Back in 2010, I decided that (as with the Wheel of Time before it), I was done reading A Song of Ice and Fire until the series was finished. I hadn't read any of the books since
A Feast for Crows came out in 2005, and knew I would need to re-read to refresh my memory whenever
A Dance with Dragons finally emerged -- and then would have to re-read
again some years after that, when we got book six, etc. Better to just stop and wait, however long that took. I sold my copies of the first four (to free up shelf space) and washed my hands of it.
About a month later, Martin announced the Really No We Mean It publication date for
Dance, but that was okay: I was at peace with my decision. It came out in 2011, and I didn't read it, and I went on not reading it.
But in discussing the show with friends, I've grown tired of dodging spoilers (sometimes unsuccessfully). So I kind of wanted to read the book, just to fix that problem. On the other hand, it had now been more than seven years since I read the books, and I knew that without a refresher, I wouldn't find
Dance as satisfying as I otherwise might. And yet, I didn't want to take the time to re-read that much stuff. On the
other other hand,
teleidoplex told me I wouldn't find it satisfying whether I re-read or not.
Reader, she was right.
I am putting this behind a cut because a) it's long and b) if your personal parade is a happy one, I don't want to rain all over it. Because I was
not impressed with this book. No, that falls short: there are things in here that decrease my enjoyment of
previous books. If reading about that is going to make you sad, then click away now.
( Read more... )