Anyone have a reaction to this one?
I have hopes for the next one when he eventually finishes it. I'm not holding my breath.
I still care about Jon and Arya -- but Jon wasn't even in this one. And where he went with her was so bizarre that it kind of lost me.
[This message has been edited by JeanneT (edited February 28, 2008).]
On the other hand...I've been drawn to some writers who set stories in a specific universe, where minor characters in one story are major characters in another, heroes in one are villains in another, and so on...I don't know if a volume dealing with other characters would disappoint me that much...
If I remember correctly, he's signed for a 7 book series but that includes splitting what was originally to be book 4 into two with the 5th book still not finished from what I've read. He's been cancelling personal appearances at conventions to work on it.
The good thing is that his ability to write and do wonderful characterizations hasn't deminished.
Reading them all at once, I'm still not sure that book 4 would be very satisfactory, but with book 5 sitting there waiting it would help.
[This message has been edited by JeanneT (edited February 28, 2008).]
Hm... I guess that was a digression...
I didn't find it disappointing at all, as he seems to have reached that "mid story" place where there is much conflict and a lot of plotlines are being dangled unresolved. I was not expecting to reach any conclusions here, so for me I got what I was looking for.
Concentrating so much of the book on Sanya (the character I dislike most in the entire series) annoyed me. Concentrating mostly on sub-plots--such as the Brienna one--that in essence go nowhere annoyed me. Not even mentioning Jon had the same reaction.
Who said anything about a conclusion? While it had less conclusion than the first three, that wasn't the big problem. The problem was that the plot went nowhere and some of it simply didn't make sense. Suddenly throwing in that the priests had the power to hold members of the royal family for trial when this had never been mentioned before as even a possibility--then you bring it up in Book Four? Deus ex machina anyone?
I could go on but you get the idea. I loved the first three. That one was a huge disappointment.
However, I must admit that I fully expect book five to make up for book four.
[This message has been edited by JeanneT (edited March 21, 2008).]
When I started with Song of Ice and Fire (back when you couldn't find a copy of Game of Thrones anywhere in Australia)1998 or so. George R. R. Martin stated in Legends (a very good collection of short stories by leading authors, check it out if you haven't already) that it was a five book series:
Game of Thrones
Clash of Kings
Storm of Swords (ended up two volumes in paperback)
Dance of Dragons (has now been split into Feast of Crows and Dance of Dragons)
The Winds of Winter
According to his blog (I'm addicted to reading it, even though I know at the same time that if he is writing it, and I am reading it, neither of us are writing) he is working on Dance of Dragons and cancelling many overseas trips to do so, but also working on a number of projects including Dreamsongs, Fever Dreams, a new series of Wild Cards, Ice and Fire minitures, RPG systems (if I remember correctly) and last I heard he was also doing his tax. So any images of him chained to his desk writing Dance of Dragons daily are not real, but he does seem to working hard, most of the time.
http://www.locusmag.com/2008/0401_GRRMartin.html
quote:
...also working on a number of projects including Dreamsongs, Fever Dreams, a new series of Wild Cards, Ice and Fire minitures, RPG systems (if I remember correctly)...
The SoIaF miniatures are being handled by Dark Sword Miniatures. ( I have the first ten releases in my hot little hands, and they are outstanding)
The RPG was released several years ago by Guardians of Order, and bombed miserably. I have not heard any industry announcement of another version of the RPG being written, and this type of information is generally released very loudly.