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Martin, George R.R. - A Feast for Crows
Spoilers for the previous three books!
As previously mentioned, I had an incredibly hard time actually remembering what happened in the first three books. I ended up reading summaries. But I still don't remember half of what happened, even after reading those! I think the scope of the series is getting to the point where I can't figure out what's going on, even after rereading everything in succession. My brain just isn't big enough!
Anyhow, as I'm sure everyone knows, A Feast for Crows is really just half of a book. Martin says that he has an entire story in the book, but honestly, the climax wasn't quite as big as they've been in the other three books, and it ends on something quite like a cliffhanger. But I was still entertained, despite almost all my favorite characters not being in this book (Dany and Tyrion).
So, in case anyone can't remember -- Jaime is missing a hand, Joffrey is dead, Robb Stark and Catelyn are dead (well, Catelyn is zombified, ew), Tywin Lannister is dead, I still don't remember where Tyrion is, Cersei is ruling as queen regent, and Dany is running around somewhere with dragons.
Come to think, not that much happens in this book to really overturn those facts.
Cersei is the biggest new POV character, and I really wish that Martin had done something interesting with her. Instead, she's just more detestable than ever, with an added dosage of concerned motherhood thrown in as her only human characteristic. Bah. Jaime is actually getting a little too good for my liking; he's lost his hand and found his honor, but now that he's acting more the stereotypical white knight, he's much less interesting than he was before. He came off as the hero of this book, if you had to pick a hero.
It's just odd, because he doesn't feel at all like the Jaime who threw Bran off the tower. I also wouldn't be quite so irritated if Martin had done something with Cersei, but instead, as Queen Regent, she simply makes incredibly, incredibly stupid decisions, gives free reign to her cruel streak, and basically acts like a grown-up Joffrey. I resent that. Also, it's really boring reading about someone who's so obviously self-destructing in such a stupid fashion and thinking that she's incredibly smart. At least, if she were to self-destruct, it'd be better reading if she were doing it somewhat intentionally, or out of character flaws. I don't count stupidity as a character flaw, particularly when I'm obviously supposed to despise her for her deicions and whatnot. She's the villain of the piece, but she's an incredibly ineffective one because of this, just as Joff was. It'd be more fascinating if she were more like Tywin.
At least Margaery looks like she'll be an interesting character.
There are lots of queens in this book, or people vying for queenship. We don't really get to see Margaery's POV, but I figure that she's fairly crafty and wily. I was rooting heavily for Asha Greyjoy, but it seems she was only thrown in as a POV character so that we could see the Kingsmoot. Arienne Martell and the Sand Snakes are really, really, really cool and I want more of them. And, of course, there's the off-stage influence of Dany. I wonder if the book after Dance of Dragons will be something like the clash of the queens? That would be nifty!
I like Brienne a lot, but her storyline wasn't particularly interesting and seemed to be in the book solely to get her to where she is at the end. Sansa didn't have much to do either, and Littlefinger continues to seriously freak me out with the underage sex vibes. I feel sad about this because I like Sansa, largely because I'm stubborn and decided to like her in the first book when she was being portrayed as the typically girly and therefore wimpy sister.
I like Arya's story still, but I got very frustrated because I couldn't find Braavos on the map or figure out what she was doing there.
I think, all in all, while this book was interesting, I ended up getting a little bored because things didn't feel like they were moving forward. It just felt like Cersei slowly undermining herself, which, in the end, wasn't that great of a storyline.
ANd I don't know if it's just me, but some of the sexual references and the violence in the book are really starting to get to me. I mean, I get that Martin's world is dark and gritty, but the next time one of his characters jokes about "slits" or "cunts" or whores, or the next time one of his female characters uses sex for power, I swear, I will chuck the thing.
Ok, maybe not, because it'd dent the wall.
It's not that the women are portrayed first and foremost as sexual creatures or as mothers, it's that no one really seems to have a problem with this in the book. I mean, Cersei is angry because she wasn't born a man, but she has no problem using sex for political gain in a way that the men in the book don't have to. Also, her anger is undercut because of how poorly she rules. And one of the main reasons men in Westeros get in trouble is by being distracted by a woman (see Robb Stark and Jeyne Westerling and the wedding of doom), and it seems as though sexual infidelity in a woman is a horrible, horrible thing. There's talk of Robert Baratheon's bastards and the like, but it's really not on the same scale as Cersei's incest or her seduction of innocent knights.
Then, while you have Brienne, you have her constantly being insulted and threatened with rape. Again, it's not the presence of the threat that bugs me, it's the fact that it's so casually tossed out and that it's just part and parcel of the grittiness of the world without any sort of commentary.
Anyhow, I'm still holding out hope for the Sand Snakes, because they seemed interesting and sexually casual and warrior-like.
ETA: spoilers in the comments!
As previously mentioned, I had an incredibly hard time actually remembering what happened in the first three books. I ended up reading summaries. But I still don't remember half of what happened, even after reading those! I think the scope of the series is getting to the point where I can't figure out what's going on, even after rereading everything in succession. My brain just isn't big enough!
Anyhow, as I'm sure everyone knows, A Feast for Crows is really just half of a book. Martin says that he has an entire story in the book, but honestly, the climax wasn't quite as big as they've been in the other three books, and it ends on something quite like a cliffhanger. But I was still entertained, despite almost all my favorite characters not being in this book (Dany and Tyrion).
So, in case anyone can't remember -- Jaime is missing a hand, Joffrey is dead, Robb Stark and Catelyn are dead (well, Catelyn is zombified, ew), Tywin Lannister is dead, I still don't remember where Tyrion is, Cersei is ruling as queen regent, and Dany is running around somewhere with dragons.
Come to think, not that much happens in this book to really overturn those facts.
Cersei is the biggest new POV character, and I really wish that Martin had done something interesting with her. Instead, she's just more detestable than ever, with an added dosage of concerned motherhood thrown in as her only human characteristic. Bah. Jaime is actually getting a little too good for my liking; he's lost his hand and found his honor, but now that he's acting more the stereotypical white knight, he's much less interesting than he was before. He came off as the hero of this book, if you had to pick a hero.
It's just odd, because he doesn't feel at all like the Jaime who threw Bran off the tower. I also wouldn't be quite so irritated if Martin had done something with Cersei, but instead, as Queen Regent, she simply makes incredibly, incredibly stupid decisions, gives free reign to her cruel streak, and basically acts like a grown-up Joffrey. I resent that. Also, it's really boring reading about someone who's so obviously self-destructing in such a stupid fashion and thinking that she's incredibly smart. At least, if she were to self-destruct, it'd be better reading if she were doing it somewhat intentionally, or out of character flaws. I don't count stupidity as a character flaw, particularly when I'm obviously supposed to despise her for her deicions and whatnot. She's the villain of the piece, but she's an incredibly ineffective one because of this, just as Joff was. It'd be more fascinating if she were more like Tywin.
At least Margaery looks like she'll be an interesting character.
There are lots of queens in this book, or people vying for queenship. We don't really get to see Margaery's POV, but I figure that she's fairly crafty and wily. I was rooting heavily for Asha Greyjoy, but it seems she was only thrown in as a POV character so that we could see the Kingsmoot. Arienne Martell and the Sand Snakes are really, really, really cool and I want more of them. And, of course, there's the off-stage influence of Dany. I wonder if the book after Dance of Dragons will be something like the clash of the queens? That would be nifty!
I like Brienne a lot, but her storyline wasn't particularly interesting and seemed to be in the book solely to get her to where she is at the end. Sansa didn't have much to do either, and Littlefinger continues to seriously freak me out with the underage sex vibes. I feel sad about this because I like Sansa, largely because I'm stubborn and decided to like her in the first book when she was being portrayed as the typically girly and therefore wimpy sister.
I like Arya's story still, but I got very frustrated because I couldn't find Braavos on the map or figure out what she was doing there.
I think, all in all, while this book was interesting, I ended up getting a little bored because things didn't feel like they were moving forward. It just felt like Cersei slowly undermining herself, which, in the end, wasn't that great of a storyline.
ANd I don't know if it's just me, but some of the sexual references and the violence in the book are really starting to get to me. I mean, I get that Martin's world is dark and gritty, but the next time one of his characters jokes about "slits" or "cunts" or whores, or the next time one of his female characters uses sex for power, I swear, I will chuck the thing.
Ok, maybe not, because it'd dent the wall.
It's not that the women are portrayed first and foremost as sexual creatures or as mothers, it's that no one really seems to have a problem with this in the book. I mean, Cersei is angry because she wasn't born a man, but she has no problem using sex for political gain in a way that the men in the book don't have to. Also, her anger is undercut because of how poorly she rules. And one of the main reasons men in Westeros get in trouble is by being distracted by a woman (see Robb Stark and Jeyne Westerling and the wedding of doom), and it seems as though sexual infidelity in a woman is a horrible, horrible thing. There's talk of Robert Baratheon's bastards and the like, but it's really not on the same scale as Cersei's incest or her seduction of innocent knights.
Then, while you have Brienne, you have her constantly being insulted and threatened with rape. Again, it's not the presence of the threat that bugs me, it's the fact that it's so casually tossed out and that it's just part and parcel of the grittiness of the world without any sort of commentary.
Anyhow, I'm still holding out hope for the Sand Snakes, because they seemed interesting and sexually casual and warrior-like.
ETA: spoilers in the comments!
no subject
I also got peeved with all the unnecessary jeopardy. No reason at all to leave Cersei stuck in that situation, or Brienne, or Arya [ and I'll wager that Arya being blind is a dumb quasi-Karate Kid teaching thing that will go away within a couple more chapters from her POV. ]
The only thing in the book that really made me go "oh, cool" was the resolutions for both of the Clegane brothers. [ Or at least, I'm pretty sure that Qyburn's comments to Cersei about having an unstoppable warrior for her refer to having FrankenGregor in the basement. ] That and the thought that there are a lot of people heading off for to try to make contact with Dany, and with luck we'll see a few of them meeting her in the next volume.
no subject
I totally missed the thing about FrankenGregor!
But yeah... I thought he could have cut out Brienne all together except for that last scene. And when he had said that he wanted this book to be a complete story, I expected something a little less cliff-hangery. I dunno. I think he could have cut this book in half, at the very least, and then kept Dany and Tyrion and etc., because I think that's where all the exciting stuff is really happening.
no subject
Actually I find Cersei fascinating because she is a detestable character. She does everything to achieve power, but she's so paranoid that she will lose everything. It's interesting because leaders throughout history, particularly the bad ones, are often paranoid and make costly decisions because of it. The stupid mistakes she does make sense to her, and I can sort of see why she does them, even though they are just so bad. She just doesn't have the intelligence to have her paranoia work for her. I have to say, I'm looking forward to a horrible end for her.
no subject
I think I don't mind Cersei's detestableness; Jaime was much the same when his POV chapters started and being in that POV is very interesting. It's the non-intelligence that annoys me and makes her into a very boring villain. Well, that and her lack of self-awareness. I wish she had been paranoid and everything, but smarter about it, and then she could still be detestable, but at least then she would have been interesting.
no subject
I just hope Dany and her dragons will be safe and not fall under control from the Krakens. However, the fact that Martin has heaped so much crap on the Starks, I'm not filled with confidence.
no subject
1. Cersei is a bitch. I kind of enjoy having her as a POV just so I can see her implode. She deserves it.
2. I kinda like the new Jaime. Though the whole twincest thing is still majorly gross.
3. I like Margaery, too. She's not as sweet as she pretends to be, but she doesn't seem as dastardly (or stupid) as Cersei.
4. The Sand Snakes are AWESOME!!!
5. I also really like Asha Greyjoy's character. She's like a female version of Tyrion. =)
6. GRRM has sometimes been criticized for his unapologetic way of portraying medieval attitudes towards women. While some might perceive this to be sexist, he contends it's more for the sake of verisimilitude. I am inclined to believe him, as he stated he was tired of the cliche fantasy heroine (i.e. the ones in the chainmail bikinis), so he created Brienne. According to GRRM, you need to be really strong to swing a sword, and so Brienne wears plate mail, is huge and freakish strong, and is also homely (since most fantasy heroines happen to be uber hot weapons experts).
7. I actually don't like Brienne that much. Or rather, I don't like her chapters, since nothing important seems to happen plotwise in them. Though we do find out that Sandor Clegane is alive with those silent monks, so I guess that might be important later.
Btw, read some of your more recent entries... Bleach is awesome, though I dunno if you watch the anime version (I'm guessing no), but the current filler arc after the Soul Society arc is bad.
no subject
My problem with Cersei isn't the character per se, but what Martin does with her. I'm particularly annoyed because he bothered to make Jaime sympathetic when I thought I would never like him, and I wanted more of that transformation with Cersei. Instead, even in her own POV, she's boring, and even worse, petty.
I'm still of two minds re: Jaime, largely because I'm not so great with characters suddenly becoming more sympathetic. I think it's the influence of fandom talking.
I'm also sad that nothing happens in the Brienne chapters, because I really like her as a character.
I'm not watching the Bleach anime so far because it takes more time than reading, but I plan on watching select episodes (esp. the return of the
parakeetcockatiel of DOOM).