Agreed. I hope it's not turning into a Wheel of Time-like scenario where it starts out amazing but then devolves simply due to having to finish off every single character's story while keeping track of 42314 viewpoints at once.
You're right in that the 4th book King's Landing chapters are pretty good. The Dorne and, hmmmm, searching chapters (to not spoil things) however, leave a lot to be desired. And absolutely agree on the 5th book. 1500 pages to just about do nothing.
George RR Martin is going to pull a Robert Jordan and die before finishing the series. Bet the mortgage on it. My rationale: -There were 5 years between Swords and Crows -There were 6 year between Crows and Dragons -So plan on 7 years between Dragons and Winter (#6) -And 8-9 years between Winter and Spring (#7) So he would finish around 2028, at which point he'd be 80. How healthy is he? Does he have any dangerous hobbies? Of course, if he doesn't finish, HBO / his publisher will hire a bunch of hacks for minimum wage to finish the series and shit all over everything. I really liked the first one, but made the conscious decision not to get sucked in - I see the writing on the wall for this one. And to make up for the downer:
I also really enjoyed the Arya chapters. She has definitely grown on me. In other news, I pick up my girlfriend tonight from the bus station. Sexy time, yay!
The shitty thing is that GRRM doesn't have an outline or detailed plot notes for the future. Now, I don't necessarily think he'll die, but if he does, he's been pretty public about making zero efforts to make sure the story can finish. Robert Jordan spent his final two years dictating and writing the plot notes for his epic so it could be finished as intended, even if the specific words used were someone else's. GRRM, a guy who thinks fanfic is copyright infringement, intends to take it all with him. So if someone else finishes the series, it will not be with the original author's intent and that will always feel fake to me.
Your hero is looking pretty good for hobo Paul Prudhome: Keith Richards looks healthier than this guy.
Wait a minute... Some of you... STOPPED at book 3? At the beginning, you say? Yeah, go back right now and finish it. I'm not going to spoil anything, but the latter parts of book 3 are the absolute best thing about the entire series.
Now, do you decide which one to choose based on her shoes, or do you just go with the one whose track marks look the least recent?
I don't agree completely with you. From what Martin has said himself for the last two books he's been hung up on certain plot points. It's what caused him to write Crows, and probably a lot of the meandering in Dragons. I would expect the pace of his writing to actually pick up now that he's gotten through whatever problem he was having. I would also hope the pacing of the next two books will be more in line with the first three books than the last two. However, Martin is an older man that probably doesn't take the best care of himself physically. Considering that, and the distraction of the t.v. show, I still think there's a good chance the series never gets finished.
First time I saw photos like this of this guy I thought. "Well that explains why he talks about 13 year old girls being sold by their brother and fucked." Although I think I recall the brother suggesting he should take a few turns as well. I'm not saying I don't love the series, just that he shouldn't be near schools or own a windowless van. We already can tell he's not sharing candy with anyone though so I guess thats a start. Round 3 of our hockey playoffs tonight. We better win. Then friday beers
Not to bring the whole Game of Thrones lovefest down (which is an awesome series by the way), but I actively crapped for 20 minutes this morning. It wasn't one of those fecal miscarriage dumps either. It was just liquid enough to be disgusting, but just solid enough to be painful. When I got up to flush the toilet, I was presented with an event horizon dump that looked like the consistency of pudding. I am all that is man. Then I came into work and spent another ten minutes actively crapping. I imagine this is what prison feels like. Speaking of rape, my girlfriend and I get to move this weekend. So I have nothing to look forward to until next weekend, when DirecTV shows up to install our HD Super Mega Premium Package.
I did a review of Dance that addresses this, somewhere in the new book thread (it came out in July). Basically, why 4-5 are so 'strange' is because they are essentially the same book told from different points of view. The plot lines are simultaneous, thus if you've read AFFC, you've basically read Dance - except for the last third of Dance which merges the points of views again. As I said in that review, I criticized Martin for splitting off the points of view after Storm of Swords - he did it because he thought it would make it easier to finish AFFC. Unfortunately, he created massive writing problems for himself that Dance had to resolve. It did so, and moved forward for ALL characters a little bit. The Winter book should be done much quicker than the others. I would still read them in order, but literally take NO break between 4-5 until you get to the merge of the points of view.
It's Friday and I'm leaving early. Woo! We moved into a new apartment last weekend and realized we needed a new refrigerator. It's finally being delivered tomorrow, and we're getting cable and internet on Sunday! Nothing like waiting a week for modern refrigeration and communication. I've felt poor for the last week. #firstworldproblems Since you idiots are a smart group of individuals, I'm gonna run this by you--the current fridge in our apartment is from the 1980s and is approx. 25'' deep. Since they don't make decent refrigerators that size anymore, we had to get a 29 3/8'' deep one. Problem: the first landing in our building is only 26'' across. We're going to take the railing off and try to lift it the 4'' it needs to clear the part the railing is on. We're also taking off the doors to make it just a little narrower. Do any of you have any better suggestions as to how to make this fit?? We think this plan will work. The stairs are wide enough and the second landing is 37'' so it shouldn't be a problem. I'm thinking the plan we have is the best way to go about things, but any ideas would be appreciated. Also, I'm getting rid of my old tv, which is a 37'' flat screen. Old school flat screen, so it weighs ~290 lbs. Works perfectly fine and comes with a stand. If anyone in the Philly suburbs wants a free tv, it's yours! **I don't mean to be hacking goods via the TiB, but I'm just so excited to get rid of the damn thing.
Eh, this 'plan' is ok if you're a pussy. Here's my plan. Get dynamite. Place dynamite in hallway your apartment is on, but would suggest down the hallway from your actual apartment for reasons that will become clear. Ignite dynamite. Run downstairs, hang with fridge, making grunty noises. Look surprised when the explosion happens. Try saying 'oh MY GOD IT'S A TERRORISTIC ATTACK.' You know, subtle, you don't want to overdo it. Wait for the fire company to show up. Politely ask fireman to use ladder and winch to get fridge through hole in hallway wall that just happens to be where you live. Profit. You're welcome. OH OH OH, take lots of pictures.
To the best of my recollection, here's a list of all the threads in need of tying up: Spoiler -Events at the Wall with Jon Snow & Melisandre -Events beyond the Wall with Bran and his group -Situation south of the wall involving Theon & Asha -Situation in the Eyrie with Littlefinger and Sansa -All the stuff going on in King's Landing -Situation with Brienne, Jaime, & Caitlyn -Aegon's invasion of the stormlands -Events in Dorne -New situation with Dany -Leftover stuff in Maureen now that she's gone -Tyrion's travels -Arya's situation -Victarion's sailing I'm sure I've left stuff out that I've forgotten as well.
I was supposed to go roller skating tonight, but I feel like crap. Damn the sickly people that cough on you at work. What is the correct and polite response to that?! I back away and have turned away like she has the plague, but what is the best way to indicate that I don't like to share lung spray with just anyone? I am wanting to go skating to see if roller derby is in the cards. I never really learned to skate but did know how to rollerblade. I just haven't bothered with skates of any kind in a decade. I'm fairly athletic, I'm sure I can pick it up, just a matter of getting out there and doing it.