danieledmundson

This installment takes a while to pick up speed (in a book this size, that translates to a few hundred pages...yikes. But I've read THIS far in the series, so I wasn't going to stop after a few hundred pages), but overall I found it a very satisfying continuation of the Song of Ice and Fire. It gets really, really dark, which I actually quite enjoy. And it seems like the "main" characters are dropping like flies. There was one death I expected (though I didn't expect it to happen so soon), one that really surprised me, one that made me laugh (I am evil and have a black heart), and one that I think will lead to some really interesting consequences. The weakest part of the book, for me, was the "madness" of both Lysa Arryn and Joffrey. Moreso Lysa though. The writing for those characters felt so contrived and false, and while Lysa ran around screaming "what about meeeeeeeeeee" and such, I just rolled my eyes. Joffrey's cruelty was a little more nuanced, but I think he was used to wrap up some plot points too neatly. One of the most interesting and unexpected things was the relationship between Jamie Lannister and Brienne of Tarth. I really liked their back and forth, and I also enjoy how Jamie is evolving. Brienne is a kind of bracing, and when I had to read about her with Catelyn I hated it, but when I read about her with Jamie I actually found myself enjoying her a little more. I still really like Danerys, though I just want her to get to the damn Seven Kingdoms already. And I love Arya, though she is certainly the most bloodthirsty and screwed up 12 year old I've ever encountered in literature. I look forward to reading more.

2022-11-30 03:23