George RR Martin
SPOILERS BEGIN AFTER BOOK PICTURE
Time for another aSoIaF review.
I'll be sharing my feeling character by character as they appear in the book.
Overall, this book was disappointing, but only because A Storm of Swords raised my standards so high. aSoS had multiple moments of tension and excitement scattered throughout... AFoC only had a few near the end. aSoS made me cry, aFoC only made me very concerned for a few characters.
If you have not read A Feat for Crows, I strongly suggest that you refrain from reading the remainder of this post. Do come back when you have read this completely! Much will be spoiled below.
Prologue:
I'm
not a fan of the prologues used in any of these books. I'm usually so
excited to return to the main characters that I find it unsatisfactory
to be forced to learn new once. After I made myself focus, I thought the
prologue was fairly interesting... AND WHO WOULD HAVE SEEN THAT COMING
AT THE END.
Let's discuss.
After
I finished the book, I looked up Pate in a Wiki. Apparently, he is
given the same description as Jaqen H'ghar. I thought they acted very
different, but I guess we can't be sure since we weren't able to see
into his mind before. I really doubt it was him but I'm very curious.
Arya Stark (AKA Cat of the Canals) (self-proclaimed nobody)
Arya,
Arya, Arya. I'm very proud of her, but I'm very concerned. I was really
hoping that she would be reunited in the end with another Stark house
member (Sansa, Bran, Rickon, Jon or... her mother?), but I can't see her
living a normal life now. She continues to push away her past and
become someone different. I'm afraid that she'll completely lose her
feeling for her family and past.
I
was really disappointed that she only had three (if I counted
correctly) chapters. She isn't very important to the who "game of
thrones" battle, but she's very important to the reader. Well, she's at
least important to me. I was completely shocked by the last few words of
her final chapter of book 4. I was overwhelmed and so surprised... I'm
guessing it's just a part of the training she's going through.
Sansa Start (AKA Alayne Stone)
While
nothing ever goes well for Sansa, I think she's actually in a very good
spot right now. She is being protected by Petyr, and is safely stashed
away very far from the main trouble areas of the realm. I'm sure she is
much happier in Eyrie than in Kings Landing.
Petyr
has never been so suspicious to me. I simply cannot believe that he
means to give all this land (including Winterfell!) to Sansa without
something in it with him. I'm disgusted by his lust (maybe?) for Sansa.
Gross.
Jaime Lannister
Jaime
is such a dynamic character. I hated him in book 1, and now I adore
him. After Tyrion informed him of Cercei's promiscuity, Jaime began to
look at his dear sister in a different way. He continued to love her for
quite some time... but he was constantly thinking about what
Tyrion told him. After a while, he began to separate himself from his
sister. At then end, I was thinking that he would at least go to Kings
Landing to at least witness the entire dilemma, but he chose to
completely ignore his sister's plea.
Also,
GRRM provided us with some good Jaime-Brienne material. Even though
they traveled far apart, he continued to think of her and pray for her.
Brienne somehow taught Jaime to have self-worth and honor.
Samwell Tarly
Sam
had a few chapters in this book, but once again he didn't really
capture my interest. I was so torn between shipping Sam and Gilly and
wanting Sam to remain loyal to his pledge. I thought the moment with
Gilly was a little out of character for her... but whatever.
I am actually very interested in what will become of Sam in Oldtown. I'm sure a lot of going to happen in book 6.
Cercei Lannister
I
see the down fall of the queen coming very soon. I can't see any way
for her to escape the situation... She's doomed. I thought the bit about
the prophesy was nice. It showed Cercei's fears and worries (She was
always portrayed as resilient and brave). This book really
defined who she is -- a power-hungry, paranoid, mother who sees all
other houses as inferior. She works solely to promote her house,
children, and self.
She
has reached the point where she has overused too many people. She has
lost faith in too many of her allies, and now she is done (as we are led
to believe...)
Brienne of Tarth
Brienne's
story almost made me cry. She is so built on duty and honor, but the
odds are always against her. I was surprised how Catelyn Stark reacted
to her. I thought that Catelyn would be proud of Brienne's efforts. I'm
so, so excited to finally figure out what happens to her. What word does
she call out?? Is she dead or alive? Will she ever save Sansa?
I
don't have very much to say about the Greyjoy's but I'll try to at
least say a little about them all. The Greyjoys have never really caught
my interest no matter how important they are to the story. The POV's
are as follows:
Aeron Greyjoy (Damphair) - "The Prophet" or "The Drowned"
Thankfully, he is a relatively minor character. I was so confused about all his names!
Areo Hotah - "The Captain of the Guards"
Another very minor character. It just actually nice getting a look into a house new to the main story!
Asha Greyjoy
Finally,
a familiar name. I disliked her before, but now I'm warming up to her
(as a character). She was always a strong, female leader, but now she
struggles for control. I'm not sure what I would like to have happen to
her... I don't know if I should root for her or not.
Arys Oakheart - "The Soiled Knight"
Poor Arys! We hardly got to know him, and Areo lops off his head.
Victarion Greyjoy - "The Iron Captain" or "The Reaver"
I
don't have anything to tell you. Like the rest of the Greyjoys, he
didn't grab my attention or emotions. I don't think anything significant
happened to him...
Arianne Martell - "The Queenmaker" or "The Princess in the Tower"
Arianne
is a sneaking, plotting girl who tried to give the throne to Myrcella
Lannister. Her story seemed like a side plot, but it did answer my
questions about what is happening with Myrcella.
That's it!
Out of curiosity, I peeked at the character POV list for book 5... I AM SO EXCITED.
