Well, I guess this will be my ADWD diary

Discussion in 'Game of Thrones (ASOIAF)' started by Fuzzy Zoeller, Jul 15, 2012.

  1. Fuzzy Zoeller

    Fuzzy Zoeller College football > NFL
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    Prologue: Pretty cool to see inside the mind of a warg. Cool seeing the "relationship" a warg forms with their subjects. Found this chapter kind of hard to follow, I could never figure out if the POV character was Bump or Lump, or neither. Either way, Varymyr Sixskins is a cool character, hope he survives the impending wight attack. I wonder if this is the person Bran and Co. are on their way to see. Interestingly enough, both Prologues that took place north of the Wall are the only ones that haven't directly involved people dying.

    Tyrion: He was the character I was most interested in learning their whereabouts. I wonder if Shae has warped his view of whores, and that's why he's so interested in finding out where the whores go. Usually he would've taken whoever Ilyrio offered. I definitely think the show did an injustice to Ilyrio's character in Season 1. He's on his way to Dany, along with half of Westeros seemingly.

    Dany: Martin has definitely driven home the point that ruling isn't as glamorous as people imagine it is. She's going to have a hell of a time ruling in Mereen. Drogon better not be dead. I'll be pissed.

    Jon: I was always lukewarm on Stannis before now, but I'm starting to turn on him. Everyone knows he isn't really Azor Ahai reborn except for him. I'd forgotten Stannis had offered the North to Jon, but I still think he made the right choice by declining. It was weird going back in time from AFFC where Sam, Gilly and Aemon are still at the Wall. I got chills when the chapter closed with Melisandrei saying "You know nothing, Jon Snow."
     
  2. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    Tyrion is so interested in finding out where whores go because thats where he Tywin said he sent Tysha

    "So I guess we just sent her on her way"

    "On her way where"

    "To wherever whores go"

    twang

    plop
     
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  3. Fuzzy Zoeller

    Fuzzy Zoeller College football > NFL
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    Bran: Good to finally see what's been going on with Bran and Co. Now that I know who will play Jojen Reed in the show, I can't help but picture him as the actor - even though I had a completely different looking person in my head up until now. Cool to see that Bran has become more comfortable with his warg abilities. I wonder who it is that Summer was snacking on, obviously Night's Watch. Interesting to find out that Coldhands is dead, but not a wight. Didn't really see anything to prove/disprove the "Coldhands = Benjen Stark" theory.

    Tyrion II: Traveling chapters aren't my favorite. A lot of history that surely went over my head that will become important later. Ready for them to get to Volantis now. Glad I'm through this chapter.
     
  4. keacali

    keacali Oklahoma Sooners, SF Giants
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    Just finished the book, I'm really looking forward to this 4 year wait for the next book. Not really I'll probably never read the next one, but it was fun while it lasted
     
  5. Fuzzy Zoeller

    Fuzzy Zoeller College football > NFL
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    Been slacking on doing my updates. I'll have more today or tomorrow. Not that anyone cares.
     
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  6. Fuzzy Zoeller

    Fuzzy Zoeller College football > NFL
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    I'm about 15 chapters ahead of where I was in my last update so I'll just post my thoughts on each storyline so far. I also just discovered that the Tower of the Hand chapter summaries for ADWD are somehow unfinished so these will be a lot less detailed than I'd planned.

    Tyrion: What has been by far my favorite character in the series turned into one big meh until the second half of the Rhoyne chapter, when it's revealed that Young Griff is young Aegon Targaryen. My first question is naturally - who was that baby that the Mountain killed in the Red Keep then? Anyway, this group of characters he's with are pretty bland except for the milf Septa. That may change now that we know what their mission is. His latest chapter left him in the river fighting a grey scale :w2d: so we'll see how that goes.

    Dany: I'm confused on Drogon's whereabouts right now. The last chapter stated he was off hunting, but the chapter before that made it sound like he was dead. Regardless, Dany is having trouble ruling Meereen and is about to go to war with Qarth, for reasons that don't make a lot of sense to me right now. I need to go back and read the summaries of her time in Qarth from ACOK. Anyway, I think Dany needs to 1) open the fighting pits and 2) allow her dragons to show Meereen some justice by fire.

    Bran: Really enjoying his time north of the Wall. Loved the fight with the wights, but it seemed unlikely that no one would have serious injuries (unless the wights are just terrible fighters). The Three Eyed Crow sounds awesome, and I got gooseprickles when he said he'd been watching Bran from the time he was born.

    Jon: Jon is getting things done as Lord Commander. Beheading Janos Slynt, convincing Stannis to GTFO the wall and dealing with the wildlings, he's handled it all like a vet.

    Davos: Something about me just makes me love Davos. Maybe it's the irony of the smuggler being the one truly honorable person in Westeros outside of the Starks. My next chapter is his meeting with Lord Manderly in White Harbor.

    Reek: This was one of my favorite chapters in the entire series. IMO, Martin's at his best when he's introducing a new character, even though Reek isn't "new" in the truest since. The Bastard of Bolton sounds Joffrey-level cruel, and Reek is completely broken mentally. Going to be interesting to see how he handles the wedding of Ramsay and the fake Arya Stark.
     
  7. The Blackfish

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    For the most part, I hate Dany in ADWD. If she says "I'm only a small girl and know little of such things but...". I think WBN is gonna have to choke a bitch. Just as annoying during the reread.
     
  8. keacali

    keacali Oklahoma Sooners, SF Giants
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    yeah dany has gotten really fucking irritating. She wants to be queen of a slave city, but then won't slaughter the old slave masters when they're acting up. She's becoming Catelyn pretty god damn fast
     
  9. Fuzzy Zoeller

    Fuzzy Zoeller College football > NFL
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    Davos III: A really strong chapter. The Freys are now by far my most hated family in the Seven Kingdoms. The Lannisters had always been number 1, but Tyrion is a boss, Joffrey and Tywin are dead, Jaime is cool and Cersei is incarcerated. The Freys are completely honorless, weak and there's a fucking million of them. Lots of dialogue in this chapter, which ended with Davos being sentenced to a beheading.

    Reek II: Reek turns back into Theon and brings the Ironborn back to Ramsay Bolton - thus giving him Moat Cailin. At the end he notices that Arya Stark isn't Arya Stark, so it will be :ohnoes: to see what happens there. Too bad we don't get to see Reek again for 12 chapters :/

    Jon V: Seems like the Night's Watch is going to come apart from the inside. Nothing good can come from bringing the wildlings inside the Wall.
     
  10. The Blackfish

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    Cersei isn't incarcerated at the time Davos speaks in Manderly's court
     
  11. Fuzzy Zoeller

    Fuzzy Zoeller College football > NFL
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    Yeah, I'm just riffing about how the Lannisters were always my most hated family until now.
     
  12. Fuzzy Zoeller

    Fuzzy Zoeller College football > NFL
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    Tyrion VI: Tyrion has accounted for a quarter of the book to this point, and we just got to his first bout with a whore. Times, they are a changing. I really want to play a game of cyvasse. Good to see him running into a drunk and destitute Jorah Mormont, wonder what will happen there.

    Daenerys IV: :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm: You're having trouble ruling a city, and you have the world's greatest killing machines at your service, and yet Dany can't put 2 and 2 together. Instead, she's considering marrying some guy that will not help fulfill her ultimate goal. She needs to heed Barristan's advice and sail to Westeros, but that doesn't seem like where the story is going. Middle Easterners can't even rule themselves peacefully in a fake universe.
     
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  13. Fuzzy Zoeller

    Fuzzy Zoeller College football > NFL
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    The Lost Lord: Only got to one chapter over the weekend, and this was it. Jon Connington was exiled by the Mad King, yes? Interesting to see how he's still devoted to the Targareyan's cause. Seemed like Aegon took Tyrion's advice to heart in the previous chapter about sailing to Westeros. As a reader, I'm definitely behind this plan as well. I'm excited to see how this plays out - as was said in AFFC (I think) about how sellswords will kill for gold but they won't die for it. So that just leaves Quentyn Martell, the maester from Oldtown, Victarion Greyjoy and Tyrion (presumably) trying to win Dany to their side. Oh, and Jon Connington has greyscale :feelsbadman:
     
  14. Fuzzy Zoeller

    Fuzzy Zoeller College football > NFL
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    We'll I've knocked out 35 chapters since I last updated this thread so I'll give my thoughts on the various storylines going on:

    Meereen: After a lot of filler, this is starting to get good. Barristan Selmy, Quentyn Martell and Tyrion are starting to make political moves, while Dany is hoping on the back of Drogon. I'll be honest: I know I'm missing a lot of what's going on there. It's hard to keep Hiddaz mo Loqaz straight from Hizzah qo Zuqqua, especially without the benefit of chapter guides from Tower of the Hand. It seems like Dany, and everyone in Meereen, is setting up for something really interesting in the next book. Although, the same can be said about Dany's storyline in every book so far. Just go to Westeros already, you slut.

    The Wall: Jon seems to be the only one to grasp that the Night Watch's true enemy is the Others. He can really put the fear of God into his Night's Watch brothers whenenver necessary, which is good to see. Really like Tormund Giantsbane. Also, it seems like Melisandre's phrophecy makes it seem pretty clear that Fake Arya Stark is going to make it out of Winterfell and head to the Wall. Will Theon be with her?

    Speaking of Winterfell, this is my favorite ADWD-specific storyline going right now. Ramsay is a more demented and dangerous version of Joffrey. Stannis, or what's left of his army, is closing in on Winterfell. Manderly is in Winterfell, a sleeper cell of pro-Stannis support. Karstark is one his way, with each side convinced he's fighting for them. This storyline left off with Theon jumping into the frozen stream of Winterfell (with Fake Arya Stark, I think). We better get more of this before ADWD ends.

    -It's sad to see Tyrion reduced to riding a dog as a slave. Good to see him work his magic with Brown Ben Plumm and the Second Sons.
    -Victarion Greyjoy has no shot of winning Danereys over.
    -That's all I can think of right now. It's starting to hit me that I'm headed for some major cliffhangers in 12 chapters with no end in sight. :feelsbadman:
     
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  15. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    My biggest problems with ADWD is how boring most of Dany's chapters are and the amount of cliffhangers.

    Read it again next summer and all the Loraqs and Reznaks are easier to keep straight

    Looking forward to your thoughts on the last few chapters.
     
  16. Fuzzy Zoeller

    Fuzzy Zoeller College football > NFL
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    At some point in the future I definitely plan to re-read AFFC and ADWD together.
     
  17. The Blackfish

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    Just finished it doing that. It was awesome
     
  18. Verbal Kint

    Verbal Kint Well-Known Member
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    doing this now. Highly enjoy it
     
  19. Fuzzy Zoeller

    Fuzzy Zoeller College football > NFL
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    A few thoughts on some recent chapters:

    The Griffin Reborn: Definitely cool to get a new perspective on Rhaegar and the Battle of the Bells. I had no awareness at all of Griffin's Roost before this chapter. Aegon Targaryen seems much more capable of winning Dany to his side than Quentyn Martell. The Golden Company is there with him, right? I'd like to see some more insight into Jon Connington's dismissal as Hand of the King and his continued loyalty to House Targaryen. Jon feels like he failed Rheagar, but what about Areys?

    The Sacrifice: I'm really upset with the showrunners in their casting of Asha. It's obvious GRRM intended her to be hot. Anyway, Stannis' only hope to take Winterfell is to rely on the Northmen. One of the most fascinating subplots going is that out of nowhere, the Iron Bank of Braavos could completely swing the war. Yet another example of Cersei's terrible foresight as a leader. Anyway, seems like Fake Arya Stark will start to head to the Wall, and Theon will fall in with Asha and Stannis. If Fake Arya Stark ends up heading to the Wall, that's another example of Melisandre's visions being flawed (not that we didn't already know that).

    Victarion: What a badass. I can't see his voyage ending in anything other than failure, but he's someone you definitely want on your side in a war. It probably won't happen, but I'd like to see Dany win him to her side and overthrow the Crow's Eye. Sucks to be those whores that Victarion burned.

    The Ugly Little Girl: I need some clarification on who it is she killed, and how she did it. She robbed a guy and gave him the valar morghulis coin, which he gave to the insurance guy, who then died. Am I supposed to know who she had the hit out on? I :pray: she meets up with Jaqen on her internship.

    Tyrion: It's so great to see Tyrion being Tyrion again. He's back to being the guy we've known since day 1 - the smartest guy in the room. I'm ashamed to admit I didn't catch the meaning of the Second Sons' company name until GRRM laid it out for me, but it's perfect. Tyrion's storyline was the number 1 thing I was looking forward to after ASOS and it'll be the same way heading into TWOW. I'm assuming he doesn't have another chapter left in this book.

    Only 6 more chapters to go.
     
  20. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    Took me my reread to figure out how Arya killed him, or at least how I believe it happened

    She cut the purse of a man who was going to do business with the merchant she had to kill and swapped one of his gold dragons with a poisoned one she brought from the house of black and white. When the man paid the merchant the merchant bit into each coin to make sure it was real gold like he always does and the poison on the coin eventually caused his heart to fail
     
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  21. Fuzzy Zoeller

    Fuzzy Zoeller College football > NFL
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    That makes sense, especially since GRRM explicity said how he bit down on every coin. Never would have figured that out on my own. Arya is one stealthy murderer.
     
  22. The Blackfish

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    Yea I remembered how confused I was regarding how she killed the guy during my first reading so when I got to that chapter in my reread I read it with the sole purpose of figuring out what she did
     
  23. Fuzzy Zoeller

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    Going in reverse order this time, just because:

    Jon: What. The. Fuck. He can't be dead. What. The. Fuck. I'd always assumed he was safe, that he was the Ice in ASOIAF. No one is truly dead until GRRM tells you they're dead, but this definitely isn't good. Et tu, Bowen Marsh? What. The. Fuck. To be fair, I didn't think it was a good idea to lead a ranging to Hardhome, or to head south to Winterfell (as I don't believe Stannis is truly dead), but still. What. The Fuck.

    The Dragontamer: Lol, poor Frog. Dany and Drogon are MIA and now so are the other two dragons. This plan never had a chance.

    The Kingbreaker: So Hizdar is the Harpy, or at least in concert with the Sons of the Harpy. One of those things that you look back and wonder how you didn't see it coming. Somehow, this "Oh shit" moment didn't hit me as hard as the million other "Oh shit" moments we've had in this series. Probably because everything in Meereen has gone over my head and left me wondering who is who. Either way, we'll see if Barristan is up for leading a rebellion this time around.