You would think that by the time you get to the third book in a series the plot gets boring, but no. There are about a thousand twists that occur in this book that I was completely blind sided by. From the second book, we still get to see the story from Davos, Caitlin, Tyrion, Sansa, Arya, Samwell, Jon, and JAMIE. We get to see the story from another Lannister - the broken hero with reasons, who nobody listens to. He does one major bad deed in his life and it follows him around his life; but he is broken, and we get to explore his transformation into the new Jamie Lannister. It's definitely interesting and unexpected. There may be other characters' points of view, but I can't remember off the top of my head and my book isn't near me.
First, I am going to give a few character summaries and what they went through during the course of this book, and then I will give you what I thought a main theme of the book was. So again, SPOILERS MAY BE CONTAINED WITHIN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES.
Sansa: Oh, Sansa. Where to begin? A lot happens with her, remember she is only 12/13 years old, so she is still very young. However, we do see some character growth and we see her becoming more of an independent thinker. Thinker, would be the key word. She doesn't really act on any of her thoughts. She plans to act but she always hesitates, which puts her in a sticky situation. Although, maybe if she would act impulsively she would have died at the end of the story. But she doesn't. She does get married though, and you will never guess to whom, but it's definitely a shock - she's kind of a bitch to him to, and he tolerates it. Absolutely nuts.
Arya: Arya is as scraggly as a girl as ever. She is 8/9 in the story (I always forget with her) and she kills like it's nobody's business. I don't even think she questions herself as to whether or not she is doing right, she just knows what needs to be done. She doesn't yet realize that she is a Warg, but she is shifting into her wolf's skin when she sleeps. Following catastrophic events, she falls into a deep depression and the most unlikely of heroes helps her out.
Tyrion: Craziness. Plots, twists, turns, scheming. He does it all, and it ends up biting him in the ass. Oh, but don't worry, he gets revenge in the end. Like seriously, the last 2 or 3 pages of the story, but it is definitely a game changer.
Cersei: Well, she really isn't in the story. Except for like little background decisions, and we see how she just really, really wants to be a boy, and should have been a boy because she has more scheming things than anyone.
Samwell: I love Sam. Everyone loves Sam. Sam almost dies, but ends up saving some people. Does he find his courage? He claims no, he claims Gilly gives him courage, but by the end of the story you can't help but notice how ballsy he really is.
Jon: Jon also almost dies, A LOT. He is a cloak-changer, a warg, a lover, a killer but you definitely see him develop his leader skills. I just hope he can save everyone from the Others. (I also can't wait to see some of the scenes in the TV show 'cause I know they're gonna be steamy!)
Jeoffry: He gets married! There are a lot of marriages in this story. Possibly one for every death? But he marries someone not really in the story (well the first two), and she seems like a super badass and she comes with a lot of weaponry. But ya know during this story Jeoff is his usual ass self. And he's only 13. Could you imagine what type of king he's going to be like? I feel like another Mad King is in the making. Oh and guess what, JEOFF is the one who sent the dagger to kill Brandon. To impress his "father," King Robert.
Petyr: He is a sneaky son-of-a-bitch, and I kind of wonder how much control he really has over everything in "the game." At the end he reveals some of what he's had his hand in...and I can think of someone he will put his hand in. (ewwwww, gross, sexual!)
I don't know, there are so many characters in this book. Some that die, some that seemingly die, one that came back from the dead. It seems like there are weddings and feasts and betrayals left and right. It's insanity.
Oh yeah! That reminds me - so the Lord of the Light plays a huge role in this book, and it's really complicated and I don't want to go into it, but Stannis and Melissandre are definitely the ones in the background that are (I predict) gonna kick some major ass. Also, Stannis is the rightful heir to the throne, so super big motivator...
One thing that occurs over and over in this book is that author is not afraid to kill main characters. I believe that eight of the main characters die in this story, which is what usually doesn't happen in books. The first couple were a real shock, and you would think by not the shock value fades. I think this is a real unique approach to writing because we are taught from childhood that if you are "good" and you fight "evil" you will live a healthy and prosperous life; real life isn't like that at all. What I also love about this book is how much philosophy of good and evil you can take from this book. If you have ever taken a philosophy class that is one of the great questions to ponder, what makes "good" and what makes "evil?" Is it the agreement of the majority of society creating the rules to govern what is good and evil? Is it something that just is? Is something more inherent that we just "know" to be right? Whatever you think it is, you have to acknowledge the possibility that a person can be seemingly evil, but do good deeds; a person can also seem good in the eyes of others, but do evil things to create the overall good for the majority of people. It all depends on what side of the coin you are on as to how you view people/things as good and evil. And that brings me around to my original point. This book brings into light the reasons and intentions behind a lot of the "bad" characters actions and you see how they were things gone awry.
Ciao for now!
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