A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones Spoiler-Filled Discussion

[timothy]

tried that but it was killed. I've been planning on reading this series for a while since I don't have hbo and love high fantasy and vampires.

 

[Kegg]

I really liked A Feast for Crows. Sure, it has some boring chapters, but all the books did (Brienne's stuff isn't worse than Arya's in earlier books); but the King's Landing stuff is top notch*, Arya finally gets an arc worth the character's time and the 'Alayne' stuff is also great.

And then on the sidelines we spend more time with the Vikings of the Iron Islands, who are fun, and Aeron Damphair is completely, wonderfully bonkers.

The book also includes by far the most interesting look at the Faith of the Seven, which doesn't hurt.

I don't think the idea of splitting the books in two was great and that does hurt it structurall but the actual content of book four I found consistent with the strengths and weaknesses of the earlier books and a similarly breezy read.

I've been planning on reading this series for a while since I don't have hbo and love high fantasy and vampires.

Vampires?

...Huh.

Never thought of it like that.

*Granted, King's Landing is usually the best stuff of any given book so that's no surprise.

 

[Brendan Moody]

Feast has always been my favorite in the series. I don't mind any of its chapters. The Brienne arc is a little long, but it's still much shorter than the similar Arya/Jaime riverlands material from previous books, and the situation there is finally a little less grim... until the end, anyway. The King's Landing stuff is great, and I love the Dorne chapters as well. I wish the author had been able to take time to revise Feast to work as a single novel; I know that would have made the book even later, but it might also have made it better.

 

[Evil Twin]

I really liked A Feast for Crows. Sure, it has some boring chapters, but all the books did (Brienne's stuff isn't worse than Arya's in earlier books); but the King's Landing stuff is top notch*, Arya finally gets an arc worth the character's time and the 'Alayne' stuff is also great.

Brienne minus Jaime = dullness. And compared to Arya, her travelling companions are nowhere near as interesting. And I also can't agree about the Sansa stuff. Really don't give a flying fart about all the Vale lords, and her last chapter describing her descent from the Eyrie was every bit as snooze-inducing as Catelyn's ascent in AGoT.

And then on the sidelines we spend more time with the Vikings of the Iron Islands, who are fun, and Aeron Damphair is completely, wonderfully bonkers.

Meh... All the Iron Islander machismo never really appealed to me, nor any of the Greyjoys for that matter.

*Granted, King's Landing is usually the best stuff of any given book so that's no surprise.

I agree, however I didn't like it as much this time around, since Cersei is such an inept fool compared to Tyrion. And it was a little hard getting a handle on all the new courtiers and councilors. (And honestly, who can ever keep the Kettleblacks straight? ) About the only one I really liked was Qyburn, as I'm dying to know just what exactly what "Dr. Mengele" is doing down there in the dungeons!

 

[Shurik]

So, it looks like ADWD is out everywhere except Amazon.com (it's available on Amazon.co.uk though) ...

Edit: E-book version, I mean.

 

[Skywalker]

My copy has either already shipped from Amazon or will be shortly. It should be here sometime tomorrow (well, later today now)!

 

[superdeluxe]

Massive casting news coming down the pike:

http://winter-is-coming.net/2011/07...-one-from-recently-canceled-camelot/#comments

Eva Green? James Purefoy? I'm wondering about who the other actor from a 'Camelot' is?

 

[Skywalker]

James Purefoy for Balon Greyjoy.

Actually, he'd probably make a good Stannis, too.

 

[JD]

Casting Eva Green or James Purefoy would be a great way to get a new name actor onto the show now that Sean Bean and Mark Addy are gone.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

I had pre-ordered the book online, but I didn't want to wait for the delivery time they were quoting, so I cancelled the order and bought it today in my local bookstore instead. Let the reading commence!

 

[Skywalker]

My copy was waiting for me when I got up today. Now that's service!

Has anyone else who's ordered from Amazon had anything wrong with their copy? In a small section of my book, from pages 113-145, the very top of the pages look like they were cut off or something.

 

[Evil Twin]

^ That's why I'm headed to the bookstore today. I prefer to inspect my books before purchasing rather than getting them through the mail.

 

[Skywalker]

Yeah, it's weird. This is the first book I've gotten from Amazon that's ever had anything wrong with it. I thought about sending it back, but it's only a tiny section and I really don't want to wait to send it back in and wait for a new copy to arrive.

And I've seen hardcovers at bookstores with the tops or sides of the pages all screwed up like this, except in those cases it was actually through the whole book. I always wondered what caused that.

 

[Colonel Midnight]

Got my Kindle version last night right at midnight. *woohoo*

Of course, it seems to be missing a Table of Contents, but I'm not going to quibble too much.

Cheers,
-CM-

 

[Shurik]

Got my Kindle version last night right at midnight. *woohoo*

Of course, it seems to be missing a Table of Contents, but I'm not going to quibble too much.

Cheers,
-CM-

The file opens on prologue? Just scroll few pages back - you'll find the maps, dedications, table of contents and such.

Nice of GRRM to add Winter Is Coming people to the dedications list ...

 

[Colonel Midnight]

^ *Doh*

You're right -- that's what I get for staying awake into the wee hours of the night reading...

Cheers,
-CM-

 

[Canadave]

I just got mine for my Kobo. I was surprised by how cheaply it was going for, too, only $9.99! I've only just gotten started, but it's great "seeing" Dany and Tyrion again.

 

[Colonel Midnight]

Yeap, you can tell it's A Song of Ice & Fire alright... just over 100 pages in, and someone's already lost their head.

Cheers,
-CM-

 

[Brendan Moody]

Emmy nominations were announced today, and Game of Thrones got 13, including outstanding drama, writing (for "Baelor"), directing (for "Winter is Coming"), and supporting actor for Peter Dinklage as Tyrion. The full list of nominations is here.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Game of Thrones has scored 13 Emmy nominations, including a nomination for Best Drama Series and a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Peter Dinklage!

Edit to add: Brendan Moody beat me to it.

The full list of the 13 nominations:

Outstanding Drama Series
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Peter Dinklage)
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for "Baelor")
Oustanding Casting for a Drama Series
Outsanding Costumes for a Series ("The Pointy End")
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Tim Van Patten for "Winter Is Coming")
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series ("A Golden Crown")
Outstanding Main Title Design
Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series, Non-Prosthetic ("Winter Is Coming")
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or Special ("A Golden Crown")
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series ("A Golden Crown")
Outstanding Visual Effects for a Series ("Fire and Blood")
Outstanding Stunt Coordination ("The Wolf and the Lion")