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A Song of Ice and Fire BOOK Discussion |OT2| Unmarked SPOILERS for Published Material

Has anyone around here been avoiding stuff about season six? I've been trying to stay away but I'm still picking up bits and pieces here and there that I wish I hadn't learned.
 

Brakke

Banned
Third is that we have yet more dreams and prophesies. There were already enough of these in the series without adding more speculation and foreshadowing.

Fourth. Euron is comic book villain at this point. His loyal crew of mutes, his magic armour, his over the top cruelty. He is a cartoon

These are both big concerns for me. "Fourth" especially. Given the way show-Bran is going, I'm worried the books are going to eventually stop having a narrative entirely and just collapse into a pile of visions / flashbacks / prophecies / retcons.
 

Kinokou

Member
Has anyone around here been avoiding stuff about season six? I've been trying to stay away but I'm still picking up bits and pieces here and there that I wish I hadn't learned.

Oh yes, the game of spoilers extension for chrome does a good, if sometimes paranoid (and always to broad) effort to keep Game of Thrones talk away from me on Facebook and Reddit.

Don't trust it outside of that though!
 
I thought the chapter was really good, and a nod to Martin's horror roots. Some of it felt like Lovecraft.

Euron has always been over the top yet it works in part because his success as a character in the world has never matched his personality. That is to say he isn't defeating armies in the open field or openly telling everyone he killed his brother; there are no "20 good men" moments for Euron in the book. To the contrary his reach seems rather limited compared to his boasts, and he exerts caution. In the chapter he has no plans to waste many resources holding the Shield Islands because he realizes he can't hold it; Garlan Tyrell is on his way there with a large army (Euron doesn't know this, presumably). Likewise in AFFC his reaving plans seem pretty scaled back. Outside of some lip service he doesn't really have the delusions of Balon, who seemed to genuinely think he could win a war with the north.

One of the reasons the chapter works is that he manages to make Aeron a believer, to an extent. Yet I as a reader am still unconvinced of Euron's plans. He has some armor he claims is from Valaryia and still has a large fleet...but I'm not convinced he can defeat the Redwyne fleet without some form of trickery. And soon we'll see whether all the talk of sorcery and religion is bullshit. Does he really control the winds? If so he should destroy that fleet with ease right.

I think it would make more sense for him to avoid the fleet and hit elsewhere. Oldtime perhaps?
 

KahooTs

Member
As if Euron isn't about to win this shit with magic. He's not tied the holy blooded priests he's collected to the prows just for show.
 

tirminyl

Member
Has anyone around here been avoiding stuff about season six? I've been trying to stay away but I'm still picking up bits and pieces here and there that I wish I hadn't learned.

Been avoiding show stuff since S5, mostly successfully. Not being on Facebook helps.

Trying my best to avoid it but damn is it difficult. Constant news headlines, pictures, work discussions. I can't avoid it! The struggle is real.

I'm only avoiding S6 and on. I've watched S5 and it didn't affect me on the books, but that's me.
 

Severance

Member
I really love Euron so far.

Winds chapter spoilers:
A lot of characters in ASOIAF are at war with themselves over duty, honor, vows, religion, kinship.. and Euron openly defiles all notions of them. He is the antithesis to all other characters in the books. Other villainous characters such as Joffrey, Tywin and Ramsey all wanted power and recognition within Westeros, but Euron seeks to tear down Westeros and it's beliefs to create his own world in which he creates his own rules. He's collecting religious figures from across the world and putting them on display, killing his own brothers to achieve power, using people and tossing them aside... he is a total sadist. He seems to want to become a god himself. We are getting to the end game here, and I imagine Euron will be the last "evil" character to rise. Might as well leaving nothing on the table.

He is also the one character who has been to Valyria. We are at least getting to witness some of the magic and craft of Valyria when other characters cowered at the sight of it's shores.
 

Randdalf

Member
Wow, that chapter is really good, probably the best of the ones released so far (followed by
Theon or Mercy
, I think).

TWOW Spoilers
Euron is so menacing and messed up, and he has a suit of Valyrian armor. I can just imagine the next chapter depicting a naval battle from the perspective of Aeron strapped to the front of the boat. Also the ending of the chapter is brutal as well, when they put Falia Flowers next to him, and she has no tongue!

This chapter demonstrates why show Euron sucks so much.
 

q_q

Member
Spoilers for the chapter George read at Balticon

I think I am done with the books if that is the kind of crap George thinks makes a good chapter. For one it reads badly because it is Aeron retelling a story from his own memory. What is the point of strict 3rd person POVs if significant chunks are told in the form of flashbacks and then dreams within the flashback. So the actual construction of the chapter is the first issue.

The second is that Euron just pops up every few paragraphs to cackle about how evil he is. He killed his brothers, raped his brothers. It is basically a whole load of torture porn. He introduces a female character, has Euron impregnate her, wait a few months until she is showing and then has her tongue cut out and straps her to the prow of his ship. It is beyond grimdark.

Third is that we have yet more dreams and prophesies. There were already enough of these in the series without adding more speculation and foreshadowing.

Fourth. Euron is comic book villain at this point. His loyal crew of mutes, his magic armour, his over the top cruelty. He is a cartoon

Youre entitled to your opinion, but i dont see where youre coming from at all. These are the types of things that have been in the books all along.

I also thought the structure was great. This is creative prose, not an academic essay.
 

Jacob

Member
Youre entitled to your opinion, but i dont see where youre coming from at all. These are the types of things that have been in the books all along.

I also thought the structure was great. This is creative prose, not an academic essay.

Your post got me thinking. I haven't read the first four books since I was 15 (this was pre-ADWD) so maybe I'm blanking on something from them, but only the Reek scenes in ADWD really come to mind as comparable to the new Damphair chapter. I mean, there was some really heavy shit with Joffrey, no doubt, but it wasn't this unrelenting. I acknowledge that there's subjectivity involved on my part though. For as disturbing as I found the Reek chapters, I was at least invested in Theon as a character, but I haven't been interested in or engaged with the Iron Islands storyline from AFFC onward.
 

q_q

Member
Your post got me thinking. I haven't read the first four books since I was 15 (this was pre-ADWD) so maybe I'm blanking on something from them, but only the Reek scenes in ADWD really come to mind as comparable to the new Damphair chapter. I mean, there was some really heavy shit with Joffrey, no doubt, but it wasn't this unrelenting. I acknowledge that there's subjectivity involved on my part though. For as disturbing as I found the Reek chapters, I was at least invested in Theon as a character, but I haven't been interested in or engaged with the Iron Islands storyline from AFFC onward.

This type of torture is unique i agree, but i meant more the gratuitousness of it. Characters have been cruel and unrelenting in all the books i feel like. I think grrm has a unique character in euron, he may seem cartoonish but i would argue hes about what i would expect if a real life medieval pirate gained magical powers. This is a fantasy series after all. I guess i just had the complete opposite reaction of that post.

Edit: tagged this just in case.
 

Faddy

Banned
Youre entitled to your opinion, but i dont see where youre coming from at all. These are the types of things that have been in the books all along.

I also thought the structure was great. This is creative prose, not an academic essay.

Dreams within flashbacks have not been part of the series all along.

There are dreams like Bran's dreams which are in the present and there are extended flashbacks like ToJ. I can't think of a single chapter that tells a dream within a flashback.

The cynic is me knows that the chapter is only written in this way so when the ending is revealed there is no doubt about the pregnancy.
 

q_q

Member
Dreams within flashbacks have not been part of the series all along.

There are dreams like Bran's dreams which are in the present and there are extended flashbacks like ToJ. I can't think of a single chapter that tells a dream within a flashback.

The cynic is me knows that the chapter is only written in this way so when the ending is revealed there is no doubt about the pregnancy.

I meant the torture and cruelty. Not sure why youre so hung up on the flashback and dream stuff. It was interesting and not difficult to follow at all. If youre inside someones head, memories and dreams are to be expected. To each his own though.
 

m3k

Member
hey any show watchers here? im avoiding watching season 5 and 6... i dont know if i should be bothered though

tell me your thoughts! i was thinking that george might change his mind about the ending that he gave the show producers in the long run but who knows

and i also thought waiting for the next two books is a long media blackout lol i wanted to read the onion av rpisode reviews but i realised that they could have a third spot for reviews ommiting anything that will spoil future books
 

butalala

Member
I stopped watching the show after the end of s2. The big battle in the show was so lame that I didn't think it was worth it. I never imagined that we'd get to the point where the show "moved past" the books.
 

Massa

Member
I stopped watching the show after the end of s2. The big battle in the show was so lame that I didn't think it was worth it. I never imagined that we'd get to the point where the show "moved past" the books.

You thought episode 209 was lame? :eek:

You should watch 508 if you have access to it.

Edit: anyway, we really shouldn't talk about the show at all in this thread.
 

butalala

Member
You thought episode 209 was lame? :eek:

You should watch 508 if you have access to it.

Edit: anyway, we really shouldn't talk about the show at all in this thread.

Yup, it was a huge let-down compared to what I got out of the books. Instead of epic battle, it felt like a series of shots of a few guys against a brick wall.
 

butzopower

proud of his butz
Someone transcribed the chapter GRRM read the other day, link in spoiler:
Probably my favorite WoW chapter so far. It's basically a ton of payoff from waiting to know all the magic and wizardry going on across the Narrow Sea. Seeing Aeron trying to keep his faith just goes to show crazy the dude is. His confidence that he could jump into the sea, come out, and have enough power to lead an uprising, dude is oblivious.

We've been hearing about Euron the last three books, but this is the first time we really get to see who he is in person. Love that his ship is called Silence.

The whole vision in a flashback works since it's all a confusing blur from drinking shade of the evening. I also prefer we get some semblance of time passing to get from the Iron Islands to the Arbor, and so I feel like the flashbacks at least convey that. The show just has people teleporting across Westeros, which is ridiculous.
 

Aiii

So not worth it
screenshot2016-06-17alck16.png
 

Trasher

Member

From Reddit:

Great night, most of the night was about Mr King, but he did answer a few questions from Stephen about how he started writing and such.Moment of the night:Stephen King told George there was time for 1 more question. George asked him "How the fuck do you write so fast? I have a good six months and crank out 3 chapters, meanwhile you wrote 3 books in that time!"Stephen answered that he writes almost every day and demands 6 pages a day from him self. George was amazed by that.He replied "You always get six pages? You never get constipated? You never get up and go get the mail, and think 'Maybe I don't have any talent and should have been a plumber?'"It was pretty funny.

3 chapters for every six months, GRRM?!
 

Aiii

So not worth it
Dance has 73 chapters... That comes down to over 12 years. I look forward to reading this next book in 2023.
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
Yeah I assume he wasn't completely literal, but... not looking good for Winds :(

This House Targaryen family tree is a pretty impressive piece of fan art:
Nice! I wish they had underlined/highlighted the reigning kings though. Some of them have crowns drawn, but not all. And why does Rhaegar look so old?

This chart reminds me that Rhaelle Targaryen is Robert Baratheon's grandmother. And that Aegon V the Unlikely (Egg) is Robert's great-grandfather (and therefore, maester Aemon is his great-grand-uncle). That's pretty funny.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
It's just a ruse! He's going to announce the date for TWOW next week to coincide with the season finale of the show which is also titled 'The Winds of Winter'!

Right?

rite :(
 

Enosh

Member
He was. Someone asked him about it on his not a blog and he was annoyed at the stupidity of the Internet and said that he was just joking and he writes faster than that.
I don't get it

if says a thing in a interview/debate or whatever it was, how can he be annoyed at people thinking what he said is true? people can't read his fucking mind, did he say that he was joking 2 sentences latter? I guess there is body language/tone of how he said it, but the initial reports came without any videos and iirc none mentioned that he was just obviously joking, well it's possible they knew but just reported it as a straight statement for clicks
 
He was. Someone asked him about it on his not a blog and he was annoyed at the stupidity of the Internet and said that he was just joking and he writes faster than that.

Indeed, just watched the video (which was pretty interesting btw).

In the past Martin has said he has days where he writes a couple pages, realizes it isn't working, and then decides to do something else (perhaps go over something he wrote the day or week before). And he has days where he's highly productive and gets a lot done. He's certainly a slow writer but the bigger issue is his schedule. I remember thinking that him buying a theater was a great idea because it would allow him to do all types of events in Santa Fe and itch that craving he has for fan interaction, panels, etc and would result in him being more productive; he wouldn't have to travel so much. Instead his schedule didn't really change that much.

It's gonna be real interesting to see how he handles the TWOW tour schedule, assuming the book ever comes out of course lol. He (and all authors) deserves a tour obviously, no serious person would say he doesn't. Assuming it comes out in 2017, will he stack his 2018 schedule, similar to what he did after finishing ADWD (book came out in 2011, he was still doing near monthly events a year later). I'd love to believe he's not that delusional but you never know...
 

ZeroRay

Member
At this point I don't think he cares about any deadlines and is just gonna enjoy life as much as he can.

So yeah, expect a shit ton of appearances for 1.5 years after Winds is released.
 
Of course he will tour for TWOW, his publishers will demand it. It may even be contractually required.

Though maybe he won't take a year off afterwards like with ADWD.
 

Moff

Member
if we are very optimistic, the TWOW tour will be around the finale of the show, so yeah, that will be a huge time for him with tons of appearences, there will never again be such a high demand for him, and he absolutely should enjoy this as much as possible
 

Black_Sun

Member
if we are very optimistic, the TWOW tour will be around the finale of the show, so yeah, that will be a huge time for him with tons of appearences, there will never again be such a high demand for him, and he absolutely should enjoy this as much as possible

I'm willing to beg that we're going to bet TWOW by winter or spring of next year.
 
Of course he will tour for TWOW, his publishers will demand it. It may even be contractually required.

Though maybe he won't take a year off afterwards like with ADWD.

No question. As an example if it comes out in spring 2017 I'd expect him to tour most of the year. But at some point in early 2018 he's going to have to get back to work. He's admitted he made a mistake by taking most of 2012 off, but when you consider all the other mistakes he makes/admits to/continues to do...who knows what he'll do.

Missing early winter/spring 2016 was such a fuckup. Having the book and S6 out at the same time would have been very lucrative and perhaps allowed him to write an episode for next season easier. He has acknowledged his editors/publishers really wanted it out as well, which is an understatement.
 

Kinokou

Member
I'm now positive with moderation, I'm convinced we will get to know the release date this year, and I'll say the same in 2017.
 
Call me a dreamer, but if GRRM was at one point sure, that he could finish the book for release on end of 2015, then i believe that he should be able to have the book finished and ready for end of this year.

Hope is fading, the inner realist is getting stronger, but for the time being, i still have hope.

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Please...
 
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