A Song of Ice and Fire: Book 5

[brigdh]

Chapter 31 (Melisandre):
Whoa, Melisandre! I didn't expect to get her POV.
Interesting visions here- I'm not sure what most of them are supposed to be. The wooden face could be the greenseer Bran is with.
So Melisandre was a slave herself. Interesting. I wonder what her reaction will be when she finally hears about Dany.
Melisandre thinks that Bran and the Greenseer are the enemy. I'm not sure they are, but I'm also not sure where Bran's plot is going. It might be really interesting to have a Stark fighting on the side of "Winter" or "Darkness" or "Evil" or whatever the opposite of R'hllor is.
Melisandre thinks of Stannis as her champion, rather than herself as his champion. I bet he doesn't suspect that.
Mance is still alive! I did not see that coming.
I like that we see that Melisandre's visions are not nearly as trustworthy as she makes them out to be.
Ugh, missing eyes. I feel like this book is much more horror-filled than the previous ones.
Is Jeyne really going to escape from Ramsay Bolton? She doesn't seem that much of a risk-taker.


Chapter 32 (Reek):
I'm still surprised by how quickly the Walder kids turned evil.
UGH, HE NAMES HIS DOGS AFTER WOMEN HE RAPED. Ramsay Bolton, continuing to win for creepiest character in the books.
Hmmm, Manderly's Freys have gone missing. I suppose he killed them somehow or other.
Okay, now Roose is providing stiff competition in the "creepiest character" competition. The whole description of how he raped Ramsay's mother is just awful.


Chapter 33 (Tyrion):
Another Red priest declaring for Dany. I wonder how this ship is going to end up at Meereen- mutiny, maybe?
The ship is named Perfumed Seneschal! Hmm, so what about it is Dany not supposed to trust? Tyrion? The captain? The Red Priest? Maybe they're carrying some sort of secret cargo, like poison or disease.
Another prophecy- "one black eye and ten long arms". Victarion, maybe? Ten arms could be oars. He's the only one from the last book who was heading for Dany that we haven't seen yet.


Chapter 34 (Bran):
Interesting chapter, a very different style from the rest of the book.
So the Greenseer is named Brynden! I... don't remember any Brynden of legend. Possibly there are just too many characters in these books.
"Darkness will make you strong". That does sound like it's setting up the Greenseer/Bran and Melisandre/Rh'llor as enemies.
Um, I kind of have a feeling Meera and Jojen are dead. I just hope Bran didn't eat them in that weirwood paste.


Chapter 35 (Jon):
Kind of interesting that the Night Watch will now have a giant! I wonder what they'll do with him.
Not much happens in this chapter, really. I suppose it's just supposed to set up Jon's decision to allow the Wildlings on his side, as part of the "realms of man".


Chapter 36 (Daenerys):
I wonder if Dany really can't get sick? I hope she doesn't get the Bloody Flux, at least.
Missandei's dream about the Astapor refugees scratching on the walls in quite creepy. I wonder if that's a prophecy, or if she heard something else scratching, or what.
I think it'll be a terrible long-term decision if Dany marries Hizdahr, but I'm not sure how she can avoid it, at this point.
I don't trust Daario. I wonder if he killed Brown Ben himself, for some reason. He was paid by the Yunkai'i? He just wanted more power, to be closer to Dany?
Oh, Dany. Don't sleep with Daario, that's a terrible idea.


Chapter 37 (Theon/Reek):
Jeyne is doing a terrible job of pretending to be Arya. I don't think this ruse is going to last for long.
...did Manderly cook the Freys into that pie?
"The Tully marriage was his notion" This is a really interesting comment! I don't think there's ever been a hint before that Ned and Catelyn's marriage was controversial. Could Lady Dustin have wanted to marry Ned herself? Or is there more going on here?
"Give us a song about the Rat Cook". OMG HE TOTALLY COOKED FREYS INTO THE PIE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
The scene with Ramsay, Reek and Jeyne is just... ugh. I don't even have anything to say. Probably the most appalling rape scene in these books.


Chapter 38 (Areo Hotah):
Areo, yay! I didn't think we'd get his POV again.
Tensions continue in Dorne. I hope we get to see more of the characters here; I could read a whole book about them.
Okay, a candy skull with red fruits inside is incredibly gross. The last 10 pages or so have really turned out the UGH UGH UGH factor.
The story about the first Daenerys is interesting. Sounds a bit like our Daenerys- willing to sacrifice herself for the good of the kingdom, kind to people of every class. Considering that Doran knows about the modern Dany, I wonder how intentional those connections are.
There's a lot of themes in this book about multi-generational revenge sagas. I like it; there's a real sense of history and depth to this world. It makes me wonder how everything can be resolved in the end, though.
The grass and the viper- I really like that. I love Doran.
NYMERIA ON THE SMALL COUNCIL SO AWESOME I CANNOT WAIT.
AND TYENE AS A SEPTA. OMG LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE.
So, that fleet is totally Young Griff/Aegon, not Quentyn. Wonder how Dorne will react to that arrival.


Chapter 39 (Jon):
Whoa, sending Val away. I'm not sure that's going to work out.
Ha, the giant's a vegetarian. I find that hilarious, for some reason.
What on earth is Jon's plan with these dead bodies/wights? It never goes well when someone tries to keep a zombie captive. There is always tragedy in the end, involving either blood or an "I am legend!" type realization.
The backstory about Hardhome is strange. What happened there? Volcano? Dragon attack? Some new type of monster?
I'm glad Jon's going to rescue the Wildlings there, even if it's only for the sake of avoiding giant wight army.


Chapter 40 (Tyrion):
Oh my god, I cannot believe Tyrion is actually riding that pig.
Jorah, dude. Don't hit people just because you can't take what they're saying.
"My father called them smallfolk". Oh Tywin. Your particular brand of crazy will be missed.
Hurricane! I was particularly amused since I was reading his chapter during Hurricane Irene's not-so-intense assault on NYC.
And now they're going to be attacked by a slave ship. I wonder if the Widow was just trying to get Tyrion killed by sending him on this boat, rather than actually sending him to Meereen.


Please no spoilers beyond this in the comments!