Spring Into Reading 2012 - Results

This reading challenge was so much fun! As you all know, this is the first one that The Coffee Pot has ever participated in. It was so good to interact with other book bloggers during this challenge, visiting other sites and seeing if they were enjoying the novels that they picked for their challenge.

The results for my book list: completed! I finished with two weeks to spare, which is impressive because George R.R. Martin's books are anything but short. I can't wait to take part in another reading challenge.

Thank you to Callapidder Days for hosting this challenge! I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it.

You can click below for the complete list of my reading challenge which also gives links to the reviews. :) Happy Summer Reading!

My Spring Into Reading List

A Dance With Dragons

The future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance.

In the east, Daenerys, last scion of House Targaryen, her dragons grown to terrifying maturity, rules as queen of a city built on dust and death, beset by enemies.

Now that her whereabouts are known many are seeking Daenerys and her dragons. Among them the dwarf, Tyrion Lannister, who has escaped King’s Landing with a price on his head, wrongfully condemned to death for the murder of his nephew, King Joffrey. But not before killing his hated father, Lord Tywin.

To the north lies the great Wall of ice and stone – a structure only as strong as those guarding it. Eddard Stark's bastard son Jon Snow has been elected the 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, but he has enemies both in the Watch and beyond the Wall, where the wildling armies are massing for an assault.

On all sides bitter conflicts are reigniting, played out by a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves. The tides of destiny will                                                                   inevitably lead to the greatest dance of all… 

- Goodreads Blurb

*May Contain Spoilers*

Winter is coming. And everyone in the Seven Kingdoms and beyond know it. In the fifth installment of A Song of Fire and Ice series, A Dance With Dragons, by George R.R. Martin, the storm that will sweep all of our favorite characters into the ominous winter is brewing. No one is safe. 

As promised at the end of A Feast For Crows, all of the characters that we've followed throughout the books are back. They all have their goals and secret motivations, with betrayal hiding up their sleeves. Personally, I wanted to read more about Tyrion, Arya, and Dany. And I got exactly that. Though, Arya didn't have as many chapters as I would have liked. I really want to know how she's going to play a part in the game of thrones. 

Tyrion has become a very dynamic character. The personality traits that made him a villain in the earlier books, have now developed into traits that make him seem (almost) a hero. 

Dany, the Queen, mother of dragons, freer of slaves. Her character is beyond my favorite and the story that she lives out is full of duty and honor to her people. And her dragons. But they're growing larger and becoming harder to control. The chapters dedicated to her are so interesting, readers may even be skipping ahead. 

And let's not forget the wonderful Jon Snow up there at the Wall. Jon's view of the story was the most intriguing one of all the different viewpoints in this novel. As Commander of the Wall, Jon plays a vital role in protecting the realm from what hides north of the wall. When Stannis Baratheon (a player in the game for kings) leaves his red priestess with Jon at the Wall things really heat up. (Catch the pun?) Then the Red Priestess predicts that Jon has daggers all around him, a warning ensues detailing that his life is in danger. Here's hoping that when the sixth book is finally finished - Jon is in it. 

The new characters in this novel all play a vital part in advancing the plot. What readers didn't get from the fourth book, is explained and played out in this one. And although there were chapters of "down time," per say, this novel was one of the best in the series. Martin does a wonderful job in advancing the characters, changing alliances, betraying the seasoned characters, promising a glorious outcome, and surprising the hell out of the readers. 

A Dance With Dragons

on Amazon

rating: 4/5 cups

A Feast For Crows

"After centuries of bitter strife, the seven powers dividing the land have beaten one another into an uneasy truce. But it's not long before the survivors, outlaws, renegades, and carrion eaters of the Seven Kingdoms gather. Now, as the human crows assemble over a banquet of ashes, daring new plots and dangerous new alliances are formed while surprising faces--some familiar, others only just appearing--emerge from an ominous twilight of past struggles and chaos to take up the challenges of the terrible times ahead. Nobles and commoners, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and sages, are coming together to stake their fortunes... and their lives. For at a fest for crows, many are the guests--but only a few are the survivors. "

Throughout the first three installments in the series A Song of Fire and Ice by George R.R. Martin, the main players in this game of thrones were the highlighted narrators. However, in A Feast for Crows, the fourth book, nearly all of those players are absent.

The main characters that readers have come to love and hate are left out of this entire book. Tyrion and Dany being the most obvious characters that didn't make it into any part of the novel. Although Jamie Lannister and Queen Cersei become narrators for this book. There sections are by-far the most interesting, along with Brienne, the maid of Tarth.

The novel seems to foretell that in order to understand what will happen in the fifth book, the fourth book is necessary. It does little else then to lay a foundation and uncover character motivations that readers questioned in the previous book. While focusing on King's Landing, A Feast for Crows also shows the reader what has been happening in parts of the Seven Kingdoms that we haven't ever been introduced to. Meaning that, unless the reader accepts the fact that this book is the "story behind the story" from the beginning, I think many will dislike it.

I have to say that I felt disconnected from the whole novel. I was never a fan of Cersei or Jamie, who steal the entire focus of the novel creating chaos. Although it seems karma may be coming to call upon dear sweet Cersei soon.  My favorite characters had little or no part in this book, and I feel many readers will have a hard time connecting with characters that were either marked as evil or hadn't been previously introduced. But, Martin promised on the past page of A Feast for Crows that all of our favorite (and least favorite) characters will return in A Dance of Dragons. :)

A Feast for Crows

on Amazon

rating: 3/5 cups

A Storm of Swords

Scottchan

"Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, victim of the sorceress who holds him in her thrall.

Young Robb still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons left in the words.

And as opposing forces maneuver for the final showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost limits of civilization, accompanied by a horde of mythical Others--a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable.

As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords..."

* *

Over one thousand pages makes up this amazing novel, the third installment in the series A Song of Fire and Ice, A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin. 

Dreamstine

The characters who offer their point of view, have changed again from the first and second book. This creative angle is an effective method to draw the reader in by allowing them to see some events from various perspectives to better understand the underlying motives of the characters. It serves to bridge the reader to different characters throughout the series, changing the way the readers perceive them.
And where their loyalties lie...

However, I found myself stopping to consider how the characters had gotten to where they were. The ever changing perspectives creates the problem of forgetting where certain characters were while simultaneously offering the aforementioned understanding. 

The plot, which I just have to mention briefly, literally had my mouth hanging open, the word "what" perched on my tongue. It was completely unpredictable! So many things happen constantly: characters die, known plans fail while secret plans succeed, and betrayal is everywhere. Loyalty a hope lost on the raven's wing. 

I was a little disappointed, okay more than a little, when three of my favorite characters "died." I put the quotations around the word because more and more people who die in these novels are re-appearing as... I'll let you figure that our for yourself. 

And not to spoil anything, but the last page will blow every reader away. It makes the previous 1126-ish pages totally worth it.

A Storm of Swords 
on Amazon

rating: 3/5 cups

Teaser Tuesday (5)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Another teaser this week from George R.R. Martin's series! :) Spring Into Reading really has me racing through these books and I'm absolutely loving it! (I've even started the watching the HBO series) :D 

A Storm of Swords (p. 404)
              - George R.R. Martin

"Down in the square, a thrown stone caught the captive on the cheek, turning his head. Not the Kingslayer, Arya thought, when she saw his face. The gods had heard her prayers after all." 

Should Be Reading @ Wordpress

To Their Kingdoms or Their Graves

"For when kings clash, the whole land trembles."

When the blood of the comet cuts through the sky, everyone feels it's a sign. But interpretations vary to the six people who fight for the right to call themselves King... or Queen. Those who worship the old gods, the new gods, and the Lord of Light, among others, all know that this comet has come to show them the way.

Zirconicusso

To their kingdoms or their graves.

The second novel in the series A Song of Fire and Ice, A Clash of Kings picks up where A Game of Thrones ended, revealing betrayal, war, magic, history, loyalty, and revenge. When each action claims several consequences, the throne isn't as easy to sit upon as some would like to think.

* *

George R.R. Martin's A Clash of Kings is a novel that shows no favorites and deafens to the sound of mercy. The struggle for the kingdom is chaos and everyone fighting for the land believes they're the one who should sit The Iron Throne. And all of them have good reason. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, although I found myself getting a little lost at times, trying to keep up with the various plot lines that carry through the novel. The world that Martin creates is so multi-dimensional that it's histories, characters, and motives are more than relatable. They're understandable. 

I was able to form a bond with various characters, whether I had sided with their cause or not. Martin makes it difficult to choose one ally and remain loyal throughout the entire story. The people I thought were villains at the beginning, had my understanding and respect by the end. (I'm still all for Winterfell, though, so don't worry)

But winter is still coming, and the Iron Throne is the fire that promises warmth.

       
        A Clash of Kings
                               on Amazon
                 
                            rating: 3/5 cups