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Am I the only one who really enjoys ADWD?


Leonardo

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ADWD has Tyrion's adventures in Essos(though I understand why people aren't a fan of his character atm), which include the Sorrows, his time with the mercenaries, as well as Volantis, Pentos, and his time with the cheesemonger and Griff. It also has Jon Snow's time and growth as the LC of the Watch, which interests me to no end (though I find the King's men/Queen's Men politics unimportant), as well as Bran's journey into the North and his mind, as well of that of Bloodraven, a character with more clout than maybe any in the series left alive. The meereneese knot is a hassle to untangle and understand, but I enjoy Dany's passages in this book far more than ACOK for the most part.

 

I see more issues with AFFC; while I love Brienne's outings and her winding Duncan-like path, Cersei's madness becomes hard to bear, and a powerless Sansa begins to wear on everyone I feel, who has been that way for a number of books now. Arya's story is good but not as good as Tyrion's wanderings, who is effectively her narrative counterpart along with Sam in that we see more of Essos through their eyes.

 

Of all the books I re-read or relisten through audio, it's probably the source most drawn off for me. Anyone else feel this way, or is there a certain novel that calls to them more than the rest? The writing also feels very inspired, which is ironic given its place in the series.

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8 hours ago, Leonardo said:

ADWD has Tyrion's adventures in Essos(though I understand why people aren't a fan of his character atm), which include the Sorrows, his time with the mercenaries, as well as Volantis, Pentos, and his time with the cheesemonger and Griff. It also has Jon Snow's time and growth as the LC of the Watch, which interests me to no end (though I find the King's men/Queen's Men politics unimportant), as well as Bran's journey into the North and his mind, as well of that of Bloodraven, a character with more clout than maybe any in the series left alive. The meereneese knot is a hassle to untangle and understand, but I enjoy Dany's passages in this book far more than ACOK for the most part.

 

I see more issues with AFFC; while I love Brienne's outings and her winding Duncan-like path, Cersei's madness becomes hard to bear, and a powerless Sansa begins to wear on everyone I feel, who has been that way for a number of books now. Arya's story is good but not as good as Tyrion's wanderings, who is effectively her narrative counterpart along with Sam in that we see more of Essos through their eyes.

 

Of all the books I re-read or relisten through audio, it's probably the source most drawn off for me. Anyone else feel this way, or is there a certain novel that calls to them more than the rest? The writing also feels very inspired, which is ironic given its place in the series.

A Dance with Dragons is my second favorite book in the series.  It is behind only A Storm of Swords.  Many of the main players are moving towards Dany and I love that.  Barristan and Tyrion are now in Slaver's Bay.  Jorah is there too.  The Dornish have arrived.  Vic and his ironmen are coming.  Marwyn should be there soon.  Tyrion's travels is interesting because it opened a whole world more interesting than Westeros.  The Rhoyne, Volantis, etc.  Of course, the dragons.  Always the dragons.  The more dragons the better the story gets for me.

The chess match between Roose and Stannis is kind of interesting.  Theon is disturbing but his chapters salvage the plot in the west.  He is the only interesting character in the north.

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Nope, I love it!

Bran, one of my - if not actually my - favourites finally meets the 3EC and real magic starts to happen, leaving me wanting more. I LOVED Jon’s storyline at the Wall (nope, I’m not crazy); seeing how far Tyrion travels in one book is entertaining, Theon comes back a completely new person; Asha’s POV on the Stannis situation was interesting; seeing Davos again and learning of the Northern plan; getting a Mel chapter was pretty cool; Cersei’s walk of shame ... etc. It was good! I even liked Dany’s chapters.

The only chapters I didn’t like much were Arya’s... but that’s just my person preference because I find her boring and uninteresting as a whole.

But I still enjoyed the book overall.

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Depends. 

I think the Theon and Jon plotlines are good in expanding character, but I’m not in favor of the Meereenese knot, what with Quentyn’s plot not serving any real purpose and Daenerys not listening to reason when she and Barristan argue about Ned Stark (I am a Stark supporter myself). Still not seeing the point of Arya in Braavos and hoping that Bran doesn’t eat Jojen.

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I liked Jon's chapters the most. Tyrion's side also was interesting, same as Barristan's, Bran's and Theon's. Though Dany's chapters were awful. In ADWD she was really stupid and annoying.

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I love ADWD. I've heard slaver's bay referred to as "where plot goes to die." But I'm intrigued by what's going on there. People may be bitter about how long it took to publish. It was worth it for those 4 amazing Barristan chapters. Quyntin may not have been for everyone, but I love Victarion's arc. As interesting as tyrion's chapters were (the world building, Jon Conn, GIANT TURTLES, stone men, and Moqorro) his self loathing and jadedness grew tedious. thankfully he gets his shit together in those last two chapters. lots of fans turn on Dany, but she's in a pickle and there are no easy decisions for her. some fans think she's going to become the mad queen, but i'm confident she will make the right choices. 

Then again, as much as I like Essos, King's Landing kind of bores me, so I get why people wouldn't like it. That's another plus for ADWD, only 3 KL chapters, and they're all (especially the epilogue) great. loved everything in the north, especially seeing the downfall of Roose through Theons eyes. some nitpicks i have is Bran and Davos disappearing half way through when i loved those chapters. Another problem is Jon getting stabbed/ dying. Where does Martin go from here? Does he kill off a character he's been developing for 4 books, or abandon his writing style where deaths are supposed to have major consequences and impact like the show did and just bring him back. 

 

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Am I the only one who really enjoys ADWD?

No sir.  I enjoyed that book very much.  Daznak's Pit is one of the finest chapters in the entire story.  I am no fan of Arya Stark but at least she's not traipsing around the riverlands and just filling up pages with nothing.  

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ADWD is my fav book in the series:

After the low point that was AFFC the book gave me the feeling that there is a life after the Red Wedding.

In ADWD my fav characters that I so sorely missed in AFFC finally were there again: I especially enjoy Jon and Dany's storylines.

What many readers dislike about them is exactly what I like: Jon and Dany don't get anything for free - they have to find their own ways and forge their own (and the world's) destinies with no clear paths set before them. They have to work through their mistakes and learn things the hard way. The situations they are in are messy with no clearcut 'right' way out of them (just like real life). Their opponents have believable and understandable motives and are hard to find and defeat. Sometimes their opponents are even right, again very much like real life. And sometimes the opponents they see aren't really the opponents. Or vice versa. The 'heroes' are forced to make compromises - some of which are quite questionable. And feelings of triumph are usually later followed by a stomachache. Everything they do has consequences, often negative ones. But right or wrong is never sure - they have positive consequences also.

Some of the secondary and tertiary POV characters I am less enthused about. But I can live with that.

 

 

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Once past the first few chapters ... I'm not enamoured of Tyrion (except towards the end), but find the Theon chapters to be among the best in the series. Jon and Dany's arcs (the earlier Meereen chapters can drag a little) and the way they compare and contrast are also interesting, and the second half of the book is almost all excellent. Only of course reading it whets one's appetite for the next book ...

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I really enjoyed ADWD, actually. I could have done without the Quentyn chapters tbh, especially since they introduced a whole new plot with the Tattered Prince. I definitely enjoyed the Jon and Asha chapters and Theon. Davos, Wyman's powerful speech and the debt his family owes the Starks, and I especially enjoy anyone who can shed light on the past, like Barristan did in his personal thoughts.

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1 minute ago, Kandrax said:

Main problems that some readers have  with ADWD are:

1) Coming 6 years after Feast.

2) Characters not acting as expected.

3) Cliffhangers.

Please, elaborate. :)

Who is acting OOC in Dance?

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5 minutes ago, Kandrax said:

Tyrion and Daenerys.

If i amn't wrong, fans become more critical to Daenerys after Dance.

Interesting. I don't think Tyrion acts OOC in Dance tbh. He's an entitled little shit anyway. :dunno:

But Dany... why? I started having issues w/ Dany Back in... ASoS? Or was it Clash? But then, while some of her chapters in ADwD annoyed the hell out of me, others were pretty good, especially her last chapter. But I don't know that any of it was OOC?

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I found it just TOO HARD. Quite difficult to read. And I have never got round to mentally lining up the time lines with AFFC. Tyrion's adventures were the only part I did remember clearly after finishing. They were sort of fascinatigly appalling, he was bouncing around Essos in mental turbulence. SInce then rereading has made me appreciate the portrait of the mercenaries more, and all the detail of the his escape within the camp was great. From AGOT on, Dany's chapters moved along so fast that line was much more exciting than others, now she is stuck trying to 'be good' while the author uses very unconvincing schematic range of characters to try to demonstrate some (lack of) understanding of such political situations. I found Jon and the NW just as tedious as Dany which fits as they are having a parallel 'become a leader' thing. I did like some nifty things like his marrying Alys to Styr. On rereading I have come to like the Jon stuff much more but not Dany's chapters.

 

PS I forgot Theon chapters were even in it. They were great. And I suppose Quentyn's sad dull journey is a little dose of reality - history must be full of such sad characters who aren't equipped to deal with their 'role'.

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I think it's the weakest of the series, but I wouldn't say I didn't enjoy it. I will say, however, that I think that Theon's chapters saved the book. Easily among the best chapters of the series. Reading those chapters, I'd quickly forget any sort of disappointment I'd have had with the previous chapters. The epilogue was brilliant, too, so it certainly ended on a high note.

It wasn't as good as AFFC, in my opinion, but then I started reading these books after ADWD was released, so I didn't have any disappointment at the missing characters, as I immediately read Dance after, anyway.

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2 hours ago, Castellan said:

I found it just TOO HARD. Quite difficult to read. And I have never got round to mentally lining up the time lines with AFFC. Tyrion's adventures were the only part I did remember clearly after finishing. They were sort of fascinatigly appalling, he was bouncing around Essos in mental turbulence. SInce then rereading has made me appreciate the portrait of the mercenaries more, and all the detail of the his escape within the camp was great. From AGOT on, Dany's chapters moved along so fast that line was much more exciting than others, now she is stuck trying to 'be good' while the author uses very unconvincing schematic range of characters to try to demonstrate some (lack of) understanding of such political situations. I found Jon and the NW just as tedious as Dany which fits as they are having a parallel 'become a leader' thing. I did like some nifty things like his marrying Alys to Styr. On rereading I have come to like the Jon stuff much more but not Dany's chapters.

 

PS I forgot Theon chapters were even in it. They were great. And I suppose Quentyn's sad dull journey is a little dose of reality - history must be full of such sad characters who aren't equipped to deal with their 'role'.

If you do any more rereads I suggest that you try a merged chapter order like the one listed on the ALL LEATHER MUST BE BOILED website.  The story flows much better.

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22 hours ago, Leonardo said:

ADWD has Tyrion's adventures in Essos(though I understand why people aren't a fan of his character atm), which include the Sorrows, his time with the mercenaries, as well as Volantis, Pentos, and his time with the cheesemonger and Griff. It also has Jon Snow's time and growth as the LC of the Watch, which interests me to no end (though I find the King's men/Queen's Men politics unimportant), as well as Bran's journey into the North and his mind, as well of that of Bloodraven, a character with more clout than maybe any in the series left alive. The meereneese knot is a hassle to untangle and understand, but I enjoy Dany's passages in this book far more than ACOK for the most part.

 

I see more issues with AFFC; while I love Brienne's outings and her winding Duncan-like path, Cersei's madness becomes hard to bear, and a powerless Sansa begins to wear on everyone I feel, who has been that way for a number of books now. Arya's story is good but not as good as Tyrion's wanderings, who is effectively her narrative counterpart along with Sam in that we see more of Essos through their eyes.

 

Of all the books I re-read or relisten through audio, it's probably the source most drawn off for me. Anyone else feel this way, or is there a certain novel that calls to them more than the rest? The writing also feels very inspired, which is ironic given its place in the series.

ADWD is one of the better books in the collection.  I had almost given up on the story after reading AFFC.  ADWD brought me back and got me excited about the story again.  On Tyrion, yeah, I prefer him in Essos.   King's Landing had one good moment, Cersei's walk of punishment.  That was it.  The north didn't really have anything going for it but I'm glad Jon Snow got air holed by one disappointed Crannog man.  The politics in Meereen is very good.  I really like the cast of characters there.  Jorah, Dany, Missandei, Daario, Barristan, Hizdahr, Greyworm, Brown Ben.   Aegon's introduction is interesting to me.  Quentyn's quest is one of the highlights.  I can't understand why people didn't like his chapters.  

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