A song of Ice and fire discussion (spoilers incl A Dance with Dragons)

[Albertosaurus Rex]

Yeah, mine too. I'm not quite sure what the fiddling around with the colors is all about - I'm just waiting for The Winds of Winter to come out with a much darker cover and destroy the pattern. And why on earth is there a goblet on the cover of A Feast for Crows? I didn't get it back when I bought the paperback and I still don't get it now. I wonder what completely senseless object is going on The Winds of Winter.

(Aside from the questionable objects, I do actually like the design.)

[fool-ish]

I've no idea about the goblet, but I'm getting terribly worried that 'A Feast For Crows' and 'A Dance With Dragons' are going to disappoint. May hap I shouldn't read reviews prior to reading, but there are some very miffed fans out there! Only time (and reading) will tell, I suppose.

['thul]

you should not be disappointed. Some fans will complain, no matter what is written. They live to complain. The books are very good.

[joost]

Probably a lot of the complaints are about the way the book has been split, there is a major (almost full) overlap in time for both books, so if you read AFFC, you've only seen half of the story. If you have to wait 6 years for the other half, it will piss off some people.

[fool-ish]

Hmm, I know all about people who live to complain, but that's another story. I've got book 4, so will read that and take it from there. Feeling a little more optimistic now, thanks

[Albertosaurus Rex]

I'll second what Joost said. You have to realize that there was a publication gap of five years between A Storm of Swords and A Feast for Crows, and six years between A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons. Expectations for AFFC were sky high, but it has less story progression than the book preceding it and some of the mord popular characters weren't in it. I myself only discovered A Song of Ice and Fire a couple of years after AFFC came out, so I could go straight from ASOS to AFFC and wasn't disappointed in the least.

Another way to look at it is the structure of the series. George R. R. Martin originally envisioned the series being a trilogy consisting of A Game of Thrones, A Dance with Dragons and The Winds of Winter. While the number of books has grown, there is still a clear three-act structure. The first book turned into A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords. You can see that in ASOS, some storylines end and others are set to develop in new ways.

So then there's A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons which form the middle act. Apart from the slightly awkward structure, comparatively little begins or ends, a common symptom of the middle act - which is of course not to say that nothing of consequence happens. However, it appears the stage is now set for the mother of all finales, also expanded to two books: The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring.

[fool-ish]

I'm new to the series so have had the opportunity to read them in quick succession, which is all good as patience isn't one of my strong points. I understand the 'middle book(s)' syndrome too. It's just that many reviewers felt disappointed with the lack of 'main' characters in AFFC and that it went off on a tangent. I'm nearing the end of ASOS now, which for me has been the best yet..loved every minute and now looking forward to the next one, despite my misgivings.

[fool-ish]

You were right, AFFC ain't half bad I'm becoming quite fond of the folks of Dorne, but missing a certain 'dog.' I can only hope his fate wasn't quite sealed in ASOS.

['thul]

These beings will not (and can not due to memory flaw) reveal whether that fate was sealed.

[fool-ish]

I'm glad you cannot and even more glad that you will not even if you could