Song of Ice and Fire reread: Book 3

[brigdh]

Oh man, I had TOTALLY forgotten that Tyrion and Sansa got married. I love both of them, but that is a terrible match.

I am glad we are finally resolving the whole "who tried to kill Bran with a dagger" thing. But is that right? Does it turn out that it was Joffrey? Or is there more information coming out in the future? Because while I would totally believe it of Joff, it seems a bit random. I don't remember him and Bran having any sort of fight. Could it be some random comment Jaime/someone else made, a sort of "I'd rather be dead than crippled" thing? I am continually fascinated by the mystery of the dragonbone knife. I am also still suspecting Littlefinger, because even if I can't figure out why on earth he would have done it, I know he has motives within motives. He may have even done it deliberately to provoke enmity between the Baratheons/Lannisters and the Starks.

I'm writing this as I read, and so a few chapters later: oh, it totally was Joffrey. I like that it was Robert he was trying to impress, rather than Jaime. The whole thing where it turns out Joffrey really looked up to his not-father and loved him, and thinks of himself as a Barantheon rather than a Lannister- as is so unpredicted by Cersei and Tywin and others- I like it. It makes Joffrey a better character, I think, though of course I still hate him. But anyway, so the dagger- did it never belong to Littlefinger OR Tyrion? It was Robert's all along? Was Littlefinger just making up random lies about who it belonged to off the cuff of his sleeve, then? And if so, that was pretty chancy, since it could have turned out to be someone entirely else.

Speaking of Littlefinger, man, he is such a dick in this book.

There is a lot more Sansa/the Hound than I remembered. Especially the scenes where she's dreaming of him, or where she mistakes Littlefinger's guard for him. I'm still not convinced this relationship is a good idea, but I do suspect that all this may be foreshadowing for their eventual marriage/other sort of hook-up.

I LOVE the story Meera tells about the tournament the year of the False Spring. So, who's the crannogman? Is it Howland Reed? Is that how he and Ned met? Also, okay, so- the Wild Wolf is Brandon, and the wolf maid is Lyanna. But which is Ned, the quiet wolf or the young pup? Is Ned older or younger than his brother in the Watch? Maybe his brother joined the Watch and that is how Ned inherited! I dunno, I just love all the backstory stuff. I want more about Lyanna and Rhaegar.

Jaime starts off as WAY more of a dick than I remembered. Good for character growth, I guess, but his first few chapters I just want to slap him.

The Battle of the Wall is very cool. And okay. I get how Jon is just sort of a compromise candidate, and clearly he'll be way better as Lord Commander than Slynt, but I still have to say: really? Really? Isn't he, like, 15 at this point? Are an entire elite fighting unit really going to elect a 15-year-old to be their leader? I suppose Robb was the same age, and I didn't have a problem with that, but it's different when it's a king. Kings are just about being the son of other kings. But when we're talking about an election, people are supposed to be chosen based on merit, and that just seems more unrealistic to me.

Okay, so clearly the whole Azor Ahhai prophecy thing refers to Dany. She's got the red comet, she gave the blood of kings to the fire (Drogo's funeral pyre) and in return got dragons. I can't wait for her to get a LightBringer sword- one that apparently has to be hot as well as shiny. I am glad Stannis has not yet sacrificed any small children, but I feel like Dravos is not making the best argument against that: if Stannis is so sure that someone's got to go in the fire for the sake of the kingdom, why doesn't he burn himself? Or even his own daughter? He's a king too, after all.

Okay, so Lysa slept with Littlefinger when they were young. Does Littlefinger genuinely not remember that it wasn't Cat? Maybe this is why he keeps telling people he slept with Cat, if he was drunk enough not to be able to tell the difference between the sisters. Also, oh man, I had totally forgotten that it turns out to be Lysa who poisoned Jon, and at the behest of Littlefinger! But I'm not really sure why he would do that. Was he trying to start all these wars? Did he just want to be able to marry Lysa? I need more backstory.

So: the dragon has three heads. I know the fandom consensus is that it will be Dany, Jon Snow, and Tyrion, but I wonder if at least one is going to be something entirely out of left-field, like Sandor Clegane. Especially if he has a redemption arc where he becomes a monk or something.

Overall, lots of good stuff in this book, but I do feel as though I've been rereading this series forever.