Speeding Things Up
Well, I see someone else has been having the same urges to read ahead that I have! Two chapters a week is probably not possible for suspense filled fantasy...maybe five or six would be better. This book certainly hangs you up to dry when your limited to one short sitting per week.
After my attention was brought to the
Song of Ice and Fire Encyclopedia, I was compelled to discontinue the task of creating family trees for each of the houses. Already been done! That should prove to be a fabulous resource. I should have known that every imaginable detail to any epic fantasy would already be worked out online.
I also loved the glimpse of Robert that is found in the chapter where he and Ned are in the crypt. Martin certainly has no trouble making his "characters' characters" clear in a short span of pages. Robert Baratheon is just the sort of person I would want as king if I was a conniving puppetmaster who was close to him, or even a conniving...wife?
Now, off to go burn through more pages than I should...
Bran!
Whoa! I just read the chapter where Bran overhears the Queen's conversation . . . and so on. . . Again I say, Whoa!
The whole chapter is just brilliant, of course. I think I read somebody's review on Amazon that complained that there was not enough fantasy at the start (overlooking the spooky prologue, of course).
I mean where are the sorcerers, goblins, and other assorted unearthly creatures, etc. But I think the lack of these obvious fantasy markers (but for the telling and carefully crafted glimpse of "Others" in the opening pages) just contributes to the overall sense of anticipation. I think the next truly other-worldly or "fantastic" occurence is probably going to be quite, ummm, disturbing.
Oh but most of all I love the writing. I love the way Martin gets into the conscience of each character, all of them quite sympathetic and likeable, and advances the story by simply allowing up to listen in on their thoughts, see through their eyes, etc. Also, his brief set-pieces, such as the description of the banquet on page 49, or of the rooftops of Winterfell in Bran's chapter (beginning on p76), are quite lovely and careful. Clearly, Martin's work is not all about the fantasy. It's all about people and place, first and foremost. The focus, so far, is just right.
A "Song of Ice and Fire" Encyclopedia
BTW, Nate, have you checked out
Tower of the Hand.com. It's an encyclopedia of everything Song-of-Ice-and-Fire. I mean, it's amazing. These folks have dedicated themselves to creating a true encyclopedia of this work, including summaries of every chapter in all the books thus far (sheesh!). All nicely done and very useful if you find yourself forgeting who's who and what's what. The one thing the site lacks (I think)is a good interactive map. I remember how as a boy reading
The Lord of the Rings the map at the start of each book (and later a full-color map poster on my bedroom wall) was like a window into Middle Earth, triggering my imagination almost as readily as Tolkein's words.
Winter is Coming
I like the pace. This thing is developing slowly, and it seems just right. I'm amazed at Martin's apparent ability to move the story forward, impart crucial information, by taking these diverse perspectives, getting into the heads of very different and far-flung characters, one at a time.
I'm traipsing slowly, sensing the chill in the air. Yes, winter is coming. I'm only up to page 49, but it's clear that something very large is in motion, and that these characters . . . Ned, Danaerys, all of them . . . are going to be caught up in it. It's as if the great wheel of time is grinding grinding grinding away, as these two kingdoms slowly but inexorably turn upon one another. The chapter that introduces Danaerys was a striking and provocative perspective-shift. And the dialogue between King Robert and Ned down in the crypt was excellent. We can very quickly see these two, hear them, and have a sense of their inward depths and complexities, just through this dialogue. And always, through it all, the sense of something impending.
Yes, Winter is indeed coming.
Characters Abound
According to the test, I am most like Catelyn. I'm not sure what that means yet...
I think characters are going to be one of the most interesting things for me in this book(besides the obvious-beheadings, wars, and monsters) The characters already seem like they're well-developed in the mind of the author, even if there's only 2 chapters worth of material on them so far.
My favorite so far seems to be Jon Snow. He seems like a noble youth, an underdog, strong and quick even though he's still at a vulnerable age. The fact that he's a black sheep in the family makes him more likeable to me. (Incidentally, he's the one I predicted I would be most like.)
Ned seems like a decent guy, althogh he's saddled with the burdens of ruling a kingdom, and the responsibility of justice, which he obviously takes very personally. He's the kind of guy that could make mistakes, but who I could forgive because he has a noble heart and his intentions are good.
There certainly is a gamut of different types of characters, and this only after 2 chapters. I have been warned by veterans of this series however- don't get too attached to anybody! No one is safe!
Which one?
I'm not sure I want to take this personality-test before reading the book, but here it is:
Which character from Song of Ice and Fire are you most like?Update: I took it. I'm Bran!
Swords, etc.
Wow. So I've read the Prologue and 1st chapter. Right away of course you get it that cold, coldness, icy chill, winter, and things of that nature are a theme here. Also swords:
Waymar's sword is jeweled, "a splendid weapon, castle-forged." I like that: castle-forged. This in contrast to Gared's weapon: "it was a short, ugly thing, its grip discolored by sweat, its edge nicked from hard use."
Apparently, you can tell a lot about a man from his sword. Later, in the opening chapter, you have Lord Stark's sword: "The blade was Valyrian steel, spell-forged and dark as smoke. Nothing held an edge like Valyrian steel."
Okay, Waymar's was castle-forged, but Stark's is "spell-forged." But of course neither of these can hold a candle to the sword wielded by the "Other" that kills Waymar: "No human metal had gone into the forging of that blade. It was alive with moonlight, translucent, a shard of crystal so thin that it seemed almost to vanish when seen edge-on. There was a faint blue shimmer in the thing, a ghost-light that played around its edges, and somehow Will knew that it was sharper than any razor."
Swords. Sorcery. Evil on the move. Cold coming in. A beheading. And direwolves in the Southron. I'm going to like this a lot!
Ahhh, Fantasy Returns To My Life
I must confess to our readers that I have already read
A Game of Thrones. But I remember very little, except that it is full of what every good fantasy needs(battles, magic, creatures, intrigue). And that I was thoroughly impressed and planned on reading the whole series...but got sidetracked somehow. Which may be providential because had I read all four, A Blog of Thrones would probably not be happening right now!
I am off to read the first pages of the book right now. Having glanced into the book, I already recall one thing that makes these books unique-- each chapter is named, quite simply, after the character from whose point of view that chapter is written. Hence many chapters have the same name. Nothing flashy. I like it, that means the story is going to kick me in the teeth.
As I read, may I be ruthlessly sucked into this book, and be thinking about it during the day when I probably shouldn't be. It begins...
First Post
It was Nate's idea. Nate's a mandolin playing North Carolinian. I'm a Mainer, and Nate's dad. Nate blogs at
Eight Strings, and I over at
gratitude & hoopla. Neither one of us are especially well-read when it comes to fantasy epics, but Nate is probably a little more "current" than me. As I say, it was his idea. He'd heard good things about this series called "A Song of Ice and Fire." Let's read it together, he said, and talk about it in a joint blog!
"Brilliant!" I shouted in my best Guinness brewmaster accent.
And so, well, here it is. The first book in the series is called
A Game of Thrones (hence, the rather uninspired name of this blog). I haven't read a page yet, but I wanted to get the blog rolling. I see the book has maps and appendixes, Nate, like all good fantasy epics. At 800+ pages in length, we've got a lot of blogging ahead of us! And this is only the first book!
We'll put up links to interesting related blogs and other websites as we go (if we can find any). We'll sink into this, slowly, gradually, till Martin's world will at times seem more real than our own. Reader, wish us a safe journey.
