A Dance with Dragons Book five of A Song of Ice and Fire By George R. R. Martin

A Dance with Dragons
Book five of A Song of Ice and Fire
By George R. R. Martin
Copyright 2011

A Dance with Dragons is “the rest of the story,” telling the tales of the characters not included in A Feast for Crows. Instead of moving the story toward resolution, Martin makes the plot increasingly complex. And, as with the other books, a few of our favorite characters seem to pass away.

On the wall, Stannis Baratheon decides it is time to take the war south to the Bolton’s who now occupy the ancestral home of the Starks. They march through snow and storms and eventually stall a few miles from the walls of the castle.

Jon Snow decides that to maintain the wall against the forces of the dead, he needs a treaty with the Wildlings with whom he hopes to fill the empty keeps along the wall and draft their most able boys and men into the Night’s Watch.

He negotiates the treaty, against the wishes of many of his allies in Night’s Watch. The Red Priestess, Melissandre – left behind by Stannis as he marched south – warns Snow that he has enemies among his own ranks. When a raven arrives from Winterfell, he learns the truth of that vision. Roose Bolton says he’s met Stannis and defeated him. He demands the return of Theon Greyjoy – whom he has held prisoner and tortured into complete subservience. He also demands the return of his wife, whom he believes to be Arya Stark but is actually a serving girl once employed by the Starks named Jeyne.

Jon has tried to maintain the neutrality of the Night’s Watch, but decides he must go south to meet Bolton before Bolton can come to the wall and wage war. He asks for volunteers and prepares to set off. Before he can, he is stabbed by several of his own men. He either falls unconscious or dies.

Roose Bolton, the incredibly cruel bastard of the Bolton family is safely installed at Winterfell and has married the girl he believes to be Arya Stark, making him the rightful heir to the Stark home. With Bolton is the man formerly known as Theon Greyjoy. He has been tortured and beaten and has gone insane. Imprisoned in a dungeon, he’s come to think of himself as “Reek.”

However, when Bolton moves north to occupy Winterfell, Theon starts to regain some semblance of sanity and works with other dissidents to free Jeyne Poole who has suffered horribly as Bolton’s wife. Theon and Jeyne escape Winterfell and into the darkness of the winter night.

Bran Stark, we learn, is a shape changer. This is how he is able to enter the body of his direwolf. He expand his talents and enters the body of his servant, Hoder as well. With the help of a dead night, Bran finds the Three Eyed Crow and his people who can live in the souls of trees and view events past and present.

We learn that Davos Seaworth, ordered executed by Cersei, is still alive. Lord Wyman Manderly told Cersei that he had Davos executed upon his capture, but instead, held him alive. Manderly tells Davos that Rickon Stark has been secreted away on a remote island. He needs Davos to go to this island and smuggle the young Stark heir back to Westeros.

Cersei is in prison and alone. All that were loyal to her have forsaken her and the Sparrows are demanding that she confess her sins of adultery before she can be released. Deciding she has no alternative, Cersei makes a partial confession – enough to earn her release from prison – but not enough to avoid a later trial on the counts of adultery and incest to which she would not confess.

As an act of contrition, Cersei is forced to march from her prison to the King’s quarters naked whilst the people of King’s Landing jeer. Cersei makes the march, but her spirit is broken. When her uncle visits her later, he finds her docile and subdued and no longer prone to mischief.

Jaime Lannister is in the north to bring to a close the final battle in the war with the Starks. He negotiates the surrender of Riverrun, ending the siege of Raventree Hall. While trying to restore order after the war, Briene Tarth, whom we were led to believe had died, finds Jaime and tells her she has located Sansa Stark and that Sandor Clegane is hunting her as well.

Little Arya Stark is no longer Arya Stark. She has joined an order of assassins who have no names and are able to change faces. Given her first assignment, Arya struggles to forget herself and prove herself. She assassinates a Braavosi banker at the request of the leader of her order.

The novel is primarily focused on Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons. Everybody wants to be her ally and everybody is trying to get to her.

Tyrion, with the help of Varys, Tyrion boards a ship that sails for Pentos. He finds that there is another Targaryen. The babe thought to have been killed by Jaime Lannister as an infant, Aegon Targaryen, is alive and well and sailing to meet his cousin to form an alliance.

While ashore for supplies, Tyrion is kidnapped by Ser Jorah Mormont who hopes to take him to Dany to earn her trust again. But while en route to Meereen, the ship is trapped in a storm and nearly destroyed. It is boarded by slavers and Tyrion and a dwarf woman who performed at the fateful wedding in King’s Landing are sold into slavery where they become mummers.

However, a plague is sweeping the city and their master falls ill and dies. Tyrion, Mormont, and his new friend escape to join a group of sellswords.

Dany, having ended the practice of slavery in Meereen wants to bring its surrounding lands into her fold and end slavery and barbarism. She spurns the man she really loves – a sellsword of low birth – and marries instead Hizdahr zo Loraq, a nobleman who is supported by those who currently oppose Dany.

Dany is talked into going to “The Pits” where gladiator-like battles are fought for the pleasure of nobles. She is appalled by the violence. The final act is a pair of dwarves (actually Tyrion and his friend) jousting on a pig and a dog. Dany is appalled by the violence, but especially appalled when she learns that the final act will be the dwarves being devoured by hungry lions. As she protests this, the maester accompanying her and her new husband falls ill, having consumed many honeyed locusts that were intended for her.

While she is observing this, Dany’s black dragon, that had escaped several months before, arrives at the fighting pits and attacks, killing dozens. Several men try to kill the dragon, but Dany jumps on his back and flies away, leaving Meereen in chaos.

Quentyn Martell has traveled from Dorne, hoping to marry Dany and create an alliance with her. But he arrives too late. Dany has already wed Hizdahr zo Loraq. Disappointed, Quentyn tries a desperate act to impress Dany. He and his friends slip into the dungeon where the two remaining dragons are being held. Having Targaryen blood, Quentyn is confident he can control the dragons. However, when he gets there, the dragons turn on him and escape. Quentyn is left badly burned and eventually dies.

Victarion Greyjoy also hopes for an alliance with Dany. He and his fleet sail from the Iron Islands to Meereen to attack the slavers that are besieging the city, even after the marriage to Hizdahr zo Loraq. Before he can launch his attack however, a plague has wiped out many of the slavers.

Hizdahr zo Loraq is implicated in the attempted poisoning of Dany and is imprisoned by Dany’s hand. Meanwhile, Dany is far away from Meereen where Drogos the dragon has left her. She is tired, weak, and hungry and trying to find her way home, following a stream she hopes will lead to a river and safety. As she staggers, barely able to walk, she encounters the khalasar of Khal Jhaqo, a former Bloodrider to Khal Drogo who betrayed her after Drogo's death.

The book winds to a close with Jon Connington, who has been acting as a steward, tutor, and mentor to young Aegon Targaryen, takes back his ancestral home and prepares to aid in the restoration of the Targaryen family to the throne – not in the form of Dany – but in the form of her younger male cousin.

Kevan Lannister visits his niece and the king before receiving word that he must return to his quarters. He arrives and finds his Grand Maester has been killed. Kevan receives a crossbow bolt to the chest and the maester Varys holding the crossbow. Varys explains to him that he cannot allow Ser Kevan to repair the damage done to the Lannister alliances by Cersei’s jealousies. He wants to see the various families of Westeros fight and weaken each other so that Aegon can pick his moment to return to power.

It feels like Martin is losing momentum with the last two books. Some parts of the story are entirely over-written, like the political machinations in Meereen after Dany’s departure. Other parts, such as Vicarion’s planned assault on the slavers is woefully under-written.

More characters and subplots have been introduced when it seems that he can’t keep track of what he’s got going already. While Martin has made a habit of killing off main characters in this series, for every character he kills, he adds three more. A Dance With Dragons is written from 18 different points of view.

Tyrion, once the most interesting character in the story, ceased to be interesting. We only got a couple chapters of Arya, one chapter of Jaime, and two chapters of Cersei whilst Martin droned on and on about hostage negotiations in Meereen.

Most of this book was written and takes place simultaneous to events in A Feast For Crows. The stories not told in A Feast for Crows were told in A Dance with Dragons. Martin briefly revisits a couple storylines from the earlier book, but not nearly enough.

Martin will have his work cut out for him bringing all of the various subplots together toward a cogent resolution. The next book is book six out what is supposed to be a seven book series. More than 6,000 pages have already been dedicated to telling this story. The time of adding new characters and subplots is over. The time to focus on bringing them to resolution has come. Let’s hope Martin’s next book (whenever he gets around to publishing it) starts us in that direction.

A Feast For Crows Book Four of A Song of Ice and Fire By George R.R. Martin

A Feast For Crows
Book Four of A Song of Ice and Fire
By George R.R. Martin
Copyright 2007

A Feast of Crows does not pick up immediately where A Storm of Swords left off – at least not for about half the characters. A select few characters see their story advance while the stories of others will have to wait for the next volume in the series.

Most of the action centers on King’s Landing and Cersei. Her youngest son, Tommen is now king. He is but a ten year old boy who has a sixteen year old girl betrothed to him. Margaery Tyrell, who was wedded to Joffrey for just a few moments before he died at his own wedding, is still supposedly a virgin and ready to be bedded by Tommen when he reaches the proper age. Until that time, she holds the title of “The Little Queen.”

Queen Cersei rules in King’s Landing. Her brother, Tyrion the dwarf who she believes murdered her son, Joffrey, has escaped the dungeons and murdered their father, the all powerful Tywin Lannister. With no king on the throne, Cersei means to continue her rule. She tries to substantiate her power by having her uncle Kevan Lannister serve as her Hand. Kevan refuses and tells Cersei that he knows the secret that she and her twin brother Jaime share regarding the real parentage of the Baratheon children. Unable to find a suitable hand, she begins to fill her small council with sycophants and cronies who will not challenge her.

Cersei sees her greatest challenge in Margaery who occasionally exerts her will as the rightful queen of Westeros. This makes Cersei paranoid for two reasons. First, the Tyrells are a powerful family and with a Tyrell sitting beside the king in King’s Landing, the already powerful family would grow more powerful. Without a strong matriarch at the head of the Lannisters, their influence will weaken.

Cersei also remembers a prophecy revealed to her long ago by an old fortune teller who tells her that she will be queen, but unseated by one more young and pretty than she. She decides to scheme to discredit the young queen.

She finds a kingdom on the verge of bankruptcy. She immediately stops paying the kingdom’s debts, declaring that all resources must be channeled into the war. The kingdom’s largest debtor is the Faith of the Seven – a religious order who once held military offices within the kingdom before they were stripped of that power. Cersei makes a deal to allow the debts to go unpaid. In exchange, the Faith is allowed to restore its military presence. She hopes to use the Faith and its Maesters to prove that Margaery is not a virgin and has, in fact, committed adultery. She sends Margaery’s brother, the powerful Ser Loras Tyrell on a dangerous mission to take Stannis Baratheon’s stronghold at Dragonhold Keep. Ser Loras and his men take the castle, but Loras is gravely wounded in the battle, giving Cersei one less Tyrell with whom to match wits.

Cersei had hoped to be able to rely on the counsel of her twin brother, Jaime who has returned from the Riverlands with his sword hand gone. Little does she know that Jaime has already betrayed her by allowing Tyrion to escape and sending his mercenary friend, Breanna of Tarth, to find and protect Sansa Stark who escaped King’s Landing during the abortive wedding of King Joffrey.

The brother and sister are estranged when Jaime rises to the head of the Kingsguard. She decides to send him back to the Riverlands to restore order there. Jaime is only too happy to go. With his sword hand gone, he is not taken seriously as a knight. With the only love of his life distrusting him, he has no reason to stay. He looks upon Cersei’s schemes for power as mad and is eager to get out of town.

Both of the Stark girls are on the lamb under assumed names. Sansa is with Petyr Baelish in the Eyrie. Peter is the lord and master of that castle after he weds, then murders the queen there. Sansa poses as Petyr’s bastard daughter and is betrothed to the little, sickly prince Robert who is a petulant, weak child that Petyr is sure will die soon. When that happens, Alayne – as Sansa is now known – will be betrothed to another that will allow her to reclaim the rule of her homelands in the north.

Arya has gone to sea and its up on the island Braavos with a cult of assassins. She poses as a huckster of seafood in the market while learning all she can for her new masters. She is told to shed her old identity of the Lady Arya Stark and develop a new identity. She must divest of all of her worldly possessions, but holds onto her sword, Ice, as a memento of her former life. Cat tries hard to develop this new identity, but has dreams of hunting wolves which keep her in touch with her former identity and former life. When she is unable to let go of Arya, she is fed warmed milk laced with a drug that leaves her blind.

Brienne is searching the Riverlands for Sansa Stark whom she tells people is her sister. She finds Tyrion’s former squire, Poderick, on the lam and he joins her. She also finds one of Renly Baratheon’s knights with whom she served in her former life. They move across the countryside and witness the devastation the war has brought to the kingdom. One night, they check into an inn and are set upon by the Brotherhood Without Banners – a group of renegade former Stark loyalists. Brienne is beaten badly and the group is captured. They are taken before the Lady Stoneheart which is actually the undead Catelyn Stark. Lady Stoneheart sentences them to hang. Each of them are placed on a rope hanging from a tree. Just as Brienne falls, she yells a mysterious word – a word we don’t know about.

A Feast of Crows doesn’t give us any new news from The Wall, but Samwell Tarly makes the journey from The Wall to Oldtown to begin his training as a maester. With him is the girl, Gilly who has a babe with her. When they leave The Wall, Sam believes it is her daughter fathered by Mance Rayder. As they travel, Gilly is inconsolable with grief and Sam figures out that Jon Snow has switched the babes, sending the little prince away from The Wall and the threat of sacrifice at the hands of the red priestess, Melisandre. Maester Aemon is also along for the ride.

As they travel, Maester Aemon becomes ill and is near death. The party is forced to extend their layover in Braavos in hopes he will recover. He does not. Before he dies, he hears the rumors of dragons in the east. He tells Sam that Daenerys is the fulfillment of prophecy and should be crowned queen of Westeros.

Sam eventually makes his way to Oldtown and meets with a maester to pass along Aemon’s final thoughts and to begin his training. He is introduced to another novice named Pate. We know from the opening chapter of the book that Pate is dead, having been double crossed by an as of yet unknown character who covets a key to a special book depository.

The Iron Islands are in chaos without a true leader. A king’s moot is called and the late Balon Greyjoy’s son Euron is crowned – much to the dismay of his brother, Victarion and his sister Asha. They plot and scheme against each other as the two brothers both vie to reach out to Daenerys to wed her and bring her on as an ally. Euron has a secret weapon – a horn that can summon and control the dragons.

In the southlands of Dorne, a scheme is hatched to crown Cersei’s daughter, Myrcella queen of Westeros. Myrcella is currently the ward of Prince Doran Martell. But the scheme is discovered and Doran is forced to punish his daughter, but reveals he has a plan of his own to gain control of the throne.

The book climaxes with Cersei seemingly having all her pieces in place to frame the little queen Margaery put on trial with the newly empowered Faith for adultery. Margaery is arrested and imprisoned in a tower held by the Faith. When Cersei goes to the tower to see to the trial, she finds out that Margaery has done a little scheming of her own. Cersei is arrested for adultery. She sends a desperate message to her brother to come save her. When the message arrives, Jaime crumples it and tosses it into the fire, leaving Cersei to her fate.

Of the first four books in the Song of Ice and Fire series, this was by far the worst and the most tedious to read. Arya has enjoyed the most development and most interesting story so far of any of the characters. With her parked in Braavos, the tale lost something.

Sansa is stationery as well. Sansa’s trials and tribulations at the hands of the Lannisters in King’s Landing kept the reader rooting for her. Her flight from King’s Landing was exciting. Her conspiracy with Petyr Baelish was clever. But in A Feast For Crows, she’s little more than a babysitter for Prince Robert. That makes for dull reading.

I had high hopes for the scheme hatched in Dorne to crown Myrcella. That would have thrown even more chaos into the already crumbling world of the Lannister family. But Martin introduces it, leaves it alone for a few hundred pages, then has it unceremoniously unravel. One can only hope that the otherwise dull storyline unfolding in Dorne will become interesting again.

Cersei’s machinations were the high point of the book. And while the reading of the schemes of the people of Dorne and the Iron Islands was dull, Cersei’s web was complex and interesting. The climax was wonderful and no doubt many readers are eager to see Cersei get hers. The other cliffhangers such as Arya going blind and Brienne left dangling from a noose while uttering some significant single word were clever. While it is a stretch to say that these exciting cliffhangers made wading through A Feast of Crows worth the time, they did make up for a lot of boring storylines.

The problem with the book is it is only half the story. That’s a bizarre statement to make about a book that comes in at approximately 800 pages. But many of the characters we have been following such as Daenerys, Jon Snow, and others do not appear at all. I particularly miss Tyrion. I’m eager to learn his fate.

This is because as Martin was writing A Feast For Crows, it became apparent that the manuscript was too long to be just one book. Another bizarre statement about a man who thinks 1,000 pages makes a book. Rather than tell half a tale about all the characters, Martin opted to tell the whole tale about half the characters.

Martin reveals all of this in a postscript to the book. He tells his readers the rest of the story is coming in about a year. A Feast for Crows was published in 2005. The next installment – promised for the next year – was not published until 2011. I’m not holding my breath waiting for him to finish book six in what will be a series of seven.

A Storm of Swords: Book Three of A Song of Ice and Fire By George R.R. Martin

A Storm of Swords: Book Three of A Song of Ice and Fire
By George R.R. Martin
Copyright 2001

Rather than pick up where he left off with volume 2 of A Song of Ice and Fire, George R.R. Martin starts with action concurrent with the final events of A Clash of Kings.

Caitlyn Stark makes a desperate move to gain the freedom of her daughters, releasing Jaime Lannister from his captivity, entrusting him to her new aide de camp, Brienne. She orders Brienne to return him to King’s Landing and offer him in exchange for Sansa and Arya who she still believes to be held in King’s Landing.

Brienne and Jaime are at first adversaries as Jaime pokes fun at her looks and refuses to call her by her name. But when they are waylaid by a group of mercenaries known as the Brave Companions, that adversarial relationship develops into one of grudging mutual respect. The leader of the Companions cuts off Jaime’s sword hand, hoping their employer, Roose Bolton will be blamed and the Lannisters will seek revenge on Bolton, putting him in power.

Jaime Lannister is released by the Brave Companions, but Brienne is thrown into a pit and left to fight a bear with a tournament sword. Remembering that Brienne fought at his side against the Brave Companions, Jaime returns to save her. They continue to King’s Landing where Brienne learns that Arya has been gone for a long time and Sansa has disappeared during the king’s wedding. Jaime releases her to find Sansa.

Things go badly for Robb Stark. He loses the loyalty of one house after another and battles start to go badly for him. His most critical error is marrying Jayne Westerling of a minor family, violating his betrothal to one of Walder Frey’s daughters. Robb, Catelyn, and the forces of the north travel to Frey’s estate to pay their respects, hoping to smooth over relations. Things go quite badly for the Starks there as Robb and Catelyn are ambushed and slain during a feast.

Arya Stark continues to hop from one frying pan into another fire. While trying to work her way to Riverrun and her family, Arya encounters one of her father’s former knights in an inn. Unfortunately, they are no longer loyal to the family Stark and take her captive, hoping to ransom her since the north is now in chaos and the Starks no longer hold sway. However, this group of sellswords encounters Sandor Clegane, a former guard of King Joffrey’s whom Arya hates. The Hound, as he’s known for his unique helmet, slays the leader of the Brotherhood Without Banners and takes Arya. He plans to head north with her to ransom her back to her mother. They follow the trail to The Twins where Walder Frey resides, only to find the chaos of battle and the remnants of Stark’s army being slaughtered. The Hound is confident he now has custody of an orphan and has no idea what to do with her. But, being the only card he has to play at the moment, he keeps her.

The situation at King’s Landing has grown incredibly political. After his bravery in the fight against the army of Stannis Baratheon, Tyrion Lannister is deposed as Hand of the King by his father, Tywin who has taken up residence in the castle and plans to advise his grandson. Tyrion is decidedly out of power as he recovers from his disfiguring wound.

Jaime returns and, at first, his twin and lover, Cersei is excited to see him. They make love on the spot. However, relations between them soon grow cold. Jaime is made head of the Gold Cloaks – the King’s guard, but is not respected because he fights poorly without his right hand.

Tywin and Cersei decide that a betrothal of young King Joffrey to Sansa Stark no longer makes sense as the Starks are all but eliminated. He is instead betrothed to Margaery Tyrell, whose family came to the aid of King’s Landing when Stannis attacked. A wedding date is set. In a fit of pique, Cersei decides to wed Sansa to Tyrion which makes neither happy – much to Cersei’s delight.

Sansa and Tyrion are married, but Tyrion refuses to bed her. Sansa continues to play the dutiful Lannister loyalist, but Tyrion is smart enough to know differently. He has enough honor not to bed a woman against her will. He continues his dalliances with his mistress, Shea and leaves Sansa in peace. Sansa still harbors the hope of escape from King’s Landing.

Word reaches King’s Landing of the fall of Balon Greyjoy from one of his own banners, leaving a vacuum of leadership in his realm being fought over by his son and daughter. The North will soon be in the hands of the Freys and the small council learns that Tywin Lannister concocted the scheme to murder Robb and Caitlyn Stark. Tyrion sees this as pennywise and pound foolish since the north will never succumb to the leadership of Walder Frey.

The day of the King’s wedding arrives and it is a huge, 77 course feast. Tyrion attends with Sansa. Sansa sits quietly and dutifully. Tyrion gets slowly drunk and starts making fun of his nephew the King. Joffrey comes to Tyrion’s table and demands that Tyrion fill his glass with wine. Tyrion pours the wine and Joffrey soon begins to choke. As Cersei, Margaery, and others look on in horror, Joffrey chokes to death.

Cersei has Tyrion arrested for the crime. In the chaos, Sansa escapes the castle and meets her liberator, a drunken, disgraced knight reduced to a fool. He takes her to Peter Baelysh who puts her aboard a ship. “Littlefinger” as he’s known, is a former lover of her mother’s and plans to take her to the Eyrie and wed Catelyn’s sister, Lyssa Arren and unite his new realm of Harrenhall with the Eyrie. They set sail.

Tyrion is imprisoned. While the evidence is gathered against him, his father offers him the opportunity to confess then, take the black and head for The Wall. Tyrion refuses. AS he did when imprisoned in the Eyrie, he demands trial by battle. He hears several people testify against him, including his lover, Shea before he demands the trial by battle. He recruits Lord Oberyll Martell of Dorne to fight for him. Martell is smart, quick and fights with a spear. He must defeat Gregor Clegane, the largest man in the realm, known as “The Moutain.”

Tyrion holds out little hope. However, Martell’s plan to wear out the big man seems to work as Clegane flails vainly for hours, trying to fell the faster Martell. But, in the end, a mortally wounded Clegane stabs Martell and kills him, leaving Tyrion to die.

However, Jaime, figuring out that his brother was not responsible for poisoning Joffrey, having learned that it was Peter Baelysh, releases Tyrion and allows him to escape. Before Tyrion departs, Jaime tells him that the young woman Tyrion married years before was not a whore as his father had him believed, but the daughter of a common laborer. Furious, Tyrion swears vengeance upon all of the Lannisters.

He makes his way to the chamber of the King’s Hand and finds his father in bed with Shea. Tyrion kills Shea. Tyrion taunts his dimunitive son, not seeing him as a serious threat. Tyrion shoots him with a crossbow bolt, ending the life of the patriarch of the kingdom’s most powerful family.

After his defeat at King’s Landing, Stannis Baratheon retreats to Dragonstone to rebuild his army and ponder his options. The Red Priestess would have him sacrifice a bastard born son to bring to life the stone dragon in the realm. The ritual is performed.

In the North, Jon Snow has joined Mance Rayder’s people as they travel south to attack the wall. Despite his oath of celibacy, he falls for the girl whose life he spared. He and Ygritte have sex repeatedly. Rayder’s troops continue their search for the Horn of Winter which will destroy The Wall. They continue south.

The rest of the raiders from the wall head south toward home. They stop at the Craster hold as they did before, but rebellion breaks out and Craster is killed. There, the group is attacked by The Others, a mythical wight. Sam Tarly the fat keeper of the rookery, manages to slay one of the wights using an obsidian dagger he found. He rescues one of Craster’s daughters who is pregnant and heads north through a storm, hoping to make it to the wall before they freeze to death. Unfortunately, in the battle, the Lord Commander is killed and most of the leadership of the Watch is killed.

Tarly and his woman make it back to Castle Black alive and Tarly becomes an unlikely hero.

Jon Snow manages to escape from Rayder’s people and make his way back to the Wall and Castle Black where he assumes leadership in the defense of the top of the wall. Thousands of Rayder’s troops throw themselves at the wall and each attack is beat back. As the fighting continues, Janos Slynt and Ser Alliser, two members of the Watch who resent Snow’s high birth, decide to put him on trial for treason. He is imprisoned. Finally the pair decide to send Jon Snow out to kill Mance Rayder.

Jon ventures out and finds Rayder’s tent. Rayder has the Horn, but doesn’t want to destroy the Wall with it because he doesn’t want the wights to follow him south. As they parley, Stannis army arrives by sea and attacks Rayder’s troops, wiping them out and killing Mance Rayder. Snow talks to Stannis who says that he felt as the true King, he needed to come north and defend his lands which were under attack. His red priestess fears that the wights are The Others and disciples of the enemy of her god. She wants the wall maintained to keep them at bay.

Stannis, admiring Snow’s cunning and bravery, offers to make him Lord of Winterfell in exchange for his loyalty. However, Jon is elected the Lord Commander of the Night Watch, much to the chagrin of Janos Slynt and Ser Alliser. Jon is left in charge of The Wall.

Meanwhile, Bran Stark, still believed dead by most, is also making his way north. He is having dreams of a three eyed crow and is searching for the beast. In the company of Jojen and Meera Reed, two young people from the marshlands of the north, he makes his way to Castle Black where he meets Sam Tarly and they are taken into the castle. Bran does not know his half brother has been elected lord commander.

In the east, Daenyrus Targaryn is learning the art of leadership and sets out to build a proper army. Her efforts are complicated by the sexual advances of her retainer Ser Jorah Mormont. She later learns that Mormont was spying on her for Robert Baratheon. Mormont swears that his loyalty to Robert ended a long time before the attempt on her life. She banishes him for his betrayal.

She comes ashore at Slavers Bay and purchases an army of automatons who will fight and kill without remorse or question. With the cornerstone of her army in place, she advances on two cities and takes them, releasing the city’s slaves. Many of the slaves join Dany’s forces and her army and power continue to grow. She adopts one of Robert Baratheon’s former Kingsguard as her new military aide and plans to advance to retake her kingdom. Meanwhile her dragons continue to grow in size and power.

In the epilogue of the book, some of Walder Frey’s men are on patrol when they come across the Brotherhood Without Banners. They are taken captive and brought before Catelyn Stark – she who died and whose nude body was unceremoniously tossed into the river. Catelyn does not speak, she simply nods and the Frey men are doomed.

Martin injected political chaos into his story in book three and early assumptions of who would win and lose were blown out of the water. Little Tommen sits on the Iron Throne in King’s Landing under the guidance of Cersei and Jaime. But Tywin’s death leaves a major leadership vacuum. The Lannisters, who looked omnipotent at the end of book two are in definite trouble.

Robb Stark looked to be quite formidable as well. He had yet to lose a battle and his hold on the River area was unchallenged, even though he’d lost his homelands in the north. But miscalculating in marriage doomed the Stark family. Now, only little Bran and baby Rickon remain of the male lineage. Sansa is trapped and beholden to the tender mercies of her scheming aunt. Arya is still wandering about the countryside.

I’d written off Stannis Baratheon after his defeat at King’s Landing. But he’s reestablished himself at The Wall and looks to mount an offensive from the north, much as Robb did earlier. Dany continues her slow, methodical march toward power. The Greyjoys look as if they are no longer players.

When I started this series, I was told to expect the unexpected; that no character – no matter how major or important – was safe. That warning was apt. The most endearing part of this series is Martin’s willingness to keep the reader on his heels with unexpected deaths.

Martin’s development of Arya and Tyrion continues to make them the most interesting characters in the book. Perhaps Martin will unexpectedly wipe them out. But I expect, with all that Martin has invested in creating complexity in them that does not exist in other characters, they will be major players as the series comes to a head.

I expect further development of Sansa as well. Removed from King’s Landing, she no longer has to be the dutiful loyalist mumbling platitudes. Sansa is due major development in book four.

The epilogue injects a whole new element into the story. The second book introduced the dragons which brought a fantastical element that was absent from the first book. Now, with Catelyn Stark being resurrected as an apparent zombie or some form of undead creature, a new element of fantasy has been introduced. It will be interesting to see if her undead state is in any way linked to the Others.

As to which direction the battle for the throne of Westeros will take, I’ll not hazard a guess at this point. Dany remains the wildcard with her dragons. Stannis is reinvigorated. Other players are gathering forces and creating alliances to challenge for the throne. With four more books to go, there is still plenty of story to be told.

A Clash of Kings By George R.R. Martin

A Clash of Kings
Book Two of A Song of Ice and Fire
By George R.R. Martin
Copyright 1998

Volume two in George R.R. Martin’s epic tale about the land of Westeros introduces elements commonly found in traditional fantasy novels that were missing in A Game of Thrones. Dragons, mages, and magic are brought into play.

The story picks up just a short period after A Game of Thrones. Five men have now declared themselves King of Westeros. The demented boy king, Joffrey sits upon the throne at King’s Landing. Robb Stark is at Riverrun, having declared himself king of the north. Stannis Baratheon and his brother Renly, have laid claim to the throne as heirs of the late King Robert Baratheon. Balon Greyjoy has declared himself king of the seafaring people of the Iron Islands.

A Clash of Kings contains much strategizing, diplomacy, and stealth, but is short on action until the climactic battle at King’s Landing.

Stannis and Renly squabble over who is the rightful heir to their brother. Stannis has found a new religion in the goddess, R’hlorr and her priestess, Melisandre. Catelyn Stark arrives in Stannis’s camp to seek an alliance on behalf of their son so they can combine their forces to defeat Joffrey, upon whom the Starks want revenge for killing Catelyn’s husband, Lord Eddard Stark.

Stannis politely rebuffs Catelyn’s overtures, determined to defeat his brother on the field to dominate the lands of south Westeros. As Caitlyn and Stannis are talking, a discorporate shadow appears with a sword and runs it through Stannis. Caitlyn escapes from Stannis’ camp with a warrior woman, Brienne, to return north empty handed. Most of Renly’s men switch their allegiance to Lord Stannis who prepares to march on King’s Landing.

The dwarf, Tyrion Lannister returns to King’s Landing where he’s to serve as The Hand of the King to young Joffrey – much to the consternation of his sister, Cersei. While Cersei and Joffrey are willing to stand by while people starve and grow to hate the Lannisters, Tyrion works to feed them and, if not earn their loyalty, to stave their hate just some.

Tyrion also starts to develop a strategy for the defense of Kings Landing should one or both of the Baratheon brothers march against it. Beneath the castle in King’s Landing rests many casks of a quick burning incendiary liquid that Tyrion sees as the key to that defense.

In the north, Winterfell falls when Theon Greyjoy, acting on behalf of his father, Balon, takes the castle while eight year old Bran Stark commands. Bran and Rickon are forced to flee with assistance of two mystics of their kingdom. Theon pursues the two princes and would have the people of Winterfell believe he captured and beheaded them by posting two tarred and disfigured heads on pikes outside Winterfell.

Theon only has thirty men and realizes his position is weak. He tells an aide, Ramsay Snow that he can have any woman of his choice within Winterfell if he can raise 200 men. Snow returns with 300 and is welcomed back into Winterfell. However, Ramsay Snow has a different idea and turns on Greyjoy. The former allies battle it out as Winterfell burns. Beneath the castle, Bran and Rickon hide, waiting for the opportune diversion to escape into the woods.

Although the reader is afforded no narrative or eyewitness accounts of the battles, we learn that Robb Stark continues his march against Tywin Lannister and scores several victories before Lannister heads south to join in the defense of King’s Landing.

Young Arya Stark continues to move north with a caravan of brigands and thieves on their way to serve on The Wall. Eventually, the group is cornered within an abandoned keep by Lannister troops and their leader is killed. Arya and several others escape, only to be captured later. Arya, who’s been posing as a boy to hide her identity is forced to reveal her gender. She poses as a serving girl and is pressed into servitude under the Lannisters at Harrenhal.

While serving and biding her time, Arya is offered the services of a mysterious man at arms whom she helped avoid death in the battle where she was captured. Jaqen H’Ghar offers t o kill three people of her choice, no questions asked. Arya has plenty of hate to go around, but chooses her targets wisely. She offs two Lannister men who have abused her and her friends. She picks as her third target H’Ghar himself. Not wanting to commit suicide, H’Ghar is willing to make a deal with her. She uses him to help gain the release of several of Stark’s men who repel the Lannisters and take Harrenhal.

The debt paid, H’Ghar departs. Before leaving, he gives her an iron coin and tells her it will aid her someday and to hang onto it. Arya stays at Harrenhal for awhile, maintaining her disguise, but eventually escapes into the wilderness.

Far north of Winterfell, beyond the Wall, Jon Snow has joined a scouting party of Night’s Watch to search for wildlings and the renegade wildling leader, Mance Rayder. They find most of the villages on the old maps dead and deserted. They do find the keep of Craster’s Keep still under the leadership of Craster, a vile man given to wedding his daughters, but friendly to the Night’s Watch. The group spends the night there.

Snow and another man are sent as an advanced scout on Rayder’s believed position. They encounter a group of wildlings. Snow and Jeor Mormont ambush a camp and Snow takes a hostage. He interrogates her and is ordered to kill her. But Jon can’t bring himself to kill a woman in cold blood and lets her go.

Soon, however it is apparent that they are being pursued and outnumbered. Jon is ordered to act as a traitor to gain information on Mance Rayder’s plans. Jon plays the part, even going so far as to kill his commander with the aid of his dire wolf. Snow is brought into the fold where he learns that Mance Rayder is advancing south toward the wall with thousands of troops.

In the east, Daenerys Targaryen has led her people through the desert to the trading town of Qarth. Her three baby dragons have hatched and enchant the people of Qarth. They want her to stay among them. They also want her dragons. She tries to secure passage back to Westeros to claim her throne, but all of the traders want her one of dragons in exchange.

To demonstrate to Daenerys how precarious her situation is, the leaders of Qarth invite her to enter the mystical House of the Undying. There, she will be shown possible pasts and futures of her life. She is guided to always turn right. She enters and finds that it is not always possible to turn right through the corridors. She sees different images that confuse her. One of the dragons sets fire to the house and it burns.

Daenerys and her retinue go to the docks determined to secure a ship. An assassination is attempted and Daenerys is rescued by two men whom she has not met before. Strong Belwas and Arstan Whitebeard are agents of her father’s ally, Illyrio Mopotas. They have come to take her back to Westeros to reclaim her throne. Her story ends with her preparing to leave.

The book climaxes with the battle for King’s Landing between the armies of Stannis Baratheon and the Lannisters. Tyrion has taken control of the greycloak troops that represent the Lannisters and has implemented a plan to thwart Stannis’ plan to enter the city via ship up the river. After the ships have entered the river, full of troops, a chain is raised across the river behind them. Then the magic, flammable elixir he’s had the maesters working so hard to concoct is dumped from the walls into the water and onto the ships. The ships burn. Their troops jump into burning water and are incinerated. Tyrion is badly injured in the battle.

The day is saved because Tywin Lannister has moved south from his skirmishes with Robb Stark to assist in the defense of King’s Landing. Tywin’s troops defeat Stannis’ forces on the ground and Stannis is killed. Tyrion, badly injured, starts his recovery under the watchful eye of his sister.

So ends the second installment of a Song of Ice and Fire.

This book read very much like an installment in a story rather than a stand alone book. Many events were related to the reader, such as Robb Stark's several defeats of Tywin Lannister’s army, but not told in the text. Most of this book was about planning and positioning and plotting. The first battle has been fought and two contestants – the Baratheon brothers – have been eliminated. With Daenerys Targaryen on her way back to the mainland and Mance Rayder leading an army of barbarians from the now unprotected north, the fight for control of Westeros will continue.

We saw the introduction of a few of the more traditional elements of fantasy in the second installment. The dragons have been born and are growing. They will certainly be a factor in coming events. We saw the super human being with god like powers help Arya and provide her with what is certainly a magic coin that will help her find her way to safety and perhaps her family. We also saw the introduction of the maesters preparing potions to assist in battle. The story has evolved from a Medieval game of chess on a continent into something more fantastical. I hope these developments continue.

The book was more than 800 pages long. The stories it tells are expansive and characters are developed well. Especially well developed are Arya and Tyrion. Arya is the person everybody is rooting for. Well raised and a genuinely nice little girl, the reader wants to see her beat the odds and find her family, even knowing that that reunion will be sad.

Tyrion Lannister the reader is still unsure about. We know that he is an underdog and perhaps an anti-hero. His family loathes him because of his size and intelligence. But, the reader witnessed no true skullduggery against his inept nephew as Tyrion took control of leadership of the city. In taking control, Tyrion acted, at times, as a humanitarian to try to feed people to keep them from hating the Lannisters. His love for his prostitute seems genuine. While he loathes his sister, he has not plotted to supplant her either. Of all the characters in Martin’s story so far, Tyrion Lannister is the most interesting and most complex.

The reader may learn about those events in the north where Robb Stark defeated Tywin Lannister. The introduction to book three, A Storm of Swords, says that some of what is related in that book took place simultaneous to events in A Clash of Kings. Martin apparently has a lot of story left to tell.

The book was an easy, enjoyable read. It was not as exciting and interesting as the first book where the reader was first getting to know the characters and learn the lay of the land of Westeros, but Martin moved his story forward in an interesting way and kept the character development going. That’s all you can ask of an author in such a expansive, multi-volume story.

A Game of Thrones: Book One of a Song of Ice and Fire

A Game of Thrones: Book One of a Song of Ice and Fire
By George R.R. Martin
Copyright 1996

In 1996, George R.R. Martin embarked on what has become a epic tale of royal intrigue, brutality, sex, and magic. A Game of Thrones was the first book of what will eventually be seven lengthy tomes telling the story of the various families and partisans battling for the throne of Westeros.

The story opens not in a castle, but deep in the woods. A party searching for “Others” is set upon and slain by evil, magical creatures. These men were dispatched from The Wall which we learn guards the northern reaches of The North region of Westeros.

We are then introduced to Eddard “Ned” Stark who is Lord of Winterfell, the largest hold in the northern region. He is overseeing the execution of a man who went AWOL from his lifetime appointment as a member of the Night’s Watch who guard The Wall. He has invited his children to watch the execution to teach them about duty, honor, and the importance of a ruler meting out the justice he prescribes.

On the way back to the castle from the execution, the group comes upon a den of six direwolf pups. The wolf is the symbol of the House of Stark and Ned’s children are each given a direwolf to raise as their own pet.

Ned has six children, but his oldest is a bastard and not in line for the throne. Jon lives in the castle and is treated as a full brother by his half brothers and sisters. However, his father knows he is not an heir to the lordship of the kingdom and Ned’s wife treats him as if he didn’t exist. Jon Snow is determined to leave the house of Stark and become a member of the Night’s Watch.

Shortly after Ned’s return to his castle, he learns that King Robert Baratheon is coming to visit. He plans to ask Ned to assume the position of Hand of the King which is the King’s right hand man. The previous hand, Jon Arryn, died suddenly and seemingly without cause. Arryn was Ned’s brother in law.

King Robert arrives with his wife, Cersei of House Lannister accompanies him with her twin brother and younger brother who is a dwarf. Ned and Robert reminisce about their battles in overthrowing the old king and placing Robert upon the throne. Meanwhile, the Lannisters are up to mischief.

Bran Stark, Ned’s middle son, is a natural climber and enjoys climbing the exterior walls of the castle. One day, he climbs and looks into the Queen’s bedroom window. There, he sees the queen engaged in incestuous sex with her twin brother, Jaime Lannister. Jaime sees the boy and gives him a push from the window. He falls to the ground and is badly hurt. He ends up in a coma.

Before Ned leaves, Lady Catelyn Stark, Ned’s wife, receives a note from her sister, Lysa Tully. Lysa was married to Jon Arryn and claims that the previous Hand of the King was murdered. Catelyn tells Ned who promises to investigate when he arrives at the palace. Ned departs, taking his daughters Sansa and Arya with him, heading south to King’s Landing and the royal palace. Left behind are Ned’s sons, Robb who is the oldest of his children with Catelyn and his heir, Bran who is too badly injured to travel, and Rickon, who is just four years old.

Meanwhile, in the eastern reaches, the last heir of the old king, Viserys Targaryen, is scheming to return to power. He has betrothed his 13 year old sister to Khal Drogo, the leader of the Dothraki horse warriors. The marriage is consummated and Daenerys is pregnant with Khal Drogo’s child. They begin the plot to restore a Targaryen to the throne in Westeros.

Shortly after Ned and the girls depart, there is an assassination attempt on the helpless Bran. His direwolf and his mother thwart the attack and kill the would-be assassin. Catelyn recovers the dagger used in the attack.

Fearing that her husband’s and daughters’ life might be in danger, she decides to travel to King’s Landing by sea. She arrives before her family and consults with her old beau, Petyr Bellish – also known as Littlefinger who now serves as court treasurer. He identifies the dagger from the attack as one belonging to Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf brother of the queen. Catelyn stays in King’s Landing long enough to visit her husband and daughters before heading north by land toward home.

Ned settles into his duties as the King’s Hand. His daughters find their own activities to entertain them. Sansa is very much caught up in the trappings of royalty and is eventually betrothed to the twelve year old heir apparent Prince Joffrey. Arya is very much the tomboy and takes up sword fighting as a hobby.

Ned finds that King Robert is very much an absentee ruler who prefers drinking and hunting to the responsibilities of the crown. Ned is left to run the kingdom and finds time to investigate Lysa’s claim that her brother was murdered. In his research, Ned learns (as Jon Arryn did before him) that Joffrey is not the king’s son, but the child produced from the queen’s incestuous relationship with her twin and therefore not the heir to the throne. Dangerous knowledge indeed for the Lannisters are conspiring to take the throne for their own.

After her meeting with Littlefinger, Caetlyn and her small entourage head back north via land. On their way, they encounter Tyrion Lannister and take him prisoner. Caetlyn is determined to see him punished for the attempted assassination of her son. They head for Eyrie, a distant land of Caetlyn’s birth and where her sister rules.

When they get there, Caetlyn’s sister, Lyssa, is eager to put Tyrion to death because she knows the Lannisters murdered her husband. However, Tyrion demands the right of trial by combat. One of Caetlyn’s own hired men agrees to be Tyrion’s champion. He defeats Lyssa’s man and by law, Tyrion has earned his freedom – the gods having judged him innocent by having survived the trial.

Tyrion’s father, Tywinn Lannister has no love for his undersized son, but cannot allow the affront of the abduction to go unpunished. He declares war and moves his army north toward Eyrie.

Meanwhile, King Robert meets with an unfortunate hunting accident. When it comes time for the heir to assume the crown, Ned makes it known that Joffrey is not the rightful heir. He is arrested and his men are slain. The twelve year old Joffrey assumes the throne as King of the Seven Kingdoms. As his betrothed, Sansa stands to be queen when she and Joffrey are of age to be wed. Arys learns of the plot against her father and flees to his tower to find that he’s been imprisoned. She is now a fugitive, hiding out in depths of the castle.

Ned agrees to plead guilty to treason to spare his daughters lives. Joffrey promises Sansa that he will be merciful. However, when the time comes to pronounce sentence, Joffrey orders Ned beheaded. Sansa is forced to watch as her father is executed and she is betrayed and trapped in the grips of the Lannisters.

Robb, now the lord of his father’s lands in the north, assembles and army and heads south where he meets the Lannister’s army and defeats them. Robb and his allies proclaim him King of the North

While all of this transpires in the south, Jon is on the Wall at the northern reaches of the kingdom. He learns of his father’s death and must decide if he will desert his vowels of allegiance to the forces who guard the wall and help avenge his father’s death. . He leaves but his friends catch up with him and convince him to return. He will soon be a part of a detachment of troops who will venture north from the wall in search of Jon’s uncle who disappeared with his men while hunting the mysterious Others who dwell in the forest beyond.

Renly Baratheon – the king’s youngest brother – decides to pursue the throne since his older brother won’t. He wins the loyalty of the house of Tyrill through an arranged marriage and prepares to march on King’s Landing to seize the throne.

Meanwhile, Daenyrus is very pregnant in the east and about to give birth. Before she does, an attempt is made on her life. To avenge the attempt, her husband, Kahl Drogo attacks Westeros and is wounded. He dies and his men desert to join other armies. Daenyrus is left with few men and women in her army, but still bears the child with the dragon blood whom she deems the rightful King of the Seven Kingdoms.

A Game of Thrones ends with the kingdom involved in a massive civil war with several families vying for the throne held by the demented child king, Joffrey who is a puppet for his evil mother and the Lannister family.

Martin spins a complex tale of intrigue, warfare, betrayal, and mysticism. It is written from many points of view and each of the characters – especially the devious Tyrion – are developed wonderfully. One must read carefully to track the shifting loyalties and pay close attention to the maps to understand where each army is located and what their next goal is.

This is not traditional fantasy as fans of Tolkien know it. There is little, if any magic. The dragons are all gone, having been slain by the Baratheons. What emerges is a medieval tale of intrigue rather than high fantasy.

The book was first published in 1996 and did well. Sequels have been published every three years since and they have also sold well. However, when HBO decided to make a television series based on the books, sales skyrocketed and all of the books made the best seller list and the series has emerged as the most popular since Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series.

In future books, we know that some of our favorite characters are going to die. Martin is notorious for this. I have not progressed beyond the first book, but those who have read the series tell me it is frustrating to see their favorite characters die, but it makes for interesting reading because Martin’s story is so unpredictable and unorthodox.

Complex characters, complex backstories and complex plots make A Game of Thrones one of the finest “fantasy” books I’ve ever read. I look forward to taking in the entire series.