A dance with dragons

A few weeks ago, I finished the fifth volume of George Martin, A Dance with Dragons, I had bought in Lancaster last summer but could not carry with me to the US (and onto the boat!). It reads wonderfully, just like the previous volumes, and so I wonder why it took the author so long to produce it. (He apologizes about this in the preface to the book. But does not [have to] provide reasons.) Esp. when considering that the story constitutes the “other side” of the previous volume, covering characters and regions that were omitted in the fourth book. Even though the pace is sometimes a wee slow (e.g., the coverage of Tyrion’s travel and mishaps and of his every thought!, or of Daenerys’ procrastination and hesitations), again, it is very pleasant to read. I am actually surprised at how easy it is to launch back into the complex geography and geopolitics of Martin’s universe, given the five year gap with my reading the previous volume. The important and consequential action has to wait a while, but things are moving fast by the end of the book, with surprising and permanent changes of dominance and of rulers. It is a good thing that Martin is eliminating some of his characters as it means he cannot go for ever in writing small prints about them! On another level, it is quite interesting to spot so many readers of the first volume (A Game of Thrones), in the metro and in airports, clearly generated by the TV adaptation on HBO…

At last!

While in Lancaster, I bought the latest volume in George Martin‘s Song of Ice and Fire series. A book I have been waiting for, for about six years… Even though the size of the series is far behind the Wheel of Time, it is clearly headed towards the same fate of never getting any near the finishing line, unless someone else takes over! I am very much surprised at the TV adaptation of the first volume, A Game of Thrones, nor because it is a poor adaptation (quite the opposite!), neither because it attracted many viewers (including my son), but because there is no end in sight. Or maybe that’s a good thing for a TV adaptation! In any case, I got the heavy hardcover in the Lancaster University bookstore at the price of a paperback. A  voluminous and hopefully good enough read for the incoming summer break!