We've blown past promise after promise. At this point I genuinely don't even know if I actually still want it to come out. I'm almost over it, ASOIAF can fade into obscurity.. or Winds does release and we'll get blue balled once again and feel that pain again when the last book isn't coming out for another 15 years (which then will mean never, not by GRRM at least).
@@cypdead I'm nearly over it, so many other fantasy/epic series and books out there. I'm not running short on them and won't ever. I'll end up waiting for it to be finished at which point I'll do a reread and finish the series. Sunk cost fallacy being the very reason why, I'd just end up screwing myself over by getting excited for this series again just to never get Spring or have to wait another 15+ years for it.
Personally i prefer to read those two books separately. And yes, Feast and Dance are maybe boring at some point but they both have some best prose George ever wrote, best quotes, best dialogue...
@@michaelaporee260 Cersei chapters in Feast are indeed more entertaining than most of Dany chapters in Dance so i won't disagree with you but personally i love Dance a little more than Feast.
@@rafaelblake7278 i think maybe I was fatigued because i read them back to backw ithin like 2 months but I was kinda disappointed in dance. Maybe it is also bc we do not have winds. I just enjoyed feast a lot more definitely because of cerseis chapters
I don't usually write comments, but I have to tell you how cool your videos are! I'm currently working on my second novel, and videos like yours reinforce that I'm on the right path. Thank you for taking us along on your journey! Best regards from Germany!
your opinion of feast and dance as these „bloated set-up pieces“ is the usual response from first time readers. they all definitely reward re-reading so much because they not only tell you what‘s happening, they tell you what has happened way back (like all the world building lore) and much more important - they tell you what will happen. so recognizing that martin‘s foreshadowing and all those secrets are so cleverly hinted and openly hidden opens a whole new rabbit hole. the hole we are sitting in since how many years. great vlogs
Join the waiting club, I was 14 in middle school when I read them and back then I thought “well it can’t take that long till the next one, right?” Now I’m 22 soon to graduate from college and the damn book is still not ready
@@jmanjman2685 i used to read A LOT in my teens, and I wanted to get into fantasy and at the time I remember the show was on its sixth season and I watched the battle of the bastards without knowing any context of what I was seeing, and I ended in this rabbit hole that is a song of ice and fire. After I reread them a few years ago I noticed how dark this books are at times, I guess I kinda forgot most of it bc my brain didn’t fully absorb what I was reading the first time lol
@@sergi0593 I also read them at around 14, and I watched the show a year before that. Was never able to read anything meant for people my age during that time.
My intention has been to reread these books once I've pre-ordered Winds Of Winter. After more than a decade I'm starting to think that I'll never reread them.
As a fantasy nerd. If you’re interested in reading more Fantasy, i recommend a couple of authors. - Joe Abercrombie has very similar ideas in his storytelling to Martin’s in terms of taking apart tropes with grim-dark satirisation. - Brandon Sanderson is more popular with his novels where it’s more tropey with high fantasy settings. But his execution of said ideas are really good. - Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time is said to be the most significant modern fantasy series over A Song of Ice and Fire. Where it resets the whole notion of what fantasy can be and is considered a monolith within the fantasy landscape. If you’re feeling down about Martin’s unfinished work, these authors have series that are completely finished.
All of those authors sound great! Thank you so much for the recommendations! I plan on reading The Way of Kings next and I will definitely check out the other two!
Well Peter, safe to say I'm starting to look forward to these! Just found your channel recently and watched all the reading vids back to back. This book focused yet vlog style is dope and something many find challenging but you're nailing it! Flows seamlessly ~ thanks for sharing
That was is original intention yes, but he changed his intention. He was the one who decided for the way it was publicated and structured the books as such. I think especially book 4 is best read in one single go.
Great vid. I think most people, when finishing the series the first time, have similar thoughts to you on it. The first 3 books are undeniable classics, and the Apex of modern fantasy imo and more many books 4 and 5 don't feel the same. But on reread, this usually disappears for most people. I've seen countless people online say that Feast or Dance is their new favorite after rereading the series. While books 1-3 are incredible, once you know all the big twists, the smaller stuff, the more subtle parts of George's writing shines. And books 4 and 5 are his best writing. Feast being about the fallout of war, the power vacuums It creates, the small folk suffering, the ones left broken, etc. The Broken Man speech alone is up there for best monologs ever written imo. Yes Dance drags in the middle. Tyrion had double the chapters he should have and George let himself write more words than needed. This feeling the books take longer to read is because of word count per chapter. Where as GoT has around 5000 words per chapter and CoK and SoS has around 5500, Feast is around 7000 and Dance is around 6500. When the average chapter of Dance last around 9 pages and the average chapter in Feast is 13, you really feel that as a reader. Dance has some of the weakest chapter in all the books, but when you really invest yourself in the world and lore and theories, the rereads open your eyes.
I agree with everything you said about Dance Tyrion "excuse me sir where do whores go" and looooong description of volantis and history of valayria had me skipping a lot. Though I did like Dany story. And I started with the audiobook but the reading was bad bc Roy dotrice was sick😢, i had to switch to ebook.
I definitely will. I read the hobbit when I was younger and I definitely want to revisit the lord of the rings now that I’m a little older and see if they are still as good as I remember! Also thank you so much for the the support! :)
Seems like you haven’t seen the show. That’s great! I recently watched the show for the first time and then immediately read all the books and there’s definitely aspects I wish I could have read without knowing what would happen. That said there are a handful of things that I actually think the show did WAY better.
There seems to be a lot that you missed. The things you were surprised by, like the wolf dreams, have been happening since the first book and not just jon and bran but arya also. The three eyed crow tells bran that he will fly in the first book as well.
you need to read "the world of ice and fire" and "fire and blood volume 1" it's a completely different vibe and read that I love with all my heart, honestly maybe mandatory to read to enjoy the main saga more
But that’s not how he truly intended……. Yes, he originally meant to have it be one novel. And then to publish the next “half” later after realizing this wasn’t working. But ultimately it was published as two quite separate books. A dance with dragons came out many many years later and was reworked to be its own thing, after 6 years. Even chapters from TWOW were swapped back and forth between ADWD and some from ADWD were moved to TWOW. But there shouldn’t be a combined reading for that when it ultimately comes out. I’ve read the combined reading, but I think it’s the worst way to go about it on a first read-through. There’s certain thematic elements in both books that stand alone that are lost in the combined reading. It’s not the “correct” reading order. But that tangent out of the way, I’m happy that you enjoyed it. They’re both my favorites in the series
Your channel was suggested to me for a split second from the corner of my eyes I thought Rupert Grant opened a RU-vid channel after his successful career as Ron Weasley
I read them separately on my first read, then combined on my re-read. I loved them both times, though I will probably do the combined order again on my next read (whenever TWOW gets announced...) These two are definitely slower paced (and combined even SLOWER slower paced) but they are by far my favorite in the series. I love the breadth of perspective explored and getting to just sit with these characters and their emotions as they ponder tough decisions. I find that the various storylines parallel and contrast well with each other: we follow several characters deciding what type of leader they want to be and how their decisions may impact others or compromise their own values (Jon, Dany, Cersei, and though a minor character, Prince Doran); and we follow many other characters who are at a low point and trying to rebuild their identities (Jaime, Brienne, Arya, Theon, Tyrion.) I like that the combined order puts all these perspectives in direct conversation with one another. As far as other books in the ASOIAF universe, there's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Fire & Blood, and The World of Ice and Fire. AKotSK (aka "Dunk and Egg") is probably the best book to read next, since it's a collection of three prequel novellas that are much more digestible than the main series. Its fast pace will be a welcome change from the slowness that you just experienced. Fire & Blood is... Extremely Dense... but I still found it to be an absolute page turner. You might want a break before starting it. TWoIAF may look like just a coffee table book, but it contains a surprising amount of text about the lore/mythology that is worth reading. Note that the middle of TWoIAF contains a lengthy summary of the material in F&B, so you can skip that part (and definitely don't read that section BEFORE F&B... the summary is a pretty dry read and just spoils the events.)
Your comment has been extremely helpful! I definitely plan on reading Fire and Blood and I will check out the other two as well. I really want to know more about the lore of the world.
It’s pretty cool watching this video as I read these books years ago and have mostly forgotten what has happened, I used to really love Jon Snow and Aria’s chapters but dreaded slogging through some of the others haha. I might pick them back up if the next book eventually comes out:-). I would be interested to watch if you end up reading any of George R R Martin’s offshoot books on the Targaryen’s, especially with House of Dragon having just made season two. Nice video, it is very calming and not too overloaded with music or anything.
I’m really glad you enjoyed the video! I’m planning on give Fire and Blood a read soon and making a video. I really want to read some Brandon Sanderson books first but honestly there are a lot of them so Fire and Blood might be first.😅
Seriously just read them. They are my favourite books of all time without a doubt. George is a phenomenal writer, and his dialogue and characters are second to none IMO. Also just the tone and vibe of the world that he creates is incredible. You won't regret it.
@@PeterOlszewski there’s a great channel that does a voice acted audiobook here on RU-vid broken down by chapter (DavidReadsASOIAF) and I found it super good to listen to each characters story that way!
it’s here! i was looking forward to a follow up so bad, thanks peter. enjoyed the video so much and it’s cool to know your opinion as you started with the books first. i should thank you as you have inspired me into getting into the song of ice and fire books, and i’m hyped as someone coming as a got/hotd show only. also, i definitely recommend you to check out house of the dragon, prequel to got. it’s my favourite show and would love to know your thoughts on it. looking forward to seeing more vlogs :)
I’m sorry I took so long making it, but am glad to hear that you liked it! I’m currently watching through the show and I will definitely watch a House of dragons. I think I’m gonna take a short break and read a couple different books but eventually I plan on reading fire and blood. I really appreciate your comment! It means a lot to me!
@@PeterOlszewski of course and you are really underrated, i’m glad i came across your channel. don’t worry and take your time, i feel that’s the beauty of george’s art. the world and the characters stay with you, i’m sure you will have a blast. keep doing what you like, sending lots of love!
I’ve listened to the first two books now I’ve watched all the shows and read fire and blood need to get back to listening to a storm of swords only ,see it like 5 hrs in watching this makes me wanna finish the series
@@PeterOlszewski Well, i hope you like them as much as i do. And, if you don´t mind the recomendation, i suggest you start with The Stormligh Archive series, since it´s also an epic fantasy series, and it even has some sparks of shonen manga on it. I'll be waiting for The Winds of Winter, and a video of yours about sanderon :)
Dance catches up with feast for crow's and moves past it chronologically, so I definitely wouldn't recommend reading them side by side unless you have a guide.
To understand Asoiaf you have to reread it. The first time I read A Feast for Crows, I forced myself to read it and found it all boring. Then, after waiting so long for the new book, I forced myself to read it again. It became my second favorite book in the series.
And now you can patiently wait with the rest of us lol. But I would recommend the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms novellas. They’re very good, plus it’s getting its own spinoff show next year. You could also try fire and blood if you wanted more, just be warned it is purely a lore book that’s supposed to be an in universe history book lol. In fact I think I recall Tyrion actually mentioning it in Dance lmao
The books should definitely be read seperately (especially on a first read) for the best reading experience. I assume this would also be George's intention.
I’ve tried and tried to read a feast for dragons or a dance w crows atleast 3 times and never make it past brienne making it to crack claw point. Brienne deserves undivided attention every time she’s on the page
Though I dont read books I Enjoy watching ur content smm idk how to describe it but it got veryy nintendo ish vibe to it lmao keep up the good work sir
Yess, the second part is out! We gotta have a third part! 😄 I haven’t read these books but seeing you read them and hear your feedback makes me want to buy them. Maybe Martin should sponsor you for that. 😂 Also, are you planning on making a video reading “The Rise of the Dragon”?
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it! A third part is currently in the works. Do you think it would be worth reading The Rise of the Dragons? I heard it covers some of the same stuff that fire and blood goes over.
Hii I have just watched Game of Thrones for 8th time and funally i will read the books, the coming days i will buy the first one and i am excited too see the differences ! Wish me luck. Due to the show i got used to the characters and i cant let them go so i will read for them instead ^^
I prefer the "Ball of Beasts" version myself but theyre all good. If its your first time i would suggest reading the publication order simply for reveals and spoilers but for rereads anything works. Its even fun to just read/listen to one POV all the way through. I think people dislike Feast so much because theyre worried about the "main" characters being absent so they dont see the brilliance of that book until rereads. _Did_ Sam really meet Pate at the end? 🤔
I think reading them together fo rthe first time is a problem. George had to separate the books because they were too long, so he specifically did it in a way where pacing between the stories wouldn't be interrupted. Once he separated them, he added chapters and such, mainly to damce I suspect, which caused it to be a but slower oaced than perhaps originally intended, and I think thay really hurts feast which on its own is a great book and was more"done" before the split, so when you shove dance and its added elements Gerge wrote later with only damce in mind and not Feast, it causes Feasts story to be worse for it in terms of pacing.
OG readers have waited over 13 years, I've waited about 7. But still, I respect Martin, and love his work. By the way, what did you think of the true king, Stannis? And the old knight, Barristan?
Ahh… 1 month ago. Better times. I waited all these years. Also it maybe cheating but I read a dance on a tablet for the first time and it was so fast. I hope he’ll finish but don’t hold your breath. I started at 17 and I’m now 31.
I'll say that Books 4 and 5 grow on you over time. After Book 3, I also somewhat saw these two books as a bit of a slump. I wanted the big plot to move along, why am I being introduced to these new characters? Why do I care about Victarion or Arianne? Just give me more Jon Snow and Tyrion! But once you understand that they are the aftermath of Book 3, you begin to appreciate them more to the point they are my favorites. It's all about introspection for all of our major characters after the events of Books 1-3, and that introspection is beautiful. Now, of course, you can catch up on all the fan theories and realize how much you missed on a first read through. Like, who Jon Snows mother is. What's the deal with Aegon Targaryen and Jon Connington? Is the Hound actually dead? Whatever did happen to those Freys on the way to Winterfell?
I plan on doing a reread of these two books at some point. I’m currently catching up on the show and I definitely want to check out some of the theories.
@@PeterOlszewski Without spoiling (which feels odd to say), here are some of the top theories: - R+L - (f)Aegon - Quiet Isle Masked Man - Frey Pies - The Great Northern Conspiracy - The Grand Maester Conspiracy - Tyrek Lannister is a horse. 😁
