A Dance With Dragons

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A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)

A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

My Initial Thoughts after my first read of this long awaited book:

You'd think that after spending 6+ years writing a book, it would be one of the best, if not THE best books of the entire series. Alas, I rank it just above A Feast For Crows (the previous book of the series), the worst book in the series. I had given Martin a pass on Feast, as Dance With Dragons and Feast were originally going to be one book and after the story kept growing, Martin decided to split the story and was going to put the 'good' storylines in DWD. However, what we got were alot of extra storylines about minor characters and even new characters who I could care less about. All the awesome characters that he developed in the first couple of books, Bran, Arya, even Sansa, etc. are barely addressed if at all. I'm very, very, very dissappointed in these last two books of what started out as a great new series.

At this point I don't care about the series. I don't see how an author can write 1500 (Feast and DWD) pages and not have anything interesting happen, and have very minimal story progression. Martin's writing style is very frustrating to read when there are no interesting story arcs. Each chapter is a different viewpoint, so there is no continuity amongst the chapters. Then it seemed like in each chapter I was just reading what the character was monologuing in his head, or reading conversations people were having with each other. He also tends to use alot of the same phrases over and over again. which came across as lazy to me.

Also, one of the characters spent half the book thinking about how he had killed his father to the point that I was bored of reading this characters storyline. This storyline had historically been a good one too.

I believe Martin has fallen into the trap of introducing new characters and writing endlessly about things that are BORING! He needs to hangout with Brandon Sanderson to get a clue on how to progress his story.

Then there were a couple of chapters that seemed so disconnected from the rest of the story and the writing was sooo disinteresting that I couldn't believe that it had been allowed to be published. It made me wonder if the editor had fallen asleep herself while reading this story and had accidentally skipped these chapters and it wasn't reviewed properly.

I know I just went off, but it is just unbelievable to me that a writer, with as good as Martin has been, could spend 6+ years and 900+ pages on a book and have it turn out so subpar as this book is. (Taken from my Goodreads.com review)

I will write a more in depth review at some point.

View all my reviews

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies

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"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (PPZ) by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, a hybrid of the classic Pride and Prejudice (PP) and the zombies.  Zombies have found themselves involved in a resurgence as of late in pop culture and literature.  They have fittingly risen back from the netherworld from which they have been banished for the past couple of decades.

I was excited to read this book for a couple of reasons, one being the awesome cover art that drew my attention to the story. Another is the idea of the infusion of zombies into a classic story involving women and how these women are trained zombie killers. The last reason I was looking forward to reading this story, was unrelated to the actual story; I had gotten a Nook for Christmas and this was my first purchase.

I haven't read the original Pride and Prejudice and probably never will, as it is a genre of books that doesn't interest me. However, I believe that these are great books that hold lots of great memories for lots of people. So, I can only assume that PPZ at least loosely follows the original PP.  This being said, I would have to say that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is more Pride and Prejudice than it is Zombies.

The Zombies always being a danger and their random attacks of the people in the story was a great twist. So great in fact that because there wasn't more zombie attacks in the story, overall I was dissapointed with the story. The zombies were more of a secondary storyline and I felt were underused as a source of angst in the story.

As far as the writing and structure of the story, I have no complaints even though it took me awhile to get used to Jane Austen's style of writing. The zombies and the all the other parts of the story that were created by Seth Grahame-Smith were seamless and didn't detract from the overall story arc.

The main source of angst in the story is the emotional angst that existed with the Bennet sisters and their relationships, or lack thereof, with the men in their lives. There is some physical conflict that is present when the zombies attack. These zombie attacks are a welcome diversion to the constant worrying about men and whether or not the Bennet girls will find a husband and marry.

Overall I enjoyed the book and liked the zombie addition to a classic story that I would've never read otherwise. Really my only complaint to the story is that there wasn't enough zombie and zombie mayhem.

Profanity in the story is minimal and to be honest I don't remember any standing out. I would give it a ONE just in case I overlooked any. Violence in the story would be a TWO, in that the Zombie fights are at times described in gruesome detail. Sexual content is a soft ONE, in that it is implied but not described in the story.

I give the characterization a strong ONE  in that I liked the characters in the story and some of their characteristics. Their constant pining for a husband throughout the story turned me off after awhile.  The plot I give a ONE, in that it was pretty one dimensional and not too interesting.  Overall I give the story a ONE, as a result of what I stated earlier:   Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is more Pride and Prejudice than it is Zombies. If you liked the original PP and have even a passing interest in the zombie craze, then you will most likely enjoy this story more than I did.  I would recommend this novel if you are looking for something different to read that's entertaining and quick to read.

         

I give Pride and Prejudice and Zombies an angst rating of TWO, but wished it would've been a three with more zombie angst!

December 2010 Book Club Selection

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And for this month’s book club selection – the book that has been chosen is The Paris Vendetta by Steve Berry.

The following is a synopsis from Amazon.com -

When Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile in 1821, he took to the grave a powerful secret. As general and emperor, he had stolen immeasurable riches from palaces, national treasuries, and even the Knights of Malta and the Vatican. In his final days, his British captors hoped to learn where t…he loot lay hidden. But he told them nothing, and in his will he made no mention of the treasure. Or did he? Former Justice Department operative Cotton Malone isn’t looking for trouble when it comes knocking at his Copenhagen bookshop. Actually, it breaks and enters in the form of an American Secret Service agent with a pair of assassins on his heels. Malone has his doubts about the anxious young man, but narrowly surviving a ferocious firefight convinces him to follow his unexpected new ally. Their first stop is the secluded estate of Malone’s good friend, Henrik Thorvaldsen. The wily Danish tycoon has uncovered the insidious plans of the Paris Club, a cabal of multimillionaires bent on manipulating the global economy. Only by matching wits with a terrorist-for-hire, foiling a catastrophic attack, and plunging into a desperate hunt for Napoleon’s legendary lost treasure can Malone hope to avert international financial anarchy. But Thorvaldsen’s real objective is much more personal: to avenge the murder of his son by the larcenous aristocrat at the heart of the conspiracy. Thorvaldsen’s vendetta places Malone in an impossible quandary-one that forces him to choose between friend and country, past and present. Starting in Denmark, moving to England, and ending up in the storied streets and cathedrals of Paris, Malone plays a breathless game of duplicity and death, all to claim a prize of untold value. But at what cost?

December 2010 Monthly Book Club Selection

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And for this month's book club selection - the book that has been chosen is The Paris Vendetta by Steve Berry.

The following is a synopsis from Amazon.com -

When Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile in 1821, he took to the grave a powerful secret. As general and emperor, he had stolen immeasurable riches from palaces, national treasuries, and even the Knights of Malta and the Vatican. In his final days, his British captors hoped to learn where t...he loot lay hidden. But he told them nothing, and in his will he made no mention of the treasure. Or did he? Former Justice Department operative Cotton Malone isn't looking for trouble when it comes knocking at his Copenhagen bookshop. Actually, it breaks and enters in the form of an American Secret Service agent with a pair of assassins on his heels. Malone has his doubts about the anxious young man, but narrowly surviving a ferocious firefight convinces him to follow his unexpected new ally. Their first stop is the secluded estate of Malone's good friend, Henrik Thorvaldsen. The wily Danish tycoon has uncovered the insidious plans of the Paris Club, a cabal of multimillionaires bent on manipulating the global economy. Only by matching wits with a terrorist-for-hire, foiling a catastrophic attack, and plunging into a desperate hunt for Napoleon's legendary lost treasure can Malone hope to avert international financial anarchy. But Thorvaldsen's real objective is much more personal: to avenge the murder of his son by the larcenous aristocrat at the heart of the conspiracy. Thorvaldsen's vendetta places Malone in an impossible quandary-one that forces him to choose between friend and country, past and present. Starting in Denmark, moving to England, and ending up in the storied streets and cathedrals of Paris, Malone plays a breathless game of duplicity and death, all to claim a prize of untold value. But at what cost?

What is your favorite reading Genre?

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A question for all RandomAngst.com readers (if there are any yet), which genre has been your favorite to read over the years? My favorite genre to read has historically been Fantasy, more specifically, Epic Fantasy. I love the creativity that goes in to creating a whole new world, cultures, races, cities, etc. I enjoy being taken on a journey by the author that lets me explore this fantastic world and get to know the different characters and their personalities. If it ends up being a long journey, then that's okay, as long as it is interesting and stays new and fresh. Most fantasy authors are good at creating a new world and cultures, and infusing them with a hint of something familiar from our real world, but keeping it new and exciting.

Let us know what your favorite genre is and why.