore what order can be restored in a to be honest real life medieval world and situation.

You honestly think so? I’d be glad if it happened. There’s this interesting peasant’s myth that’s been mentioned that someday there would be an eternal summer and winter would never come again, which so far all the characters seem to dismiss as an absurd fantasy. If it turned out to be true or if in some other way there was some kind of salvation in the end it would transform the whole story. But from what I’ve been able to find about the author I don’t know that he’d be interested in that kind of ending.

Edit: Darn. I just noticed I wrote “loosing” instead of “losing” in my first post. That’s one of those things that I know very well, but constantly still mix up when I’m not being careful.

 

[ZhaneAugustine]

You honestly think so? I’d be glad if it happened. There’s this interesting peasant’s myth that’s been mentioned that someday there would be an eternal summer and winter would never come again, which so far all the characters seem to dismiss as an absurd fantasy. If it turned out to be true or if in some other way there was some kind of salvation in the end it would transform the whole story. But from what I’ve been able to find about the author I don’t know that he’d be interested in that kind of ending.

Edit: Darn. I just noticed I wrote “loosing” instead of “losing” in my first post. That’s one of those things that I know very well, but constantly still mix up when I’m not being careful.

I do think so yes.
I may not end up all peaches and roses, especially when you have so many factions fighting so fiercely in such a little time, but I do think that Mr. Martin will deliever a satisfactionary ending that will reunite the nations as one. Perhaps under Dany and Jon Snow.

Of course getting to that eternal Summer may bring a lot of chaos, even at the hands of those who bring it, as I know he wants to create a very realistic look at the middle ages, instead of all the songs and mythical aspects of chivalry(not saying all chivalry is myth but a lot is amped up) to show what it looked like to us.

 

[Baelor]

The books do not change in tone substantially. The fifth one feels different than the rest, but that is more a matter of content and location than style.

I find the world surprisingly similar to our own. Perhaps I am reading the novels incorrectly.

 

[Aelred_Minor]

I do think so yes.
I may not end up all peaches and roses, especially when you have so many factions fighting so fiercely in such a little time, but I do think that Mr. Martin will deliever a satisfactionary ending that will reunite the nations as one. Perhaps under Dany and Jon Snow.

Of course getting to that eternal Summer may bring a lot of chaos, even at the hands of those who bring it, as I know he wants to create a very realistic look at the middle ages, instead of all the songs and mythical aspects of chivalry(not saying all chivalry is myth but a lot is amped up) to show what it looked like to us.

Aw! I didn’t want to know that Dany and Jon Snow survived and didn’t turn evil, at least so far in the series. I had guessed already that the kingdom ruled by King Robert would break up. The title of A Clash of Kings was enough to suggest that, since at present as far as I’ve gotten there only seems to be one king in this world, unless you count the miserable Viserys.

Oh well, I guess that’s the danger of these kinds of threads. Thanks for the insights though. I think I’ll continue reading for the time being. Hopefully the series will in fact be finished, or continued with someone who can claim canonicity for his or her writings. I’ve heard a rumor that Mr. Martin is not in good health.

 

[ZhaneAugustine]

Aw! I didn’t want to know that Dany and Jon Snow survived and didn’t turn evil, at least so far in the series. I had guessed already that the kingdom ruled by King Robert would break up. The title of A Clash of Kings was enough to suggest that, since at present as far as I’ve gotten there only seems to be one king in this world, unless you count the miserable Viserys.

Oh well, I guess that’s the danger of these kinds of threads. Thanks for the insights though. I think I’ll continue reading for the time being. Hopefully the series will in fact be finished, or continued with someone who can claim canonicity for his or her writings. I’ve heard a rumor that Mr. Martin is not in good health.

Well I was only guessing as I’m only into page four of A Clash of Kings. So they may or may not survive by the end.
I haven’t heard any of those rumors… I do hope he will make it to the end

 

[Baelor]

Jon is the most insufferable character to me. :banghead: I cannot stand him, but like his chapters. Dany is by far my favorite character, although Littlefinger, Varys, and Quaithe would be the next closest.

 

[Sanveann]

the guy can’t seem to write really credible female characters. With the exception of Catelyn Stark and Brienne of Tarth, they have this fetishy feel about them, it’s hard to describe unless you’ve read the books.

This is so, so true. I love the books, but all of the women in them feel like stereotypes lifted right out of “The Novelists’ Big Book O’ Female Characters.” Brienne and Arya are probably my favorites, though it seems like they’re going to a dark place with Arya.

I do like Dany as well, probably, but her city-administration storyline in the last book was sooooo duuuuuuuuulll.

And, as a mom, I find myself worrying about Rickon way too much. I know there were some hints dropped in “A Dance With Dragons” (I think that was the book) but I want confirmation that that kid is OK, darnit!