It was slow for me.
It was slow for me.
If you mean what happens overall when compared to the other books, I get that.
If we're talking narrative, I don't see it. The first chapter of the Lord of the Rings is slow. The first two chapters of Half Blood Prince is slow. These chapters (if you can call them that) have all been fast paced, almost too fast for my tastes at times. I find myself stopping, going back and reading what I already read just to make sure I haven't skimmed over anything. If I haven't already watched the show and knew what most of these names they've been throwing out are I'd be completely lost. It's like the Mortal Instrument movie all over again.
Breathe, story. Take the time to BREATHE!
I don't mean in comprison to the other books, I'm talking about how I felt the first time I read it.
I don't think that if you started reading this book today you can really judge how fast or slow the entire thing is paced at. It starts out well, true enough, but by halfway/two thirds of the way in, it began to drag for me. The second one was worse. The third book was perfectly paced to me.
I was just explaining why you may not see it yet, because you've only just started reading. If you finish and still feel the same, ah well, different perceptions.
No harm, then.
Oh, right, I forgot my rite of passage going from show to book. DANY IS ONLY THIRTEEN?!
Yup.
I'm assuming you've already gotten to the sex scene between her and Drogo. Something that REALLY bothers me about the show is the portrayal of the first time they have sex. In the book she's apprehensive but eventually consents and wants it. In the show it's nothing more than rape.
Keep in mind people had to grow up a lot quicker in the feudal era the story is imitating. People had kids and died a lot younger than most of us and that's only if they were lucky enough to make it out of infancy.
I actually just finished the chapter where Ned is asked to be the new Hand of the King and Roberts want to combine their houses by marrying their children yesterday, but I'm already familiar with the change you're talking about. Given how their overall relationship develops the way the book did it makes more sense.
Ooh, yay! Book thread!
ADWD troutI still haven't formed an opinion on him, but when he was first revealed, I was skeptical. Then I was like, "you go, boy." He was growing on me, I guess. But now I'm on the fence about him and probably thinking too hard about it. XD
I started reading the books after marathoning through the first and second seasons and didn't stop until I finished ADWD. The pacing was fine for me. I think they got increasingly faster paced up through the third book. I was easily engrossed. And after reading The Sword of Truth books for a while, the ASOIAF ones seemed like they flowed much better. But part of that is probably because I lost interest in SoT overall and got impatient with it.
ADWDLike most people, from what it seems, I'm on the fence about Aegon, which is of course exactly what Martin intends. He's hard to predict.
Jon Snow is a pretty big candidate for the Iron Throne, I think - given that he's not unlikely to be a Targaryen and also The Prince That Was Promised - but it wouldn't surprise me if he was brought along up until that point and then ruthlessly killed and probably eaten by crows or something.
ADWDAegon: Real or fake?
Not enough information to figure it out so it's really a guess. My guess is that he's real, and he will meet up with Dany and be a dragon rider. Then you have to wonder if he'll actually live through it and become king with Dany as his queen (Targaryen's were totally cool with that and it puts an interesting light on the Jaime/Cercsi relationship ) or if he'll die during the war. On second thought though, I don't remember the book ever mentioning his eyes. Wouldn't the prince have purple eyes? The boy surely doesn't or Tyrion would have noticed that immediately instead of unraveling who they were during his boat ride. It's seems like such an easily explained-away situation though.
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