[Book] A Dance With Dragons (A Song of Ice & Fire V)

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That's exactly why she ISN'T. GRRM loves to bait and switch. 'Kill the boy so the man can be born'....turns out, it's literal. We know that the Red Priests can resurrect people and have great healing skills. And there's one right there at the wall.

read this

 

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That's a great interview. Thanks Commodore.

It inspired me to go to the westeros.org ADWD forum....holy moly! Has that forum turned into the GARM or what? There were people (all new joins) talking about things that were easily found if you read the books. 'What did Tywin have planned for Tyrion?'...jeeze.

 

They're having a weird debate in the casting forum over whether or not it's okay that the actor casted as Xaro Xhoan Daxos is black when the Quarteen are described as pale. Hardcore fanboys are a strange bunch.

 

I want so very badly to read this thread but sadly am only halfway through Storm of Swords. My gf and I got the set after we saw the show like 4 times on demand. Insanity. I left town with book one and she got a headstart beginning on book 2. Shes been lording over me ever since with knowledge she can't reveal. Hussy. Just like all you people with your threads and spoilertags.

 

Haha... posting the spoiler tag does provide me with a perverted sense of geek power.

 

OMG Storm is amazing! Probably my favorite book EVER! Where are you on it? And I loved to hear your thoughts on it so far or when ur done, spoilered tag of course =p.

 

Just finished reading last night:

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So it seems that Daeny is now ready to make her trek back across the narrow sea? I hope so. I find Meereen to be boring with the exception of the mystery of who is the Harpy. Anyone believe it really is Hizdahr?

SO glad Strong Belwas didn't die. Love that dude.

Agree with everyone else that Jon Snow somehow resurrects...probably at Melisandre's doing. She definitely felt like Jon was very important somehow.

The means by which the Faceless People take on another visage was both cool and creepy. I wonder if Arya will be down in the bottom room looking for a new face one day and happen to see the face of a certain Water Dancing sword instructor?

Even though we were getting little bits of the picture here and there in previous books, I'm glad to see we finally have a very clear view of EXACTLY what Varys' motivation is. He always claimed to serve the realm, but he clearly had a very specific goal in mind all along. I figured he still supported the Targaryen side of the fence, but I wasn't entirely sure how because he supported King Robert in attempting to assassinate Daenarys in early books.

I'll come back and type more later. Have to go to work now.

 

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The most popular theories regarding Jon, assuming we didn't see his final death is either Mel bringing him back, or him warging into Ghost as described in the prologue.

I enjoyed the book, but I agree that parts of it dragged with minor details and travel that seem to have minimal impact on the main story line. I was really expecting

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Tyrion and Victorion to have direct interactions with Dany in this book. I also would have liked to see more info on where Osha and Rickon went and more white walkers. Kind of funny that one Targaryen was both revealed and managed to cross the narrow sea and actually start conquering in a few chapters, while Dany isn't really any closer to doing that than she was when the book started.

 

I think all of that is part of

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the Merenees knot. That GRRM had to work out- the timing of everything.

I agree on the whole Lannisters/Greyjoys not meeting with Dany. I guess she has to go through with taking over the Khalasar so she can return to Mereene and liberate the city from the assaulting armies first. Could have expanded the book another few hundred pages.

 

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I've been thinking lately about the Azor Ahai/Last Hero/Prince That Was Promised prophecies lately. What do you all think? Are they all separate people? Is The Last Hero the name the First Men had for TPTWP? My little theory is that Jon is AA since a lot of the prophecies fit. TPTWP is Daenerys since Aemon implied before his death that dragons aren't male or female therefore TPTWP could technically be a female. It also fits the other prophecy that TPTWP comes from Aerys/Rhaella's line.

The more farfetched one is The Last Hero who was a prophecy of the First Men and Children of the Forest (my memory is vague on this I know Bran mentioned it was one of Old Nan's tales). Is it possible that Bran is the Last Hero? I remember hearing that he would be alone facing darkness or something pertaining to that. Or is the Last Hero just another name for AA/TPTWP?

 

I haven't thought enough on the Azhor Azhai stuff to have any kind of real theory.

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I feel like I missed something pertaining to the children that knived Ser Kevan Lannister. Are these just the children that Varys mentioned before as his "little birds" that fed him information? Or was there some other connection I was supposed to make? I mean, it's one thing to have a network of kids you pay to feed you info, it's another to have a gang of small children that will commit cold blooded murder for you on command. That was kind of strange.

 

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I believe most of his little birds are actually child slaves supplied to him by Illyrio, so I imagine they basically just do what he tells them to.

 

Took over 2 weeks to finish ADwD and I feel the same way. I'm somewhat disappointed with the book, though nowhere near what I felt about AFfC initially (the last book is not as bad when re-read, its negative ratings stem mostly from how long it took to write it).

*mild spoilers* I cannot wait until two certain houses of Westeros get their comeuppance. I'm also glad a female character was humiliated in the book. I just hope her psychopath maester dies soon.

I thought there were too many POVs and I didn't particularly care for the ones belonging to Areo Hotah, Daenerys, Asha, Melisandre, and Quentyn; I wish the novel had told more about Jaime and Arya; the addition of POVs belonging to Ser Barristan,

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Davos and Jon Connington

, were great, but my favorite were

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Theon's/Reek's

and Jon's chapters.

Tyrion wasn't my favorite POV surprisingly, the addition of a certain female character he spends much time with was dull reading. However, he was back in his element towards the end of the book when he stayed true to his family's motto.

The events towards the very end at the Wall left me shocked, it'd be great if the AA theory is right. And the epilogue was sad too, I hate seeing 'good' men similar to Ned Stark suffer that fate.

Theory: Anyone else think some characters are working for a good god whilst the others are knowingly or unknowingly serving the evil god? I say this because

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Bran's chapters

prove there is something to the Old Gods of the North yet sacrifices to R'hllor result in wind for ships etc.

 

Re: Gods:

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They all evil.

 

Gods, My pet theory, other observations:

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AA and TPTWP are different people. GRRM likes to misdirect like a mofo. AA is pretty much Jon at this point....I don't think it's possible that it ends up being anyone else. Unless it's Ed Tollet.

My theory- A+J=T, T=TPTWP.

Re: Gods- GRRM stated in the interview that Commodore posted that Rhollor/the Other religion was based on Zoroastrianism. If you read about it, you may be able to infer a few things.

 

I think there is something to this.

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I was thinking about it as I was reading. I mean, the followers of R'hllor hate the darkness and worship the light. But where does Bran go to pry open his third eye? Deep down into the earth, into darkness. It's almost like they are setting up those two as opposite warring "god" factions. I know the White Walkers fit into that somehow, I guess they are their own faction. But George RR Martin has definitely gone out of his way to show that there is very real power in both the R'hllor followers as well as the the weirwoods and the Gods of the North.

 

re: the Old Gods,

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I had gotten the impression that they were basically greenseers whose consciousness had remained plugged into the weirwood network