81 replies to this topic

[AegonTargaryen]

God those are some boring ass chapters! Does something eventually happen or does she just keep describing her travels where nothing happens?

[Robb_]

Where are you up to? I'm close to the end now and I've really enjoyed them, but they've definitely picked up since she first met Nimble Dick.

[MsLibby]

Yup. I've enjoyed them too. She has a very different perspective on what's been happening in the land since she's not one of the major players involved.

[Ser Dermett Corbray]

I respectfully disagree. Brienne is awesome and her chapters are very eventful, especially towards the end of AFFC.

Plus, she meets some interesting characters.

[ckal]

Her POV chapters seem very polarizing among readers.

I'll side with the not-impressed-with-Brienne-POV camp. For me, Brienne is one of my least favorite characters, for a variety of reasons. I find her POV chapters to be much of the same, with parts of her last 2-3 chapters being worthwhile. She comes across a few interesting characters, but I did not like Nimble Dick.

[Pope Killdragon]

I loved her chapters. Loved her brief encounter with Lord Randyll and the Nimble Dick bit. I like Pod and the way he says  "My Lady?Ser?" lol. I think he has the makings of a fine knight. I loved that traveling septon guy though I forget his name and I love the war tor, desolate setting of the Riverlands which bore the brunt of the War of the Five Kings. And her last chapter.... O my god!

[S N Black]

I felt a bit frustrated, reading her chapters, knowing she is going in the wrong direction most of the time.  Other than that, I must disagree with the OP and say that her chapters were much more interesting to read than the Iron Island chapters.

I usually don't like to 'ship' characters, but I must say, with Jaime's change of heart and who Brienne is, they could make for an interesting couple.

[AegonTargaryen]

S N Black, on 26 June 2012 - 12:36 AM, said:

I felt a bit frustrated, reading her chapters, knowing she is going in the wrong direction most of the time.  Other than that, I must disagree with the OP and say that her chapters were much more interesting to read than the Iron Island chapters.

I usually don't like to 'ship' characters, but I must say, with Jaime's change of heart and who Brienne is, they could make for an interesting couple.

haha interesting. I actually really enjoyed the iron islands chapters, although most of what I've been through is up to the kingsmoot so I don't know if it stays good.

I don't know folks, most of you seem to disagree with me save for my good pal ckal. I guess I'll approach the next few chapters with a more open mind perhaps?

[Liabe Brave]

AegonTargaryen, on 25 June 2012 - 09:52 AM, said:

God those are some boring ass chapters! Does something eventually happen or does she just keep describing her travels where nothing happens?

The Brienne storyline is one of the best in the entire series because nothing of great consequence to the realm happens. You've spent thousands and thousands of pages with Kings and Hands, high lords and ladies, gifted killers and powerful magicians, figures of prophecy and doom. Brienne is a reminder that history keeps happening to the nobodies, too. Every place she goes there are families that have suffered as badly as the Starks, but nobody in that world or in ours spends hours talking about the peasant equivalents of the Red Wedding.

I didn't find her chapters exciting or fun to read either. But their presence enriches the whole narrative with deep human feeling, especially once she meets Meribald.

[Free Man]

I think her presence has to be for a reason... the way GRRM gives us insight into her very soul... It has to lead somewhere, otherwise what was the point of having her in the first place?
Unsure if her chapters are boring, I was relieved to read something different than Jaime and Cersei throughout the book... I find her more pleasant to read than Cersei, definitely

[Lady Snowcat]

Brienne was a bit of a snooze for me as well. Travel, travel, travel - one interesting tidbit - travel, travel travel another nugget of info. & travel, travel, and travel some more. Ugh.

What is this magic word that last escapes her lips? I was most intrigued. Made all the rest of her chapters bearable.

After reading some of your insights, I definitely concur that Sandor is the monk in the graveyard. But why would he stay there? He's a major killing machine. He doesn't dig graves, he keeps gravediggers digging graves. Just ride off on Stranger to find your true love Sansa. Oh, that's right there is no Sansa anymore, just Alayne. OK, then off to wreak some havoc amongst the thieves and thugs of Westeros. The vulture of death.

Yes, as sappy as it may seem, Jaime & Brienne together would be a hoot. It plays to Jaime's transformation: dashing knight of the Kingsguard willing to push an innocent boy out a window for the beautiful heartless woman he loves to maimed knight of the Kingsguard willing  to rescue an ugly woman full of heart. Imagine Jaime taking Brienne's virginity - maybe not such a good image. Hope you're not eating when you read this. Sorry.

[Dickon Fyre]

Liabe Brave said it...Brienne's chapters are a glimpse into what the "game of thrones" has done to the common folk in Westeros. Since Tywin Lannister ordered them scourged, the Riverlands have been in a state of constant war. Brienne is the lens through which GRRM shows us how the consequences of that war have affected the region (much like the part that Arya's chapters played in previous novels). A lot of readers can get caught up in the ups & downs of the nobles, but forget that there thousands of unknown commoners affected. The Red Wedding is a great example: Robb & Co. were ambushed at the wedding feast at the Twins, and that was tragic. But ouside there were thousands of northern soldiers and camp followers who were massacred in their tents, and that goes largely unmentioned.

I could see someone not enjoying the Brienne chapters if they weren't fans of the character, but you can't deny that GRRM has used her to show the horrible consequences of the war on the people.

Edited by Dickon Fyre, 01 July 2012 - 08:29 PM.

[hannahcat]

I like Brienne

[Sigrid]

I'm only a little bit into A Feast for Crows, and I have to agree I'm finding Brienne's chapters terribly boring.  I like her as a character, but not so much her POV.  I'm starting to realize why Jaimie found her so tedious   Seriously I think it's because we are already inundated with so much information and character names that it sometimes seems like too much in her chapters, at least that's how it is to me.

On another thread someone had mentioned that Brienne's chapters aren't really about her, but rather about who she meets.  I think taking that together with what Liabe Brave and Dickon Fyre said above gives some good perspective.  I gotta say though I was happy when Pod showed up, maybe he'll help make her chapters a little more bearable.

[The Hedge Knight]

Hey look at the bright side, they aren't the Iron Islands chapters.

[Mattchoo]

Brienne made a nice change of pace for me, I found it more interesting to read about the changing dynamics of the land more so than her POV though she is rather tedious and too pedantic for my liking. But hey, that is her character and it is written very well!

[podrick_payne45]

Her chapters are better then Dany's. Thats my opinion though.

[Arya-Underfoot]

I like Brienne as a character, but it took me longer to get into each of her chapters, although now I'm near the end, more seems to happen. But for most of the book I've felt that they've been all about getting her to where she needs to be for later plot development, than actually telling a story.

[Reznak mo Reznak]

defenitely not plot heavy, but they are heavy in world detail. Can see how its not for everybody. It was the most emotionally charged part of the book for me in the alter portions tho.

[Rhaegar Targaryen's Ghost]

hers are without a doubt the slowest ones in AFFC, but keep reading! i promise it will get better