Expect the series to go 8 books, not 7. ADWD doesn't come close enough to leaving the series in a place to end in two books. If this sounds surprising to you, just remember, the series was supposed to only be 3 in the beginning.
So I know I'm waaaaaay late to the party, but I don't have HBO so I picked up the first book yesterday. My future (a week or so off) roommates have it, and I figured I'd watch the show then and catch up to where I was in the book. Not so much, since I just finished it - I've pretty much done nothing but read since I opened it, since I work in a library and they're very tolerant of me reading provided I also manage to get some work done. Holy shit balls baby Jesus. In 2 weeks when I've finished the series I'm gonna be pissed that I have to wait 5 years for the TV show to catch up. Fucking gripping. Only a book in and it may very well dethrone the Dark Tower as my favorite epic book series. I don't know how the hell you guys who've been with it from the beginning have waited this long. Jesus. A completely non-story gripe I have, though, is whoever wrote the fucking blurb for the back of A Clash of Kings should be shot. I picked it up today with ~200 pages left in Game of Thrones, glanced at the back without thinking, and somehow managed in 1.5 seconds to see "two great leaders... are dead." I know it's been out for 15 years, and that I shouldn't have been reading the back without finishing the first, but damn it I wasn't reading it, I just glanced at it. And that spoiled the FUCK out of it, and totally killed emotion of the moment. Maybe this should be in the rant/rave thread... To be sort of on topic, having just finished the book... the series is as good, right? I should put off Camelot to watch Game of Thrones first? Finally, Sean Bean should stop taking roles where he wears armor. Never seems to end well.
Even though it has been out for a while, I'll still put this in spoilers: Spoiler This is the Sean Bean death reel. Apparently, he dies a lot in his movies. Over 3 minutes of Sean Bean getting repeatedly killed.
They cancelled Camelot because GoT was so awesome it took all of Camelot's viewers away, so yes, watch GoT first. They absolutely nailed the first season in a way I didn't think would be possible. Think the production value of Rome + high quality acting across the board (I loved Rome but GoT makes it look like a bad soap opera) + zombies & dragons + medieval intrigue and mayhem. I know I sound like a raving fanboy but it really is that good. And if you're liking the first book then just wait. Shit gets crazy. Put it in spoiler tags but let us know how you reacted to that scene in book 3. Trust me, you'll know exactly which one when you get there.
Sorry for mucking up this thread, but I feel like it's a better venue than the book club thread. Jesus H. Just finished Clash of Kings. Motherfucker. These books are ridiculous. I'm glad there's only 5 of them because I can't afford a $50 a week book habit (I'm buying the trade paperbacks because 900 page normal-size paperbacks are awkward to read). I ignored 3 calls from friends going out tonight to sit at home with a bottle of on sale Bushmills and finish Clash of Kings tonight and I don't even feel bad. It's 2am and I'm starting the third. I haven't read like this since my babysitter introduced me to R.A. Salvatore in like the 4th grade (fuck the haters, D&D books blew my 10 year old mind - no idea if they still hold up). The Dark Tower series took me at least a couple weeks. I can not put these books down. At this rate I'll be caught up to you longtime fans by next weekend. I may have to just keep going until I hit "that scene." Maybe my next raving post will be sleep-deprived as well...
I'm putting my money on 9 books. As I said in my review, ADWD doesn't really advance the story at all - and here's a stunning thought, it's been 11 years since stuff was written about those characters. I think he'll put the next one out much quicker, because he's already moved chapters from ADWD to the next book, and from what I've read, he has a good idea where he's going. I wonder how close he was to chucking it all with trying to resolve AFFC with ADWD. It had to be absolutely maddening. Anyway, ADWD doesn't really introduce too many new characters, but there are a shitload of unresolved issues out there among the current characters, and I don't think two books gets it done. Especially since Martin has now relented and said that he will introduce new characters in future volumes if they're necessary. Oh, and it will be necessary.
One of us! One of us! Can't wait to see how they translate the big battle at the end of book 2 to the show- should be kickass. I just finished aDwD last night and goddamn. He still knows how to write an ending that leaves you on the edge of your seat. I don't think I can take another 6 year wait to find out what happens next.
I'm totally on board with all of you. I just finished A Storm Of Swords and that book blew my fucking mind. Ol' GRR Martin truly and utterly does not give a fuck, and he can build up suspense better than just about any writer I can think of. I'm about to start AFFC, like, right now.
So I'm in this quandry of wanting to give a piece of advice to people who have not yet read Dance but very very technically it is a spoiler even though it reveals nothing about the plot. So, here's what I'm going to do to. The first spoiler cut is this piece of advice, just in case you're super anal retentive (like me) and want zero input on the new book. For most normal people though, you should be ok, but are duly warned. Spoiler Do not read Dance until the next book comes out. I will explain why in the next cut, but that has legit spoilers. Ok, this second spoiler cut is definitely filled with spoilers. Spoiler The reason is that while Dance has some surprises and deaths and shit going wrong, it mostly is positioning people, characters, and situations to be at the point of resolution but doesn't actually resolve anything. By the end of Dance a lot of pieces are in place for multiple big events to happen, but then the book ends and none of them have actually happened or have happened off-screen and you don't know the outcome in any reliable way. Dance is a bridge book (as was Feast for Crows in a lot of ways), making the transition from the climaxes of Storm of Swords to the next wave of the story. Unfortunately that left me disappointed in Dance by itself since nothing actually happens, in broad terms, everything is simple about to happen. Cliffhangers are not bad, but all the storylines end in cliffhangers instead of having any of them actually resolve in any way. Even an intermediate stepping stone way would be satisfying to some extent, but it doesn't happen here. So I recommend waiting until the next book and reading them together.
The thing is, this is the same advice a lot of people gave for Storm of Swords, and it was defiantly highly recommended for AFFC. Chances are it will be the same for the next books, as well. So unless you're planning to wait for the series to finish, it'll probably be the same every book. And damnit for quoting spoilers, where it doesn't hide them.
I actually wouldn't give the same advice for Storm. I don't want to say too much here but I think it's particularly acute for Dance.
So I've got like 150 pages left in Storm of Swords, picked up A Feast For Crows today and have managed to avoid even looking at the back cover so it doesn't spoil anything like the back of Clash of Kings does. I know Martin gets praised for his willingness to kill off major characters, but I'm starting to worry that if he keeps up this pace I'll be out of characters that I care about by the end of Feast for Crows. If it ends up being just alternating chapters between Spoiler Davos, who I'm not thrilled about, and Sansa, whose constant bitching and naivete is nothing but grating I don't see myself finishing this series, as interesting as the overall plot is. Actually, as soon as he kills off Spoiler Arya and Jon Snow , and I have no doubt at this point that one or both will be dead by the time I'm caught up with the rest of you, I may put it down. Not to say that the unexpected deaths and maimings aren't a valuable and realistic storytelling tool, but if he kills off all the characters that hold my interest, it's gonna kill off my interest too...
And imagine my joy to open up Feast For Crows and get ALL-NEW CHARACTERS I DON'T CARE ABOUT and EVEN MORE of the ones I already don't care about. Damn it.
I'm a third of the way through the book (Dance with Dragons), so don't read this if you aren't quite as far. Spoiler For a moment, I thought GRRM killed Tyrion, which would have been a serious letdown. I also had some difficulty adjusting to the new characters, especially given the lack of the ones I'm used to. It isn't unbearable though, as I fidn that the new POVs are actually pretty engrossing. However, I'm glad that Jon Snow and Tyrion are still POV characters, and if Snow gets killed off, I will be pissed. Next spoiler is regarding the true identity of a character, if you're in as far as I am you should have figured this out already, but just to be safe: Spoiler Ramsay Bolton is a sick, twisted sociopathic bastard. I almost feel sorry for Theon, but that prick deserves what he's getting.
I have "Clash of Kings" on the way to start reading on my flight to and from Vegas. I'm excited to start up on it!
Interesting story/video on how the locations for GoT were built up in CG. <a class="postlink" href="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/2011/07/29/game-of-thrones-cgi/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/2011/0 ... rones-cgi/</a>
Discussion of major spoiler as well as nerdy speculation, including a comment GRRM made about said spoiler. If you haven't finished Dance With Dragons, don't read. Spoiler So, Jon Snow apparently dies. Fuck GRRM for that. That said, when EW asked him why he killed Jon off, he replied along the lines of, "Oh, so you think he's dead huh?". Also, here's a quoted post from another forum that includes some very heavy but interesting speculation: Additionally, Jon has had a dream wherein he was fighting Others whilst wielding a burning red sword, and every time Melisandre tries to look into her fires for Ahai, she sees only snow (Snow). Some have proposed Daenarys and Victarion as possible candidates, but I don't see nearly as much evidence for either of those. Thoughts, anyone?
Heaaaavy spoilers, don't read unless you have read Dance with Dragons. Spoiler No way man. For every other death in the series, they have been very explicitly dead, not just a 'fade to black' implying death. I bet you 100 rep Jon is still kickin' it, possibly with the dubious help of Melisandre.
Contains spoilers/speculation along the lines of Snow's parentage and certain prophecies. Spoiler This is the direction I'm leaning in, but I don't want to get my hopes up. If my theory/hope is on the money, he is in fact Azor Ahai and/or the third head of the dragon (son of Rhaegar and Lyanna) I have a somewhat long theory on this, PM if interested.
DON'T READ THIS UNLESS YOU'VE READ ALL THE BOOKS OR WANT A BIG HINT TOWARDS FUTURE EVENTS! Spoiler That's the widely accepted belief. Rhaegar didn't steal Lyanna, she went with him willingly and when Ned found her in the Tower of Joy she was dying from giving birth to Jon, hence the whole "Promise me, Ned" stuff. I don't think he's dead either. Remember at the end of book 1 when Arya got hit with an axe and it turned out Yoren was just knocking her out but we didn't find out for sure until the next book? Same shit here I'm predicting. Who would the third head be then? You've got Jon, Daenerys, and Aegon? Some people think it might also be Tyrion. Aegon seems too outta left field but who knows. Either way I'm looking forward to Winds of Winter.