A Dance With Dragons Reviewed

I’ve made this as spoiler-free as possible for the book itself, but it does contain serious spoilers for A Song of Ice and Fire books 1-4. If you’ve only seen Game of Thrones on TV or just read the first three books, please to NOT click, lest your mind be blown.

From here on in it’s Spoiler Street, Spoilertown, Spoileros. You have been warned.

Still with me? Excellent! It’s been a week since the book was officially released, and I know you have some questions…

So, are there dragons? Do they dance?
Yes, there are dragons. Dany’s “children,” Viserion, Rhaegal, and Drogon, are all growed up and have developed a taste for mutton… and other meats. Sadly they don’t break out into a polka, but they’re definitely more lively – and harder to control – than they used to be.

Ugh, disappointing. So what else is going on?
In Westeros, the action is concentrated on the Wall and in the North generally, at Winterfell and White Harbour, as the ripples of the Red Wedding continue to spread (and there are more weddings to add to those ripples). The Night’s Watch are still struggling with the defence of the Wall – and who they should defend behind it – while trying not to be drawn into Stannis’ war for the Iron Throne. As one review puts it:

Westeros is in chaos; it’s a political jigsaw puzzle, and somebody just turned the table over, and everybody is on the floor scrabbling for pieces.

The Martells and Sand Snakes in Dorne appear again after their in-depth treatment in A Feast for Crows, and we start to learn just how long a game the Prince has been playing. Swot up on your Eastern cities, too: the east isn’t much better, with the cities around Slaver’s Bay – Astapor, Yunkai, Dany’s “free” Meereen, and others – struggling for gold, slaves, and sellsword companies. I would recommend reading A Feast for Crows again, or at least a detailed summary, before diving into this book. I also really, really wanted a map.

What about [insert my favourite character here]?
Most of us will be pleased to hear that Dany, Jon, and Tyrion are all back in the game – and two of the three are even on the same continent again. Other storylines involve Arya Stark; Bran, Hodor, and the Reeds; Jaime and Brienne; Davos and Stannis; Theon and the Boltons; Asha Greyjoy; the Martells in Dorne; and Victarion Greyjoy. We even get a little insight into the mind of Melisandre. There are more, but I don’t want to go too far into Spoilertown today.

Wait, what about all the people in King’s Landing?
We get a brief epilogue to bring us up-to-date on Cersei and Kevan. And Varys, of course, dear Varys. Tommen, Lancel, Margaery, and others are mentioned but not “seen” again yet. We also get another wee look at Sam – but from the beginning, so it’s the storyline we know already; it’s just through Jon’s eyes.

Do we finally find out who Jon’s parents really are?
No, though there are even more vague hints. The top fan contenders are a near-certainty, in my humble opinion, though you never know what GRRM has up his dastardly sleeve.

How many major characters are killed off?
It’s hard to be sure right now… at least three. But it had better be at least one less than ending implies or I will be very annoyed (and may cry). Aemon died in A Feast for Crows, but yet another Targaryen emerges from the depths to either ally with or fight Dany for the Iron Throne, which is seeming very distant to her in her pyramid in Meereen. It seems that just as there is no character GRRM won’t kill off, there’s also none he won’t conveniently raise from the dead to complicate the lives of his characters (see also: Catelyn Stark). Don’t worry, though, at least Ned really is good and dead.

Does it end on a cliffhanger?
Of course – it’s George R. R. Martin, after all. At least three, if I remember correctly.

Does this book have any impact on the TV series so far?

Um, yes, it might. There is one minor character from the first few books, in particular, that plays a very big role in this book and hasn’t been introduced yet in the TV series. They do still have time to write that character in, though.

So, how do you feel about the book?
Although I saw lots of buzz online about how people were staying up all night to finish it, I tried reading it slowly to stretch it out and savour it. This book has been five years in the making, so who knows when the next one will emerge? There were some brilliant moments and some times when I felt like cheering; but equally, I got really sick of both Dany’s and Jon’s saviour complexes. Jon, in particular, makes some choices that seem almost as stupid as Ned Stark’s.

I’m not sure how I feel about the growing presence of magic: it’s obviously something that’s been building throughout the series, but this book in particular makes it very clear that the supernatural, whether religious or magical, is real. On the one hand, this is awesome – flying dragons! Verifiable visions of the future! “Borrowing”! – but on the other, I dislike the implication that what will happen is, to a certain extent, out of human hands somehow. There is  particular emphasis on the powers of the acolytes of R’hllor in comparison to the other religions.  On the other other hand, any supernatural powers are still in the hands of real human people – Dany’s dragons; Melisandre’s visions; and Bran’s shapeshifting.

Also, with only two books left to go, I at times got very impatient with how slowly the story seems to be moving. Everyone is mired in political intrigue and is finding it very difficult to get out and work toward their goals – and many of the characters don’t even know what their goals really are anymore. The main themes of the series – that war is wasteful and brutalising; politics are endless; information is precious; and people are complicated little bastards – are there in force.

Special shout-outs to…

• Theon Greyjoy ““ seriously, I hate that guy (can you blame me?), but the Boltons end up bringing him back to Winterfell, which does strange things to his mind.
• Val the wildling ““ for being generally awesome and kickass. She and Jon should totally get together and have fierce snowbabies, but Jon swore that oath and all… Val/Jon 4 Eva!!
• Barristan Selmy ““ he likes to reminisce, and when he does, insight and information flow.
• Arya Stark ““ for breaking my heart and brutalising herself, but still being the Arya we love underneath. Far, far underneath.
• All the creatures of the North ““ the Children of the forest; wargs; and giants called Wun Wun (sounds suspiciously like “˜Won Won’ to me, but maybe I just have Harry Potter on the brain).
• Copious use of the phrase “as useful as nipples on a breastplate”.

I’m shrivelling up from dying to talk with anyone and everyone about this book, so please join me in the comments! But if you’re specifically talking about events in A Dance with Dragons, preface your comment with ***ADWD SPOILER*** or similar, so those who haven’t got their sweaty paws on it yet can avoid it. Thanking you!

(And thanks to Nanna for the Q&A format idea!)