A Blog of Ice and Fire

3 Chapters

Allright, it's high time I got back to at least semi-regular commenting on the book. I set it aside somewhere in the middle of the Theon Greyjoy's chapter, which I found kind of disgusting. Aside from the pornographic content, I just couldn't believe Martin was introducing yet another grumpy old power-hungry codger greedy for a kingdom. Not to mention the son, Theon, who harbors his own lust for power. Jeez, this makes the War of the Roses look like a game of checkers. And as much as Theon is a rather interesting character, I mean, just how many sides can one war have!? I just had to lay the book aside for a while, muttering a frustrated "oh c'mon..."

But getting through that chapter finally, we arrive at the Daenerys chapter, which seemed to me to have all the usual Martin brilliance with none of the tawdry excess that occasionally intrudes on his writing. I love this chapter. I love the way Daenerys seems to be growing before our eyes. I love the utterly believable description of the three young dragons, the vivid depiction of the endless desert, the deserted city, and finally the three strange characters that show up in the last paragraph. Fine writing throughout.

Jon's chapter, which follows, perhaps doesn't extend the story all that much, but it's interesting to note that Jon, in the far north, finds himself, along with his band of warriors, in an utterly deserted and fear-stricken land. And that Daenerys, in the far south, along with her own band of followers, finds herself in an equally deserted place. They are at the edges of the story, these two, while seemingly more powerful and influential combatants crowd to the center of the stage. Yet I have the feeling that Jon and Daenerys will wind up being far more influential to the outcome of things than their present condition would indicate.

[Ha! I just read your recent post, Deserted Cities, which draws the same parallels that I do, so I see now that I'm simply following in your footsteps, dude! But it's kind of interesting to see how we each expressed the same thought in different ways.]

posted by Bob @ 5:24 PM