A Dance with Dragons & Dark Angel
I finished A Dance with Dragons. I'm glad to see GRRM is back in form with this book, and of course I'm now anxiously awaiting the next one.
There are definitely some surprises here.
*John Snow
I've been waffling on this one. I don't actually think he's dead. GRRM certainly isn't afraid of killing main characters that readers like, but it seems when he kills someone, he kills them--dead. The ones whose deaths are a bit ambiguous (Theon Greyjoy, Bran, etc.) he often brings back. So I wouldn't be surprised to see him turn up alive later. I will say, though, that I'm glad he didn't escape retribution for all the radical stuff he was doing. That's not to say I thought his decisions were wrong, it's just that it's nice to see an author hold favorite hero-type characters accountable for unpopular/revolutionary choices.
I also remain skeptical about the explanation of his mother. It's not the first rumored explanation we've gotten about who she is, and I don't think it's necessarily any more true than the others. I am still holding to the Rhaegar & Lyanna theory.
*Stannis Baratheon's end
I'm mixed on this one. I don't want to believe his attempts to retrieve "Arya" were crushed so soundly, but it's possible. And it's hard to justify Bolton's knowledge being so thorough if he didn't actually crush Stannis.
*Arya Stark (the real one)
In Feast for Crows, I found the Arya-at-the-temple thing really annoying. But here it took an upswing and I found myself enjoying the Arya chapters. I'm glad for that.
*Theon Greyjoy/Reek
I found this really interesting on a psychological level. It's interesting how you go from barely noticing him in book 1, to pitying him, to hating him, back to pitying him for very different reasons. Nicely handled plot arc overall, I think. I am optimisticly expecting him to return to one day being a proper lordling, even if never really a proper Greyjoy. But who knows.
*Kevan Lannister
Despite my comments above about ambiguous deaths not often being final, I'm thinking this one is, although I don't know why. Maybe just because the Lannisters are crumbling anyway and it just seems in keeping with that to have the only competent Lannister die as well.
*Daenerys Targaryen
In the beginning, I found her storyline boring and... boring. She's definitely grown, and I quite liked what's happening with her now. I also really appreciate that the dragons are presented as somewhat less than marvelous things to have around.
*Aegon Targaryen
Well, that was a surprise!
In TV shows, I finished watching Dark Angel. It was better than I expected, but not as good as I'd have liked. I appreciate the themes of acceptances of differences, and the world amused me. Frankly, I couldn't help thinking how much the world was like Afghanistan with everything being run down and the rampant corruption just being taken for granted.
There are definitely some surprises here.
*John Snow
I've been waffling on this one. I don't actually think he's dead. GRRM certainly isn't afraid of killing main characters that readers like, but it seems when he kills someone, he kills them--dead. The ones whose deaths are a bit ambiguous (Theon Greyjoy, Bran, etc.) he often brings back. So I wouldn't be surprised to see him turn up alive later. I will say, though, that I'm glad he didn't escape retribution for all the radical stuff he was doing. That's not to say I thought his decisions were wrong, it's just that it's nice to see an author hold favorite hero-type characters accountable for unpopular/revolutionary choices.
I also remain skeptical about the explanation of his mother. It's not the first rumored explanation we've gotten about who she is, and I don't think it's necessarily any more true than the others. I am still holding to the Rhaegar & Lyanna theory.
*Stannis Baratheon's end
I'm mixed on this one. I don't want to believe his attempts to retrieve "Arya" were crushed so soundly, but it's possible. And it's hard to justify Bolton's knowledge being so thorough if he didn't actually crush Stannis.
*Arya Stark (the real one)
In Feast for Crows, I found the Arya-at-the-temple thing really annoying. But here it took an upswing and I found myself enjoying the Arya chapters. I'm glad for that.
*Theon Greyjoy/Reek
I found this really interesting on a psychological level. It's interesting how you go from barely noticing him in book 1, to pitying him, to hating him, back to pitying him for very different reasons. Nicely handled plot arc overall, I think. I am optimisticly expecting him to return to one day being a proper lordling, even if never really a proper Greyjoy. But who knows.
*Kevan Lannister
Despite my comments above about ambiguous deaths not often being final, I'm thinking this one is, although I don't know why. Maybe just because the Lannisters are crumbling anyway and it just seems in keeping with that to have the only competent Lannister die as well.
*Daenerys Targaryen
In the beginning, I found her storyline boring and... boring. She's definitely grown, and I quite liked what's happening with her now. I also really appreciate that the dragons are presented as somewhat less than marvelous things to have around.
*Aegon Targaryen
Well, that was a surprise!
In TV shows, I finished watching Dark Angel. It was better than I expected, but not as good as I'd have liked. I appreciate the themes of acceptances of differences, and the world amused me. Frankly, I couldn't help thinking how much the world was like Afghanistan with everything being run down and the rampant corruption just being taken for granted.