GEORGE RR MARTIN' "A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE":
AGOT - ACOK
December 29, 2009
[Corretto perché mi sono spoilerata per sicurezza e ho scoperto che qualcuno che credevo morto non è morto... ancora!] Un parente stretto Gondoriano che non nomino mi ha scatenato una dipendenza dalle "Cronache del Ghiaccio e del Fuoco". Dato che sta per uscire la miniserie (si spera), volevo sapere di che si trattava. Sono ferma a "A Clash of Kings" solo perché non riesco a trovare "A Storm of Swords", ma ho già comprato "A Feast for Crows" così non mi ritroverò di nuovo senza cibo. Il problema adesso è non metterci sopra le mani. (Scusate, non ho la minima idea dei corrispondenti volumi italiani.) Avvertita delle tendenze sanguinarie di Martin, avevo affrontato la saga come affronto Stephen King: godiamoci lo stile, i personaggi ben delineati, la trama ricca di sorprese e quello spruzzo di filosofia (tutto quello che mi impedisce di metter giù Martin), ma non affezioniamoci a nessuno. Sapevo già della morte di uno dei personaggi principali in "A Game of Thrones" e pensavo di essere corazzata contro le cotte immaginarie. In effetti sono riuscita a non innamorarmi di nessuno, anche se ho i miei preferiti; mi sono cautamente spoilerata su di loro per non aspettarmi inutilmente che vivano a lungo. LOVE: Sandor "Il Mastino" Clegane. Che scoperta. Tutte le fangirl lo adorano e lo vogliono vedere con Sansa. Sono una fangirl. Adoro i cagnacci ringhiosi ma coccolosi. E non è morto affatto. Lo ha deciso il popolo. Brynden "Il Pescenero" Tully. Fratellone: "E' un bel personaggio, ti assomiglia!" Io (leggendo la descrizione): "Oh no, è vecchio." Io (guardando un ritratto): "Posso averne due?" Ser Jorah "Iain Glen" Mormont. 'Nuff said. Vecchia fiamma. La fantasia di Daenerys in cui fa l'amore con lui mi ha fatto venire le farfalle nello stomaco (anche se lei la accantona, sciocchina. Cioè, Iain Glen!!!) Nessun uomo vivo e vegeto e disponibile mi fa un effetto simile in questo momento. Non so niente della sua morte, che sarà di sicuro sanguinosa, dolorosa e imbarazzante. LIKE: Tyrion "The Imp" Lannister. Il miglior personaggio della saga e una gioia da leggere, ma li preferisco più alti. Jaime "The Lion" Lannister. Mi dicono che il personaggio avrà un'evoluzione straordinaria. Questo mi piace. Eddard "Ned's Head" Stark. Bruno, bello, malinconico, morte precoce. E' il mio tipo. Tanti altri (Catelyn, Bran, Renly, Brienne, Dolorous Edd etc) ma mi fermo a 3, tanto ho dimenticato metà dei loro nomi. MEH: Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Arya Stark. Tutti molto carini e interessanti, ma mi distrae la gigantesca insegna al neon lampeggiante sopra la loro testa che dice SONO L'EROE, ADORATEMI. Robb "The Young Wolf" Stark. Anche lui è presentato come un eroe, ma lo vediamo troppo poco nei primi due libri. Temo che quello che potrebbe piacermi di lui nei prossimi libri sarà completamente cancellato nella mia mente dalla sua orribile morte. DON'T LIKE: Melisandre. Spero che si evolva come Jaime, per il momento è un personaggio di cartone. Joffrey (Lannister) Baratheon. Lo odiano tutti. Theon Greyjoy. OK, l'ho capito da pagina 1, è CATTIIIVO. Tridimensionale, ma CATTIIIVO. Spero che sia anche morto. Altrimenti, vedi sopra. In compenso sua sorella è STRAFIGA. | [Corrected because I spoiled myself for safety and discovered that someone who I thought was dead is not dead... yet!] Some close Gondorian relative I won't mention got me hooked on "A Song of Ice and Fire". Since the miniseries is coming out (hopefully), I wanted to know what it was about. I've stopped at "A Clash of Kings" just because I can't find "A Storm of Swords", but I've already bought "A Feast for Crows" so I won't find myself without nourishment again. The problem now is keeping my hands off it. Having been warned about Martin's gory tendencies, I had approached ASOIAF the way I approach Stephen King: enjoy the good writing, well-rounded characters, surprising plot twists and a bit of philosophy (all that hooked me with Martin), but don't get fond of anyone. I knew already about a main character dying in "A Game of Thrones" and I thought I was steeled against imaginary crushes. In fact I've managed not to fall in love with anyone, though I have my favourites; I'm carefully spoiling myself about them, so that I won't expect necessarily a long lifespan for them. LOVE: Sandor "The Hound" Clegane. Duh. All fangirls love him and ship him with Sansa. I'm a fangirl. I love big snarling/cuddly doggies. And he totally is not dead. The people have spoken. Brynden "The Blackfish" Tully. Bro: "He's a great character, he's a bit like you!" Me (on reading description): "Oh noes, he's old." Me (on seeing a portrait): "Can I have two, please?" Ser Jorah "Iain Glen" Mormont. 'Nuff said. Old flame. Daenerys' fantasy about making love to him gave me tummy butterflies (though she waves it away, silly girl. I mean, Iain Glen!!!) No living, breathing, available man can do that right now. No info about his death, which will surely be bloody, painful and embarrassing. LIKE: Tyrion "The Imp" Lannister. Best character in the books and a joy to read, but I like my men taller. Jaime "The Lion" Lannister. I hear he's going to have some stunning character evolution. I like that. Eddard "Ned's Head" Stark. Dark, handsome, brooding, doomed. My kind of man. Lots of others (Catelyn, Bran, Renly, Brienne, Dolorous Edd etc) but let's stop at 3, I've forgotten half their names anyway. MEH: Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Arya Stark. All very nice and interesting, but I'm distracted by the giant flashing neon sign on their heads saying I'M THE HERO, ADORE ME. Robb "The Young Wolf" Stark. He too is set up as a hero, but we see just too little of him in the first two books. I fear that what I might like of him in the next books will be completely obliterated in my mind by his gruesome death. DON'T LIKE: Melisandre. I hope for some Jaime-like development, right now she's a cartoon. Joffrey (Lannister) Baratheon. Everybody hates him. Theon Greyjoy. OK, I got it from Page 1, he's BAAAD. Nuanced, but BAAAD. Hopefully he's also dead. If not, see above. His sister, however, is TEH COOLNESS. |
3/4 ASOS 1
January 08, 2010
Oggi (giovedì), appena pochi giorni dopo aver avuto A Storm of Swords parte I, ho trovato ASOS 2 in libreria. Basta così poco a farmi felice. Mi chiedo se la tipa accanto a me lo ha capito, sentendomi ridere ed esultare udibilmente. Ora ho tutta la serie! (tutta per il momento, è ovvio.) Al momento sono a 3/4 di ASOS 1. Cose che mi hanno colpito, fra le altre: Jorah ha baciato Dany! Yeah! (Sono COSI' convinta che è lui che la tradirà per amore, secondo la profezia. Sigh.) Sansa tiene nel baule il mantello del Mastino. (La fangirl interiore squittisce!) Tyrion è un gentiluomo (vedi notte di nozze), ma non ne dubitavo. Catelyn avrebbe dovuto governare a Grande Inverno dopo la morte di Ned, o anche prima, per fare esperienza. Robb e Edmure stanno facendo un casino. So che un sacco di gente odia Cat, ma non so proprio che altro avrebbe potuto fare. Capisco perfino il suo commento "Dovevi essere tu" a Jon, anche se quella è la scena di Cat più sgradevole in assoluto (per ora). Il Pescenero, invece, è sempre più fico. Tutti che guardano Catelyn come se avessero una lancia di ghiaccio ficcata su per il retrotreno, e lui salta giù dal podio e la abbraccia. Lo amo. Jaime è uno dei personaggi più incredibili che io abbia mai letto. GRRM lo mostra dal di fuori e ce lo fa odiare, poi lascia che sia LUI a raccontare la sua storia e tutto cambia. Poi lo tortura, perché è GRRM. Ho incontrato Il Mance! E sento che presto incontrerò i Martell e Beric. Ma dov'è il Mastino? Restate sintonizzati... | Today (Thursday), just a few days after getting A Storm of Swords part 1, I found ASOS 2 at the bookshop. It takes so little to make me happy. I wonder whether the lady next to me understood that, hearing me laugh and cheer aloud. Now I own the whole series! (whole for now, of course) I'm currently about 3/4 into ASOS 1. Stuff that moved me, among other things: Jorah kissed Dany! Yeah! (I'm SO convinced he'll be the one who'll betray her for love, according to the prophecy. Sigh.) Sansa keeps the Hound's cloak in her coffer. (Inner fangirl squee!) Tyrion is a gentleman (wedding night), but I never doubted it. Catelyn should have ruled Winterfell after Ned's death, or even before, to get some experience. Robb and Edmure are messing up everything. I know lots of people hate Cat, but I really can't see what else she could have done. I can understand even the "It should have been you" line to Jon, even though that was the most unpleasant Cat scene ever (for now). The Blackfish, on the other hand, is cooler and cooler. Everybody looking at Catelyn like they had an ice spear up their aft, and he jumps down from the dais and hugs her. I love him. Jaime is one of the most incredible characters I've ever read. GRRM shows him from the outside and makes us hate him, then lets HIM tell his own story and everything changes. Then tortures him, because he's GRRM. I've met The Mance! And I feel I'll soon meet the Martells and Beric. But where is the Hound? Stay tuned... |
1/3 ASOS 2
January 11, 2010
Il meglio fra la fine di A Storm of Swords 1 e l'inizio di ASOS 2: - Duello Mastino-Beric. Avevo APPENA scritto sotto che ero curiosa su Beric Dondarrion e Sandor Clegane, e bang, eccoli lì. Mi sono addormentata a metà. Sul serio. Mi sono svegliata il giorno dopo con la luce spenta, ma il libro era sul pavimento, e quando ho trovato l'ultimo passo che ricordavo di aver letto, era Beric che dava fuoco alla sua spada! Ecco quanto sono stanca ultimamente, non so perché. OK, ora voglio sapere come fa Martin a farci affezionare a un ALTRO personaggio orribilmente sfigurato, al punto che, come Sandor, la maggior parte dei fan lo disegna come un uomo affascinante. Cioè, è il Lord Zombie che non può morire! Se non per fuoco, forse, da ciò che dice più tardi a Thoros. Ho la sensazione che questo sia un tema ricorrente (come gli Altri, Lady Spoiler etc.) e mi piacerebbe che tutto trovasse un suo posto alla fine della saga, come i Forgiati, i draghi e i profeti di Robin Hobb si sono rivelati tutti collegati. - Mastino-Arya. Il loro incontro mi ha sorpreso alla grande. Fantastica interazione, brevemente interrotta da quella scena seccante dove muoiono tutti (vedi sotto). Sandor ha il cuore al posto giusto ma le maniere di un camallo. Non voglio che scelga una parte, voglio che continui ad apparire e incasinare il cervello ai protagonisti. Arya lo voleva morto; ora - forse - non più. Sarebbe un colpo terribile se alla fine lo uccidesse lo stesso, perché tutto sommato è un bravo ragazzo... cane... cosa. - Il funerale di Hoster Tully. Vorrei davvero che Edmure mi piacesse, ma ho perfino dimenticato che le Nozze Rosse erano le sue nozze. Dov'è ora Edmure? Chi se ne frega? Potete darmi torto se mi piace di più lo zio Brynden? Riesce a essere affascinante anche se non è (ancora?) orribilmente sfigurato, solo un po' vecchio. (Ha cinque anni meno di Hoster, quindi sono 59 se questa cronologia è canonica.) Il modo in cui tiene la mano di Cat durante il funerale di suo padre, la freccia nella nebbia... il Pescenero è il migliore, e basta. Mi sconvolge pensare come reagirà alla notizia delle... - ... Nozze Rosse. Da un punto di vista letterario mi dispiace di essermi spoilerata, perché non ho potuto valutare onestamente il fattore shock, ma d'altra parte è meglio così; non ho bisogno di motivi IMMAGINARI di ansia, grazie. Per questo ho controllato Bryn e, per il momento, Jorah (vedi sotto). A parte ciò, mi ha dato i brividi. Però mi dispiace di più per Cat e Grey Wind e Dacey Mormont che per Robb. Forse perché non abbiamo mai conosciuto il suo punto di vista (neanche quello di Grey Wind e di Dacey, ma ho un debole per i lupi e le guerriere). E' giusto dire che GRRM manovra le nostre preferenze con i punti di vista? - Oberyn Martell. Eccolo, finalmente. Non sono ancora sicura su di lui, penso di aver immaginato qualcosa di diverso (si noti il secondo ritratto di questa fantastica galleria di Winterfell), ma capisco che non potevo aspettarmi una descrizione tipo "Il signore di Dorne era preciso identico a Hugh Jackman". Spero che avrò il tempo di conoscerlo meglio prima che Gregor Clegane lo spiaccichi. - Edric Dayne. Ho una cotterella per suo zio, Ser Arthur Dayne, la Spada del Mattino (solo per il nome, e per un disegno di Amok che ora non trovo), quindi spero che prima o poi riuscirò a distinguerlo da Edric Storm. E' buffo-triste, soprattutto per Arya, che anche il suo soprannome sia Ned. (EDIT: Ho trovato Arthur Dayne!) - Non potrò mai dire abbastanza su Jaime che fa il virtuoso con Pia, e su Jaime in generale. E su Brienne. - Come ha fatto Jon a capire così in fretta che Ygritte non era vergine, pur avendo ammesso di non aver avuto altre esperienze? (E' tutto quello che ricordo dell'affare J/Y...) - La morte del Vecchio Orso Mormont mi ha commosso, specialmente perché vuole che suo figlio Jorah prenda il nero. Spero che Jorah sopravviva abbastanza a lungo per farlo. - Daenerys e Jorah Mormont. Mi chiedevo se fossi l'unica a ricordare che lui era una spia, da 4 libri fa. Infine Daenerys lo ha cacciato. (Ho saltato qualche capitolo per accertarmi.) E' incredibilmente misericordiosa, ma se si mette con Daario mi verrà da vomitare. Dall'altra parte, Barristan Selmy è stato una completa sorpresa. Lo so, sono un'idiota - vecchio dai capelli bianchi, abilissimo con un bastone, chiamato "Arstan", con lo stemma dei Targaryen nel ritratto eseguito da Amok - ma non me lo aspettavo. - Bran ha quasi raggiunto Jon! Siamo così abituati ad avere tutti i personaggi in posti separati, con punti di vista separati, che quando qualcuno si incontra è emozionante anticipare la loro interazione. Mi piace anche che la Cosa nella Notte era Sam Tarly. Ma chi è Manifredde? Non credo che sia Benjen Stark, credo che sia un tipo diverso di Estraneo. - Theon Greyjoy non è morto: lo stanno scorticando un pezzo alla volta. Conoscendo Martin, c'era da aspettarselo. | Best stuff between the end of A Storm of Swords 1 and the beginning of ASOS 2: - Hound-Beric duel. I had JUST written below that I was curious to know about Beric Dondarrion and Sandor Clegane, and bang, there they were. I fell asleep halfway. Really. I woke up next day with the light out, but the book on the floor, and when I found the last passage I remembered reading, it was Beric lighting up his sword! That's the measure of how tired I am lately, I don't know why. OK, now I want to understand how Martin can make us care about ANOTHER horribly disfigured man to the point that, like Sandor, most fans draw him as drop-dead gorgeous. I mean, he's the Zombie Lord who can't die! If not by fire, maybe, from what he says to Thoros later. I have a feeling this is a recurring trend (see the Others, Lady Spoiler etc.) and I would like to see it all falling into place at the end of the saga, like Robin Hobb's Forged, dragons and prophets turned out to be all connected. - Hound-Arya. Their meeting took me completely by surprise. Wonderful interaction, briefly interrupted by that bothersome scene where everybody dies (see below). Sandor has a heart in the right place but rotten bedside manners. I don't want him to choose a side, I want him to keep popping up and messing up the main characters' minds. Arya wanted him dead; now - maybe - she doesn't. It would be an awful shock if she ended up killing him all the same, because after all he's a good guy... dog... thing. - Hoster Tully's Funeral. I really want to like Edmure, but I even forgot the Red Wedding was his wedding. Where's Edmure now? Who cares? Who can blame me if I love his uncle Brynden better? He manages to be gorgeous even though he is not (yet?) horribly disfigured, just a bit old. (He is five years younger than Hoster, so that makes it 59 if this chronology is canon.) The way he holds Cat's hand during her father's funeral, the arrow in the fog... the Blackfish is just the best. I'm horrified to think how he will react to the news of... - ... The Red Wedding. From a literary point of view I'm sorry I was spoiled, because I could not judge the shock value fairly, but on the other hand it's better this way; I don't need IMAGINARY causes of anxiety, thank you. That's why I checked that Bryn and, for the moment, Jorah (see below) were safe. This said, it still gave me the chills. I'm more sorry about Cat and Grey Wind and Dacey Mormont than about Robb, though. Maybe because he never had a POV (Grey Wind and Dacey did not have one either, but I have a soft spot for wolves and lady warriors). Is it fair to say that GRRM steers us in our preferences with his POVs? - Oberyn Martell. So there he is. I'm not sure about him yet, I think I was visualizing something else (notice the second portrait of this fantastic Winterfell gallery), but I realize I couldn't expect a description like "The Dornish leader looked exactly like Hugh Jackman". I hope I'll have time to know him a bit better before Gregor Clegane squashes him. - Edric Dayne. I have a little crush on his uncle, Ser Arthur Dayne, The Sword of the Morning (just for the name, and for an Amok drawing I now can't find), so I hope that sooner or later I'll finally be able to distinguish him from Edric Storm. It's funny-sad, especially for Arya, that his nickname too should be Ned. (EDIT: I've found Arthur Dayne!) - I can't say enough about Jaime being all virtuous with Pia, and about Jaime in general. And Brienne. - How did Jon realize so quickly that Ygritte was no virgin, despite admitting he had no previous experience? (That's all I remember of the whole J/Y affair...) - The death of Old Bear Mormont moved me, especially because he wants his son Jorah to take the black. I hope he lives to do just that. - Daenerys and Jorah Mormont. I wondered if I was the only one who remembered he was a spy from 4 books back. Finally Daenerys sent him away. (I skipped a few chapters to make sure he wasn't reappearing.) She is exceptionally merciful, but if she hooks up with Daario, I'll puke. On the other hand, Barristan Selmy was a complete surprise. I know, I'm an idiot - old white-haired man, great fighter with a staff, called "Arstan", Targaryen insignia on his Amok portrait - but I hadn't seen it coming. - Bran has almost caught up with Jon! We're so used to all the characters in their separate places with their separate POVs, that when some of them meet up, waiting for the interaction is exciting. I also loved the Thing in the Night = Sam Tarly. But who is Coldhands? I don't believe it's Benjen Stark, I think it's more like another sort of Other. - Theon Greyjoy is not dead: he is being flayed one piece at a time. Knowing Martin, it figures. |
2/3 ASOS 2
January 19, 2010
- Matrimonio di Joffrey. OK, questo mi ha fatto mettere in dubbio l'abilità di GRRM nel gestire il suo materiale. UN ALTRO matrimonio insanguinato? Così presto dopo le Nozze Rosse? Tyrion accusato di omicidio... DI NUOVO? Inoltre questi ultimi capitoli sembrano più affrettati, con scene più brevi e numerosi salti tipo "Una settimana dopo..." Ma non sto leggendo nelle migliori condizioni (spesso di notte, quando non riesco a dormire). Dovrò giudicare alla fine del libro se forse non ha avuto ragione l'editore italiano a dividere due libri in tre parti - orrore! Sto anche notando che certi temi sembrano perdersi per strada, ma d'altra parte anche JK Rowling "sembrava" fare lo stesso e alla fine li ha recuperati QUASI tutti. In ogni modo mi sembra che il ritmo sia più irregolare, ma questo non mi impedisce di apprezzare i libri. GRRM è un maestro del raccontare le storie, come Stephen King. Magari non saranno "maestri romanzieri", ma quando parlano, mi siedo ad ascoltare. Ormai so che GRRM torturerà sfigurerà orribilmente qualcuno nelle prossime pagine, magari "naked as their name-day" ("nudo come mamma lo ha fatto"? comincio a odiare questo modo di dire), e che King tirerà fuori sempre la stessa manciata di trame (donna forte e solitaria in pericolo, gruppo di amici d'infanzia contro archetipo del male, personaggio disturbato e incompreso che precipita verso la catastrofe), ma non appena sento il suono delle loro specialissime voci, resto affascinata. Mi chiedo se la causa è più il modo in cui il mio cervello reagisce alle loro vibrazioni, o l'antichissimo fascino per le belle storie un po' senza capo né coda, dai cantastorie siciliani con i loro cartelli illustrati, fino a Dickens. - Jaime. In questo caso, l'accostamento di capitoli è un colpo di genio. Eccomi qui che mi frego le mani per la dipartita di un ragazzino crudele, senza alcun tratto positivo neppure come personaggio, e all'improvviso GRRM ci ricorda che per qualcuno era un FIGLIO, il figlio di Jaime. Anche se più tardi Jaime tenta di sminuire il loro legame, si sente il suo trauma come un pugno nello stomaco. Inoltre, Jaime il Lord Comandante mi ha fatto capire perché mi piace tanto come personaggio: nell'ultimo paio di libri, è diventato adulto. Il suo è stato un racconto di crescita, non importa quanti anni abbia davvero, e credo che sia diventato una persona ben equilibrata, diversamente da Arya o Sansa che stanno ancora sviluppandosi. Come Lord Comandante, domina la Guardia del Re anche senza la mano destra; l'unica volta che fa il macho, se ne accorge, e più tardi permette a Loras di aprirgli il cuore e lo indirizza verso la decisione giusta. Vuole ancora farsi sua sorella, perfino davanti al cadavere del loro figlio, ma io lo vedo come qualcosa che è parte di lui come adulto perché lo è sempre stato. Lui è NATO con Cersei. Non lo vedo in un'altra relazione, per quanto questa sia orribile e perversa. Magari finirà per ucciderla come ha ucciso re Aerys, ma non smetterà mai di amarla. - Sansa. Continua a pensare al Mastino - brava ragazza! (le porge un biscotto per cani) - La battaglia sulla Barriera. Decisamente impressionante, di proporzioni tolkieniane, perfino visivamente. Un pugno di compagni riesce a superare impossibli difficoltà in un ambiente maestoso. La Barriera stessa è un'idea brillante, e GRRM ci fa sentire come se fossimo davvero là in cima, guardando giù a rischio della vita. Jon Snow come misto di Frodo e Fitz diventa quasi interessante. (Il ragazzino mi piace, è solo che Pyp con i suoi guerrieri di paglia a cui ha dato il nome di altri fratelli sa sorprendermi di più.) - Oberyn Martell. Oddio, l'effetto Sirius. Credo che mi piacerà sempre di più ora che è morto, anche se NON ho avuto il tempo di conoscerlo meglio come speravo. Sirius ha 3 libri per fare colpo, ma la Vipera Dalla Faccia Di Ugo riesce a fare colpo abbastanza nella scena della sua morte. Ora capisco perché la gente ne è stata tanto catturata. Dato il numero di volte che è stata raffigurata, pensavo di sapere tutto, ma non mi aspettavo l'ossessione di Oberyn nell'urlare le sue accuse senza dire nient'altro - ripensandoci, era prevedibile che Gregor Clegane DOVESSE rispondere in qualche modo - e il loro scontro è coreografato come una danza. Penso che GRRM possa anche aver avuto in mente una corrida: il piccolo umano colorato ed elegante contro l'enorme bestia (molto di più in questo caso che nelle vere corride: il toro sembra così piccolo e inerme mentre sta morendo). Riesce a piazzare la "telecamera" nel mezzo dell'azione e la fa roteare attorno ai combattenti. Lo so che dovrebbe essere il punto di vista di Tyrion, ma quando Oberyn alza lo sguardo alla Montagna contro il sole e socchiude gli occhi, mi sono ritrovata lì con loro. L'orribile morte di Oberyn è descritta senza compiacimento, e la "telecamera" taglia su Tyrion all'ultimo momento, come la morte di Ned. Un motivo per cui mi piace tanto lo stile di GRRM è che sembra un film - anche se in casi come questo sospetto che abbia amorosamente scritto le scene madri separatamente dal resto, e poi ha accozzato tutto insieme in qualche modo, affrettando le scene interlocutorie per andare dritto al punto. Voglio dire, non abbiamo neanche visto la reazione di Tyrion al tradimento di Shae, a parte il suo ben meritato sollievo per essersi sbarazzato di lei. | - Joffrey's Wedding. OK, this made me doubt GRRM's ability to handle his material. ANOTHER murderous wedding? So soon after the Red Wedding? Tyrion accused of murder... AGAIN? Also the chapters feel more hurried lately, with shorter scenes and lots of jumps like "A week later..." However I'm not reading in the best conditions (often at night, when I cannot sleep). I'll have to judge at the end of the book whether maybe the Italian publisher's decision to split 2 books into 3 might not actually make sense - horror! I'm also noticing themes that get lost along the way, but then again JK Rowling "seemed" to lose themes along the way too, and at the end she picked ALMOST all of them up. Anyway, I feel a stuttering in the rhythm, but this does not prevent me from enjoying the books. GRRM is a master storyteller, like Stephen King. They may not be "master novelists", but when they speak, I sit and listen. By now I know that GRRM will torture or horribly disfigure someone in the next pages, possibly "naked as their name-day" (I'm getting to hate that turn of phrase), and that King will bring up that same handful of plots once again (feisty lonely female in danger, group of childhood friends against archetipal evil, disturbed and misunderstood character hurtling towards doom), but as soon as I hear the sound of their peculiar voices, I'm enthralled. I wonder if this has more to do with the way my brain reacts to their vibes, or with the age-old fascination for slightly rambling yarns, from the Sicilian "singers of stories" with their illustrated posters, to Dickens. - Jaime. In this case, the juxtaposition of chapters was a master-stroke. Here I am, gloating about the demise of a cruel kid with no redeeming features even as a character, and suddenly we're reminded he was someone's SON, Jaime's son. Even thoug Jaime later tries to downplay it, you feel his shock in the guts. Also, Jaime the Lord Commander made me realize his appeal for me as a character: in the last couple of books, he's turned into an adult. His has been a tale of growing up, no matter his actual age, and I think he has ended up as a well-adjusted person, as opposed to Arya or Sansa who are still developing. As Lord Commander, he dominates the Kingsguard without the need of a right hand; in the one moment he uses a macho attitude, he realizes it, and later lets Loras open up to him and steers him towards the right decision. He still wants to do his sister, even in the presence of their son's corpse, but I see it as something that's part of him as an adult because it always was. He was BORN with Cersei. I don't see him being in another relationship, as twisted and ugly this one is. He may end up killing her as he killed King Aerys, but he'll never stop loving her. - Sansa. She keeps thinking about the Hound - good girl! (hands her a dog biscuit) - The Battle of the Wall. Quite impressive, with Tolkienesque proportions, even visually. A handful of comrades manage to overcome impossible odds in a gigantic setting. The Wall itself is a brilliant idea, and GRRM makes you feel like you're on top of it, looking down to the risk of your life. Jon Snow as a mix of Frodo and Fitz gets almost interesting. (I do like the kid, it's just that Pyp with his straw warriors named after fellow Brothers surprises me more.) - Oberyn Martell. OMG, he pulled a Sirius. I think I'll grow to like him more and more now that he's dead, even though I DIDN'T have the time to know him better, as I hoped. Sirius has 3 books to be impressive, but The Hugh-Faced Viper manages to be impressive enough on his death scene. I can understand why people were so captured by it. Given the amount of times it's been pictured, I thought I knew everything, but I did not expect Oberyn's doggedness in yelling his accusations and nothing else - thinking back, it was predictable that Gregor Clegane would give him SOME answer - and their fight is choreographed like a dance. I think GRRM might also have had a bullfight in mind, the small, colourful, elegant human against the huge beast (much more so in this case than in real bullfights: the bull looks so small and helpless when he's dying). He manages to bring the "camera" in and swirl it around the fighters. I know it's supposed to be Tyrion's PoV, but when Oberyn looks up at the Mountain against the sun and squints, I was in there with them. Oberyn's grisly death is depicted without lingering, the "camera" cutting to Tyrion at the last moment, like Ned's death. One reason why I like so much GRRM's style is that it feels like a movie - even though, in cases like this, I suspect he's lovingly written the big scenes apart from the rest, and then stitched it all together somehow, running through the expository parts to cut to the chase. I mean, we didn't even truly see Tyrion's reaction to Shae's betrayal, apart from his well-deserved relief at being rid of her. |
END OF ASOS II
January 30, 2010
OK, where was I? Oh, right. Spend a week at your folks' without ASOS, and you forget everything.
- Arya-Hound. Remember that I predicted-feared that she would kill him? She did something worse... or something better. That's the stuff I like, pages that make me ponder about ethics and morality even though it's just a fantasy novel. Wounded (though not mortally - just losing a lot of blood), the Hound ask Arya, by now a sort of daughter-apprentice, for a mercy killing. Instead she rides away. Is she cruel? Is she giving him a chance? Chilling and moving at once. (Needless to say, I hope that Sandor recovers, rejects his evil ways and marries me... I mean, Sansa.)
- Tyrion-Tywin. Hey, Lord Tywin died like Elvis, if the rumours are true! Well, Elvis wasn't shot with a crossbow in his privy. (How cool would that be? His legend would be even greater. In Graceland they'd sell miniature replicas of the crossbow that killed Elvis!)* To think that Tyrion is one of GRRM's favourites! I was so sure he had come to a closure with Shae, but no, he has to come across her naked in his father's bedroom. I'm not sure I buy the Shae-Tywin affair. He's not the kind. (Granted, he's not Stannis. Maybe GRRM wanted to drag the Great Tywin in the mud.) But it smells like a ruse to get Tyrion... who FINALLY is accused of a murder he DID commit. Yet the twitch of his finger, disconnected from his conscious brain, felt so realistic. "If you say that word again I'll kill you." "Which one, 'whore'?" THUNKKK. I think I'd have reacted the same way.
- Lord Commander Jon. That plotline was hysterical. Once again, I love the Black Brothers as a whole, with Jon as the straight man to his fellow jesters on the literal brink of death. Sam double-crossing the candidates, Dolorous Edd complaining he keeps getting votes, Sam revealing he had nothing to do with the raven who flew out of the kettle... at one point I was laughing aloud. Jon by himself and his dilemma with King Stannis left me colder. I'm marginally more interested about whether Mance Rayder was / will be burned alive. I'd be sorry if he was, but I'd be even sorrier if he's not mentioned again in the saga, and GRRM, years from now, casually says in an interview: "Mance? Who? Oh yeah, they burned him. Back to more important things: Jaime Lannister is gay." (Yes, I'm looking at you, JK Rowling.)
- Petyr-Sansa-Lysa. That scene by the Moon Door will remain in my memory (and in Sansa's - who, incidentally, keeps thinking about the Hound). Sansa hangs suspended for an eternity in the swirling snow over nothingness, I swear that chapter felt like 200 pages long, then Petyr comes in like a saviour... and throws Lysa out into the void. Good riddance. Though I sort of liked Petyr and Lysa together. The fox and the nut. The jury is still out about Petyr: he's creepily attracted to Sansa, but so far he has kept her safe. Is he to be pitied because he sees young Catelyn in her? Or did he kiss her so that Lysa would have a fit of jealousy, and he'd be justified in killing her? Will we ever have a Petyr POV? I love his mystery, but as I said above I don't want the saga to end (sometime in 2562) with unanswered questions, and unwanted answers.
- Undead Cat. Oh my. That epilogue was sooo long (who cares about Whatshisname Frey, who is clearly a red shirt?) but almost justified by the discovery at the end. What happened? If Thoros revived her after she's been decomposing for days, he's an idiot. Obviously she had brain damage, not like Beric who's been always revived at once after he's been killed, and feels sooooo much better. (I still think that Thoros will come to his senses and kill Beric with fire. For Beric, it would be merciful.) GRRM must love Cat even more than he loves Tyrion: she loses everyone she has loved, dies mad and IS REVIVED to keep grieving, possibly forever. Don't anybody criticize ME ever again for what I do to MY characters. I still hope that all this will be linked to the Others somehow.
OK, GRRM has killed more main characters that I can count right now: who's left for "A Feast for Crows?"...
(* When I re-read the post I realized I had written "crossword". It's true that it's a typical privy pastime, but it's not usually lethal.)
- Arya-Hound. Remember that I predicted-feared that she would kill him? She did something worse... or something better. That's the stuff I like, pages that make me ponder about ethics and morality even though it's just a fantasy novel. Wounded (though not mortally - just losing a lot of blood), the Hound ask Arya, by now a sort of daughter-apprentice, for a mercy killing. Instead she rides away. Is she cruel? Is she giving him a chance? Chilling and moving at once. (Needless to say, I hope that Sandor recovers, rejects his evil ways and marries me... I mean, Sansa.)
- Tyrion-Tywin. Hey, Lord Tywin died like Elvis, if the rumours are true! Well, Elvis wasn't shot with a crossbow in his privy. (How cool would that be? His legend would be even greater. In Graceland they'd sell miniature replicas of the crossbow that killed Elvis!)* To think that Tyrion is one of GRRM's favourites! I was so sure he had come to a closure with Shae, but no, he has to come across her naked in his father's bedroom. I'm not sure I buy the Shae-Tywin affair. He's not the kind. (Granted, he's not Stannis. Maybe GRRM wanted to drag the Great Tywin in the mud.) But it smells like a ruse to get Tyrion... who FINALLY is accused of a murder he DID commit. Yet the twitch of his finger, disconnected from his conscious brain, felt so realistic. "If you say that word again I'll kill you." "Which one, 'whore'?" THUNKKK. I think I'd have reacted the same way.
- Lord Commander Jon. That plotline was hysterical. Once again, I love the Black Brothers as a whole, with Jon as the straight man to his fellow jesters on the literal brink of death. Sam double-crossing the candidates, Dolorous Edd complaining he keeps getting votes, Sam revealing he had nothing to do with the raven who flew out of the kettle... at one point I was laughing aloud. Jon by himself and his dilemma with King Stannis left me colder. I'm marginally more interested about whether Mance Rayder was / will be burned alive. I'd be sorry if he was, but I'd be even sorrier if he's not mentioned again in the saga, and GRRM, years from now, casually says in an interview: "Mance? Who? Oh yeah, they burned him. Back to more important things: Jaime Lannister is gay." (Yes, I'm looking at you, JK Rowling.)
- Petyr-Sansa-Lysa. That scene by the Moon Door will remain in my memory (and in Sansa's - who, incidentally, keeps thinking about the Hound). Sansa hangs suspended for an eternity in the swirling snow over nothingness, I swear that chapter felt like 200 pages long, then Petyr comes in like a saviour... and throws Lysa out into the void. Good riddance. Though I sort of liked Petyr and Lysa together. The fox and the nut. The jury is still out about Petyr: he's creepily attracted to Sansa, but so far he has kept her safe. Is he to be pitied because he sees young Catelyn in her? Or did he kiss her so that Lysa would have a fit of jealousy, and he'd be justified in killing her? Will we ever have a Petyr POV? I love his mystery, but as I said above I don't want the saga to end (sometime in 2562) with unanswered questions, and unwanted answers.
- Undead Cat. Oh my. That epilogue was sooo long (who cares about Whatshisname Frey, who is clearly a red shirt?) but almost justified by the discovery at the end. What happened? If Thoros revived her after she's been decomposing for days, he's an idiot. Obviously she had brain damage, not like Beric who's been always revived at once after he's been killed, and feels sooooo much better. (I still think that Thoros will come to his senses and kill Beric with fire. For Beric, it would be merciful.) GRRM must love Cat even more than he loves Tyrion: she loses everyone she has loved, dies mad and IS REVIVED to keep grieving, possibly forever. Don't anybody criticize ME ever again for what I do to MY characters. I still hope that all this will be linked to the Others somehow.
OK, GRRM has killed more main characters that I can count right now: who's left for "A Feast for Crows?"...
(* When I re-read the post I realized I had written "crossword". It's true that it's a typical privy pastime, but it's not usually lethal.)
1/3 A FEAST FOR CROWS
February 01, 2010
My first thought: "Greyjoys. Why did it have to be Greyjoys?"
Though I'm as hooked as ever, I'm finding this book inferior to the others, for several reasons.
- Sloppy writing. Sometimes I have to re-read a phrase and still don't understand what it means. And it's not like I don't know English. (I don't speak it, though. My accent kills sparrows in the sky ten miles away.)
- Shameless self-promotion. Who the hell is Egg in Maester Aemon near-delirious talk? I know who he is, because I've read the fine graphic novel "The Hedge Knight" from the GRRM series "Dunk and Egg", set in Westeros. I found that reference jarring, because it feels like "Buy it if you want to understand" (which is not easy, because the D&E novelettes are dispersed across various antologies).
- Weird POV names for chapter titles, never used in the other 4 books. "The Kraken's Daughter"? Was "Asha" too easy? [EDITED: And what's up with Aeron being "The Prophet and "The Drowned Man" in two different chapters?]
- On the other hand, is GRRM getting lazy with names? Having different people with the same name is realistic, it happens in our world too, and they can be told apart by nicknames. I also understand the AE-something tradition of the Trgaryens. But Euron and Aeron and Aemon and Arys all within the space of a few pages, not to mention the lingering shadow of Aerys? Which one again is the priest that drowns people? (All right, I do tell them apart, but it annoys me.)
- Too many previously unknown POVs. Do we really need THREE Greyjoys to know what's happening in the Iron Islands? OK, I like Aeron and Asha, and Victarion is not uninteresting. It's not their fault they are Greyjoys. And we have had tons of Stark POVs. But do we need two total strangers to know what's happening in Dorne? Now POVs start killing each other? (I'm sure it's already happened but I can't remember an example now.) Was it all for the sake of that porn scene between Arys Oakheart (can't even remember his face) and Arianne Martell? I prefer Arianne's POV and I'd like to read Doran Martell's. When I see more familiar names I feel relieved.
- Not much is happening. I'm liking Cersei's point of view, but the council scene felt like the TV airing of our parliament debates: please kill me, even painfully, it can't be worse. And we were left with some pretty big cliffhangers from "A Storm of Swords" - undead Cat, the Hound, Tyrion, Mance Rayder - which still haven't been addressed. "A Feast for Crows" sometimes feels like a totally different book, not ASOS' sequel.
- The bad boys. There's an abyss between former baddies like Jaime and the Hound, and one-dimensional dangerous handsome guys like Euron Greyjoy and Darkstar (just goes to prove that not all Daynes are intriguing). Granted, they have barely appeared. But ever since "The things I do for love" I felt there was more to Jaime than a pretty face and a wicked heart. GRRM was great in that scene, putting doubt in our hearts with a single word, "loathing", which foreshadowed Jaime's evolution. Euron and Darkstar might pull a Jaime, but it would get repetitive. I hope they gain more depth, like the Hound did, little by little, without the big epiphany that Jaime had. But I'm starting to mistrust GRRM.
THE PLUS:
- Cersei, vulnerable and grieving, though still a scheming nympho. Knowing she's not getting any younger. Adult Jaime has finally taken his vows seriously and "doesn't like her anymore". I can't love her, but I uncomfortably understand her. I've gone back to check and was not really surprised to find that I never put her in my list of characters I don't like, or even "meh" characters.
- Sansa and Sweetrobin. Waaaaay creepy (she's an older woman!), but sort of sweet. Sansa wins the "Greatest number of weird suitors for one woman in Westeros" prize; I think she beats even Daenerys, who is not in Westeros anyway. Let's see: Joff, Sandor, Willas (bit unfair since we haven't seen him yet), Tyrion, Petyr, Sweetrobin (not really, but still)... am I forgetting some other misfit she was promised to? I vote for "Sansa's Maidenhead" to be a POV character in its own right in future novels.
- The Kingmoot at Nagga's Bones. SEA DRAGON. Nuff said, even though I don't like Euron.
- Sam's harrowing journey by sea, with the final revelation that Dalla always cries because they switched babies - she's nursing Mance's son.
- Brienne's fool's errand (literally) with Pod and poor misunderstood (?) Nimble Dick. There was genuine tension, though the knight that followed them was revealed to be yet another of those new character I had completely forgotten about.
But it's just little things here and there. In this book I've yet to see a scene to take my breath away like Daenerys emerging from the funeral pyre with the dragons, the Battle of the Wall or Ned's vision of the Tower of Joy. I'll keep reading...
ASOIAF LIVE READING: AFFC END (SPOILERS)
February 2, 2010
Still not sleeping, so um, finished AFFC, and um.
Bad stuff first. Great storytelling in individual scenes, but horrible structure, and insufferable emotional manipulation of the reader, so much that I stopped caring. Not about the series; I've just started re-reading AGOT and I'm perusing the boards for stuff I hadn't understood (usually discovering nobody else understands them). Not even about the characters, at least not my favourites. But my emotional commitment dropped so much that I don't really care about the supposedly upcoming A Dance with Dragons. When and if we get it, I don't trust Martin giving us more than sloppy structure, cheaper and cheaper thrills, and the occasional gem, for which he is still worth reading for me.
Another thing: too many POVs, as I've said above. Too many Greyjoys, too many Martells, and the utterly useless Arys Oakheart. Maybe they would make sense in a wider picture, mixed up with other characters, but like this they are just boring.
What I call emotional manipulation is twofold.
One, we're TOLD to care about characters just because, and then we do not receive a satisfying conclusion. Notorious example, the Lupin-Tonks debacle in HP. We are TOLD we're supposed to care for them because this somehow has an impact on Harry, we are TOLD they fall in love, marry, have a child, die. Worse, we get morsels thrown to us after the deed, such as "oh yeah, btw, Bellatrix killed Tonks". No. Just no. At least keep your mouth shut and let us draw our own conclusions.
In our case, let's take Davos Seaworth. I'm not crazy about him, he's OK, bit boring, like Jon. Still he has his own POV and his function. All of a sudden we're TOLD he's been executed, and his head and hands are on display somewhere. Charming. Now Martin might have something in store, since after all we only hear a biased report, and Davos is a born survivor (if he's alive, he might hook up with the Greyjoys), but if we take AFFC in itself, it's a terrible anticlimax. We're not supposed to be forced to wait for another book or explanations from the author to make sense of the book we have in our hands NOW.
That's also why I hate the trend of DVD "extended versions", starting with Peter Jackson's LOTR (or Ridley Scott's Blade Runner). If you have something to say, say it and be done. Organize your material so that the theatre version is the version you want. If external reasons prevent you from doing this, explain them in the DVD, maybe even offer the "Director's Cut" as an extra, but let the original movie alone. It's too easy to say "Oh, I can't fit this scene in the theatrical release, I'll put it in the DVD". If it's important, shorten other scenes and put it in. If it's not, get rid of it, dammit. Don't tease us.
Imagine if novelists did the same. "Oh, I didn't put this scene in two years ago because of time constraints, so I'm issuing a new edition, and yeah, buy it!" Well, Stephen King did it with "The Stand", but it's a peculiar and fairly unique case, as far as I know.
Two, with emotional manipulation you get desensitized. OK, it's a dangerous world. OK, bad things happens to good people. OK, the head is the easiest target. But after the THIRD disfigurement I hadn't been spoiled about (Myrcella, Loras and lastly Brienne literally eaten alive, not to count Arya going blind) I stopped caring, as I said above. Maybe I'm wrong, but I can see GRRM rubbing his hands and thinking "Well, how can I top the last gruesome scene?" Sorry, but at this point he has lost me. But I love Stephen King, whose books are chock-full with gruesome scenes... Yes, but he resolves them all into one book, he doesn't leave you hanging (literally) about the fate of one of your favourite character. Brienne is dying? OK, I stop caring about Brienne. It's that simple. It's a defense mechanism, George; you can't do this to your readers more than a DOZEN times, and then complain because people are pissed.
I especially hated the groveling postscript at the end. "Dear reader, the book was too long, so I split it, but not halfway: here is a bunch of characters, next time you'll have the others. You still like me, right, even though there's no Dany?" I'm not a GRRM hater, but it would have been so much more in character and more respectful of his readers to say: "Yo biotches, here's half the characters, deal with it, otherwise the Others take you."
Moreover, this device will make ADWD just like a long installment of LOST. Suppose Davos does die. When we start reading ADWD, he will be ALREADY DEAD in the past, even though he's talking to us just now! (he's supposed to be a POV). My head explodes.
The good stuff. Despite what I've said, I won't really care if GRRM never finishes ADWD or if it sucks, because he's already given me enough. I'll never forget the winter of 2009 that I spent with the Hound and the Blackfish, and for this, thanks, George. Same as JKR: the fact that I didn't like Half-Blood Prince because I found it predictable, and that I hated Deathly Hallows, will never take away from me the summer I read Order of the Phoenix, fell in love twice and wrote Black Legacy, and for that, thanks, Joanne.
Therefore, I found a lot to like even in AFFC. More stuff will come to mind as I re-read it, but one scene shines above the others: Blackfish vs. Jaime. Two of my favourite characters going at each other - with words, not swords. Discovering that Jaime idolizes Brynden and Brynden despises Jaime. Seeing Bryn laugh and cut Jaime into slices with his bitter rejoinders, and getting the last word. So totally Clint Eastwood that I was even hearing his voice. Jaime: "Are you calling me a coward?" Bryn: "No. I am calling you a cripple." Orgasmic.
I may be lucky because I got so late to ASOIAF and so I did not have to wait for years between books. But be sure that I'll have much to occupy the time before ADWD comes out, and that you'll hear all about it.
BLACKFISH BLUES
April 25, 2010
When you live with an imaginary man you're not free from problems. There's the relief of knowing you can't hurt him, contrary to having a real man; but it still can hurt YOU like hell.
By now you've guessed which of my ASOIAF men has won my strongest affections. I was surprised that it should be him; somewhere, someone is growling in jealousy. But Brynden touched my heart, through a mix of identification, mystery and sheer coolness. Also he's easy to write about and there is lots to discover about him, while Sandor has a well-defined story that I find satisfying already. I'm in love with the man: I've been in love with real men, and I can tell you there's absolutely no difference. This is bad, for the reasons I've detailed below.
But the more I care for him, the more I'll go out of my mind when GRRM kills him off in some macabre and shameful manner (after disfiguring him, of course). I should be prepared for it, since I already believed he'd die at the Red Wedding. But that was before I really fell hard for him. And I hadn't visited the HP universe for years when JKR killed off my favourite guy, but it was madly painful all the same. (And I STILL maintain I have objective reasons to be pissed!)
There is a learning aspect in this. If ever I become a published writer and churn out a massive saga, I'll take good care of my characters. Even now, if I introduce a small character, you can be sure he'll have his glory moments and his development, and if he dies, there'll be a damn good reason. My characters don't serve the plot, they serve each other. Beside a well-developed, suspenseful plot, I love nothing more than character interaction. YES, there was great character interaction with Mr. Brooke in "Terra Incognita", but someone had to die. It was foreshadowed from the beginning, and it's a real tragedy that it had to be a character well-loved both by his comrades and his readers, but I think I gave him a spectacular death and all the space he could get before that - on-screen! - and I showed the consequences of his death on the survivors. They were all changed by it, not just saddled with an adopted kid.
I'm not saying I'm better than JKR and GRRM. I'm just trying to explain "as a writer" why some aspects of their books disappointed me "as a reader". I know this is particularly unfair to GRRM because he hasn't finished his saga yet, but I've been burned by JKR - as wrong as I might be - and by the emotional manipulation in "A Feast For Crows" I've mentioned before. I fear that Martin has come to the point that he's killing people left and right to simplify the plot. That's why I was talking about taking care of characters. They are like pets: if you're not able to care for them, don't buy them. Don't build a whole universe knowing you can't handle your material.
But I know how fickle inspiration can be. Us writers are at its mercy. Maybe he was more confident at the beginning, but from what he himself is saying lately, he's painted himself into a corner. I don't want to be unfair to him, but I'm pessimist, if not downright paranoid like some readers.
So I fear some random Frey will throw Bryn's mangled head at Jaime's feet, who will be sorry to see his childhood hero come to such an end. Ooookay, that's character development, but not exactly what I would like. I fear that for GRRM the plot comes before the characters, and all characters are only instrumental to the plot and to the protagonists, Jon Snow, Daenerys and Tyrion ("three heads has the dragon..."). All the others are disposable. I don't mean this necessarily to criticize GRRM. It's as though George Lucas HAD started telling his story from the beginning. You'd have 3 movies to fall in love with Obi-Wan, only to see him killed off in Episode 4. His death is done masterfully in E4, but it's because we've always known it as a stand-alone movie, and it still is despite the prequels. When you see young and handsome Ewan McGregor, you already know how he will die.
I fear GRRM has done something like this. He wanted to tell the story of Jon, Daenerys and Tyrion, and started at the beginning. (Or almost. Oh my, he could have started with the fall of the Targaryens, and I'd be broken-hearted for the death of Arthur Dayne. We just can't win, GRRM and I.) So the story will see a slaughter of characters and sub-plots until the three finally get together. And since he's a good writer, these doomed characters and plots will be lovingly described, thus maximizing the readers' suffering.
A couple of things give me a bad feeling about Brynden. Well, I know GRRM kills everybody, it's not this. I loved Bryn's escape from Riverrun, but it also left me perplexed. Shouldn't he sacrifice himself and let Edmure escape? NOT that I want this, and I'm convinced than one Blackfish under cover is worth more than a hundred Edmures with a hundred armies, still... He had also promised he'd keep Queen Jeyne safe, but how can he do it while in hiding?
Also some readers don't like Brynden because they consider his refusal to marry as a dereliction of duty. Is his stubborn, independent character the only reason for it? I admit that this sounds selfish, and I can't think of a good reason. Is he gay? He could have someone else impregnate his wife. Is he in love with someone else? She's probably dead after 40 years. Has he taken some vow? Just say it, and don't cause a lifelong rift with your brother, the Tullys deserve better. Ned too has a secret that he keeps even from Catelyn, causing her pain, but if you consider Jon's possible Targaryen origins and the promise to Lyanna, it makes perfect sense. Bryn has no such apparent good reason for his rebellious behaviour. What if GRRM were preparing an anti-Jaime, revealing that Brynden has been an a$$hole all the time?
I feel I'm too stern both towards Brynden and GRRM. Maybe GRRM has a wonderful solution prepared for him (I have my own theory, I admit) but I can't help fretting about it. I trust GRRM so little that I can imagine Bryn's mysterious stubborness will never explained. I don't want everything to be explained: I'm fine if Sandor never appears again and we're left with the mysterious brother digging graves. But for Bryn, giving no explanations would really detract so much from his character.
And finally, GRRM has revealed that the TV series will make a "Tom Bombadil", that is, certain characters will have to be cut. Why do I have a premonition? This would really mean that GRRM has no plans to make anything meaningful with Bryn.
Whew, I needed to vent this, else I wouldn't even be able to read the boards that discuss GRRM's revelations. Do I worry too much? So shoot me. Now maybe you understand a bit more why I don't want to read or watch ANYTHING new EVER.
Ultimately it all comes down to the "A Beautiful Mind" quote:
A DANCE WITH DRAGONS (not serious)
April 06, 2010
I've finally got "A Dance with Dragons" and, as you can understand, I've finished it quickly! Despite the long long time that GRRM took in writing it, I'm pleased to report that it contains in spades all the elements we've come to know and love in "A Song of Ice and Fire": death, destruction, mental and material torture, disfigurement, kinslaying, suicide, sex, rape, incest, necrophilia, and kittens.
- All chapters have a different POV. I especially like "JON'S CROW" and "TYRION'S LEFT EYE".
- If you read every third letter from every first sentence of every chapter, backwards, they all spell "PAUL IS DEAD".
My favourite parts:
- There are no Greyjoys.
- Tyrion keeps running, farther and farther away, looking for a mythical place everybody keeps telling him to go to, until he finally finds himself in a remote, outlandish country, in front of a road sign saying LOURDES. (Sorry, joke's only for Catholics.)
- Thoros of Myr starts reviving ALL the dead characters of the series. After the likes of Ned's skeleton, Robb and Greywind's hybrid corpses, Faceless Oberyn, Formless Lysa, Khal Drogo's ashes, Theon's flayed skin, the left side of the Hound's face and all the pieces of Vargo Hoat start roaming Westeros, everybody is a bit uneasy. Daenerys' dragons pulverize them all, including Thoros, then start dancing on their dust, hence the title. Brilliant.
- I especially loved the long-awaited meeting between Jon and mute Ser Ilyn Payne on the Wall, and their conversation written through images (Ser Ilyn can't write either) on scraps of parchment. "ned stark ever tell u who was ur father?" "he told me enough! he told me u killed him!" "no! I M UR FATHER!" Jon scribbles "NOOOOOOO!" in a neat slanted hand and throws himself from the Wall.
- GRRM throws us all for a spin, finally revealing that Rhaegar and Lyanna's son is Dolorous Edd. On her death bed, Lyanna made Ned promise that he would never kill him for one of his depressing jokes. Ned kept his promise. However, Edd dies heroically by cushioning Jon's fall. Jon climbs back upon the Wall to ask who his mother was, but meanwhile Ser Ilyn has been eaten by the crows. Jon sighs and starts calling himself Jon Payne, thus becoming even more emo.
- Cersei is found murdered with 239.485 knife stabs in her heart. Everybody's little brother struck her by turns, more than once. Qyburn's authopsy determines that whoever struck the fatal blow is left-handed.
- The inquiry into Cersei's death makes up the bulk of GRRM's next books, "A Wind of Wolves" and "A Glance at Gekkos".
- Brynden Blackfish dies heroically so that all the Stark kids can retake possession of Winterfell. They are still so many that they can cover all the bases: Bran as Lord of Winterfell, Sansa as bargaining maidenhead, Arya as (blind) Master of Arms, Rickon as future knight and Shaggydog as Maester.
- The Blackfish is among those revived by Thoros, and, being cool, escapes the dragons. But he's mindless like his niece Undead Cat, so they fall in love. This reverts them to their humanity. All the Black Brothers start convincing the wights to mate with each other. Cat, pregnant with a Blackfish zombie baby, kills herself, leaving a mysterious note: "Damn you, GRRM! You've managed to break most possible taboos with this!" Bryn, a pragmatic man, lives happily ever after with a pretty un-undead wight of uncertain sexual identity. Edmure goes on as Lord of Riverrun amongst the general resounding indifference.
- Jaime Lannister becomes King, after all the other pretenders decide there are much safer and more rewarding activities - breeding dragons, breeding kittens, developing a new energy source by locking his sorceress inside a reactor, keeping a monthly sex advice column on a ladies' magazine ("Dear Dead Cersei") etc. Despite being known as The Kingslayer King, Jaime is a wise and just ruler, also thanks to his close relationship with the new Hand of the King: his own severed right hand, which he saved in a jar.
- The Hound throws away his disguise and kills everybody (again), then moves on to the Marvel Universe - they really take anybody over there. The end.
Though I'm as hooked as ever, I'm finding this book inferior to the others, for several reasons.
- Sloppy writing. Sometimes I have to re-read a phrase and still don't understand what it means. And it's not like I don't know English. (I don't speak it, though. My accent kills sparrows in the sky ten miles away.)
- Shameless self-promotion. Who the hell is Egg in Maester Aemon near-delirious talk? I know who he is, because I've read the fine graphic novel "The Hedge Knight" from the GRRM series "Dunk and Egg", set in Westeros. I found that reference jarring, because it feels like "Buy it if you want to understand" (which is not easy, because the D&E novelettes are dispersed across various antologies).
- Weird POV names for chapter titles, never used in the other 4 books. "The Kraken's Daughter"? Was "Asha" too easy? [EDITED: And what's up with Aeron being "The Prophet and "The Drowned Man" in two different chapters?]
- On the other hand, is GRRM getting lazy with names? Having different people with the same name is realistic, it happens in our world too, and they can be told apart by nicknames. I also understand the AE-something tradition of the Trgaryens. But Euron and Aeron and Aemon and Arys all within the space of a few pages, not to mention the lingering shadow of Aerys? Which one again is the priest that drowns people? (All right, I do tell them apart, but it annoys me.)
- Too many previously unknown POVs. Do we really need THREE Greyjoys to know what's happening in the Iron Islands? OK, I like Aeron and Asha, and Victarion is not uninteresting. It's not their fault they are Greyjoys. And we have had tons of Stark POVs. But do we need two total strangers to know what's happening in Dorne? Now POVs start killing each other? (I'm sure it's already happened but I can't remember an example now.) Was it all for the sake of that porn scene between Arys Oakheart (can't even remember his face) and Arianne Martell? I prefer Arianne's POV and I'd like to read Doran Martell's. When I see more familiar names I feel relieved.
- Not much is happening. I'm liking Cersei's point of view, but the council scene felt like the TV airing of our parliament debates: please kill me, even painfully, it can't be worse. And we were left with some pretty big cliffhangers from "A Storm of Swords" - undead Cat, the Hound, Tyrion, Mance Rayder - which still haven't been addressed. "A Feast for Crows" sometimes feels like a totally different book, not ASOS' sequel.
- The bad boys. There's an abyss between former baddies like Jaime and the Hound, and one-dimensional dangerous handsome guys like Euron Greyjoy and Darkstar (just goes to prove that not all Daynes are intriguing). Granted, they have barely appeared. But ever since "The things I do for love" I felt there was more to Jaime than a pretty face and a wicked heart. GRRM was great in that scene, putting doubt in our hearts with a single word, "loathing", which foreshadowed Jaime's evolution. Euron and Darkstar might pull a Jaime, but it would get repetitive. I hope they gain more depth, like the Hound did, little by little, without the big epiphany that Jaime had. But I'm starting to mistrust GRRM.
THE PLUS:
- Cersei, vulnerable and grieving, though still a scheming nympho. Knowing she's not getting any younger. Adult Jaime has finally taken his vows seriously and "doesn't like her anymore". I can't love her, but I uncomfortably understand her. I've gone back to check and was not really surprised to find that I never put her in my list of characters I don't like, or even "meh" characters.
- Sansa and Sweetrobin. Waaaaay creepy (she's an older woman!), but sort of sweet. Sansa wins the "Greatest number of weird suitors for one woman in Westeros" prize; I think she beats even Daenerys, who is not in Westeros anyway. Let's see: Joff, Sandor, Willas (bit unfair since we haven't seen him yet), Tyrion, Petyr, Sweetrobin (not really, but still)... am I forgetting some other misfit she was promised to? I vote for "Sansa's Maidenhead" to be a POV character in its own right in future novels.
- The Kingmoot at Nagga's Bones. SEA DRAGON. Nuff said, even though I don't like Euron.
- Sam's harrowing journey by sea, with the final revelation that Dalla always cries because they switched babies - she's nursing Mance's son.
- Brienne's fool's errand (literally) with Pod and poor misunderstood (?) Nimble Dick. There was genuine tension, though the knight that followed them was revealed to be yet another of those new character I had completely forgotten about.
But it's just little things here and there. In this book I've yet to see a scene to take my breath away like Daenerys emerging from the funeral pyre with the dragons, the Battle of the Wall or Ned's vision of the Tower of Joy. I'll keep reading...
ASOIAF LIVE READING: AFFC END (SPOILERS)
February 2, 2010
Still not sleeping, so um, finished AFFC, and um.
Bad stuff first. Great storytelling in individual scenes, but horrible structure, and insufferable emotional manipulation of the reader, so much that I stopped caring. Not about the series; I've just started re-reading AGOT and I'm perusing the boards for stuff I hadn't understood (usually discovering nobody else understands them). Not even about the characters, at least not my favourites. But my emotional commitment dropped so much that I don't really care about the supposedly upcoming A Dance with Dragons. When and if we get it, I don't trust Martin giving us more than sloppy structure, cheaper and cheaper thrills, and the occasional gem, for which he is still worth reading for me.
Another thing: too many POVs, as I've said above. Too many Greyjoys, too many Martells, and the utterly useless Arys Oakheart. Maybe they would make sense in a wider picture, mixed up with other characters, but like this they are just boring.
What I call emotional manipulation is twofold.
One, we're TOLD to care about characters just because, and then we do not receive a satisfying conclusion. Notorious example, the Lupin-Tonks debacle in HP. We are TOLD we're supposed to care for them because this somehow has an impact on Harry, we are TOLD they fall in love, marry, have a child, die. Worse, we get morsels thrown to us after the deed, such as "oh yeah, btw, Bellatrix killed Tonks". No. Just no. At least keep your mouth shut and let us draw our own conclusions.
In our case, let's take Davos Seaworth. I'm not crazy about him, he's OK, bit boring, like Jon. Still he has his own POV and his function. All of a sudden we're TOLD he's been executed, and his head and hands are on display somewhere. Charming. Now Martin might have something in store, since after all we only hear a biased report, and Davos is a born survivor (if he's alive, he might hook up with the Greyjoys), but if we take AFFC in itself, it's a terrible anticlimax. We're not supposed to be forced to wait for another book or explanations from the author to make sense of the book we have in our hands NOW.
That's also why I hate the trend of DVD "extended versions", starting with Peter Jackson's LOTR (or Ridley Scott's Blade Runner). If you have something to say, say it and be done. Organize your material so that the theatre version is the version you want. If external reasons prevent you from doing this, explain them in the DVD, maybe even offer the "Director's Cut" as an extra, but let the original movie alone. It's too easy to say "Oh, I can't fit this scene in the theatrical release, I'll put it in the DVD". If it's important, shorten other scenes and put it in. If it's not, get rid of it, dammit. Don't tease us.
Imagine if novelists did the same. "Oh, I didn't put this scene in two years ago because of time constraints, so I'm issuing a new edition, and yeah, buy it!" Well, Stephen King did it with "The Stand", but it's a peculiar and fairly unique case, as far as I know.
Two, with emotional manipulation you get desensitized. OK, it's a dangerous world. OK, bad things happens to good people. OK, the head is the easiest target. But after the THIRD disfigurement I hadn't been spoiled about (Myrcella, Loras and lastly Brienne literally eaten alive, not to count Arya going blind) I stopped caring, as I said above. Maybe I'm wrong, but I can see GRRM rubbing his hands and thinking "Well, how can I top the last gruesome scene?" Sorry, but at this point he has lost me. But I love Stephen King, whose books are chock-full with gruesome scenes... Yes, but he resolves them all into one book, he doesn't leave you hanging (literally) about the fate of one of your favourite character. Brienne is dying? OK, I stop caring about Brienne. It's that simple. It's a defense mechanism, George; you can't do this to your readers more than a DOZEN times, and then complain because people are pissed.
I especially hated the groveling postscript at the end. "Dear reader, the book was too long, so I split it, but not halfway: here is a bunch of characters, next time you'll have the others. You still like me, right, even though there's no Dany?" I'm not a GRRM hater, but it would have been so much more in character and more respectful of his readers to say: "Yo biotches, here's half the characters, deal with it, otherwise the Others take you."
Moreover, this device will make ADWD just like a long installment of LOST. Suppose Davos does die. When we start reading ADWD, he will be ALREADY DEAD in the past, even though he's talking to us just now! (he's supposed to be a POV). My head explodes.
The good stuff. Despite what I've said, I won't really care if GRRM never finishes ADWD or if it sucks, because he's already given me enough. I'll never forget the winter of 2009 that I spent with the Hound and the Blackfish, and for this, thanks, George. Same as JKR: the fact that I didn't like Half-Blood Prince because I found it predictable, and that I hated Deathly Hallows, will never take away from me the summer I read Order of the Phoenix, fell in love twice and wrote Black Legacy, and for that, thanks, Joanne.
Therefore, I found a lot to like even in AFFC. More stuff will come to mind as I re-read it, but one scene shines above the others: Blackfish vs. Jaime. Two of my favourite characters going at each other - with words, not swords. Discovering that Jaime idolizes Brynden and Brynden despises Jaime. Seeing Bryn laugh and cut Jaime into slices with his bitter rejoinders, and getting the last word. So totally Clint Eastwood that I was even hearing his voice. Jaime: "Are you calling me a coward?" Bryn: "No. I am calling you a cripple." Orgasmic.
I may be lucky because I got so late to ASOIAF and so I did not have to wait for years between books. But be sure that I'll have much to occupy the time before ADWD comes out, and that you'll hear all about it.
BLACKFISH BLUES
April 25, 2010
When you live with an imaginary man you're not free from problems. There's the relief of knowing you can't hurt him, contrary to having a real man; but it still can hurt YOU like hell.
By now you've guessed which of my ASOIAF men has won my strongest affections. I was surprised that it should be him; somewhere, someone is growling in jealousy. But Brynden touched my heart, through a mix of identification, mystery and sheer coolness. Also he's easy to write about and there is lots to discover about him, while Sandor has a well-defined story that I find satisfying already. I'm in love with the man: I've been in love with real men, and I can tell you there's absolutely no difference. This is bad, for the reasons I've detailed below.
But the more I care for him, the more I'll go out of my mind when GRRM kills him off in some macabre and shameful manner (after disfiguring him, of course). I should be prepared for it, since I already believed he'd die at the Red Wedding. But that was before I really fell hard for him. And I hadn't visited the HP universe for years when JKR killed off my favourite guy, but it was madly painful all the same. (And I STILL maintain I have objective reasons to be pissed!)
There is a learning aspect in this. If ever I become a published writer and churn out a massive saga, I'll take good care of my characters. Even now, if I introduce a small character, you can be sure he'll have his glory moments and his development, and if he dies, there'll be a damn good reason. My characters don't serve the plot, they serve each other. Beside a well-developed, suspenseful plot, I love nothing more than character interaction. YES, there was great character interaction with Mr. Brooke in "Terra Incognita", but someone had to die. It was foreshadowed from the beginning, and it's a real tragedy that it had to be a character well-loved both by his comrades and his readers, but I think I gave him a spectacular death and all the space he could get before that - on-screen! - and I showed the consequences of his death on the survivors. They were all changed by it, not just saddled with an adopted kid.
I'm not saying I'm better than JKR and GRRM. I'm just trying to explain "as a writer" why some aspects of their books disappointed me "as a reader". I know this is particularly unfair to GRRM because he hasn't finished his saga yet, but I've been burned by JKR - as wrong as I might be - and by the emotional manipulation in "A Feast For Crows" I've mentioned before. I fear that Martin has come to the point that he's killing people left and right to simplify the plot. That's why I was talking about taking care of characters. They are like pets: if you're not able to care for them, don't buy them. Don't build a whole universe knowing you can't handle your material.
But I know how fickle inspiration can be. Us writers are at its mercy. Maybe he was more confident at the beginning, but from what he himself is saying lately, he's painted himself into a corner. I don't want to be unfair to him, but I'm pessimist, if not downright paranoid like some readers.
So I fear some random Frey will throw Bryn's mangled head at Jaime's feet, who will be sorry to see his childhood hero come to such an end. Ooookay, that's character development, but not exactly what I would like. I fear that for GRRM the plot comes before the characters, and all characters are only instrumental to the plot and to the protagonists, Jon Snow, Daenerys and Tyrion ("three heads has the dragon..."). All the others are disposable. I don't mean this necessarily to criticize GRRM. It's as though George Lucas HAD started telling his story from the beginning. You'd have 3 movies to fall in love with Obi-Wan, only to see him killed off in Episode 4. His death is done masterfully in E4, but it's because we've always known it as a stand-alone movie, and it still is despite the prequels. When you see young and handsome Ewan McGregor, you already know how he will die.
I fear GRRM has done something like this. He wanted to tell the story of Jon, Daenerys and Tyrion, and started at the beginning. (Or almost. Oh my, he could have started with the fall of the Targaryens, and I'd be broken-hearted for the death of Arthur Dayne. We just can't win, GRRM and I.) So the story will see a slaughter of characters and sub-plots until the three finally get together. And since he's a good writer, these doomed characters and plots will be lovingly described, thus maximizing the readers' suffering.
A couple of things give me a bad feeling about Brynden. Well, I know GRRM kills everybody, it's not this. I loved Bryn's escape from Riverrun, but it also left me perplexed. Shouldn't he sacrifice himself and let Edmure escape? NOT that I want this, and I'm convinced than one Blackfish under cover is worth more than a hundred Edmures with a hundred armies, still... He had also promised he'd keep Queen Jeyne safe, but how can he do it while in hiding?
Also some readers don't like Brynden because they consider his refusal to marry as a dereliction of duty. Is his stubborn, independent character the only reason for it? I admit that this sounds selfish, and I can't think of a good reason. Is he gay? He could have someone else impregnate his wife. Is he in love with someone else? She's probably dead after 40 years. Has he taken some vow? Just say it, and don't cause a lifelong rift with your brother, the Tullys deserve better. Ned too has a secret that he keeps even from Catelyn, causing her pain, but if you consider Jon's possible Targaryen origins and the promise to Lyanna, it makes perfect sense. Bryn has no such apparent good reason for his rebellious behaviour. What if GRRM were preparing an anti-Jaime, revealing that Brynden has been an a$$hole all the time?
I feel I'm too stern both towards Brynden and GRRM. Maybe GRRM has a wonderful solution prepared for him (I have my own theory, I admit) but I can't help fretting about it. I trust GRRM so little that I can imagine Bryn's mysterious stubborness will never explained. I don't want everything to be explained: I'm fine if Sandor never appears again and we're left with the mysterious brother digging graves. But for Bryn, giving no explanations would really detract so much from his character.
And finally, GRRM has revealed that the TV series will make a "Tom Bombadil", that is, certain characters will have to be cut. Why do I have a premonition? This would really mean that GRRM has no plans to make anything meaningful with Bryn.
Whew, I needed to vent this, else I wouldn't even be able to read the boards that discuss GRRM's revelations. Do I worry too much? So shoot me. Now maybe you understand a bit more why I don't want to read or watch ANYTHING new EVER.
Ultimately it all comes down to the "A Beautiful Mind" quote:
Would I embarrass you? Yes, it is possible. You see, I... I am crazy. I take the newer medications, but I still see things that are not here. I just choose not to acknowledge them. Like a diet of the mind, I choose not to indulge certain appetites. Like my appetite for patterns. Perhaps my appetite to imagine and to dream.
A DANCE WITH DRAGONS (not serious)
April 06, 2010
I've finally got "A Dance with Dragons" and, as you can understand, I've finished it quickly! Despite the long long time that GRRM took in writing it, I'm pleased to report that it contains in spades all the elements we've come to know and love in "A Song of Ice and Fire": death, destruction, mental and material torture, disfigurement, kinslaying, suicide, sex, rape, incest, necrophilia, and kittens.
- All chapters have a different POV. I especially like "JON'S CROW" and "TYRION'S LEFT EYE".
- If you read every third letter from every first sentence of every chapter, backwards, they all spell "PAUL IS DEAD".
My favourite parts:
- There are no Greyjoys.
- Tyrion keeps running, farther and farther away, looking for a mythical place everybody keeps telling him to go to, until he finally finds himself in a remote, outlandish country, in front of a road sign saying LOURDES. (Sorry, joke's only for Catholics.)
- Thoros of Myr starts reviving ALL the dead characters of the series. After the likes of Ned's skeleton, Robb and Greywind's hybrid corpses, Faceless Oberyn, Formless Lysa, Khal Drogo's ashes, Theon's flayed skin, the left side of the Hound's face and all the pieces of Vargo Hoat start roaming Westeros, everybody is a bit uneasy. Daenerys' dragons pulverize them all, including Thoros, then start dancing on their dust, hence the title. Brilliant.
- I especially loved the long-awaited meeting between Jon and mute Ser Ilyn Payne on the Wall, and their conversation written through images (Ser Ilyn can't write either) on scraps of parchment. "ned stark ever tell u who was ur father?" "he told me enough! he told me u killed him!" "no! I M UR FATHER!" Jon scribbles "NOOOOOOO!" in a neat slanted hand and throws himself from the Wall.
- GRRM throws us all for a spin, finally revealing that Rhaegar and Lyanna's son is Dolorous Edd. On her death bed, Lyanna made Ned promise that he would never kill him for one of his depressing jokes. Ned kept his promise. However, Edd dies heroically by cushioning Jon's fall. Jon climbs back upon the Wall to ask who his mother was, but meanwhile Ser Ilyn has been eaten by the crows. Jon sighs and starts calling himself Jon Payne, thus becoming even more emo.
- Cersei is found murdered with 239.485 knife stabs in her heart. Everybody's little brother struck her by turns, more than once. Qyburn's authopsy determines that whoever struck the fatal blow is left-handed.
- The inquiry into Cersei's death makes up the bulk of GRRM's next books, "A Wind of Wolves" and "A Glance at Gekkos".
- Brynden Blackfish dies heroically so that all the Stark kids can retake possession of Winterfell. They are still so many that they can cover all the bases: Bran as Lord of Winterfell, Sansa as bargaining maidenhead, Arya as (blind) Master of Arms, Rickon as future knight and Shaggydog as Maester.
- The Blackfish is among those revived by Thoros, and, being cool, escapes the dragons. But he's mindless like his niece Undead Cat, so they fall in love. This reverts them to their humanity. All the Black Brothers start convincing the wights to mate with each other. Cat, pregnant with a Blackfish zombie baby, kills herself, leaving a mysterious note: "Damn you, GRRM! You've managed to break most possible taboos with this!" Bryn, a pragmatic man, lives happily ever after with a pretty un-undead wight of uncertain sexual identity. Edmure goes on as Lord of Riverrun amongst the general resounding indifference.
- Jaime Lannister becomes King, after all the other pretenders decide there are much safer and more rewarding activities - breeding dragons, breeding kittens, developing a new energy source by locking his sorceress inside a reactor, keeping a monthly sex advice column on a ladies' magazine ("Dear Dead Cersei") etc. Despite being known as The Kingslayer King, Jaime is a wise and just ruler, also thanks to his close relationship with the new Hand of the King: his own severed right hand, which he saved in a jar.
- The Hound throws away his disguise and kills everybody (again), then moves on to the Marvel Universe - they really take anybody over there. The end.