In Praise of Mr. Martin
Having criticized (mildly) Martin's writing in my last post, I want to praise it this time around. One of his many gifts is to place his characters against a rich and believable backdrop. The backdrop can be cultural, geographical, even temporal. To give the story's setting a temporal depth, so that you have the sense of the remaining vestiges of bygone times, that is a wonderful aspect of Martin's writing. You have the sense that the present has developed out of a rich and living history. I like that very much.
You hear evidence of this in the old remembered and only half-believed stories and in the often-mentioned memories of the various characters (Daenerys remembering the particular flavor of the sausages she loved as a child), and in the family and tribal histories that are referred to in passing, as if they were common knowledge. In the names of places, vestiges of olden times, ancient battles, etc., and in the ruined fortress of Moat Cailin, for example, which speaks somberly of another time, another race of men, and other gods.
For tasty writing of this nature, just re-read the sales-pitch of the wineseller who tried to poison Daenerys:
"Sweet reds," he cried in fluent Dothraki. "I have sdweet red from Lys and Volantis and the Arbor. Whites from Lys, Tyroshi pear brandy, firewine, pepperwine, the pale green nectars of Myr. Smokeberry browns and Andalish slender sours, I have them, I have them."
For some reason I just love that last repeated, "I have them, I have them." I love the sound of place names that seem to carry with them a flavor of the exotic, even though in fact they mean nothing to me. All this has such a ring of authenticity to the reader, and gives a sense that the time in place of story is embedded in a larger and a vibrant context.
Now look at this example from Catelyn's chapter (p. 597 in the paperback), the description of Moat Cailin:
The Gatehouse Tower looked sound enough, and even boasted a few feet of standing wall to either side of it. The Drunkard's Tower, off in the bog where the south and west walls had once met, leaned like a man about to spew a bellyful of wine into the gutter. And the tall, slender Children's Tower, where legend said the children of the forest had once called upon their nameless gods to send the hammer of the waters, had lost half its crown. It looked as if some great beast had taken a bite out of the crennellations along the tower top, and spit the rubble across the bog. All three towers were green with moss. A tree was growing out between the stones of the north side of the Gatehouse Tower, its gnarled limbs festooned with ropy white blankets of ghostskin.
Now that's good, rich writing. The mention of ghostskin at the last finishes the passage on an appropriate note of strangeness, reminding us that this is another world than ours. Very nice.
Chaos and Trouble
Sorry about the infrequency of postings here. I have had to get some other reading done so have neglected
Thrones. But I'm back to it now and I think on my end--I don't know about Nate--things will move along quickly. I've just read about the assassination attempt on Daenerys. Hmmmm. It seems a little coincidental that she should happen to stop at the one booth in a busy marketplace at which waits a paid assassin with poisoned wine. But okay . . .
These chapters about Daenerys and the horselords are both intriguing and a little funny to me. Have you ever noticed that Mongol warrior types never come across as quite believable in the movies. I think it is so here as well. Daenerys is a very well-rounded character, but khal Drogo is a
papier mache caricature. We only see him fighting, feasting, and coupling. He seems hardly more than an animal, which I suppose may be Martin's point. All I can say is I'm getting a little weary of references to his glistening "manhood."
There, now that I've got that off my chest, onward. It looks like the horselords are going to cross the sea and rape and pillage the land of the Starks and Lannisters, et al. So, big trouble coming from the across the sea. Big trouble coming from the North. And chaos prevailing in the land between!
A Heroic Generation?
Okay, I've read through page 582, Bran's chapter, in which Robb leads the warhost south. This series of 4 chapters, following hard upon the betrayal of Ned, catch us up on the situation of first Arya, then Sansa, Jon, and Bran. This is a wonderful series. Again and again I am impressed by the way Martin is able to keep all these balls in the air at once, and still keep the underlying story moving along. But I guess I've said that already a couple of dozen times!
I love the Arya chapter. I love Syrio Forel facing off six Lannister swordsmen with nothing but a wooden stick, utterly cool and collected, swift and sure and unafraid to die. The last we see of Syrio he is facing Ser Trant, who is fully-armored, and Forel's stick has been splintered. If he dies in this encounter, he will have bought precious time for Arya in any case. But I do hope that we will see him again.
And I love Arya remembering the teaching of her "dancing master," especially of course the refrain,
fear cuts deeper than swords. I love Arya walking across the bailey, under the eyes of hundreds of alert guardsman, hiding in plain sight. Arya is a hero. Arya has the right stuff.
Jon as well. Yes, what a chapter. I wanna tell ya, Nate, I completely forgot that the victims of the Others come back to life. It was with a shock of recognition, not of surprise, that I realized the intruder was Ortho, the dead man. I can't imagine what's going to happen now in Jon's piece of this story, however I feel certain Jon is not going to be much longer guarding the wall or serving as Mormont's steward.
Sansa. What can we say about Sansa? This book, have you noticed, has its share of spoiled selfish children. There's Lyssa's brat, what's-his name, and there's Joffrey of course, and Sansa, who at least is not bloodthirsty like the other two. But a fool. Such a fool.
Finally, Bran. You feel as if the story of this book is essentially the story of the decline of the Stark fortunes to the bitterest bleakest point, but you also feel that in Arya, Jon, and Bran (and Robb) you have the makings a remarkable generation, a generation of heroic proportions. Maester Luwin's suggestion that Bran might pursue the life of a learned Maester may not be only a passing fancy, but a hint concerning Bran's future. Anyway, we already know that these three--Arya, Jon, and Bran--are capable of rising to any occasion, finding strength they did not know they had, and growing in wisdom. If the seven kingdoms have any future at all, it lies with them I suppose.
Checking In
I'm playing catch-up. Have read through the chapter ending at Littlefinger's betrayal. What a creep, eh? But then who could be surprised? Back later this weekend with a more "considered" post (mehopes).
Gas on the Fire
I have read up through the chapter where Jon is put in custody for his outburst, and the horrific finally happens...(read no more if you have not gotten this far)
First, I will discuss the chapter with Ned's "betrayal" and the ensuing violence. It seems that the underdog is not getting any less "under." Has house Stark seen its last days as a prominent fixture in the Seven Kingdoms? I can't say that I'm surprised that Littlefinger(the true rat) threw honor out the window and sold Ned out to the Lannisters. It did surprise me that Varys, Pycelle, and Ser Barristan, as well as Littlefinger, all stood with the Lannisters. I suppose that they, in the tiny window they had to act, ran to the side of the winner. This might be a clue to Varys' loyalties(to the realm?). If his mind is the same as Littlefinger, that Stannis as king would bring bloodshed, therefore conceal the truth of Joffrey's heritage in order to keep the peace, then that would explain his loyalty to Cersei. It certainly proves that he doesn't give a flip for the traditions of heritage(Assuming he knows the secret, which he intimated in a talk with Ned). My prediction here is that many of the houses will not stand for Joffrey as king, and will rally for war. The die is cast.
As for Jon, all I can say is what a downright gothic chapter. The blue eyes gave it away from the beginning that the corpses would be walking again at some point. What a masterfully written chapter...the details, the suspense, the eerie cold of the forest beyond the Wall. The way the men slowly put the pieces together had me nearly screaming at the pages. Looks like being the Old Bear's personal steward won't be so boring after all.
In addition to being such a well thought out plot, Martin makes everything so plausible. Not a trait common to fantasy writing.
What a Soap Opera
I am still with it as well, even though it's been a couple weeks. I just finished the revealing chapter on Joffrey's true heritage...remarkable. So strange that we never guessed.
I also noticed something else, perhaps insignificant: Mya Stone, the girl of seventeen that led Caitlin up the Eyrie to meet her sister, is one of Robert's bastard children. Who knows if this will come in handy.
As for Jon's mother, I suppose this is the next mystery to address. I haven't really thought about it yet, but Cersei's comment to Ned in the Godswood seems to bring it's importance to the front burner. There are a limited number of women that it could be. I shall begin pondering...
Catching Up
Just stopping by to let everyone know that we have not forgotten the blog. Nate and I spent some time together last week at a music festival (bluegrass, baby!) so have been out of the blogging loop. Back soon!
