A Dance with Dragons

So.... IT'S HERE!

Anyone have thoughts to share?
Have you bought it? Ordered it? Cuddled up in bed with it for the past three nights?

I ordered it online but didn't want to pay for quick shipping so mine is still on its way (which is fine since I'm just over half-way done with Feast for Crows).

Finished yesterday, easily my second favorite in the series now after A Game of Thrones.

I am VERY glad to hear that. I ordered it yesterday from B&N. I was expecting to find stacks of it at Costco, but they either had not received it yet or they were already sold out!

I am going to download it to my Nook and start it after I finish Fallen Dragon. I've been trying to avoid the reviews and media coverage to avoid any spoilers.

So far, so good. Reek chapters are pretty surprising (I'm one-fourth of the way through). Dany's chapters are good. Wonder how she will manage to rule peacefully?

It's excellent! Good twists in the plot.

So has anyone finished it yet ? I haven't read it, but have searched out all the spoilers, plot points, and cliffhangers.

After the Red Wedding I will never read one of these books blind again. I want to know what to expect and who is gonna die, then I will decide if and when I will read it.

I don't think Martin is writing the book I am reading. I want to read about the Starks (like the first 3 books), and he is way beyond that now.

So if anyone has read the book or seen the spoilers, what do you think of the latest death ?

Many say it won't stick, and I agree, but what will the returning form be like ?

Finally done - whew, so hard to stay away from all these related threads in the meantime! I wrote up my positive review, and then encountered everyone else's on Amazon and our highest rated ones here, complaining the plot doesn't move forward and it ends on another round of cliffhangers. The same thing was said about Jordan so I've stayed clear of the Wheel of Time. But if this is people's idea of "not moving forward," I need to seriously reconsider that.

Not a chapter went by in ADWD that I didn't see the point to or felt it advanced the story in some important way, and I found the writing economical. Quite a head scratcher, seeing so many opposing opinions. I guess I'm just sorry so many people had a problem with it and couldn't enjoy it like I did. For me, middle volumes in series are about the journey and not how slam-bang the ending is or isn't, so I was more than satisfied. Martin knows how to make every step of the way count for something, imo.

>7 FicusFan: I think it's gonna stick, personally. It was foreshadowed throughout, and I even think he had it coming. For all the wisdom exuded by his POV, he had a lot of blind spots and shouldn't have been as completely surprised as he was.

I liked ADWD as well, although A Storm of Swords was my favorite. A Feast for Crows is my least favorite (talk about not moving the plot forward!). The pacing was a bit slow, but still, "stuff got done."

I don't think the last death will stick. Azor Ahai reborn, three-headed dragon, etc., etc.

I finally read ADWD. I liked it, and don't understand why there are such poor reviews. I thought some of the shape of the end can be seen.

*** SpoilerWarning***

I think Quent was not pointless as some said - he was there to release the dragons since Dany won't. I hope they burn Meereen and most of the people there - can't stand the Meereen thread, don't much care about Dany either. Then they might get a move on for Westeros.

I think Dany got to ride Drogon, and hopefully recruit the Dothraki. The only thing I wonder about is something GRRM said - like maybe Dany will never go to Westeros - not that I care about who gets the Iron Throne - but would resent the time spent with her in the books.

It is almost as though with GRRM upsetting all the fantasy cliches, Dany and the dragons maybe a red herring. The same with the threat of the White Walkers in the north. Countries always have outside threats, but they don't always invade. Could stay all politics all the time to the end. Not sure if thats real just a thought.

I think Sansa is being tutored to be the LittleFinger for the next regime. I suspect her final exam will be to eliminate the real LF/Robin. Think Arya is is going to be their killer/spymaster. Think the Stark goodness is going to be gone - but at least they will survive.

Shaggydog has always been wild/vicious, and I wonder if Rickon will be the same (if the wolf and chil really reflect each other). I wonder if he will become the next Lord Stark or if Jon will (if he lives). I suppose it depends on if Robb's will/letter ever surfaces and what it says. Interesting is that Rickon is only a Stark by name, since he was so young when his family fell apart. He wasn't really raised by them.

If Jon lives, the question is what will he be (what is the cost)? Will he be a good Wight like Coldhands ( no personality, no future), an unJon (like Cat and Berric) who shambles with his unrepaired damage making him fall apart,
Or a crispy-critter like Vic and his arm (if Mel is the one to cause the resurrection). Some think he isn't really dead, maybe a glamour from Mel protected him or Wun-Wun saves him. Some think he will Warg into Ghost for awhile before coming back.

I don't think he is dead - I think he has to get out of the Night's Watch- his vow is until death. He can stay and fight the WW, but needs to be part of the War in the rest of the kingdom too. I also think, like many, that he is not what he seems in terms of his parents: L+R=J.

If there needs to be 3 Targs for the prophecy, then you would have Dany, Griff/Aegon, and Jon.

I really loved AFFC. It didn't have some of the big characters (but hey at least GRRM can't kill them if they aren't there). I read it as historical fiction rather than ASOIF fantasy.

You've a lot of theories I never thought of, and those are some plausible alternative directions for the story to go. I do think D will make it to Westeros. I think it's even possible for the story to go on without Jon in it. I must have forgotten about a letter from Robb, that's interesting.

Well the theory about Jon's parents I found on-line. Some of the fan sites: Westeros.org, Tower of The Hand, Winter Is Coming.

The Letter/Will was the last thing Robb did in SOS before he left for the Red Wedding. But like Ned's 'maybe letter' from the Dungeon and his bones and Robb's and Grey Wind's bones - have never shown up again.

If there are really only 2 books left, I am not sure GRRM has enough time to fight 2 wars (Iron Throne, WW) and tie up all the threads. So that is why I wonder if Dany & the Dragons and the WW are red herrings and will just continue to simmer at the edges of the 7 kingdoms. Of course that would make her pointless to the whole thing and piss everyone off, so probably not.

I am pretty sure Jon is the Ice in the Song of Ice and Fire (Dany). In some form, I expect he will continue till the end - may permanently die then, but not before. Martin also challenged an interviewer with
"So you think he's dead huh ?"

The whole Warging Prolog seems to set up that at some point Jon will end up in Ghost for a while. It made me wonder about Robb. Since he wasn't a POV character we don't know if he could Warg. If so, he would have Warged to Ghost when he was killed. Then Ghost was killed and I wonder since the wolves sense each other if he could have somehow jumped to Nymeria -since she is in the Riverlands with her pack.

Probably farfetched, but If we could get Robb back I would be very happy. The HBO series makes it hard to lose him again, because the actor makes him so real.

Now that I have read all 5 and seen the show and read on-line so many theories and little details that I missed, I am thinking about a re-read of all the books, but I don't know if I can face the loss and pain again.

Someone at Tor.com (spoiler review) said they were excited to see the white raven Winter make an appearance. Frankly this didn't register with me. Was this some kind of symbolism, or something foretold, that I didn't catch? What's up with this bird?

When the maesters at Oldtown send out the white ravens, it means winter truly is coming.

The Citadel sends out White Ravens when they have scientifically determined that the season has actually changed. So when it shows up it means Summer has ended and Winter is actually coming/there.

Thanks! That makes sense.
Just so I know I didn't miss it - nobody actually *said* in the book what was in the pie, it's just heavily implied, right? So we can still look forward to the Boltons and Freys finding out later...

Right, no one comes out and says, "Would you like Freys with that?"

lol ... my next trip to McDonald's, I'm sure to remember that one.

Nothing said outright, but Manderly was singing/asking for the song The Rat Cook - which is about cannibalism I think.