Hello! My name is Chie. I am likely to be the girl you'll see whose eyes would bulge out of their sockets at the sight of a book store and be seized by waves of epileptic shock whenever there is a book bargain. I'll probably be the one pushing you out of my way to get through the book bargain bins and tediously combing through the pile. (I forget my manners when it comes to books). I am tone deaf and have two left feet. But I would endure the embarrassment of a performance in exchange for books (terms and conditions apply). I have created this blog in order to find kindred souls. Those who would gladly share the same passion for books and reading because although reading is solitary task most of the time, it's no fun having no one to ramble to after..
Synopsis: Westeros is a kingdom of swords and and scheming, a kingdom that has been enjoying a decade-long summer, a kingdom to which winter is returning. Lord Eddard Stark is content to rule House Stark and enjoy the company of his wife and children, but the King, Robert Baratheon - Ned's long time-friend and co-leader of the revolution that overthrew the Mad King Aerys Targaryen - has other plans. Robert wants Ned become the Hand of the King, and with no way to refuse, Ned must go to King's Landing and attempt to put the kingdom back in order... a daunting proposition whilst the scheming Cercei Lannister, a daughter of the most powerful house in Westeros, is Queen. And meanwhile, across the seas, the last of the Targaryen children wait and plot to reclaim the throne that is rightfully theirs.
Review: To say that this series is rich with detail is a laughable understatement, so I figured that having things fresh in mind would be a good thing. I completely enjoy Martin's writing style. His world-building, his action, his action and his character development, all wonderful. He's great at presenting complicated political maneuvering in a way that's easy to follow. His prose doesn't make me want to leap out of my seat, but it's smoothly fades into the background, which is exactly what you want when you've got a story this compelling.
Of the six major events that I remembered happening in this book, one actually happens in the next book, one I knew happened at the end, and the other four all happened within the first 25% of the book. And to make my point, the book doesn't feel front loaded at all. The pace keeps going strong throughout - clearly so much stuff happens that my memory couldn't hold it all.
And what does happen? Is of the no-holds-barred style of story telling. This book is casually brutal. Or I remembered this was brutal - The Red Wedding is pretty well seared into my brain permanently - how unrelentingly brutal they are. Martin's not shy about doing horrible things to his characters, and having them do horrible things are to each other, and no one is safe... and yet I let myself get attached to them anyways, even though I knew (more or less) what was coming.
It's impossible not to get attached to the characters. They're all really complex, and well-drawn that even the bad guys are still interesting, and still at least somewhat sympathetic (except Joffrey. Gods, I just want to punch Joffrey in his smug little face, even though it's not his fault he was raised to be a prattish jerkwad). On the flip side, even the good guys I occasionally want to slap and yell at to stop being dumb/blind/proud/annoyingly obsessed with their own honour. And the best part is that so many of the characters are neither good guys nor bad guys, but somewhere wonderfully meaty and fascinating in between. I remembered all that in principle.
Honestly even better than I remembered it being. Not for everyone, but if complex historicals or epic fantasy is your thing, it's a series well worth diving into.
Synopsis: Westeros is a kingdom of swords and and scheming, a kingdom that has been enjoying a decade-long summer, a kingdom to which winter is returning. Lord Eddard Stark is content to rule House Stark and enjoy the company of his wife and children, but the King, Robert Baratheon - Ned's long time-friend and co-leader of the revolution that overthrew the Mad King Aerys Targaryen - has other plans. Robert wants Ned become the Hand of the King, and with no way to refuse, Ned must go to King's Landing and attempt to put the kingdom back in order... a daunting proposition whilst the scheming Cercei Lannister, a daughter of the most powerful house in Westeros, is Queen. And meanwhile, across the seas, the last of the Targaryen children wait and plot to reclaim the throne that is rightfully theirs.
Review: To say that this series is rich with detail is a laughable understatement, so I figured that having things fresh in mind would be a good thing. I completely enjoy Martin's writing style. His world-building, his action, his action and his character development, all wonderful. He's great at presenting complicated political maneuvering in a way that's easy to follow. His prose doesn't make me want to leap out of my seat, but it's smoothly fades into the background, which is exactly what you want when you've got a story this compelling.
Of the six major events that I remembered happening in this book, one actually happens in the next book, one I knew happened at the end, and the other four all happened within the first 25% of the book. And to make my point, the book doesn't feel front loaded at all. The pace keeps going strong throughout - clearly so much stuff happens that my memory couldn't hold it all.
And what does happen? Is of the no-holds-barred style of story telling. This book is casually brutal. Or I remembered this was brutal - The Red Wedding is pretty well seared into my brain permanently - how unrelentingly brutal they are. Martin's not shy about doing horrible things to his characters, and having them do horrible things are to each other, and no one is safe... and yet I let myself get attached to them anyways, even though I knew (more or less) what was coming.
It's impossible not to get attached to the characters. They're all really complex, and well-drawn that even the bad guys are still interesting, and still at least somewhat sympathetic (except Joffrey. Gods, I just want to punch Joffrey in his smug little face, even though it's not his fault he was raised to be a prattish jerkwad). On the flip side, even the good guys I occasionally want to slap and yell at to stop being dumb/blind/proud/annoyingly obsessed with their own honour. And the best part is that so many of the characters are neither good guys nor bad guys, but somewhere wonderfully meaty and fascinating in between. I remembered all that in principle.
Honestly even better than I remembered it being. Not for everyone, but if complex historicals or epic fantasy is your thing, it's a series well worth diving into.
