An Initial Reaction to an Initial ReactionChicago Tribune:
“What’s A Song of Ice and Fire? It’s the only fantasy series I’d put on a level with J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. . . . It’s a fantasy series for hip, smart people, even those who don’t read fantasy.”
ugh, SHUT THE FUCK UP, CHICAGO TRIBUNE!
"a fantasy series for hip, smart people"...you make me want to never read this. but i won't let you influence me. fuck off, douchebags! how dare you spoil my excitement with your pretentious, bougie nonsense.
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A Series of Progress Notes
* my gosh, another fantastic Prologue. loved reading more about skinchangers. fascinating! Varamyr was an excellent and intriguing choice. but is he really dead or is he genuinely a part of that warg? and, as always, the writing itself is top notch.
* i was one of the few who loved A Feast for Crows, but still... what a happy relief to know i wil be reading my favorite POVs (Tyrion, Jon Snow, Daenerys). although i will miss Arya and Brienne and Jaime. and i still miss Theon. poor, stupid Theon!
* uh oh, Tyrion is in mopey, self-loathing, obsessed-with-the-past mode. well, i guess it makes sense, he did just kill his father while finding out terrible things about the loves of his life.
* at long last, the death of despicable Janos Slynt. and in such a perfect way. maybe i'm bloodthirsty, but i had to read that part a couple times. ah the satisfaction.
* creepy & fascinating Three-Eyed Crow tree-man. hmmm, who is he?
* the return of my favorite pathetic anti-hero: Theon! much transformed. i suppose if anyone deserves some torture, it's Theon. hopefully he will learn some lessons and not get killed off in this book. i want the old Theon back, at least a glimpse of him. i need some good chuckles.
* so let me get Ramsay Snow's history straight: a bastard of creepy Roose Bolton... he becomes friends with the necrophiliac Reek and together they indulged in much rape & torture... after a typical bout of rape, murder, and necrophilia, the dynamic duo are set upon; Ramsay & Reek switch clothes, and then Reek is run down & killed, except everyone thinks its Ramsay... the new 'Reek' goes into Theon Turncloak's service, goading him into switching a couple more bodies so it seems Bran & Rickon are dead... only to betray Theon with his typical evil evilness, take Winterfell, and bring home Theon as prisoner... much torture ensues for Theon, who Ramsay now dubs the new 'Reek'... Ramsay brings Theon-Reek everywhere, and is about to get hitched to some pretend-Arya so that he becomes the new Lord of Winterfell. okay, got it. what a horrible villain! i just wish he was a bit less two-dimensional. despite the fascintingly depraved history, Ramsay's father Roose is actually far more compelling and threatening a villain.
* Xaro Xhoan Daxos returns, and is just as amusingly passive & fey, yet sinister. a queer sort of character. har-dee-har-har!
* that sequence with Tyrion on the Shy Maid in the waters around the ruins of Chroyane, fighting off the stone men: a beautifully written and exceedingly eerie chapter. my favorite part so far.
* the return of Asha, yahoo! another favorite supporting character. such admirable pluck, such tenacity, such wrong-headedness. must run in the family. and she gets her own over-the-top graphic sex scene. of course she does. Martin loves to give the Greyjoys a dirty, degrading good time when they go at it. huh
* a very satisfying sequence between Davos & Wyman Manderly. it is good to see more reverberations from the Red Wedding. kill those Freys, kill 'em all! and a fascinating task for the dull but stalwart Davos. where are these cannibals? Skagos? who knows. and what is Rikon & Shaggydog & Osha doing there in the first place? i bet they fit right in. best of all... the return of Squire Wex! i don't know why i have such attachment to minor characters like the squires Wex & Podrick Payne, but i have found them to be incredibly endearing. little survivors. will Pod be back or has Stoneheart really blown her last gasket and killed a defenseless kid? i guess i won't find that out until the next book.
* Melisandre gets her on POV chapter. quite a surprise. just as i've always thought, she is not a villain. she's just trying to save the world! it was interesting to get some insight on her red magic. even more interesting was to see a softer & more human side, trying to help Davos not lose another son and doing her best to gain Jon Snow's trust. but the best thing about this chapter was finding out that not only did Mance not die a craven - he didn't die at all. i had thought that that was a pretty cheap way to kill off a major supporting character, but now it appears that the supporting character that was killed off was cheap minor-league villain Rattleshirt instead. good riddance!
* Daenerys' chapters are getting a little tiresome. they are well-written, of course, and rather moving. but enough already. time to get down to business and time to stop gushing whenever Daario comes to mind.
* the first (and only?) set-piece of the novel thankfully belongs to Daenerys: the rather incredible chapter on the post-wedding pit fights. so many things happening at once, such great use of subtle details and hints and little character bits. and then ending with the awesome flight of Drogon & Daenerys. wonderful. somewhat makes up for all the tiresome Meereen business.
* ASOIF has a good assortment of Men in the Autumn of Their Years type voices, nearly all of them fierce, honest, proud, and fair. unfortunately, they are often not that exciting. i think my favorite may be the most recent addition, Barristan Selmy. not only is he a kindly bad-ass, we get to read a lot about the pre-AGOT history of Westeros. it is all so fascinating. i would love to read a POV from poor dead Rhaegar. i would love a whole novel featuring Arthur Dayne, Sword of the Morning.
* the sad & terrible end of young Quentyn Martell. poor lad. what a tragic misadventure his life turned out to be. he seemed to have inherited his father's innate integrity and dislike of needless death & violence, but none of his wily intelligence.
* an exccellent epilogue. the final chapters in ASOIF always seem to feature important characters reappearing or transformed or found alive. Daenerys at the end of AGOT, unscathed from flames and cradling her newborn dragons. Bran emerging alive from the vaults at the end of ACOK. Catelyn returning as the undead Stoneheart at the end of ASOS. Jaqen H'ghar transformed into Pate the Pigboy at the end of AFFC. and now Varys returning from who knows where at the end of this novel. good news! glad to see at least a glimpse of one of my favorite characters. we get to meet some of his little birds too. and two more major players to add to the ASOIF Death List, thanks Varys!
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An Astro-Freudian Analysis MORE SPOILERS AHEAD
both the practice of Astrology and Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche are, in this modern world, often dismissed as existing in a fantastical version of reality. although there is an obvious gulf between the two... what of it? let us combine them into an exciting new form of analysis in order to evaluate the various characters that have sprung from the mind of George R.R. Martin, as seen within the pages of his fantasy A Dance with Dragons.
born on September 20th, Martin falls under the Sun Sign Virgo.
THE ID
Virgo is often associated with "the Virgin" and as such is commonly mistaken as a sign of repressed sexuality and enforced innocence. but it is the opposite that is true: Virgo is an earth sign and is therefore actually associated with sensuality and fertility. Virgo is a sexual sign. however, Virgo is also a discriminating sign and so will often find vulgarity and selfish physicality to be negative and worthy of critique and improvement; the unrepressed pleasure principle of the Id is an aspect of the personality that must not be allowed to take precedence.
Martin places his Id within his POV characters Theon and Asha Greyjoy. he alllows them unbridled ambition, overweening pride, strong physicality, and a fondness for quick violence. he gives them the nastiest of sex scenes - ones that are striking in their pornographic detail, their often uncouth language, their tendency to revel in degrading and aggressive/submissive behavior. and then he punishes them for it. in A Feast for Crows, Asha spends all of that book attempting to assert dominance over her people, to rule them; she fails and is publicly humiliated. in Dance, her appearance is more brief: she engages in an exceedingly explicit consensual faux-rape scene with her lover Qarl the Maid; immediately afterwards, her castle is captured and she is put into chains by that most repressive of characters, Stannis Baratheon. in both A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings, Theon's id is equally on display, as he boasts, brags, encourages warfare, invades his former home Winterfell, has various bouts of degrading sex with various women whom he then discards, and finally allows the death of two innocent children. Martin the Virgo does not allow him to remain unchastised: by the time Dance with Dragons occurs, Theon has been tortured beyond belief, broken, and turned into a sad, empty shell of a man. the Greyjoy Id is thus thoroughly chastened by the discriminating Virgo author.
THE SUPEREGO
a traditional Virgoan trait is to form a strong attachment to the ideal of altruism; Virgos frequently live to serve "the greater good". and so Virgo is often at ease within the Superego, the place of the conscience. this is not an entirely positive thing; Virgoan comfort with expressing and enacting their ideals may often make others uncomfortable. Virgos who do not restrain their tendencies towards constant altruism will often, at best, rub people the wrong way and, at worst, be easily taken advantage of by those that they hold in high regard or be held hostage to their own belief system.
Martin has placed his Superego in many characters. and, surprisingly, he has then often destroyed them. Eddard Stark operated entirely from his conscience, by following his own higher ideals... and that led him to his death. Catelyn Stark followed her own misguided Superego and her throat is cut (only to be resurrected as pure Id, in the form of Lady Stoneheart). who knows what fate is in store for Barristan Selmy. the Superego is also what guides Davos Seaworth and Jon Snow. Davos' higher ideal is clearly his unwavering service to King Stannis. he will bravely follow his lord's every command, no matter the danger, no matter the cost - whether it be his freedom or even the lives of his sons (indeed, after the deaths of his four elder children, he continues to entrust another child to Stannis). Jon Snow follows his own array of Superego ideals: the code of the Black Brother, the rebuilding of the Wall's defenses at any cost, and the Saving of Wildling Lives - no matter the feelings and prejudices expressed by his fellows. in the end, his good works earn him knives in the dark. will he survive? well duh, of course he will.
THE EGO
the fully actualized Virgo must balance the competing goals of their Id and Superego. they must be careful not to over-indulge in the pleasures of the flesh, the joys of vengeance, even the self-absorption of the romantic heart. they must also reign in their tendency to parade both their intelligence and their overtly altruistic nature in front of others as a sort of badge of honor. a positive Virgo keeps their shit in order. the well-balanced Virgo (indeed, the well-balanced human in general) will act simultaneously from the heart, the head, and the groin... but the reality principle that is the Ego can be difficult to maintain. Martin centers this constant balancing act within his characters Daenerys and Tyrion.
in A Game of Thrones, Daenerys spent most of her time attempting to balance her twin desires for Power and Love; at this early stage, her Id appeared to be strongly present, yet was often thwarted by her sensible Ego-driven nature. by the time of A Storm of Swords, her nascent Superego had risen, eventually coming to its zenith during her burning destruction of the slave trade in Astapor & Meereen. but in A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys has become the Ego personified: on the one hand, remaining in a city of horrors to follow the higher call of improving the lot of her people; on the other, indulging in her Id-driven need for a romantic/sexual relationship with the clownish Daario Naharis... both tendencies existing in careful balance.
Tyrion has had a similar engagement with his balancing reality principle - often indulging in the lusts and vengeance of the Id, yet seldom straying far from his Superego's need to do the right thing, whether it be his support of Jon Snow, the design of a riding saddle for Bran, his intent to do right for his newly acquired allies, cleaning up and preparing King's Landing for war, or even saving Aegon Targaryen from the stonemen at the potential cost of his own life. it is this integration of both tendencies within one body - this constant balancing - that makes Tyrion one of the more real characters in the series. perhaps in some ways he is Martin's stand-in. he certainly has a host of classic Virgoan tendencies: overtly critical, analytical, calculating, and possessed of a dangerously sharp tongue. as a Virgo myself, i personally demonstrate these myriad - and wondrous, oh so wondrous! - traits on a regular basis, and of course, on command.
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A Summary of Sorts
overall, i loved the book, a typically awesome entry in the series. it is also a flawed book: overlong, filled with far too many names, ordeals that seem to go on and on. and NOTE TO MARTIN'S EDITOR: HE NEEDS TO STOP BEING SO GODDAMN REPETITIOUS WITH SOME OF HIS KEY PHRASES. FUCKIN' A, ENOUGH ALREADY! although it has a much wider canvas and a diverse range of perspectives, it was somehow less distinctive than the female-driven, almost crushingly bleak A Feast for Crows. and it features only one genuine set piece (although an amazing one): Daenerys' flight from Meereen on Drogon.
but i still loved it, from beginning to end. i loved the returning POVs that i missed so much from the prior volume, and i also really enjoyed the new POVs. the Theon/Reek chapters were morbidly compelling. i always appreciate Davos' chapters (too few of them, alas) and i particularly liked his two meetings with Wyman Manderly. as Kelly says in her excellent review, much of Daenerys' (and Jon Snow's) chapters were all about the complex business of actual government, of the challenges in balancing competing needs... an admirable goal for a fantasy novel. and as Ryan mentions in his own review, Martin continues his fascinating study of Identity, of the roles and often guises that men and women are forced into - a theme that reverberates throughout nearly all of this series' major perspectives and so many supporting characters: Eddard, Sansa, Jon Snow, Maester Aemon, Bran & Brynden Rivers the Bloodraven the Three-Eyed Crow, Catelyn/Stoneheart, Arya & the Faceless Men, Theon/Reek, Barristan/Whitebeard, Tyrion and his two names, the fake Hound, the hidden Aegon, the disguised Quentyn, Varys, Jeyne Poole/fake Arya, Mance Rayder, not-a-princess Val & the switched babies, etc, etc.
so yeah, despite its issues, overall i loved A Dance with Dragons, from intriguing Prologue to completely satisfying Epilogue.
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An Unsettling Character
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A Major Player (and Semi Major Player) DEATH LIST
* Benjen Stark aka Coldhands (in transit)
Death by Other, perhaps
* Viserys Targaryen ✔
Death by Khal Drogo's Molten Gold
* Robert Baratheon ✔
Death by Lannister Encouragement in engaging in Drunken Boaring
* Eddard Stark ✔
Death by Joffrey's Order & Ilyn's Axe
* Khal Drogo ✔
Death by Mirri's Poison & Daenerys' Pillow
* Renly Baratheon ✔
Death by Melisandre's Shadowspawn
* Jeor Mormont ✔
Death by Black Brother Treachery
* Robb Stark ✔
Death by Frey & Bolton Treachery
* Catelyn Stark aka Lady Stoneheart (in transit)
Death by Frey & Bolton Treachery
* Balon Greyjoy ✔
Death by Bridge Misadventure (at the direction of Euron Croweye?)
* Joffrey Baratheon ✔
Death by Olenna Redwyne's Poison & Littlefinger's Evil Littlemind
* Oberyn Martell ✔
Death by Gregor Clegane's Sword & Hands
* Shae ✔
Death by Tyrion's Hands
* Tywin Lannister ✔
Death by Tyrion's Crossbow
* Lysa Arryn ✔
Death by Littlefinger's Push
* Beric Dondarrion ✔
Death, Sweet Death... At Long Last!
* Arys Oakheart ✔
Death by Areo Hotah's Sword
* Maester Aemon ✔
Death by Pneumonia, at least i think that's what it was
* Gregor Clegane aka Robert Strong (in transit)
Death by Oberyn's Poisoned Blade
* Janos Slynt ✔
Death by Jon Snow's Sword
* Quentyn Martell ✔
Death by Daenerys' Dragon
* Grand Maester Pycelle ✔
Death by Varys's Crossbow
* Kevan Lannister ✔
Death by Varys's Crossbow
