A Storm of Swords

Coming on to the third installment of the fantastic A Song of Ice and Fire series, I've finally reached A Storm of Swords and begun reading it in earnest. This book I probably remember the least about from originally reading it, and I think I had a very dim view of much of the book at the time, and I absolutely remembered certain events wrong. In fact, I even confused some major events in this novel for those which took place in A Feast for Crows! So on sitting down and reading this again, it was very much like reading the book for the first time!

Some major spoilers are following since you can't really have a review of this book without them. If you haven't read this book or watched the show, be warned!

The book begins with House Lannister triumphant. Even though this is a supposed victory for House Baratheon, it rings hollow. The three male heirs are dead or defeated, the King on Dragonstone driven into the sea, the King in North has won every battle but now he faces the united strength of the south and west, while the ironborn have overthrown his castle and occupied much of the North, and Tyrion Lannister himself has fallen from grace.

Meanwhile in the North with the ironborn invasion, now the King Beyond the Wall comes pounding to the South and with him the might of the Free Folk with raiders, warriors and giants, but nipping at their heels are the mysterious but deadly Others. Jon Snow finds himself on the wrong side of the Wall, and maybe on the wrong side of the war.

Intrigue, betrayal, and weddings abound as the realm remains split in A Storm of Swords.

Another copy of a book which owes me nothing.

As laid out, all the characters here are in a moment of transition, the war is still being waged even though it is largely won in the south. However, the North, the Iron Islands, and the Riverlands are still in revolt against the Iron Throne. It is looking less and less likely though that these revolutions can continue. The new King of the Iron Islands has launched an ill fated invasion of the North, but this has only served to weaken the power of the King in the North, and so now the war may be for nothing. Worse, he may have made an indiscretion off the battlefield which may cost him more than any defeat ever could.

Like I mentioned above though, this book is chock full of action and events. I had actually misremembered parts of it and changed them to be part of A Feast for Crows in my head. It was a revelatory experience to go back and read the nail biting build up to things like, the Slavers Bay Campaign, the Battle of Castle Black, the Red Wedding, and the Purple Wedding. Seeing the details intricately built up to, betrayals, poisons, and political chicanery was absolutely amazing. I had forgotten just how much went into this book and how important it became for the later volumes.

One of the great themes was that of victory and loss. None of the victories we see on screen come without loss or complications. I enjoyed that each win still managed to bring with it a series of losses, and in some cases outright defeats.

Dany's arc was fascinating as it shows her maturing, but also questioning some of her goals and motivations while having trouble with some of the issues of her youth. I did enjoy that she became something of a wicked badass when doing all this. It's a tale that hits close to my heart because of my love of Civil War history, and the parallels are fascinating to look for.

Jon Snow's story is also interesting as it careens from a spy thriller to an epic story of siege and diplomacy, with so many twists it really made my head spin as I was reading it. I found the whole story with Mance Rayder to be compelling as it explains the threat of the Wildlings, and the threat that hangs over the whole Seven Kingdoms with the Others.

One story line I remembered astonishingly little of was that of Sansa Stark. I think back when I first read this I mostly skimmed her story, which is probably a grievous error. It was so much richer than I remembered, full of intrigue, subtle hints at the nature of the Tyrell's and their plans, while crossing so well with that of Tyrion Lannisters. He finale in the Vale was so well done, I really did underestimate her as a character when I first read this series.

Outside of Tyrion's arc (because how can you not love Tyrion? And the duel, that duel!) I would say that these were the stories that kept me going. Reading all of Catelyn's arc was gut wrenching as this time I knew where it lead. Seeing all the events coming to a head, in a way that really ties off what I consider to be the perfect trilogy in A Song of Ice and Fire,was immensely satisfying. I have more thoughts on why I think the first three books are so well done, and slide so seamlessly together, but those are for another time.

For now I would just like to finish by saying that A Storm of Swords is truly a masterpiece of the writers craft with such deftly handled foreshadowing and amazing plot arcs that it was well worth my time to reread. I'm in love with Westeros all over again.

A Clash of Kings

The second installment in the Song of Ice and Fire series was my most recent read and I loved it! Picking up once again from where we left off after A Game of Thrones we dive into the world of Westeros and the meat of what became the War of Five Kings, all deciding who would sit on the Iron Throne. So, as a blazing comet streaks across the sky, dragons hatch in the east, wildlings gather against the ancient Wall, kings war and the land bleeds, we delve into a realm split by A Clash of Kings.

                                                   

Looking back I do remember this book as my favorite from when I first picked the series up. It had many of the tropes I would come to know and love in books, sieges, political intrigue, war, magic and above all, wit!

The book picks up only a few days after the events of A Game of Thrones and follows our main cast of principle characters, minus one. Those characters are the Stark clan, Catelyn, Arya, Sansa and Bran, plus Jon. Then we have our other protagonists Tyrion Lannister and Danaerys Targaryen. Into this mix is thrown a new player, Davos Seaworth the Onion Knight, who is above and beyond one of my other favorite characters. We also have Theon Greyjoy, who plays a very important part in this piece.

This book though, probably more than any of the next volumes, is really about the overarching events of The War of Five Kings (and ironically the only one where all five kings are even present). It accelerates events as in the last book Rob was proclaimed the first King in the North in nearly three centuries, meanwhile both Stannis and Renly Baratheon claim crowns and the kingship of Jofferey "Baratheon" is in doubt. Meanwhile, old rebels take up old crowns and a more sinister plot in the war.

Like I said though, it focuses on some of my favorite elements in storytelling, namely sieges and politics which I think put together make for some fascinating situations to read about. Sieges in history have been intense moments of struggle and can last for quite a long time with great or terrible results. One of the primary issues in this book is the impending siege of King's Landing by one of the claimants to the Iron Throne and how that might end the war in an afternoon!

Tyrion Lannister is the one who deals with the main problems as he enters a city beset by a rising refugee population, political imbalance, and one which is almost utterly unprepared to stand a siege. His sister the Queen Regent does not recognize his authority, the king is an adolescent sadist, and his fellow members of the Small Council are completely unreliable. All the political maneuvering he has to cause just to get things done is fascinating to read about as he must make one thrust and then another to keep everyone focused on the goal of just surviving!

Meanwhile, Catelyn Stark presents our view of the King in the North as he tries to fight the war in the Riverlands. The Lannister army has been denuding the countryside, laying waste to farms and crops and smallfolk to try and force the King in the North to battle. Catelyn sees that as things stand, there is no way for her son to win the war on his own, so she marches on a mission to seek out the other claimants to make cause with them. It leads to probably one of the most fascinating scenes in the whole series from a political/personality standpoint since it analyses different theories of kingship, the right of inheritance and offers a surprisingly pragmatic solution to the whole problem of the war. I honestly encourage you to read Steven Atwell's essay on the topic as it's some amazing subtext built in here which gives me endless thoughts on how Martin structured these characters.

Her daughters Sansa and Arya are captives and fugitives from the Lannister regime respectively. Arya tries to make her way north across the war torn Riverlands, while Sansa is locked away in Kings Landing suffering under the brutality of the boy king Joffery. Sansa must now play the doting fiance, while enduring the deadly politics of a capital falling under siege.

In the North, Bran sits as the crippled Prince of Winterfell, fighting his own political battles while Jon Snow and the Nights Watch march beyond the Wall to confront the Wildling horde which threatens to fall on the Seven Kingdoms like a hammer blow. All the while something more mysterious lurks beyond it all.

One of the overwhelming backgrounds of this book is the War itself. Its twists and turns in battle and fortune run hard. The most compelling aspect is the siege of and assault on King's Landing. It's a great war story, and drives much of the drama throughout the book itself as everyone wonders who will sit in the world's most uncomfortable chair. These elements were, I think, the best part of the story. It made the drama relatable as we knew Kings Landing, knew the stakes for those in the capital, and how the win or loss there could effect everyone across the whole story. Sieges can make for great plot elements like that!

The themes of war and hardship are what hooked me into this volume, but on reread, themes of femininity and women in war are also front and center. From Catelyn Stark whose only weapon is the negotiating power she has as a high lady, to Sansa Stark who is a high born hostage whose life is one of constant intrigue and abuse. Then we have Brienne of Tarth,  who fights like a man and is a homely creature scorned by the lords and knights around her. These women use their wits and words, and occasionally their weapons, to navigate the world of Westeros, and it brings issues to mind we just don't seem to consider enough. I enjoyed picking up on that this time around.

Re-reading this I remembered why I was sucked into Westeros so easily, and how I'm being brought in so easily again! I can't wait to get around to the next installment! 

A Game of Thrones

For the first time in nearly a decade, I delved wholeheartedly into the world of Westeros and the Seven Kingdoms. I begin my reread of the (so far) five books making up the A Song of Ice and Fire series. I start with A Game of Thrones.

Originally published in 1996 this book has set off over two decades of well informed speculation, appreciation and adaptation within the world of fantasy. With board games, card games and the wildly successful small screen adaptation that was Game of Thrones the ASOIAF series has gained enormous traction in both overall media and the fantasy genre as a whole.

It all began here though.

A copy of the book which owes my family and friends nothing

I must admit that at first, I was very resistant to picking up the series. My brother originally stumbled upon it while looking for good books to read. I myself was little intrigued, and instead was trying to continue with various books I was personally reading at the time. I picked up A Game of Thrones very hesitantly and walked into it and came away not unduly impressed. I actually put it down until I saw the first episode of the small screen. Then I picked the book up and read through it as quickly as I could.

This is one of the few times I've really gone the opposite way with a show making me read a book series. My opinion on the show and its ending is available for all to see, so I won't elaborate on that but let me just say I'm glad I'm rereading the book series.

Since then I have sucked a few people into the series, and my brother has never let me live down that it was he that got me into reading it. He was right, I was wrong, and that's all I am going to say about that!

But we start in the foreboding world of Westeros, in the realm of the Seven Kingdoms. Beyond the vast icy Wall a threat of ancient legend is rising, and below conspiracies in the halls of King's Landing threaten to topple the realm into civil war at the worst possible moment.

Our principle view of this world comes through the members of House Stark, little Bran, the girls Arya and Sansa, and the matriarch and patriarch Catelyn and Eddard Stark respectively. They tell most of the tale which we become familiar with, and their decisions will ultimately play a great role in the fate of kingdoms.

The outlying viewpoint characters are those of Jon Snow, a Stark yet a bastard boy unloved by the matriarch. Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf of the rival House Lannister, and finally Daenery's Targaryen, the last of the old line of House Targaryen. These tell separate stories across the Narrow Sea in the Free Cities and on the Wall, showing us separate but no less important plot lines in the whole game of thrones which plays out.

Going back and rereading this book I was shocked at how much my memory had been filtered through the television series. There were bits I had outright forgotten, and characters or subplots I didn't even remember. Getting back into the heads of the characters and their struggles was a very welcome journey for me to take.

The mystery still lies thick upon the story, and the plotting and intrigue between the lords and ladies continue to impress me. I will be thrilled to re-explore where different plots go, and what I find myself learning again as the series is brought into a new light for me.

It opened my eyes to different aspects of the story the show missed, and different perceptions of the characters I had not previously thought about in well over a decade. Ned Stark is a very canny operator who is trying to do what is right in light of his wartime experience, his daughters have both been raised in very different circumstances which influence their decisions, and his wife and sons are all very strong and independent characters. That said, his death near the end of the book shocked me when I originally read it, much as it shocked many other first time readers. The story of Daenery's and her rebirth as it were was also one that I thought I knew, but the reality of it compared to the show did again surprise me! It just goes to show you how much can really be lost in an adaptation!

The remainder of the series is part of my 2020 reread, and I intend to say more about this now ongoing fantasy classic as I dive deeper into books I haven't picked up in over a decade. Rest assured though, it is a series which I can happily recommend to anyone.

Sayonara 2016

Well what a year it has been! A year a laughter, a year of tears, and many other things besides. I think, in the interest of keeping my creative juices flowing, I should write an eloquent goodbye to a year that will hardly be missed.

First off let me say that 2016 has been a rather mixed year on a personal level. Many happy events and many turbulent ones. So that has rather distracted me from things which were going on in the larger world for a while.

In no way is this meant to be a comprehensive look at the last year. So much has happened and so much would need to be stated that it would be impossible to cover in a single blog post. Instead I will simply highlight my feelings on the past year and what a good, or bad, year it has been.

Well being honest this is one for the history books. The election that would never end was all over the news and there was a hulking gorilla hogging the air waves and the internet. Also, a gorilla was killed in a zoo and the internet went nuts for some reason. More seriously, 2016 saw a historic election take place, and no matter who won it was destined to be one for the history books. But, now we have our second choice in the White House, and President Twitter is ringing in the new year for a very interesting four years come January.

ISIS has shaken up things in the Middle East and Europe, bringing terror to the capitals of the European nations. However, in the Middle East itself a scrappy coalition is forming to try and drive them from Iraq, Russia has been busy rolling them back in Syria, and we may in a few years see the organizations demise from the face of the earth.

It's been a sad year for celebrities though, and although President Twitter was Times man of the year, I can think of a sort of better one:

Over 100 celebrities died in 2016. A sad year for popular culture.

Though we got Rogue One, so there's that.

The Winds of Winter hasn't come out yet, and Season 6 of Game of Thrones was alright. But the next Brandon Sanderson book is confirmed! Also, Neil Patrick Harris is playing Count Olaf in a Netflix series. So there's some good pop culture news at least. 

All in all 2016 is not a year I will look back fondly on. There were some good moments for sure, but all in all I'm glad to say sayanora.

Bring on 2017.

Happy New Years everyone.

The Weekly Word #7

Well this will be a short Weekly Word readers, really only two things have happened this week worth great notice, along with a few interesting things on the web.

In international news, the American government has shut down after failing to reach an agreement on the details of expanding Medicare and all 'non-essential' government services have been shut down. This of course has spawned various debates on whose fault the shutdown is, when an agreement will be reached, whether Obama is a weak president for allowing this to happen, and of course, a loss of faith in the system by some.

Of course this also isn't the only time in recent memory the government has been shut down. In fact back in the 90s the Clinton administration suffered the same problem over near the exact same issue. The only good thing about that is that it was after the limit to raise the debt ceiling had been passed.

Now though, just like back in 2011, the US faces yet another game of brinkmanship over the raising of the debt ceiling in which the very real threat of the US defaulting on its loans rears its ugly head. Now if he really has to Obama can use his executive powers to force the raising of the ceiling, but if he somehow fails to do that then the resulting catastrophe would make the recession of 2008 look tame in comparison.

In other sad news Tom Clancy has passed away at the age of 66 this week. He was the father of the modern techno-thriller as we know it and he was really a brilliant man in many of his insights into military technology. In fact he once got in hot water for merely guessing what a US submarine would operate like (inadvertently guessing top-secret knowledge at the time!).

His books have made a number of best-selling movies, from The Hunt for Red October, to Sum of All Fears, and one of my personal favorite books for its sheer beautiful insight and techno-thrilling genius, Red Storm Rising, which alongside Red Army by Ralph Peters is one of the most amazing insights into the potential ground war between the Warsaw Pact and NATO and makes for an amazing read.

I simply hope we can find writers of his caliber to fill the void of the techno-thriller genre in the future.

In other news from around the web Korsgaard has done a wonderful review of the new film, Gravity which people really ought to check out. He really sells the film in this review, and he has decided for me the next film I am going to see!

In other-other news I have begun reading Steven Attewell's simply phenomenal Song of Ice and Fire political/story analysis blog,  Race for the Iron Throne. It's an amazing blog which seeks to do a chapter by chapter analysis of the entire series examining the political and cultural ideas that George R.R. Martin introduces to his world. He really digs into the series and helps show off some of the considerable world building Martin has done in creating Westeros and the Seven Kingdoms, comparing our history and Westeros and looking at the medieval world in which the characters reside.

It also appeals to me as a lover of the alternate history genre as it highlights the 'What if?' questions that A Song of Ice and Fire offers in abundance that really brings the world alive. In nearly every chapter we find details of how if even certain little events had changed they would have effected the outcome and trajectory of the story immensely! It's the little things like that which make the world so believable as well as spark literally hundreds of fan fictions putting forward different POD's for how the whole series could have gone differently!

Currently he's a little over halfway through A Game of Thrones so this project is going to be ongoing for many years if he does as detailed an analysis of every book as he does this one. Don't be too rough on him though, even if he did one chapter a week it would still take over a year for him to get through the first book!

I encourage readers who like that series, or even just history in general, to read his blog and support the project, it's truly a gargantuan undertaking!

Well that's all for this week readers! Stay tuned for my upcoming review!

Game of Thrones: Season Two

The second season of Game of Thrones has arrived! Based on the best selling book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin it encompasses the tale of the many families and characters in the land of Westeros. We are being thrust into one of the most dynamic moments in the series, the War of the Five Kings and great multi-sided civil war that is engulfing the land following the untimely death of King Robert Baratheon and the chilling revelations that come from it. Both a cracking good read and television show to watch!

Finally the best part of summer entertainment has come! I am thrilled to have seen episode one of what promises to be one of the best shows on TV soon. Though the former is my personal opinion I hope many others share it. Just watching the first episode has left me craving yet more and I'm hoping that I will be able to watch them all over the summer! I loved the first series and have watched it three times in a row, while having read all the books thus far as well I do know most of the plot but in each season thus far they have thrown a number of pleasant surprises by either showing some well done original scenes and showing scenes which were only mentioned by dialogue in the book.

The first season after many previous viewings I noticed seemed to lack a sense of scale, something that is easily forgiven considering the actors and directors are getting used to putting in on, but in some scenes (such as the Hand's Tourney) this was rather unforgivable as I had seen lower budget films and shows do better. I was especially displeased by the lack of a battle onscreen during the first season. There were some wonderful duels and one neat little skirmish but otherwise they seemed trivial and IMO could have been better choreographed. The acting was top notch though and all the actors carried their roles stunningly well.

Now for the little bit we have seen of the second season the directors and writers have certainly done a good job of making things feel more epic in scale. There are large panning shots of the Army of the North's camp and we see a full shot of Kings Landing and the dark and ominous fortress of Dragonstone is well shown off, I was especially impressed with the directors doing the Westeros shaped table in Stannis's hall (something I was genuinely taken with in the books). Relating to fights, in the opening sequence there is a short duel between the Hound and an unknown knight in the first few seconds that was wonderfully done! So it seems scale and battles will be no problem in this season. This is especially important as the most epic battle of the novels is supposed to happen this season. I am interested in seeing how the writers and directors pull this one off.

As for acting, none of the actors have disapointed. One character I was very worried wouldn't be played correctly was Melisandre, the Red Priestess from the East who is a mysterious and very knight templar like character. But in her opening appearance my fears were disuaded as the actress did a phenominal job of portraying her knowing, mysterious, and aloof nature quite well. And in Bran's brief appearance we see things in Winterfell portrayed just as I would like them to be. He was another character I was worried wouldn't come out properly. And once again the magnificent bastard Tyrion is played up very well.

If there is anything I can criticize about the opening episode it is two things. One is the comet, a major plot device from the books, is simply shoved in our faces which I found slightly disconcerting as it made me feel as though I had missed an episode already. The other was that we didn't get enough time with each character and it felt rather rushed throughout and as though it was trying to do too much in too little time. I felt the episode could have been longer to allow for more characterization to be played out properly, but as long as this doesn't become an issue as the series progresses I don't see much point in complaining.

I eagerly await more episodes and I am tingling with excitement for the upcoming season.

Thoughts on Dialogue

So recently I dusted off an old manuscript of an 'urban fantasy' I had been working on some time ago. After reading it again and correcting the many errors in both punctuation and narrative point of view I decided that it would be a good project to continue. Thus I have once again begun plucking away at it.
The story follows a typical teenage named Rose after a break up with her boyfriend. In order to properly console her, her best friends Annie and James take her out to a cafe where we are introduced to the other two supporting characters, West and Ivan. From there they attempt to proceed home when set upon by muggers. When one of the muggers attempts to rape Rose she manages to 'portal' her way home. From there magical mayhem ensues as she attempts to figure out just what is going on in her life.

While reading/writing/editing I was pleased with how I had captured the dialogue and interests of fifteen year old characters, considering I was not much older at the original time of writing this was much easier. Though as it is about three years on I do have some trouble making the dialogue appropriate I feel and must wrack my memory for how people would have spoken.

I think that writing proper dialogue is something that can give many writers difficulty. I for one can sometimes be stymied as I have trouble making my dialogue sound realistic. In some ways I feel constrained by attempting to put good diction in, which I find fairly unrealistic whenever I talk to anyone I realise how poor my diction is. On top of that I find my mind sometimes struggles to think of appropriate conversations and mannerisms for characters speech. I make a strenuous effort to avoid every character having the same sort of conversational style as it would simply rob characters of their originality.

It is also sometimes difficult to shape characters how I want them, especially in the case of Ivan. He is a character that doesn't speak much and must relay many thoughts through his looks and sometimes cryptic statements. So when writing his dialogue he has to be brief and to the point which is why I have trouble putting him in most conversations. Then of course in establishing individual quirks and mannerisms I find myself having some confidence but hesitation as I reflect on "would someone really speak this way?" which does slow my pace considerably.

While reading other authors such as George R R Martin or Robert Jordan I've been studying their dialogue closely (mostly Tyrion, and Mat Cauthon purely because of their wit) and attempting to find ways of my own to properly fill out dialogue. In making my own characters I find that I have to think deeply and wonder about their personalities and ask myself 'how would this character say that?' or 'how is he or she going to react to something that has been said?'. It is a fascinating process and one that takes alot of time if you sincerely want to put effort into a work.

I highly reccommend other upcoming writers study dialogue from other authors and their methods of putting words in characters mouths (as it were) and making them act according to their character. If a character speaks and says something that doesn't match with their words before, the reader is going to notice.