A Song of Ice and Fire
Fantasy
Batam
1996
Hardcover
In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance—beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.
Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys’s claim to Westeros forever.
Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone—a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.
From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.
WrensReads Review:
Alright, finally, the last book of A Song of Ice and Fire (as of this day, because we all know that it will be another year before the next one comes out). I feel like I have climbed a mountain after reading this book. It is literally so long… don’t start this book and expect to be done with it within even a week, unless you don’t have other responsibilities. In that case, I am super jealous of you.
Anyway,
All of our favorite characters are finally back. Tyrion and Daenerys and Jon specifically, which are usually in everyone’s top five.
Tyrion is on the run from his sister who is convinced he killed her son and basically just wants to screw a lot of whores and get drunk because he is being haunted by the crime he actually commited: kinslaying. He runs into a really fat guy who is helping him hide away from his sister, and later runs into someone very important in the next few chapters. Someone who may have a better claim to the throne than Daenerys. Of course, lots of bumps in the road and things don’t go according to plan. Like being kidnapped for example and taken before one of the claimed queens/kings of the land. Is he going to be okay? But he is Tyrion Lannister; he can talk himself out of the claws of a bear.
Daenerys is having a hard time keeping the peace with the recently freed slaves and their old masters. She has completely destroyed the trade-market and people are super upset about it. So upset that they are starting to kill her soldiers and freed slaves. She also has to worry about all the people that want to marry her just to be called king. She knows she has to marry at some point, and that it can’t really be for love but for help with the throne. But she has her eyes on someone and she can’t get him out of her mind. But focus Daenerys, your people need you and more importantly, when are you going to claim your Iron Throne? And how in the world do you deal with the fact that you are not the Mother of Dragons but the Mother of Monsters and Killers? How are you going to control your three children?
Jon… Jon has the real problem. Forget the Game of Thrones, how about the Game of Life? He sees the real threat to the human world with winter coming, and no one is giving him a hand because they are too busy trying to claim the throne. You know how stressful that is? The men who take the black these days are cripples, criminals, murderers, thieves, and anyone else that is seen below the acceptable standards. But there are so few… I mean, one man who claims the throne, Stannis, sees the problem and is trying to help, but he still sees his throne as the priority, not the extinction of the human race. Not to mention that the savages on the north side of the wall are now welcome on the south side of the wall due to Jon wanting more bodies to help with The Others (you know, the real threat). And let me tell you, The Nights Watch and many others are NOT happy with Jon. Are they angry enough to actually take action against him? What about his life?
There are a lot of other characters to talk about here, but those are the main people I care about. There is Theon that finally gets what he has served out, but you feel sorry for him. There is Arya that finds herself without one of her senses and without an identity. There’s heartless Cersei still being heartless. Davos who is trying to do right by his king. Sam who is wanting to protect the woman he loves but can’t be with while also doing what Jon wants him to do. Lets not forget the little Starks, what are they up to besides getting mixed up with some of the magics of this world?
I like the differences in this book compared to the show. Yes, I watched the show first and honestly that has helped me follow along in the book better since there are so many names and faces you have to remember. But some of the differences for example, and sorry I forget her name and don’t care to look it up, but the girl who claims to be Arya and gets in Sansa’s situation from the show? I kind of have mixed feelings. I don’t know what version I like most about that. Or the new claim to the throne that Tyrion gets mixed up with. I like both differently.
If you like the show and you like really thought out plots and don’t mind most of the characters you love dying horribly, you should invest in these books. Keep in mind that they are not for the light hearted or the young though. Very much not for the young.
Also, Lady Stoneheart anyone? I want more of her.
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