A Dance with Dragons (2011)
Written By: George R.R. Martin
Narrated by: Roy Dotrice
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Length: 48 h 55 m (Audiobook)
Series: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 5
Publisher: Random House Audio via Audible
The premise:
In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance once again – beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has three times 3,000 enemies, and many have set out to find her. Yet, as they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.
To the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone – a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Nights Watch, will face his greatest challenge yet. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.
And from all corners, bitter conflicts soon reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.
Spoilers Ahead!
Discussion: I have a lot of thoughts on this book. I will probably have forgotten something, but I’ll try my best!
Martin opens the book with a “Cavil on Chronology”, stating that this book happens concurrently with book 4, and covers the events that take place in the North of Westeros and abroad in Pentos and Slaver’s Bay, for the first half. Then he starts adding in the other characters again, like events in Dorne and the Iron Islands and Cersei. Except that Arya had a chapter or two in book 4. This really only confirmed for me that book 4 and at least the first half of book 5 should have been combined into one book, and the second half of book 5 should be the start of the next one. I suspect the reason it was done this way has everything to do with Martin’s writing process. Fans of the series wait years between books, and chances are, there was a contract, and because Martin’s focus had been on the characters and events in the south of Westeros, that’s what he wrote and sent to his publisher, and got a few more years to write the next installment. It doesn’t read like he planned the books this way. It reads like he thought, “Oh, now I need a chapter on….” so he wrote it. There isn’t great flow or organization.
In my post about A Feast For Crows, I linked to someone who had figured out a way to read the two books together. If you give it a shot, I would really like to hear if it flows. Here’s the link again: A Feast for Crows & A Dance with Dragons.
Right. So we’ll accept that there were just too many characters to fit into one book. Then why the hell is he introducing more characters?! Good God, man! This story did not need to be expanded any more, and the characters that were added, didn’t really contribute anything except to further an already too-complicated story! In the back of my mind I was expecting Rhaegar to come back into play somehow because there’s been so much talk about him throughout the series, but to introduce his son, now? Aegon/Young Griff is introduced as someone who hopes to marry Daenerys (one of many men in this apparent position), but he ends up going off to Dorne in an attempt to claim the throne. With so much emphasis on the way Rhaegar’s kids were murdered, it was inevitable that at least one of them would show up. At this point in the story, though, he doesn’t add anything to the conflict, and who really cares? I don’t think he has a better claim to the throne than Daenerys. I could be mistaken, but it seems to me that Rhaegar died before the Mad King, therefore he never inherited the crown, in which case, the Mad King’s eldest surviving offspring inherits the crown, and that would be Daenerys. Please, correct me if I err on the chronology of deaths.
Speaking of claims to the Iron Throne, this whole thing about Stannis having the blood of Kings, I’m going to argue that he doesn’t. He’s not a Targaryen. I know the argument is that Robert claimed the throne and therefore his family has the blood of Kings, but if anyone has it, it would be his kids and his kids alone. And I know too, that the argument is that if Robert is a King, then he has King’s blood and therefore so do his brothers. But my instinct is to say, no, they don’t have King’s blood. They are not of the dragon. I know I’m wrong on this, but I’m going to stick to my wrongness.
And speaking of the introduction of new characters, what is the point of introducing Quentin Martel, the Prince of Dorne? He travels to Meereen to marry Daenerys, except that she’s already married. And all he does is die. Martin also introduces Lord Cunnington, and again, why? He does nothing but take up page space! I’ve questioned the addition of the Aeron and Victarian Greyjoy being given chapters, and I question it again here, with Victarian. What is he supposed to accomplish? He’s another one off to marry Daenerys, but he can’t because she’s already married. Now, I suppose for all my griping, these character’s purpose will be explained in future books. To me, they are just expanding things. They are unnecessary. There is already enough happening.
My good friend and I have very different opinions on the introduction of new characters. She thinks it is fantastic how George R.R. Martin is breaking the “rule” of not introducing new characters so late. I’m irritated by it. To me they serve no purpose but to drag things out. She loves the details. I could do with half as much detail.
Having said that, I really enjoyed the re-introduction of Penny, the dwarf woman who had been one of the jousters at Joffrey’s wedding. It rounds out what happened to her and her brother, and fleshes out what life is like for non-high-born dwarfs in Westeros. Penny’s story closes a loop, has a significant role for Tyrion, and yet doesn’t become a lead character. Yet!
I have so many questions! There are so many open threads! One that was hinted at: Rickon! I’ve been wondering if he’s ever going to show up again. It seemed to me that it was suggested he and Osha were seen heading to a place populated by cannibals. Why would she do that? Is that really the safest place for them?
Some of the open threads were dealt with in the TV series, Season 5, in a different way: Gilly doesn’t have Manse Raider’s baby, Princess Shereen is burned at the stake, Sansa is forced to marry Ramsay Bolton. In the books, though, Shereen is declared unclean, so what will happen to her? Will burning her at the stake cleanse her? Or will she suffer a different kind of fate? Do we have to read all about Sam becoming a Maester? Will the undead Catelyn make a comeback? Sansa and Littlefinger are still looking after Robin Arryn. What will happen with Sansa?
So Hizdar was the leader of the Sons of the Harpy. I’m glad that was discovered, though it was a bit obvious, and he was dealt with. I thought Daenerys’s marriage to him was a easy and ill-informed decision. And now that she’s stranded somewhere, having hallucinations, at least she’s getting her purpose back: to take back the Iron Throne.
And the very end, with the children and the daggers? What was that??
In Conclusion:
You may have heard it said that there are two styles of books that readers gravitate to: those that are plot-focused (the action, thriller type usually), and those that are character-focused (maybe not much happens but we really care about the characters). I’m going to suggest that this series, much like a lot of epic fantasy, is much more world-focused. Readers who love these books, love all the details of the world. Sure, they care about the characters and enjoy the action, but it is the details of making the tea, or the descriptions of the buildings and the trees, and the food in Flea Bottom, that pulls them in.
I am not one of those readers.
This is a story, a conflict, that cannot end. Once you can kill one king that easily, and then the second, and the third, even easier than the first, then there will always be someone declaring some kind of claim to the throne. There is no end to it. A lot of political dramas like to include an assassination of the President of the United States: it automatically makes everyone paranoid and suspect of wanting to claim the power for themselves. Perfect for thrillers and drama. In much the same way, Martin is playing on that paranoia and drama. I wonder if there is an end-point to all of it, and what that end-point might be.
In an earlier post I had said something to the effect that at least Tyrion wasn’t as bad as Joffrey so Sansa’s marriage wasn’t so bad. Someone commented that it was terrible because she never consented to it. I didn’t reply to that comment then, because I wanted to comment on it after I finished the series. The idea of consent is irrelevant in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire. None of the women consent to the marriages. If they don’t fight it, it is because it is the only option presented to them. They don’t marry because they want to. They marry because they have to. That isn’t consent. Along with the lack of consent comes the ease and abundance of rape in the series. The only ones who apparently get punished for raping a woman, are those who are caught, and are not high-born. Their punishment is to send them to the Wall as part of the Night’s Watch, and all is forgiven.
Women are chattle, nothing more. Some may have a lot of spirit and fight and desire for power, but in the end, they are at the mercy of the men. Perhaps, in the end, that irritated me the most. Historical accuracy, blah, blah, blah. I’m tired of it. I’m tired of reading it. I’m tired of watching it. I’m tired of living it every day.
I don’t have a lot of time for reading in my life. It’s why I did the audio books. This series depressed the hell out of me on my daily drives to and from work. I am glad I read the books and now it is time for me to move on to something more inspiring, more empowering. Please, make suggestions in the comments!
I loved the first three books, and slogged through the last two (thank god for audiobooks, or I would STILL be slogging through them). Not holding my breath that Martin will finish the series before he dies – he seems to be going the way of Robert Jordan as far as “story bloat” goes. *sigh*
What kinds of books are you looking to listen to now? Any particular genres?
The first three books were quite alright, but they never really marked me the same way the last books did. The plot was heading towards some extremely intriguing, fascinating and unpredictable places, the characters were dived into an extent much greater than what was seen in the previous books, the themes were masterfully explored especially in certain slower arcs. They were an incredible joy to read. To see how different characters handle the prospects of ruling was incredibly interesting. Seeing how the Starks handle being isolated from everyone they know and forced to learn extremely quickly was really enjoyable. Seeing forces that have being looking at the events in the background become more prominent and move the plot forward in an unexpected manner was also really enjoyable. Many of the chapters marked me in a way that only a few would in the earlier book. Every POV was a joy to read, and the ones I dismissed previously ended up being much more enjoyable here. It’s also a bit earlier to slate characters like the Greyjoys, the Martells and Aeron’s camp as being useless character when you have yet to see what they are contribute to things in the next two books.