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A Storm of Swords
October 2020: Other Books
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[Poll Ballot] A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin - 5 Stars
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SO funny Heather-I always thought i would be Samwell too!
Joanne wrote: "SO funny Heather-I always thought i would be Samwell too!"Ha! I'd like to think I would be Arya, but I'm definitely Sam. The scene in a previous book where he gets really excited about a stash of old maps to study convinced me.
On a good day I'd be Samwell. Most likely I'd die in the first chapter.
I did review this book the first time, and it's interesting to compare notes to myself eight years in the past. I definitely found this book more riveting this time around. Eight-years-ago Heather didn't care all that much for the macro political conflict in the book, most of which plays out in dialogue between the characters, and she said the book dragged. That Heather was a very different person than I am today. I'm here for all the political schemes, the lore, the prophetic dreams, the songs playing out in their entirety... give it to me, I want it all, I'm basking in the splendor of this gloriously fully-realized universe.
A few other things that were clearer to me this time around:
(view spoiler)[- The Stark kids are basically all wargs and connected with their direwolves, except Sansa, because Lady is dead :(
- Poor Catelyn is an unsung tragic hero, a smart woman who never gets listened to because she's surrounded by prideful men
- The first time I really couldn't stand the Jon Snow/Ygritte storyline, but I found it quite charming this time, possibly because I knew it would be short?? All that "You know nothing, Jon Snow" stuff is making him question his assumptions about the world. Poor Ygritte, though. Star-crossed lovers and all that.
- The first time I think I thought maybe Shae did love Tyrion back which made his killing her kind of monstrous, but this time around I definitely thought it was all an act so I just felt bad for Tyrion
- All the Azor Ahai prophecy stuff, I like, totally forgot about all of that??! Still don't think it's Stannis though, but I guess Melisandre really does care about fighting the Others (in the past I've wondered if she's just a charlatan)
- Daenerys's arc is totally starting its turn, and I definitely think there's some subtextual commentary on the politics of imperialism... and Barristan rocks
- If I were to exist in the ASOIAF universe, I would be Samwell Tarly
- Dolorous Edd is the best lmfao (hide spoiler)]
All that said, this book IS huge, and sprawling, and requires incredibly close reading to not miss things. I did find the first three hundred or so pages a bit slower than the rest, as there was so much fallout from the previous book to wade through, but after that it picked up nicely. Can't wait to continue the journey in the next book, of which I confess I remember very little.