Skip to main content

A Dance With Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5) by George R.R. Martin: A review

George R.R. Martin is back on his game with this fifth volume in his A Song of Ice and Fire saga. He wastes no time in bringing us up to date on the charismatic characters, such as Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister, who were missing from the fourth book, a pale effort compared to the previous three. This book follows those characters and then, in the final third of this very long tale, it brings together many of their stories with some of those that we came to know in the previous book. The paths of the stories converge and one begins to see the faint glimmer of an outline of how the saga may go from here on out. I believe there are at least two more volumes planned and A Dance With Dragons certainly leaves enough loose ends to fill them with their conclusions. We can only hope that we will not have to wait as long as fans of the series waited for this book (six years) before The Winds of Winter, #6 of the "Songs" is delivered to us. 

Jon Snow, the 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch has more than his hands full here in trying to rebuild the Watch to full strength as he faces the challenges of pitiless beings that inhabit the land of ice beyond the Wall and threaten the realm of men. The Night's Watch is sworn to guard the Wall and protect the Seven Kingdoms from the creatures beyond it but Lord Snow knows that the Wall is only as strong as those who guard it. It is his burden to try to rebuild that strength while surrounded by enemies on all sides including some within the Watch. 

Within the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, the battle for the Iron Throne goes on. The throne is occupied by the child Tommen Baratheon, but who will be the power who controls Tommen? Meanwhile, his uncle Stannis Baratheon continues to claim the throne and marched with his army all the way to the Wall to assist the Night's Watch in repelling the wildlings from the north. Then he turned south again to try to retake Winterfell, now held by the execrable and unspeakably cruel Boltons. 

In the east, Daenerys and her army have swept through several cities, freeing slaves wherever she goes. She has stopped in Meereen, where she, too, is surrounded by enemies and beset by those who would bend her to their will. But hers is the blood of the dragon, and oh, yes, she does still possess those three dragons, and who will dare to dance with them? 

Daenerys is believed to be the last of the Targaryens, and yet, now, we learn that there may be another. And is there, just perhaps, a third, a bastard who also possesses the blood of the dragon? I have begun to suspect that there may be. But now I'll just have to wait along with everyone else to find out for sure.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...
19 comments
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters!  Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...
6 comments
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...
24 comments
Read more