I'm about 310 pages into Clash of Kings at the moment.
It's taking me FOREVER to get through CoK. It's a total slog 85% of the time.
I decided to stop shitting up the HBO thread with spoilers. For this thread, please use "Book #: (spoiler)".
That said, Book 3spoiler (click to show/hide)Holy fuck! I did not see the wedding slaughter coming. I was like legitimately depressed afterwards. There are a lot of neat clues Martin leaves- How bad the band is, how crappy the food is, Frey's obvious slights towards Robb. But then Martin murders like the entire fucking cast of the novel! What the fuuuuuuuuu. I quit right after. Poor Arya, though. I'm kind of exhuasted of her storyline because the same fucking thing happens everytime. Okay, back to reading[close]
I decided to stop shitting up the HBO thread with spoilers. For this thread, please use "Book #: (spoiler)".
That said, Book 3spoiler (click to show/hide)Holy fuck! I did not see the wedding slaughter coming. I was like legitimately depressed afterwards. There are a lot of neat clues Martin leaves- How bad the band is, how crappy the food is, Frey's obvious slights towards Robb. But then Martin murders like the entire fucking cast of the novel! What the fuuuuuuuuu. I quit right after. Poor Arya, though. I'm kind of exhuasted of her storyline because the same fucking thing happens everytime. Okay, back to reading[close]
A Dance With Dragons is so bad I've given up on this series. Will only watch tv series' for now on.
New The Winds of Winter sample! :hyperspoiler (click to show/hide)The king's voice was choked with anger. "You are a worse pirate than Salladhor Saan."
Theon Greyjoy opened his eyes. His shoulders were on fire and he could not move his hands. For half a heartbeat he feared he was back in his old cell under the Dreadfort, that the jumble of memories inside his head was no more than the residue of some fever dream. I was asleep, he realized. That, or passed out from the pain. When he tried to move, he swung from side to side, his back scraping against stone. He was hanging from a wall inside a tower, his wrists chained to a pair of rusted iron rings.
The air reeked of burning peat. The floor was hard-packed dirt. Wooden steps spiraled up inside the walls to the roof. He saw no windows. The tower was dank, dark, and comfortless, its only furnishings a high-backed chair and a scarred table resting on three trestles. No privy was in evidence, though Theon saw a champerpot in one shadowed alcove. The only light came from the candles on the table. His feet dangled six feet off the floor.
"My brother's debts," the king was muttering. "Joffrey's too, though that baseborn abomination was no kin to me." Theon twisted in his chains. He knew that voice. Stannis.
Theon Greyjoy chortled. A stab of pain went up his arms, from his shoulders to his wrists. All he had done, all he had suffered, Moat Cailin and Barrowton and Winterfell, Abel and his washerwomen, Crowfood and his Umbers, the trek through the snows, all of it had only served to exchange one tormentor for another.
"Your Grace," a second voice said softly. "Pardon, but your ink has frozen." The Braavosi, Theon knew. What was his name? Tycho... Tycho something... "Perhaps a bit of heat... ?"
"I know a quicker way." Stannis drew his dagger. For an instant Theon thought that he meant to stab the banker. You will never get a drop of blood from that one, my lord, he might have told him. The king laid the blade of the knife against the ball of his left thumb, and slashed. "There. I will sign in mine own blood. That ought to make your masters happy."
"If it please Your Grace, it will please the Iron Bank."
Stannis dipped a quill in the blood welling from his thumb and scratched his name across the piece of parchment. "You will depart today. Lord Bolton may be on us soon. I will not have you caught up in the fighting."
"That would be my preference as well." The Braavosi slipped the roll of parchment inside a wooden tube. "I hope to have the honor of calling on Your Grace again when you are seated on your Iron Throne."
"You hope to have your gold, you mean. Save your pleasantries. It is coin I need from Braavos, not empty courtesy. Tell the guard outside I have need of Justin Massey."
"It would be my pleasure. The Iron Bank is always glad to be of service." The banker bowed.
As he left, another entered; a knight. The king's knights had been coming and going all night, Theon recalled dimly. This one seemed to be the king's familiar. Lean, dark-haired, hard-eyed, his face marred by pockmarks and old scars, he wore a faded surcoat embroidered with three moths. "Sire," he announced, "the maester is without. And Lord Arnolf sends word that he would be most pleased to break his fast with you."
"The son as well?"
"And the grandsons. Lord Wull seeks audience as well. He wants — "
"I know what he wants." The king indicated Theon. "Him. Wull wants him dead. Flint, Norrey... all of them will want him dead. For the boys he slew. Vengeance for their precious Ned."
"Will you oblige them?"
"Just now, the turncloak is more use to me alive. He has knowledge we may need. Bring in this maester." The king plucked a parchment off the table and squinted over it. A letter, Theon knew. Its broken seal was black wax, hard and shiny. I know what that says, he thought, giggling.
Stannis looked up. "The turncloak stirs."
"Theon. My name is Theon." He had to remember his name.
"I know your name. I know what you did."
"I saved her." The outer wall of Winterfell was eighty feet high, but beneath the spot where he had jumped the snows had piled up to a depth of more than forty. A cold white pillow. The girl had taken the worst of it. Jeyne, her name is Jeyne, but she will never tell them. Theon had landed on top of her, and broken some of her ribs. "I saved the girl," he said. "We flew."
Stannis snorted. "You fell. Umber saved her. If Mors Crowfood and his men had not been outside the castle, Bolton would have had the both of you back in moments."
Crowfood. Theon remembered. An old man, huge and powerful, with a ruddy face and a shaggy white beard. He had been seated on a garron, clad in the pelt of a gigantic snow bear, its head his hood. Under it he wore a stained white leather eye patch that reminded Theon of his uncle Euron. He'd wanted to rip it off Umber's face, to make certain that underneath was only an empty socket, not a black eye shining with malice. Instead he had whimpered through his broken teeth and said, "I am — "
" — a turncloak and a kinslayer," Crowfood had finished. "You will hold that lying tongue, or lose it."
But Umber had looked at the girl closely, squinting down with his one good eye. "You are the younger daughter?"
And Jeyne had nodded. "Arya. My name is Arya."
"Arya of Winterfell, aye. When last I was inside those walls, your cook served us a steak and kidney pie. Made with ale, I think, best I ever tasted. What was his name, that cook?"
"Gage," Jeyne said at once. "He was a good cook. He would make lemoncakes for Sansa whenever we had lemons."
Crowfood had fingered his beard. "Dead now, I suppose. That smith of yours as well. A man who knew his steel. What was his name?"
Jeyne had hesitated. Mikken, Theon thought. His name was Mikken. The castle blacksmith had never made any lemoncakes for Sansa, which made him far less important than the castle cook in the sweet little world she had shared with her friend Jeyne Poole. Remember, damn you. Your father was the steward, he had charge of the whole household. The smith's name was Mikken, Mikken, Mikken. I had him put to death before me!
"Mikken," Jeyne said.
Mors Umber had grunted. "Aye." What he might have said or done next Theon never learned, for that was when the boy ran up, clutching a spear and shouting that the portcullis on Winterfell's main gate was rising. And how Crowfood had grinned at that.
Theon twisted in his chains, and blinked down at the king. "Crowfood found us, yes, he sent us here to you, but it was me who saved her. Ask her yourself." She would tell him. "You saved me," Jeyne had whispered, as he was carrying her through the snow. She was pale with pain, but she had brushed one hand across his cheek and smiled. "I saved Lady Arya," Theon whispered back at her. And then all at once Mors Umber's spears were all around them. "Is this my thanks?" he asked Stannis, kicking feebly against the wall. His shoulders were in agony. His own weight was tearing them from their sockets. How long had he been hanging here? Was it still night outside? The tower was windowless, he had no way to know.
"Unchain me, and I will serve you."
"As you served Roose Bolton and Robb Stark?" Stannis snorted. "I think not. We have a warmer end in mind for you, turncloak. But not until we're done with you."
He means to kill me. The thought was queerly comforting. Death did not frighten Theon Greyjoy. Death would mean an end to pain. "Be done with me, then," he urged the king. "Take off my head off and stick it on a spear. I slew Lord Eddard's sons, I ought to die. But do it quick. He is coming."
"Who is coming? Bolton?"
"Lord Ramsay," Theon hissed. "The son, not the father. You must not let him take him. Roose... Roose is safe within the walls of Winterfell with his fat new wife. Ramsay is coming."
"Ramsay Snow, you mean. The Bastard."
"Never call him that!" Spittle sprayed from Theon's lips. "Ramsay Bolton, not Ramsay Snow, never Snow, never, you have to remember his name, or he will hurt you."
"He is welcome to try. Whatever name he goes by."
The door opened with a gust of cold black wind and a swirl of snow. The knight of the moths had returned with the maester the king had sent for, his grey robes concealed beneath a heavy bearskin pelt. Behind them came two other knights, each carrying a raven in a cage. One was the man who'd been with Asha when the banker delivered him to her, a burly man with a winged pig on his surcoat. The other was taller, broad-shouldered and brawny. The big man's breastplate was silvered steel inlaid with niello; though scratched and dinted, it still shone in the candlelight. The cloak that he wore over it was fastened with a burning heart.
"Maester Tybald," announced the knight of the moths.
The maester sank to his knees. He was red-haired and round-shouldered, with close-set eyes that kept flicking toward Theon hanging on the wall. "Your Grace. How may I be of service?"
Stannis did not reply at once. He studied the man before him, his brow furrowed. "Get up." The maester rose. "You are maester at the Dreadfort. How is it you are here with us?"
"Lord Arnolf brought me to tend to his wounded."
"To his wounded? Or his ravens?"
"Both, Your Grace."
"Both." Stannis snapped the word out. "A maester's raven flies to one place, and one place only. Is that correct?"
The maester mopped sweat from his brow with his sleeve. "N-not entirely, Your Grace. Most, yes. Some few can be taught to fly between two castles. Such birds are greatly prized. And once in a very great while, we find a raven who can learn the names of three or four or five castles, and fly to each upon command. Birds as clever as that come along only once in a hundred years."
Stannis gestured at the black birds in the cages. "These two are not so clever, I presume."
"No, Your Grace. Would that it were so."
"Tell me, then. Where are these two trained to fly?"
Maester Tybald did not answer. Theon Greyjoy kicked his feet feebly, and laughed under his breath. Caught!
"Answer me. If we were to loose these birds, would they return to the Dreadfort?" The king leaned forward. "Or might they fly for Winterfell instead?"
Maester Tybald pissed his robes. Theon could not see the dark stain spreading from where he hung, but the smell of piss was sharp and strong.
"Maester Tybald has lost his tongue," Stannis observed to his knights. "Godry, how many cages did you find?"
"Three, Your Grace," said the big knight in the silvered breastplate. "One was empty."
"Y-your Grace, my order is sworn to serve, we... "
"I know all about your vows. What I want to know is what was in the letter that you sent to Winterfell. Did you perchance tell Lord Bolton where to find us?"
"S-sire." Round-shouldered Tybald drew himself up proudly.
"The rules of my order forbid me to divulge the contents of Lord Arnolf's letters."
"Your vows are stronger than your bladder, it would seem."
"Your Grace must understand — "
"Must I?" The king shrugged. "If you say so. You are a man of learning, after all. I had a maester on Dragonstone who was almost a father to me. I have great respect for your order and its vows. Ser Clayton does not share my feelings, though. He learned all he knows in the wynds of Flea Bottom. Were I to put you in his charge, he might strangle you with your own chain or scoop your eye out with a spoon."
"Only the one, Your Grace," volunteered the balding knight, him of the winged pig. "I'd leave t'other."
"How many eyes does a maester need to read a letter?" asked Stannis. "One should suffice, I'd think. I would not wish to leave you unable to fulfill your duties to your lord. Roose Bolton's men may well be on their way to attack us even now, however, so you must understand if I skimp on certain courtesies. I will ask you once again. What was in the message you sent to Winterfell?"
The maester quivered. "A m-map, Your Grace."
The king leaned back in his chair. "Get him out of here," he commanded. "Leave the ravens." A vein was throbbing in his neck. "Confine this grey wretch to one of the huts until I decide what is to be done with him."
"It will be done," the big knight declared. The maester vanished in another blast of cold and snow. Only the knight of the three moths remained.
Stannis glowered up at Theon where he hung. "You are not the only turncloak here, it would seem. Would that all the lords in the Seven Kingdoms had but a single neck... " He turned to his knight. "Ser Richard, whilst I am breaking fast with Lord Arnolf, you are to disarm his men and take them into custody. Most will be asleep. Do them no harm, unless they resist. It may be they did not know. Question some upon that point... but sweetly. If they had no knowledge of this treachery, they shall have the chance to prove their loyalty." He snapped a hand in dismissal. "Send in Justin Massey."
Another knight, Theon knew, when Massey entered. This one was fair, with a neatly trimmed blond beard and thick straight hair so pale it seemed more white than gold. His tunic bore the triple spiral, an ancient sigil for an ancient House. "I was told Your Grace had need of me," he said, from one knee.
Stannis nodded. "You will escort the Braavosi banker back to the Wall. Choose six good men and take twelve horses."
"To ride or eat?"
The king was not amused. "I want you gone before midday, ser. Lord Bolton could be on us any moment, and it is imperative that the banker return to Braavos. You shall accompany him across the narrow sea."
"If there is to be a battle, my place is here with you."
"Your place is where I say it is. I have five hundred swords as good as you, or better, but you have a pleasing manner and a glib tongue, and those will be of more use to me at Braavos then here. The Iron Bank has opened its coffers to me. You will collect their coin and hire ships and sellswords. A company of good repute, if you can find one. The Golden Company would be my first choice, if they are not already under contract. Seek for them in the Disputed Lands, if need be. But first hire as many swords as you can find in Braavos, and send them to me by way of Eastwatch. Archers as well, we need more bows."
Ser Justin's hair had fallen down across one eye. He pushed it back and said, "The captains of the free companies will join a lord more readily than a mere knight, Your Grace. I hold neither lands nor title, why should they sell their swords to me?"
"Go to them with both fists full of golden dragons," the king said, in an acid tone. "That should prove persuasive. Twenty thousand men should suffice. Do not return with fewer."
"Sire, might I speak freely?"
"So long as you speak quickly."
"Your Grace should go to Braavos with the banker."
"Is that your counsel? That I should flee?" The king's face darkened. "That was your counsel on the Blackwater as well, as I recall. When the battle turned against us, I let you and Horpe chivvy me back to Dragonstone like a whipped cur."
"The day was lost, Your Grace."
"Aye, that was what you said. 'The day is lost, sire. Fall back now, that you may fight again.' And now you would have me scamper off across the narrow sea... "
"... to raise an army, aye. As Bittersteel did after the Battle of the Redgrass Field, where Daemon Blackfyre fell."
"Do not prate at me of history, ser. Daemon Blackfyre was a rebel and usurper, Bittersteel a bastard. When he fled, he swore he would return to place a son of Daemon's upon the Iron Throne. He never did. Words are wind, and the wind that blows exiles across the narrow sea seldom blows them back. That boy Viserys Targaryen spoke of return as well. He slipped through my fingers at Dragonstone, only to spend his life wheedling after sellswords. 'The Beggar King,' they called him in the Free Cities. Well, I do not beg, nor will I flee again. I am Robert's heir, the rightful king of Westeros. My place is with my men. Yours is in Braavos. Go with the banker, and do as I have bid."
"As you command," Ser Justin said.
"It may be that we shall lose this battle," the king said grimly. "In Braavos you may hear that I am dead. It may even be true. You shall find my sellswords nonetheless."
The knight hesitated. "Your Grace, if you are dead — "
" — you will avenge my death, and seat my daughter on the Iron Throne. Or die in the attempt."
Ser Justin put one hand on his sword hilt. "On my honor as a knight, you have my word."
"Oh, and take the Stark girl with you. Deliver her to Lord Commander Snow on your way to Eastwatch." Stannis tapped the parchment that lay before him. "A true king pays his debts."
Pay it, aye, thought Theon. Pay it with false coin. Jon Snow would see through the impostesure at once. Lord Stark's sullen bastard had known Jeyne Poole, and he had always been fond of his little half-sister Arya.
"The black brothers will accompany you as far as Castle Black," the king went on. "The ironmen are to remain here, supposedly to fight for us. Another gift from Tycho Nestoris. Just as well, they would only slow you down. Ironmen were made for ships, not horses. Lady Arya should have a female companion as well. Take Alysane Mormont."
Ser Justin pushed back his hair again. "And Lady Asha?"
The king considered that a moment. "No."
"One day Your Grace will need to take the Iron Islands. That will go much easier with Balon Greyjoy's daughter as a catspaw, with one of your own leal men as her lord husband."
"You?" The king scowled. "The woman is wed, Justin."
"A proxy marriage, never consummated. Easily set aside. The groom is old besides. Like to die soon."
From a sword through his belly if you have your way, ser worm. Theon knew how these knights thought.
Stannis pressed his lips together. "Serve me well in this matter of the sellswords, and you may have what you desire. Until such time, the woman must needs remain my captive."
Ser Justin bowed his head. "I understand."
That only seemed to irritate the king. "Your understanding is not required. Only your obedience. Be on your way, ser."
This time, when the knight took his leave, the world beyond the door seemed more white than black.
Stannis Baratheon paced the floor. The tower was a small one, dank and cramped. A few steps brought the king around to Theon. "How many men does Bolton have at Winterfell?"
"Five thousand. Six. More." He gave the king a ghastly grin, all shattered teeth and splinters. "More than you."
"How many of those is he like to send against us?"
"No more than half." That was a guess, admittedly, but it felt right to him. Roose Bolton was not a man to blunder blindly out into the snow, map or no. He would hold his main strength in reserve, keep his best men with him, trust in Winterfell's massive double wall. "The castle was too crowded. Men were at each other's throats, the Manderlys and Freys especially. It's them his lordship's sent after you, the ones that he's well rid of."
"Wyman Manderly." The king's mouth twisted in contempt. "Lord Too-Fat-to-Sit-a-Horse. Too fat to come to me, yet he comes to Winterfell. Too fat to bend the knee and swear me his sword, yet now he wields that sword for Bolton. I sent my Onion Lord to treat with him, and Lord Too-Fat butchered him and mounted his head and hands on the walls of White Harbor for the Freys to gloat over. And the Freys... has the Red Wedding been forgotten?"
"The north remembers. The Red Wedding, Lady Hornwood's fingers, the sack of Winterfell, Deepwood Motte and Torrhen's Square, they remember all of it." Bran and Rickon. They were only miller's boys. "Frey and Manderly will never combine their strengths. They will come for you, but separately. Lord Ramsay will not be far behind them. He wants his bride back. He wants his Reek." Theon's laugh was half a titter, half a whimper. "Lord Ramsay is the one Your Grace should fear."
Stannis bristled at that. "I defeated your uncle Victarion and his Iron Fleet off Fair Isle, the first time your father crowned himself. I held Storm's End against the power of the Reach for a year, and took Dragonstone from the Targaryens. I smashed Mance Rayder at the Wall, though he had twenty times my numbers. Tell me, turncloak, what battles has the Bastard of Bolton ever won that I should fear him?"
You must not call him that! A wave of pain washed over Theon Greyjoy. He closed his eyes and grimaced. When he opened them again, he said, "You do not know him."
"No more than he knows me."
"Knows me," cried one of the ravens the maester had left behind. It flapped its big black wings against the bars of its cage.
"Knows," it cried again.
Stannis turned. "Stop that noise."
Behind him, the door opened. The Karstarks had arrived.
Bent and twisted, the castellan of Karhold leaned heavily on his cane as he made his way to the table. Lord Arnolf's cloak was fine grey wool, bordered in black sable and clasped with a silver starburst. A rich garment, Theon thought, on a poor excuse for a man. He had seen that cloak before, he knew, just as he had seen the man who wore it. At the Dreadfort. I remember. He sat and supped with Lord Ramsay and Whoresbane Umber, the night they brought Reek up from his cell.
The man beside him could only be his son. Fifty, Theon judged, with a round soft face like his father's, if Lord Arnolf went to fat. Behind him walked three younger men. The grandsons, he surmised. One wore a chainmail byrnie. The rest were dressed for breakfast, not for battle. Fools.
"Your Grace." Arnolf Karstark bowed his head. "An honor." He looked for a seat. Instead his eyes found Theon. "And who is this?" Recognition came a heartbeat later. Lord Arnolf paled.
His stupid son remained oblivious. "There are no chairs," the oaf observed. One of the ravens screamed inside its cage.
"Only mine." King Stannis sat in it. "It is no Iron Throne, but here and now it suits." A dozen men had filed through the tower door, led by the knight of the moths and the big man in the silvered breastplate. "You are dead men, understand that," the king went on. "Only the manner of your dying remains to be determined. You would be well advised not to waste my time with denials. Confess, and you shall have the same swift end that the Young Wolf gave Lord Rickard. Lie, and you will burn. Choose."
"I choose this." One of the grandsons seized his sword hilt, and made to draw it.
That proved to be a poor choice. The grandson's blade had not even cleared his scabbard before two of the king's knights were on him. It ended with his forearm flopping in the dirt and blood spurting from his stump, and one of his brothers stumbling for the stairs, clutching a belly wound. He staggered up six steps before he fell, and came crashing back down to the floor.
Neither Arnolf Karstark nor his son had moved.
"Take them away," the king commanded. "The sight of them sours my stomach." Within moments, the five men had been bound and removed. The one who had lost his sword arm had fainted from loss of blood, but his brother with the belly wound screamed loud enough for both of them. "That is how I deal with betrayal, turncloak," Stannis informed Theon.
"My name is Theon."
"As you will. Tell me, Theon, how many men did Mors Umber have with him at Winterfell?"
"None. No men." He grinned at his own wit. "He had boys. I saw them." Aside from a handful of half-crippled serjeants, the warriors that Crowfood had brought down from Last Hearth were hardly old enough to shave. "Their spears and axes were older than the hands that clutched them. It was Whoresbane Umber who had the men, inside the castle. I saw them too. Old men, every one." Theon tittered. "Mors took the green boys and Hother took the greybeards. All the real men went with the Greatjon and died at the Red Wedding. Is that what you wanted to know, Your Grace?"
King Stannis ignored the jibe. "Boys," was all he said, disgusted. "Boys will not hold Lord Bolton long."
"Not long," Theon agreed. "Not long at all."
"Not long," cried the raven from its cage.
The king gave the bird an irritated look. "That Braavosi banker claimed Ser Aenys Frey is dead. Did some boy do that?"
"Twenty green boys, with spades," Theon told him. "The snow fell heavily for days. So heavily that you could not see the castle walls ten yards away, no more than the men up on the battlements could see what was happening beyond those walls. So Crowfood set his boys to digging pits outside the castle gates, then blew his horn to lure Lord Bolton out. Instead he got the Freys. The snow had covered up the pits, so they rode right into them. Aenys broke his neck, I heard, but Ser Hosteen only lost a horse, more's the pity. He will be angry now."
Strangely, Stannis smiled. "Angry foes do not concern me. Anger makes men stupid, and Hosteen Frey was stupid to begin with, if half of what I have heard of him is true. Let him come."
"He will."
"Bolton has blundered," the king declared. "All he had to do was sit inside his castle whilst we starved. Instead he has sent some portion of his strength forth to give us battle. His knights will be horsed, ours must fight afoot. His men will be well nourished, ours go into battle with empty bellies. It makes no matter. Ser Stupid, Lord Too-Fat, the Bastard, let them come. We hold the ground, and that I mean to turn to our advantage."
"The ground?" said Theon. "What ground? Here? This misbegotten tower? This wretched little village? You have no high ground here, no walls to hide beyond, no natural defenses."
"Yet."
"Yet," both ravens screamed in unison. Then one quorked, and the other muttered, "Tree, tree, tree."
The door opened. Beyond, the world was white. The knight of the three moths entered, his legs caked with snow. He stomped his feet to knock it off and said, "Your Grace, the Karstarks are taken. A few of them resisted, and died for it. Most were too confused, and yielded quietly. We have herded them all into the longhall and confined them there."
"Well done."
"They say they did not know. The ones we've questioned."
"They would."
"We might question them more sharply... "
"No. I believe them. Karstark could never have hoped to keep his treachery a secret if he shared his plans with every baseborn manjack in his service. Some drunken spearman would have let it slip one night whilst laying with a whore. They did not need to know. They are Karhold men. When the moment came they would have obeyed their lords, as they had done all their lives."
"As you say, Sire."
"What of your own losses?"
"One of Lord Peasebury's men was killed, and two of mine were wounded. If it please Your Grace, though, the men are growing anxious. There are hundreds of them gathered around the tower, wondering what's happened. Talk of treason is on every lip. No one knows who to trust, or who might be arrested next. The northmen especially — "
"I need to talk with them. Is Wull still waiting?"
"Him and Artos Flint. Will you see them?"
"Shortly. The kraken first."
"As you command." The knight took his leave.
My sister, Theon thought, my sweet sister. Though he had lost all feeling in his arms, he felt the twisting in his gut, the same as when that bloodless Braavosi banker presented him to Asha as a 'gift.' The memory still rankled. The burly, balding knight who'd been with her had wasted no time shouting for help, so they'd had no more than a few moments before Theon was dragged away to face the king. That was long enough. He had hated the look on Asha's face when she realized who he was; the shock in her eyes, the pity in her voice, the way her mouth twisted in disgust. Instead of rushing forward to embrace him, she had taken half a step backwards. "Did the Bastard do this to you?" she had asked.
"Don't you call him that." Then the words came spilling out of Theon in a rush. He tried to tell her all of it, about Reek and the Dreadfort and Kyra and the keys, how Lord Ramsay never took anything but skin unless you begged for it. He told her how he'd saved the girl, leaping from the castle wall into the snow. "We flew. Let Abel make a song of that, we flew." Then he had to say who Abel was, and talk about the washerwomen who weren't truly washerwomen. By then Theon knew how strange and incoherent all this sounded, yet somehow the words would not stop. He was cold and sick and tired... and weak, so weak, so very weak.
She has to understand. She is my sister. He never wanted to do any harm to Bran or Rickon. Reek made him kill those boys, not him Reek but the other one. "I am no kinslayer," he insisted. He told her how he bedded down with Ramsay's bitches, warned her that Winterfell was full of ghosts. "The swords were gone. Four, I think, or five. I don't recall. The stone kings are angry." He was shaking by then, trembling like an autumn leaf. "The heart tree knew my name. The old gods. Theon, I heard them whisper. There was no wind but the leaves were moving. Theon, they said. My name is Theon." It was good to say the name. The more he said it, the less like he was to forget. "You have to know your name," he'd told his sister. "You... you told me you were Esgred, but that was a lie. Your name is Asha."
"It is," his sister had said, so softly that he was afraid that she might cry. Theon hated that. He hated women weeping. Jeyne Poole had wept all the way from Winterfell to here, wept until her face was purple as a beetroot and the tears had frozen on her cheeks, and all because he told her that she must be Arya, or else the wolves might send them back. "They trained you in a brothel," he reminded her, whispering in her ear so the others would not hear. "Jeyne is the next thing to a whore, you must go on being Arya." He meant no hurt to her. It was for her own good, and his. She has to remember her name. When the tip of her nose turned black from frostbite, and the one of the riders from the Night's Watch told her she might lose a piece of it, Jeyne had wept over that as well. "No one will care what Arya looks like, so long as she is heir to Winterfell," he assured her. "A hundred men will want to marry her. A thousand."
The memory left Theon writhing in his chains. "Let me down," he pleaded. "Just for a little while, then you can hang me up again." Stannis Baratheon looked up at him, but did not answer. "Tree," a raven cried. "Tree, tree, tree."
Then other bird said, "Theon," clear as day, as Asha came striding through the door.
Qarl the Maid was with her, and Tristifer Botley. Theon had known Botley since they were boys together, back on Pyke. Why has she brought her pets? Does she mean to cut me free? They would end the same way as the Karstarks, if she tried.
The king was displeased by their presence as well. "Your guards may wait without. If I meant harm to you, two men would not dissuade me."
The ironborn bowed and retreated. Asha took a knee. "Your Grace. Must my brother be chained like that? It seems a poor reward for bringing you the Stark girl."
The king's mouth twitched. "You have a bold tongue, my lady. Not unlike your turncloak brother."
"Thank you, Your Grace."
"It was not a compliment." Stannis gave Theon a long look. "The village lacks a dungeon, and I have more prisoners than I anticipated when we halted here." He waved Asha to her feet. "You may rise."
She stood. "The Braavosi ransomed my seven of my men from Lady Glover. I would glady pay a ransom for my brother."
"There is not enough gold on all your Iron Islands. Your brother's hands are soaked with blood. Farring is urging me to give him to R'hllor."
"Clayton Suggs as well, I do not doubt."
"Him, Corliss Penny, all the rest. Even Ser Richard here, who only loves the Lord of Light when it suits his purposes."
"The red god's choir only knows a single song."
"So long as the song is pleasing in god's ears, let them sing. Lord Bolton's men will be here sooner than we would wish. Only Mors Umber stands between us, and your brother tells me his levies are made up entirely of green boys. Men like to know their god is with them when they go to battle."
"Not all your men worship the same god."
"I am aware of this. I am not the fool my brother was."
"Theon is my mother's last surviving son. When his brothers died, it shattered her. His death will crush what remains of her... but I have not come to beg you for his life."
"Wise. I am sorry for your mother, but I do not spare the lives of turncloaks. This one, especially. He slew two sons of Eddard Stark. Every northman in my service would abandon me if I showed him any clemency. Your brother must die."
"Then do the deed yourself, Your Grace." The chill in Asha's voice made Theon shiver in his chains. "Take him out across the lake to the islet where the weirwood grows, and strike his head off with that sorcerous sword you bear. That is how Eddard Stark would have done it. Theon slew Lord Eddard's sons. Give him to Lord Eddard's gods. The old gods of the north. Give him to the tree."
And suddenly there came a wild thumping, as the maester's ravens hopped and flapped inside their cages, their black feathers flying as they beat against the bars with loud and raucous caws. "The tree," one squawked, "the tree, the tree," whilst the second screamed only, "Theon, Theon, Theon."
Theon Greyjoy smiled. They know my name, he thought.[close]
http://georgerrmartin.com/if-sample.html
Total first-draft prose from Martin. Reads like he wrote all of it at a furious pace in one sitting.
That chapter was pretty awesome. Hmmmspoiler (click to show/hide)-Surely this chapter supports the theory that Ramsay's letter was fake. It seems likely that the Manderly forces will kill off the Freys as a sign of fealty to Stannis. Perhaps they'll bring back Stannis' sword as proof that he has been defeated. Perhaps the Manderlys will return to Winterfell with Stannis' men posing as members of their army; that would be a pretty badass way to siege the castle without breaking the walls.
-Sounds like Bran might try to save Theon?
-Some of the best Stannis moments are here. I won't how he plans on dealing with Ramsay's much larger army
-The knight and Poole/Fake Arya will reach the Wall after Jon's death, so no one will be able to recognize her as a fraud.[close]
A Dance With Dragons is so bad I've given up on this series. Will only watch tv series' for now on.
I know how you feel. Really got no interest in going back to finish off ADWD now.
spoiler (click to show/hide)I care very little about King of the North bullshit. Also, I haven't read ADWD or AFFC yet, but...
Doesn't it seem like the real climax of the series is going to be learning the true origins of Jon? I'm pretty confident he's indeed a Targaryen ala the whole "Ned's Promise" thing. I think it's going to end up being a struggle between Jon and Dany for the throne...direwolves versus dragons. Makes sense for the series' title. Ice versus Fire.
I don't know. Jon is my favorite character in the series and I think he should be king.[close]
spoiler (click to show/hide)When Varys gave his long monologue about Aegon being the perfectly planned, perfectly trained king I knew he'd die. Those type of characters don't make it in the series. Considering how reckless Aegon already is, I'd imagine things will only get worse and even Connington won't be able to convince him to chill.
My ideal king would be Stannis, personally - at least out of the current candidates. It seems like he has finally realized his rigid ways haven't gotten him anywhere, and perhaps he's willing to compromise now. For instance the Stannis of ACOK would never consider executing Theon on a weirwood; he'd burn him, and tell anyone who disagreed "deal with it." I'm pretty confident he's going to defeat the Boltons and Freys, but I doubt he'll live through all of TWOW.
The North...eh. Some people are still arguing Robb's wife is pregnant lol, but I doubt it. Rickon is the far better candidate for KOTN considering there's already a plot to crown him. And we still don't know who Robb decreed as his heir...[close]
spoiler (click to show/hide)When Varys gave his long monologue about Aegon being the perfectly planned, perfectly trained king I knew he'd die. Those type of characters don't make it in the series. Considering how reckless Aegon already is, I'd imagine things will only get worse and even Connington won't be able to convince him to chill.
My ideal king would be Stannis, personally - at least out of the current candidates. It seems like he has finally realized his rigid ways haven't gotten him anywhere, and perhaps he's willing to compromise now. For instance the Stannis of ACOK would never consider executing Theon on a weirwood; he'd burn him, and tell anyone who disagreed "deal with it." I'm pretty confident he's going to defeat the Boltons and Freys, but I doubt he'll live through all of TWOW.
The North...eh. Some people are still arguing Robb's wife is pregnant lol, but I doubt it. Rickon is the far better candidate for KOTN considering there's already a plot to crown him. And we still don't know who Robb decreed as his heir...[close]spoiler (click to show/hide)It's pretty obvious what's going to happen. Dany is going to show up in Westeros and resurrected zombie Jon and maybe Aegon will be dragonriders with her, burninating the ice zombies. She and Jon will probably get married and have dirty incestuous babies together, seeing as how Jon is the offspring of Lyanna and Rhaegar. The End.[close]
God I love AFFC. Some of the best prose in the genre.
spoiler (click to show/hide)When Varys gave his long monologue about Aegon being the perfectly planned, perfectly trained king I knew he'd die. Those type of characters don't make it in the series. Considering how reckless Aegon already is, I'd imagine things will only get worse and even Connington won't be able to convince him to chill.
My ideal king would be Stannis, personally - at least out of the current candidates. It seems like he has finally realized his rigid ways haven't gotten him anywhere, and perhaps he's willing to compromise now. For instance the Stannis of ACOK would never consider executing Theon on a weirwood; he'd burn him, and tell anyone who disagreed "deal with it." I'm pretty confident he's going to defeat the Boltons and Freys, but I doubt he'll live through all of TWOW.
The North...eh. Some people are still arguing Robb's wife is pregnant lol, but I doubt it. Rickon is the far better candidate for KOTN considering there's already a plot to crown him. And we still don't know who Robb decreed as his heir...[close]spoiler (click to show/hide)It's pretty obvious what's going to happen. Dany is going to show up in Westeros and resurrected zombie Jon and maybe Aegon will be dragonriders with her, burninating the ice zombies. She and Jon will probably get married and have dirty incestuous babies together, seeing as how Jon is the offspring of Lyanna and Rhaegar. The End.[close]
Huh? It's a great book.God I love AFFC. Some of the best prose in the genre.
...sadist
Makes me very curious to see what she does in Westeros. I see no evidence she would be a good ruler, or is capable of playing the various games required of rulers. To be honest, I don't really see any character who would be a "good" king or queen.
I kind of think the unity of the kingdoms will be broken, and there will be no one ruler in the future
I'm not reading through all of this thread. I will just put out there that I was a little disappointed with ADWD. Dany turned into a giant pussy. Tyrion wasn't as funny as he usually is.
Ya whatever. I liked him better when he was cynical and didn't give as much of a shit. His best stuff was always when he was talking to Jon Snow.Virtually impossible for him to return to that self after what happened in ASOS.
spoiler (click to show/hide)Wait, PD, you think Jon is dead? I think he's alive.[close]
The way I see it. He can't be. HE JUST CAN'T BE.spoiler (click to show/hide)Wait, PD, you think Jon is dead? I think he's alive.[close]
spoiler (click to show/hide)He's dead, but that doesn't mean he'll stay dead. You don't survive getting stabbed in the neck, stomach and back. Melisandre has already predicted he'll be a man then wolf then man again, so he warged into Ghost. Melisandre might heal him like the other red priest healed Victarion.
Personally I think he'll be frozen under the Wall and could stay there until Dany arrives, or Stannis. Dunno[close]
spoiler (click to show/hide)He's dead, but that doesn't mean he'll stay dead. You don't survive getting stabbed in the neck, stomach and back. Melisandre has already predicted he'll be a man then wolf then man again, so he warged into Ghost. Melisandre might heal him like the other red priest healed Victarion.
Personally I think he'll be frozen under the Wall and could stay there until Dany arrives, or Stannis. Dunno[close]spoiler (click to show/hide)Bran could have something to do with it as well, imo[close]
Currently reading it, started after HBO S1 ended.Because the books are great, so it's worth it for that.
So yes, serious post.spoiler (click to show/hide)Between this scene and the books never ending, I kind of feel like what is the point in even reading this series any further :\
Really really pissed off right now. I kind of expected he might die at some point, but didn't expect the mother as well. :([close]
On a side note imo the entire passage of AFFC featuring the priest/septon is the best written part of the series
His cheeks grew fuller, his eyes closer; his nose hooked, a scar appeared on his right cheek where no scar had been before. And when he shook his head, his long straight hair, half red and half white, dissolved away to reveal a cap of tight black curls.
He was just a man, and his face was just a face. A young man’s face, ordinary, with full cheeks and the shadow of a beard. A scar showed faintly on his right cheek. He had a hooked nose, and a mat of dense black hair that curled tightly around his ears.(http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/2181/ohhhk.png)
Would have been a waste imo. I don't want a big name for Mance considering he doesn't have a huge role in the books. Which means the writers would have to create new scenes to justify the actor spending half a year in Iceland
same problem I have with Gillen as Littlefinger. Great actor but bad in the role, and the writers have given him a bunch of new scenes that are quite weak.
Would have been a waste imo. I don't want a big name for Mance considering he doesn't have a huge role in the books. Which means the writers would have to create new scenes to justify the actor spending half a year in Iceland
same problem I have with Gillen as Littlefinger. Great actor but bad in the role, and the writers have given him a bunch of new scenes that are quite weak.
I really like the Littlefinger/Varys scenes, whatchu talkin' bout Maurice
New Martin interview with quite a bombshell
http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/71917-new-grrm-interview/spoiler (click to show/hide)Q: Did Howland Reed stand witness to the promise Ned made to Lyanna?
Martin: (Silence) No.[close]
boom. I'm actually glad. Many fans view that character as a deus ex machina who will explain everything, reveal The Hero, and lead him to his destiny. While the general R+L=J theory is more than likely true, this at least seems to kill the possibility that any character can actually confirm it 100%.
New Martin interview with quite a bombshell
http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/71917-new-grrm-interview/spoiler (click to show/hide)Q: Did Howland Reed stand witness to the promise Ned made to Lyanna?
Martin: (Silence) No.[close]
boom. I'm actually glad. Many fans view that character as a deus ex machina who will explain everything, reveal The Hero, and lead him to his destiny. While the general R+L=J theory is more than likely true, this at least seems to kill the possibility that any character can actually confirm it 100%.spoiler (click to show/hide)Other than, you know, when Dany gets to the wall and Resurrected Jon Snow tames a dragon n shit[close]
Q: Now that we know how the "Meereenese knot" played out, what was the problem with this? For example, was it the order in which Dany met various characters, or who, when, and how someone would try to take the dragons?http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/Asshai.com_Interview_in_Barcelona/
A: Now I can explain things. It was a confluence of many, many factors: lets start with the offer from Xaro to give Dany ships, the refusal of which then leads to Qarth's declaration of war. Then there's the marriage of Daenerys to pacify the city. Then there's the arrival of the Yunkish army at the gates of Meereen, there's the order of arrival of various people going her way (Tyrion, Quentyn, Victarion, Aegon, Marwyn, etc.), and then there's Daario, this dangerous sellsword and the question of whether Dany really wants him or not, there's hte plague, there's Drogon's return to Meereen...
All of these things were balls I had thrown up into the air, and they're all linked and chronologically entwined. The return of Drogon to the city was something I explored as happening at different times. For example, I wrote three different versions of Quentyn's arrival at Meereen: one where he arrived long before Dany's marriage, one where he arrived much later, and one where he arrived just the day before the marriage (which is how it ended up being in the novel). And I had to write all three versions to be able to compare and see how these different arrival points affected the stories of the other characters. Including the story of a character who actually hasn't arrived yet.
Tyrion is with the Second Sons and Jorah, readying for battle. Brown Ben has gone to see the girl general. However, the Second Sons are still on the side of the Yunkai. There are great laments that they are fighting for the wrong side. There is fighting in Slavers’ Bay and under the Wall. The fight will be upon their position soon.
Tyrion watches the sun rise over the battlefield. One of the dragons (he can’t tell which) eats soldiers being flung into the air by one of six things called the Wicked Sisters (apparently some kind of embattlement). “Why do the gods keep putting him into battle?” thinks Tyrion, since he’s not made for it. His thoughts turn first to Shae, then to his first battle at the Green Fork. He remembers the Green Fork better than Blackwater. And the Second Sons saddling up remind him of Bron.
He is not yet in armor, so he returns to his tent. Penny is there, dressed in real armor for her defense. As she helps Tyrion suit up, they talk. When he mentions Cersei, Penny says, “You would sell your sister for a cup of horse piss.” Tyrion has to laugh: “Is my taste for horse piss so famous or have you met my sister?” He then explains his thoughts on strategy for the upcoming battle – a great plan to be heard and followed by no one. And as he remembers his father remaining above the fighting at the Green Fork, Penny kisses him.
Tyrion is enraged. He rants at her about the slaughter of the battlefield and the reality about to invade her innocent world. Penny apologizes, saying she’s frightened. But this echo of Shae makes matters worse. He leaves to see the battle. It is Viserion chowing down on flying soldiers. Rheagal is in sight, however. The camp is in a panic.
A man in golden armor rides up from the Supreme Commander Gorzak (ph). No one in the camp knows who Gorzak is. This man is his emissary and commands them to move to the bay and attack the savages from the squid ships. Tyrion, as a Lannister, is well aware of the Ironborn depredations and is not inclined to follow the command. The Second Sons agree: they are cavalry and can’t walk on water. They decide to wait for Brown Ben to return. The emissary, assuring them of the wrath of Gorzak, departs. Tyrion and Jorah agree – they are fighting for the wrong side.
Viserion withdraws from the skies. Rhaegal still flies, however.
Brown Ben returns. Melessa (ph) wants them to defend a Wicked Sister. Tyrion crudely points out that the girl has nicer breasts. And at that point, a Yunkai nobleman rides up. Tyrion approves of the depraved scene depicted on his armor, but his news is less welcome. The nobleman swears vengeance on the Prince of Tatters and Tyrion mocks him. Brown Ben defends Tyrion from the nobleman until Jorah runs the Yunkai nobleman through.
And Brown Ben proclaims that they have been Queen’s Men all along! Joining the Yunkai was merely a clever ploy. Tyrion isn’t fooled by this, but is happy with the development.
Speaking about the sixth book in his epic saga, Martin admits, “Sometimes I just wish [the fans] would stop pressuring me about it. It will be done when it’s done. [...] I’m a slow writer, I’ve always been a slow writer, and these are gigantic books.”
At the same time, he also acknowledges that, “as [Game of Thrones] comes closer and closer, I need to go faster and faster.”
download it to read it at work but haven;t had the chance.
lol, Momoa spoils/confirms Robert Strong's identity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_wkhdoE-c0&t=2020)
(avoid if you haven't read AFFC/ADWD)download it to read it at work but haven;t had the chance.
Read it yet breh?
Daemon Targaryen :whoo
Also has a Red Wedding type event (Blood & Cheese) that really surprised me. It's a pretty brutal short story. One of the most noteworthy things is just how many prominent houses dominate the stage in it, whereas they're either extinct or minor in the ASOIAF books. The Hightowers are basically like the Lannisters of that era; they're still around obviously, but don't seem to be prominent outside of Oldstown. House Velaryon also plays a major role, having the largest naval fleet in Westeros, even bigger than those of the Iron Isles. Given how many major houses are near the brink of extinction in ASOIAF, I get the impression many houses are going to fall or rise soon.
It's written as a historical retelling, but isn't as dry as some claim. Some parts are rather poetic, and I enjoy the unreliable narrator perspective of the biased maester who writes it.
some stuff, with implications for the ASOIAF books:
-While never outright confirmed, it seems like only people with Targaryen blood (even a slight amount) can mount a dragon. However it also describes ways in which a person could slowly gain control of a dragon, and presumably they work regardless of blood.
-Multiple lesser houses and smallfolk on Dragonstone have Targaryen blood due to the right of the first night, ie lords got to bang maiden brides. While the tradition was never popular in Westeros, it was considered a great honor on Dragonstone because everyone believed the Targaryens were godlike. And even after the practice was abolished, Targaryens continued to bang anyone and everyone to no one's tears.
-Dragon riders form a warg-like bond with their dragons. One dragon rider is bound to one dragon, until one or the other dies.
-It's reconfirmed that Targaryens aren't immune to fire, considering multiple ones get roasted. However they do seem to have a higher tolerance for heat/flame than other people.
Lotta preview chapters recently.
Book coming out this or next year?
Re: Writing Process
I do rewrite quite a bit... well, after 1982, anyway... but I must admit, I did a lot more on FEAST and DANCE than anything before them. And not just polishes, but major restructings, like getting rid of the five-year gap, and my endless attempts to make that onechapter work... (it never did). Those two books were bears.spoiler (click to show/hide)Tyrion[close]
So far, I have not done anywhere near as much rewriting on WINDS... but of course, it is not done yet.
(snip)
-It's reconfirmed that Targaryens aren't immune to fire, considering multiple ones get roasted. However they do seem to have a higher tolerance for heat/flame than other people.
Yeah you can tell it's Arya right away which makes the shit she said about her rape more disturbing, I though my lone wolf was gonna have to let some sealord rape her to get close to him and clapped him :tocry
I caved and read the Mercy chapter. Amazing. I kinda think you're being too literal with that PD.At the same timespoiler (click to show/hide)to me it just seems like compartmentalizing, "Mercy" doesn't know the common tongue, but she's eavesdropping anyway, and uses it when she doesn't see any other option. It's not like she's entirely detached from being Arya[close]
Yeah, maybe reread it, PD. It's pretty clear she's aware.But that's my point!spoiler (click to show/hide)pretty sure her dreams are Nymeria's wandering about so I don't know what you're on about. Her not reacting is because she's a fucking faceless one trained not to.[close]
So is Tyrion an antihero or not? My friend refuses to accept that he is an anti hero, citing batman as the prototype anti hero. Sigh.
So is Tyrion an antihero or not? My friend refuses to accept that he is an anti hero, citing batman as the prototype anti hero. Sigh.
I seem to be the only one not reading preview chapters?
With a heavy heart I take my L from Triumph.Newsfeed pls :fbm
With a heavy heart I take my L from Triumph.Newsfeed pls :fbm
But what reveal are you referring to? I'm a lazy casual show watcher.
http://grrm.livejournal.com/465247.html
PD, come get your L
http://grrm.livejournal.com/465247.html
PD, come get your L
GRRM uses Livejournal? What the...
http://grrm.livejournal.com/465247.html
PD, come get your L
GRRM uses Livejournal? What the...
Even funnier: a few days ago he said he wrote a big ass new years post about his progress...but it disappeared from LJ's journal. So the big ass posts he wrote yesterday were him rewriting all the shit he lost due to LJ being trash :lol
http://grrm.livejournal.com/465247.html
PD, come get your L
GRRM uses Livejournal? What the...
Even funnier: a few days ago he said he wrote a big ass new years post about his progress...but it disappeared from LJ's journal. So the big ass posts he wrote yesterday were him rewriting all the shit he lost due to LJ being trash :lol
Holy shit. :dead
I'm not expecting him to use Tumblr, but at least go with something reliable like WordPress or Blogger.
You guys ever gonna get tired of this circular discussion?
Snorado and contra and a few posters: Feast & Dance sucked lol
PD and me and some posters: nah, they were pretty good lol
a month goes by:
Snorado and contra and a few posters: Feast & Dance sucked lol
PD and me and some posters: nah, they were pretty good lol
etc...
don't really see the point.
What did you like about the books? That seems like a new-ish angle. We all know what you didn't like.Dorne, Cersei, Arya, Davos.
What did you like about the books? That seems like a new-ish angle. We all know what you didn't like.Dorne, Cersei, Arya, Davos.spoiler (click to show/hide)The Pit was awesome but it came after so much bullshit. Dany's ending was great but just because it's hopeful she'll just start killing people and leave the politicking behind.[close]
fucking hell you're annoying.
Oh man, got around to reading the third Dunk & Egg story, The Mystery Knight and that was goooooooooood. Would make a great 2 hour movie. The other two stories were good too, but yeah Mystery Knight was great stuff, very well layered with lots of intrigue and twists and good characters.
Another thread bump that isn't a TWOW release date :(
Anybody played the Telltale games? Any good story bits in there?
Anybody played the Telltale games? Any good story bits in there?
Nope. It's mediocre, not bad, though. On the boring side. Ramsay is somewhat prominent, so if you have low tolerance for him, avoid.
How have I not seen The Craft
:mindblown
I remember wanting to see it as a kid due to the babes but I totally forgot about that shit.
PD, Fairuza Balk circa 1996 is probably the hottest white woman that's ever existed.
We still talking about the books, brehs? :doge
PD, Fairuza Balk circa 1996 is probably the hottest white woman that's ever existed.
See, Toku?! Told you.
I agree. She oozes sex. It's her mouth, it just looks dirty. Not in a hygiene way but just...I can't describe it. She was so hot in The Water Boy. And she gave me conflicted boners in American History X. I'd make a sequel of American History X based on her. Like how she stops being a racist after falling in love with a black guy. I'd call it American History 13X, as a reference to Clarence 13X. So the black guy would be a member of the Five Percent Nation, making it a Romeo & Juliet type drama.
Is that Blair Witch 2??
spoiler (click to show/hide)George did mention a few years back that magic, even at its peak in ASOIAF would be less out there than other fantasy series.
And then he's like "fuck it, have a kid travel his consciousness back in time effecting the future and have another dude summon tidal waves." :doge[close]
But from their sterns flew a flag the priest had never seen before: a red eye with a black pupil beneath an iron crown supported by two crows.
Yesterday marked FIVE YEARS since the release of Dance with Dragons.
For comparison Brandon Sanderson has released over a dozen different pieces of writing from full novels to short stories in the same time span.
Yesterday marked FIVE YEARS since the release of Dance with Dragons.Mark Z. Danielewski put out three volumes of his 27-book saga in the past year and a half, and will finish the saga before George finishes his, probably.
For comparison Brandon Sanderson has released over a dozen different pieces of writing from full novels to short stories in the same time span.
Yesterday marked FIVE YEARS since the release of Dance with Dragons.Proof that good writing takes time then :hitler
For comparison Brandon Sanderson has released over a dozen different pieces of writing from full novels to short stories in the same time span.
Sanderson :piss2spoiler (click to show/hide)haven't read The Way Of Kings tho[close]
To me the Feast/Dance delays were understandable given the structural problems he had. Meerenese knot, 5 year gap etc etc. Would they have came out faster if he simply cut his schedule in half and devoted more time to writing? Sure, but it would have still taken a long ass time. Whereas I don't see an excuse for TWOW. It's largely due to him preferring to travel the world rather than give himself time to write.
I guess if there was one thing I could see him struggling with it's having all the POVs back. Wouldn't be stunned if he's sitting on a huge ass manuscript with no end in sight due to not planning properly/too many chapters. If the pacing in those Arianne chapters are what we can expect...good fucking luck. She sets out to meet Connington/Aegon and it's largely a journey for two chapters...and she doesn't even meet him at the end of the second chapter; it'll presumably happen in her third POV, or in Connington's POV. For reference she has two chapters in AFFC, and appears in a total of four chapters.
Sanderson :piss2spoiler (click to show/hide)haven't read The Way Of Kings tho[close]
To me the Feast/Dance delays were understandable given the structural problems he had. Meerenese knot, 5 year gap etc etc. Would they have came out faster if he simply cut his schedule in half and devoted more time to writing? Sure, but it would have still taken a long ass time. Whereas I don't see an excuse for TWOW. It's largely due to him preferring to travel the world rather than give himself time to write.
I guess if there was one thing I could see him struggling with it's having all the POVs back. Wouldn't be stunned if he's sitting on a huge ass manuscript with no end in sight due to not planning properly/too many chapters. If the pacing in those Arianne chapters are what we can expect...good fucking luck. She sets out to meet Connington/Aegon and it's largely a journey for two chapters...and she doesn't even meet him at the end of the second chapter; it'll presumably happen in her third POV, or in Connington's POV. For reference she has two chapters in AFFC, and appears in a total of four chapters.
Sanderson :piss2Absolutely 100% on point as always.spoiler (click to show/hide)haven't read The Way Of Kings tho[close]
To me the Feast/Dance delays were understandable given the structural problems he had. Meerenese knot, 5 year gap etc etc. Would they have came out faster if he simply cut his schedule in half and devoted more time to writing? Sure, but it would have still taken a long ass time. Whereas I don't see an excuse for TWOW. It's largely due to him preferring to travel the world rather than give himself time to write.
I guess if there was one thing I could see him struggling with it's having all the POVs back. Wouldn't be stunned if he's sitting on a huge ass manuscript with no end in sight due to not planning properly/too many chapters. If the pacing in those Arianne chapters are what we can expect...good fucking luck. She sets out to meet Connington/Aegon and it's largely a journey for two chapters...and she doesn't even meet him at the end of the second chapter; it'll presumably happen in her third POV, or in Connington's POV. For reference she has two chapters in AFFC, and appears in a total of four chapters.
Sanderson :piss2spoiler (click to show/hide)haven't read The Way Of Kings tho[close]
To me the Feast/Dance delays were understandable given the structural problems he had. Meerenese knot, 5 year gap etc etc. Would they have came out faster if he simply cut his schedule in half and devoted more time to writing? Sure, but it would have still taken a long ass time. Whereas I don't see an excuse for TWOW. It's largely due to him preferring to travel the world rather than give himself time to write.
I guess if there was one thing I could see him struggling with it's having all the POVs back. Wouldn't be stunned if he's sitting on a huge ass manuscript with no end in sight due to not planning properly/too many chapters. If the pacing in those Arianne chapters are what we can expect...good fucking luck. She sets out to meet Connington/Aegon and it's largely a journey for two chapters...and she doesn't even meet him at the end of the second chapter; it'll presumably happen in her third POV, or in Connington's POV. For reference she has two chapters in AFFC, and appears in a total of four chapters.
If we're ever gonna see the end of the series, I think GRRM will have to kick the bucket so a more capable author can finish it.
The dune prequels and epilogue :kobeyuck
The Mereenese Knot was such a shitfuck excuse. Just bring the characters together. The show has started openly teleporting them across the map, and no one gives a fuck.
Still no word on the book?
It's not coming out.
Also- did you even read that theory, PD? Any hot takes on that hot take?spoiler (click to show/hide)I mean other than the fact that if it plays out it will have to do so on the show as we're never getting anymore books.[close]
Also- did you even read that theory, PD? Any hot takes on that hot take?spoiler (click to show/hide)I mean other than the fact that if it plays out it will have to do so on the show as we're never getting anymore books.[close]
My hot take.spoiler (click to show/hide)I've heard theories of Jaime being Azhor Ahai before, the one I can best recall contrasted him with Bran as the Great Other. This one gives a lot of insight I never considered before.
I hope both the show and books (lol) stray from Jon/Dany being the big hero. I think it's pretty weird that a lot fans of the series still think Jon and Dany will get married and rule as king/queen when the series has never done something as cookie cutter as that.[close]
Also- did you even read that theory, PD? Any hot takes on that hot take?spoiler (click to show/hide)I mean other than the fact that if it plays out it will have to do so on the show as we're never getting anymore books.[close]
I wouldn't be surprised if he had that Aeron chapter in the backburner for 10+ years, just like the Mercy chapter.
I think he may have started over after he realized he wrote himself in a corner somewhere. Winds 2021 baby!
I wouldn't be surprised if he had that Aeron chapter in the backburner for 10+ years, just like the Mercy chapter.
I think he may have started over after he realized he wrote himself in a corner somewhere. Winds 2021 baby!
Can this thread just not be bumped unless it's for a release date?
When you began writing this series, the president was George H.W. Bush. Things have changed a lot since then. Are there moments when you’ve been influenced by the politics of the time or commented on it?
Does it have the depth of the books yet?
Season 5 does all of DWD and AFFC?! :o
So it's after DWD now? Holy shit.
Does it have the depth of the books yet?
why would you even expect this from a show with 10-episode seasons
why would you even expect this in a show at all?
My hope is that going past book material will force them to do this.
I believe the show doesn't have as much blatant sex and nudity anymore. It's peppered in here and there but i dont really remember much of that last season.
Does it have the depth of the books yet?
why would you even expect this from a show with 10-episode seasons
why would you even expect this in a show at all?
I don't expect it to have the same amount of depth but I do want them to go more into character/world building more than gratuitous sex scenes.
I mean, I'm not expecting the same amount of depth but I do think the tv show left a reasonable amount of depth on the table that it didn't take advantage of and instead went for shock. My hope is that going past book material will force them to do this.
Benioff and Weiss are still the showrunners, so no.
I feel like you could get a better show replacing them with PD and Triumph.
http://grrm.livejournal.com/544709.html
lol
Both 'reports' are equally false and equally moronic. I am still working on it, I am still months away (how many? good question), I still have good days and bad days, and that's all I care to say. Whether WINDS or the first volume of FIRE AND BLOOD will be the first to hit the bookstores is hard to say at this juncture, but I do think you will have a Westeros book from me in 2018... and who knows, maybe two. A boy can dream..
Is there a chance someone take over writing ASIOAF when, not if, George dies?
Is there a chance someone take over writing ASIOAF when, not if, George dies?
Already done. Sundays on HBO.
Completely contingent on his will and the wishes of his estate, I'd imagine.
Is there a chance someone take over writing ASIOAF when, not if, George dies?
Already done. Sundays on HBO.
No I mean having someone else write the books. Like that Malazan series.
I don't get why he bothers even addressing this shit at this point. The books aren't done, and firing off these 'quiet children, you'll eat when dinner's ready' posts don't really seem to serve any purpose beyond agitating an already annoyed fanbase.
I understand disappointment, and fighting a long losing fight. I'm a Nas stan, after all. But I will not take this L. Fuck GRRM and fuck those books.
In a few months I will have convinced myself I never read the books. Won't be hard. I still don't acknowledge Nastradamus even exists.
http://grrm.livejournal.com/544709.html
lol
"GRRM has like 400 pages he cut from the end of Dance. He can get Winds out by 2014, 2015 at the latest!"
Fucking lol. This lazy POS.
It's impossible to know for sure what happened, but if I had to guess I'd say it was something like this:
Martin wrote the first three books in a short time span. He was very into it. He decided to make it this grand long thing and made a bunch of public statements about how it would be seven books.
He started to struggle with the fourth book. He became more interested in the world of Westeros and exploring it than continuing the narrative he'd originally conceived. This is born out by the actual evidence at hand- the pacing of books and 4 and 5 is shitty, and bloated with lots of things that for as much as the stans will make excuses, are inconsequential to the overall narrative. See also: all the short stories and crap, and the World of Song of Ice and Fire or whatever book.
Martin has obviously put in more work towards non "core" ASoIaF Westrosi gibberish and other pursuits (being famous, other books, the tv show) than he has the main series in the past 16 or so years. The evidence just plainly affirms this.
So basically, if you ever read and enjoyed the Dunk and Egg stories or any of his other shit, you're to blame.
*stern gaze at PD*
Just for the sake of argument, let me point out that many many people invest their time into works without endings. F. Scott Fitzgerald never finished THE LAST TYCOON, Charles Dickens never finished EDWIN DROOD, Mervyn Peake never finished TITUS ALONE, yet those works are still read.
I do intend to finish A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, of course… but doubtless Peake, Dickens, Fitzgerald, and Tolkien would have said the same.
I hope the bore lasts another 20 years so we can make you eat your feet
This writing stuff is hard.
Even so, it has been going well of late. Three more chapters completed this past week. And good progress on several more. Still a long long way to go, though. Do not get too excited.
Winds of Winter post mortem:
GRRM: "So I actually started writing for real right after Season 8 ended"
I wrote hundreds and hundreds of pages of THE WINDS OF WINTER in 2020. [...] I still have hundreds of more pages to write to bring the novel to a satisfactory conclusion. That’s what 2021 is for, I hope.
The best year I’ve had on WOW since I began it. Why? I don’t know. Maybe the isolation. Or maybe I just got on a roll. Sometimes I do get on a roll.
He wrote "hundreds and hundreds," but only has "hundreds" more to go... that's one less "-and hundreds"! Progress. 8)
Winds of Winter post mortem:
GRRM: "So I actually started writing for real right after Season 8 ended"