Review: Under Stones by Bob Franklin

Under Stones
By Bob Franklin

Published: 2010

Synopsis: Dip into the world of Bob Franklin‘s fiction at your own risk. The calm surface belies a swift undertow and snags galore. These are not horror stories in the traditional sense; they are more unsettling than that. Under Stones are uneasy tales, set in familiar surrounds. They are journeys into the human psyche and powerful critiques of contemporary Australian society. Bob Franklin pokes and prods at human fears and foibles, revealing with forensic glee truths that you might prefer were, well, left under stones.


Bob Franklin is a Welsh comedian who has been based over here in Australia since the late 1980s. I've never seen his stand-up but I've long been a fan of his work on the Shaun Micallef show (if you've never seen it, seriously, look it up. Quality off-beat humour) and have always enjoyed when he popped up in other TV shows and films. Under Stones is his first attempt at writing fiction (at least first published attempt) and what he delivers is an odd collection of short stories sure to leave you feel a little...off.

The synopsis really does a great job of summarising these stories, they're not horror in the sense that vampires, zombies or men with chainsaws chase down unsuspecting men and women. Instead they look at real world horrors that people face...with a twist. While the crux of a story may be the ravaging effects of consumerism, or the crippling fear a beaten wife feels it tackles these stories by introducing a mild supernatural element to emphasise it. Most of the stories are written in a way that suggests that the supernatural manifestation may simply be a psychological effect of the character's break-down but others are driven by the supernatural element but contain a real life concern as well.

The length of the stories really vary. Some are quite long, at around 25 pages, while some are a mere page and a half. Personally I find this method extremely effective. I'm not a huge reader of short stories and I find that the variety this provides kept my interest for longer than it perhaps would have been if they were all longer or all shorter. After reading a particularly long and grueling story, it was nice to have a couple of teeny stories that whacked a punch of absurd horror and refreshed my 'palate' after the previous read.

A common complaint I've had with short story collections is that the quality can fluctuate a fair bit. I'd say this is probably true with this book. Some stories were really great but some just felt lacking. If I had to summarise my complaints for this book it'd be a lack of editing. Not in the sense that there were a lot of spelling or grammar errors but that I felt like a few more sessions rewriting could have tightened up some of the prose and perhaps developed a couple of the stories a little better. I mentioned that I enjoyed the variety in story lengths, and while I did for the most part I also felt like some of the short stories were thrown in to add content at the last minute. The writing style was very 'literary' and at some points it felt like reading the prose of a third year creative writing student. Which isn't to criticise either the author or student writers but to try and give you an idea of what I mean. From the young writing I've read in our uni magazines I feel like sometimes a student puts pen to paper, writes what's haunting their head and then, once finished, leaves it. I feel like if another few months was put into this book it could have been phenomenal because the way Franklin writes, when done to his full potential, is quite haunting and his stories lend an interesting eye to areas that concern most people at some time or another.

So I thought I'd list a couple of my favourite stories:

Plans - In a town of perfectly coiffed men and women, home made jams and clean streets a young misfit computer virus creator (does that make her a hacker?) sets the wheels in motion to take down the centre of the town's organisation team. (12 pages)

Traitors Bay - A battered wife retreats to a small town with her husband and son after an indiscretion by her husband puts them at risk. She starts to see enemies on every corner. A really interesting and psychologically driven story. (26 pages)

Take the Free Tour - A less than desirable journalist decides to take the 'free tour' of a porn site and begins to obsess over the naughty site until things take a twist for the worse. A kooky and bizarre look at porn addiction. (32 pages)

Children's Story - Told from the perspective of a five year old this story looks at a holiday taken by his family and some family friends. Turns gruesome, but stupendously done. (5 pages)

Hell Hath No Fury - A husband and wife quarrel over whether or not they should have kids. The wife takes revenge. Wacky-that's truly the best word I can think to describe it! My favourite short, short story. (2 pages)

The Snow Globe - Lee was always second best. His brother was clearly his parent's favourite and far exceeded Lee's more modest career and life but not he's dead from a tumour in his brain. Lee takes up residence in his brother's house but on his way there he keeps seeing something out of the corner of his eye. (14 pages)

The Rock Lobster Club - Joel wants to be one of the rich and famous. When he met Beth he thought he'd found his way there. The best twist ending, absolutely hilarious! (9 pages)

So as the synopsis says, this isn't your typical horror story. Many of the stories seem bizarre, funny or even absurd, and some have extremely ambiguous endings. This isn't the sort of book that smacks you in the face with it's content, instead it sneaks in under the guise of humour or familiarity and only then starts to let the horror sink in. At it's best it's a scathing and poetic view of our world and society, and at it's worst it falls short of being anything other than strange. Not always the most engaging, but an interesting read nonetheless.

My rating: 3.5/5

Review: A dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin

A Dance with Dragons
(A Song of Ice and Fire # 5)
By George R.R. Martin

Publshed: 2011

Synopsis (via goodreads): In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance once again--beset by newly emerging threats from every direction.And from all corners, bitter conflicts soon reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all. . . .



I can't believe I've already finished the series! I really should have slowed myself down so that I wouldn't have to reread it in 5-10 years when GRRM finally releases the next book in the series! It's going to destroy my patience trying to wait out the next book's release...waiting is not my forte. Anyway, onto the review of the recently released book five of the wonderful and magnificently large A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series. Obviously since this is book five it'll contain spoilers from the previous four books so if you haven't read them yet and you don't want them spoiled do not read on!

Ok so my previous review for book four, A Feast for Crows, stated my ambivalence for this book. Partly because AFFC didn't really live up to the previous books and because A Dance with Dragons takes place at the same time as AFFC but tells the story of the characters who missed out getting in to AFFC. So my verdict? Well...I'm torn. On one hand I raced through this book and at no time did it feel like it was a chore or difficult to get through the 961 pages (my edition) but on the other hand...meh. I'm going to do my best to describe what I liked and disliked about this book but I'm having trouble actually putting it into words it was just...meh.

So as mentioned the book continues along the timeline set in the previous book, but this time we get to hear from my favourite characters, and in my opinion the more interesting characters, Jon (at the wall), Tyrion (escaping from King's Landing) and Daenerys (struggling to rule Mereen), as well as characters like Bran, Davos, Quentyn and a few others. Because I've read these books in pretty quick concession I had no issue picking up where their stories had been left off but I imagine anyone who has had a bit of time lapse in between reads might have difficult remembering all the smaller, yet important, details and more importantly they may have issues recalling exactly who all the minor characters are. Especially those around Daenerys in Mereen with all their ridiculously similar names Hazayrr, Kazayrr, Khazzyr or whoever they are!

It did take a little getting used to the pace of this novel because even though chronologically it's in line with AFFC it doesn't exactly match up. So when Jon's chapters start up Sam seems to linger around for a lot longer than he did in the previous book (where we read from his perspective) because for Jon there was more that needed to happen before he could send Sam away. And at times I'd find myself a little muddled and confusing action from the previous book with this book, "wait I thought Sam was on his way south, why is he still at the wall?" for example. This was mostly an issue at the very start of the book, once Sam had headed south, it was a lot easier to fall into the rhythm of the book.

One of my chief concerns was that this book would waste chapters rehashing an event from another perspective. There were perhaps two chapters where a large chunk of the dialogue/action was exactly as it had been in the previous book. Again the example coming to mind is when Jon tells Sam he's sending him to become a maester. There is dialogue and interaction that occurred before this conversation and we get a bit of insight into why Tilly ran crying from Jon while Sam was waiting to speak with him, but a large chunk of the chapter is simply what we'd already read with the occasional input of internal dialogue from Jon. I found that beyond boring and I found the internal insights confusing because even though I knew they were giving explanation to why Jon made faces at Sam or paused in his speech in Sam's version from AFFC I couldn't actually remember exactly what happened in Sam's version and I wasn't interested enough to pull out that book and read them side by side. Luckily this only happens in one other chapter (that I can recall) but for those chapters it is a little clunky and awkward and really could have probably been edited out or down.

What it does do with this chronological format is provide the full story behind some of the rumours in AFFC. Early into AFFC Cersei receives word that Davos, Stannis's hand also known as the Onion Knight, had been beheaded at White Harbour. In this book we find out what really happened, in much more detail, and this new aspect adds a whole new dimension to the news and information those in King's Landing receive. In my reviews of the earliest books I expressed my delight over the secrecy and double-crossing that was had a constant presence in the books. Basically that's what happens in this book, except rather than just realising it from chapter to chapter when you see what news different characters receive and how they react/act around different people in small groups (most commonly in King's Landing) you see this behaviour taking place across the kingdom. The two sub-plots that blossom in White Harbour with Davos (one that begins to take shape, and one which is left for the next book) are only small but they have the potential to grow greatly and I found them very, very interesting!

This book has a much quicker pace but I think that really comes down to the characters it focuses on. In King's Landing things had begun to stagnate. Cersei was losing her mind to paranoia and struggling to maintain her power through her son around the shifty characters she'd surrounded herself with. It was quite small scale and for the most part concerned only King's Landing and a few characters. Similarly Brienne's chapters were basically her saying "I'm looking for my sister, a girl of three and ten" over and over as she rode through the ruins of Westeros. However this book had Quentyn (son of the prince of Dorne) struggling to make his way to Daenerys to swear his allegiance through marriage, Tyrion racing away from King's Landing and his sister's clutches and falling in to some interesting company (on more than one occasion!) and Jon struggling against the Wildings, the Others and the obnoxious King Stannis and his red witch. So immediately this book covers a far greater area and looks at several different conflicts and issues taking place across the seven kingdoms and beyond. That said it still is a little slow. Not snail pace, but it's filling in a lot of gaps, reminding audiences of earlier conflicts and providing new details of back stories which had previously been hinted at.

I had no real problem with this slower speed especially when about two thirds of the way through it actually overtakes the previous book and begins to give us completely new stories. Cliff hangers from AFFC are answered or at least re-glimpsed and the action takes off at a much faster pace. It really needed those slower two thirds to set up the scene for the last part of the book and hopefully this means the next book will begin at an equally fast pace and really snowball the story home.

So I had no real problem with the pace of the story but I did feel like a lot of it was unnecessary. Did GRRM really need 2000 pages and two books to tell this part of the story? One of the things I really loved about GRRM was how he managed to write this huge, all encompassing story but still maintain it fairly succinctly. I feel like he's perhaps lost control of these books. Davos was given four or five chapters to do very little and as soon as things got really interesting it was left. Bran spent a long time walking north and once things got interesting the chapters ended. Brienne and Jaime were reintroduced at the two thirds mark, we were teased a little and that was it. Jon didn't really develop too much that hadn't been introduced in the previous three books and Daenerys lingers on in Mereen even though nothing happens except people hate her or want to marry her. Ultimately it was 961 pages of story which really could have been worked into the previous book if GRRM had a more concrete idea of where the story was going and what needed to be included, and what was merely interesting filler. I guess this is where the meh reaction comes in. I enjoyed reading the book, I like the characters and I love the world he's created and his writing is still fantastic but did I need to read it, did it advance the story at all? No, not really, and I imagine those fans who've waited five years for it will be a little let down.

Which I guess brings me on to my final point, his unbelievable overuse of cliff hangers! In the first two or three books these cliff hangers weren't really an issue because more often than not the cliff hanger was resumed in the same book at a later chapter. Now that GRRM has so many characters (I think he's literally bordering on a cast of 1000s) if he leaves a chapter as a cliff hanger, especially one of the minor characters like Davos or Sam, there is a chance it won't be picked up again in the same book. So at this point there are literally dozens of story lines left hanging, some since two books previously, which perhaps won't be resolved any time soon. It makes it a little frustrating and a little confusing. There are only so many sub-plots and frayed story lines that can be remembered at any one time and as time goes on they'll need more background provided to rehash them (you can't expect your audience to reread every book again each time you publish a new one) which will take up unnecessary space and waste yet another book.

I feel like this has come out really negative which wasn't my intention at all! I really did enjoy the book, some of the story lines were fantastic and I jumped around in anger/happiness/fear more than a few times! But I guess once you start to think about it for an extended period of time you start to realise the inconsistencies and the difficulties the series is up against. If you haven't read the series yet (but have decided to risk spoilers to read this!) don't let this be a deterrent, it's a wonderful series and has some great potential to go into new, uncharted waters. If you've read it, I'm interested in what you think about this book, let me know in the comments!

Review: Brightwing by Sullivan Lee

 Brightwing
By Sullivan Lee

Published: 2010

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Edgar and Mallory Battle are on the run after a spectacularly violent escape. Now, with a trail of bodies behind them, they need a hostage against the inevitable standoff with the police. Their first doesn't last long, thanks to sociopathic Mallory. Edgar has been hiding his brother's crimes since they were kids. Now he's torn between family loyalty and self-preservation.They carjack Lucy Brightwing, a criminal fresh from her own heist, with a fortune of uncut gems hidden in her vehicle. She could escape - but she won't abandon her millions. She could kill the Battle brothers, but she has to be careful. For one thing, if the law investigates, they'll find her ill-gotten loot. For another, her own life is sacred. She's the last member of a Florida paleoindian tribe thought to be extinct - the Tequesta. With her share of the money she plans to buy, bribe and blackmail her way into her own ancestral tribal lands in the heart of the Everglades: a Tequesta nation. Lucy leads the brothers into her beloved swamp, determined to kill them. But when she falls for Edgar she must decide whether to risk her heritage and the future of her tribe to save the doomed brothers.


Before I begin I just want to state out in the open that I received this book from the author and in return I am providing her with an honest review. Hee hee, I've been waiting for an age and a half to be given the opportunity to say that! Brightwing marks my very first author requested review and my very first self-published book and luckily for me I was offered a pretty good book to kick start both off with!

As the synopsis describes this book is part love story, part crime story, part Native American history lesson and part moral minefield. That's a lot of parts I know, but this book has just the right mix and makes it work. Before I get started discussing the characters and the story I just want to explain a particular source of pleasure I came across with this book. When the author sent me the request email she told me a bit about her history. The name Sullivan Lee that this book is published under is actually a psyuedenym. Her actual name is Laura Sullivan and typically she writes children and YA novels published by MacMillan/Holt. Now I don't know about you but I get a bit of a perverse pleasure knowing that I'm reading the antithesis of what authors normally publish. When you know that this is an author whose writing is usually used to soothe children and calm them before bed it just makes it oh-so-much better when the novel begins "it was a shame about the hooker," and is followed a couple of pages later with the line "Two minutes later, before he could quite discover the ambivalent joys of erotic asphyxiation, he was choked unconscious, then encouraged to remain that way somewhat longer by a precise blow to the head". It's just so devilishly good!

Ok, so on to the actual content of the book! There is a lot that happens in this book but the real focus is on the Battle brothers, Edgar and Mallory and Lucy Brightwing, the girl who was in the wrong place at the wrong time but is more than capable to take care of herself. For me the real interest was watching the characters unravel and struggle and learn new things about themselves thanks to the new and unusual surroundings and people they were thrust amongst.

 The Battle brothers are incredible different and incredibly (stupidly!) loyal to one another. Edgar is perhaps like a few people you know, well except for the professional crook aspect, but Mallory...well Mallory is a whole different kettle of fish. Basically he's batshit crazy.  He's obviously not quite right and there is this strange separation between what he does and what he thinks. Because it's so obvious that he isn't ok mentally there is this innocence about him even though he's a gun-wielding rapist and murderer who acts first and thinks never. He's dangerous but not because he has a gun and isn't afraid to use it. He's dangerous because he doesn't recognise life. He sees himself and his brother in the world everyone else is a thing to be used, abused or disposed of. Edgar on the other hand is the older brother who promised his mother he'd look out for his crazy brother. Unfortunately that means his life is anything but easy and he finds himself holding a gun to someone's head more often than he'd probably like.

Interestingly we're introduced to the brothers at the start of the book not so much through their physical appearance or dialogue but through descriptions of their outlook or reactions to their crimes. Not only did this tell you a lot about how well they work together (or perhaps work not so well together) but it gives a really interesting take into what makes the character who they are and also paves the way for the tension that is looming so very ominously from the start of the book. I found it really effective and a breath of fresh air.

Parallel to these brothers is the character of Lucy Brightwing. When we meet her she's just robbed a jewellery store of millions of dollars worth of uncut jewels and has done it with such ease and panache that she makes catwoman look bad. Immediately we're introduced to this intelligent, crafty, smoking hot Native American who is unlikely to take shit from anyone. As you read on though you learn more about her and see these different facets to her character. She's this incredibly natural and almost mystical woman in terms of her connection to her land, animals and history. She's self-sufficient and can look after herself better than Bear Gryls (and without drinking her own urine) but she's also got this vulnerability about her because she's the last of her tribe and she loves her heritage so, so much and is willing to do anything to maintain it.

When the Battle brothers and Lucy come crashing into each other's lives there is this interesting tension set up between them, and not just because Lucy is there hostage and Mallory is insane. On one side you have these two brothers who are inseparable but Edgar is constantly considering how he can deal with Mallory and release himself from his family ties. On the other side you have Lucy, last member of her tribe and desperate for a family. Even as imperfect as the Battle brothers are it's hard not to see Lucy longing for the relationship these two men have and I suppose that's part of the reason she takes care of them and puts herself at risk so often at the start of this book. 

The story itself builds rather slowly, developing the relationship between these characters, putting them out of their comfort zones and seeing what they'll do. There are constant threats to all of their lives but it isn't until the final 70 or so pages that the action really starts to push home. After some initial tension things began to look like they were calming down and that this weird triangle of people hidden in the Floridian forest might actually manage to make things work. Then suddenly, with the slightest hint of foreshadowing their fragile semblance of normal life is dashed against the wall and all three are struggling to make it to the end of the book alive.

My only complaint would be of the ending. After struggling against the current for so long it comes together almost to neatly. However there is a sequel in the works and there is a suggestion of some added tension in the final pages that I think could redeem the ending for me once I read on in book two. Ultimately though it was an enjoyable and interesting read and a welcome break from my current rather intensive fantasy reading schedule!

My rating: 3.5/5

Review: A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

A Feast For Crows
(A Song of Ice and Fire #4)
by George R.R. Martin

Published: 2005

Synopsis(from book cover): Bloodthirsty, treacherous and cunnng, the Lannisters are in power on the Iron Throne in the name of the boy king Tommen. The war in the Seven Kingdoms has burned itself out, but in its bitter aftermaths new conflicts spark to life. The Martells of Dorne and the Starks of Winterfell seek vengeance for their dead. Euron Crow's Eye, as black a pirate as ever raised a sale, returns from the smoking ruins of Valyria to claim the Iron Isles. From the icy noth, where Others threaten the wall, apprentice Maester Samwell Tarly brings a mysterious babe in arms to the Citadel.


So assuming you've read my previous reviews I'm sure you're aware that I'm kinda in love with this series and so far have not faulted it a drop. Well hold on to your hats people, things are about to change!

A Feast for Crows begins where the previous book ended, which incidentally was my favourite book of the series so far, so I had pretty high hopes for this one. I've heard from other bloggers and friends that this book was by far the worst in the series but I was hoping they were wrong, or exaggerating or jealous of Martin's god-like storytelling abilities. Unfortunately they were right, well, to an extent. This book was by far the worst of the series, but when the four previous books have received 5 stars from me that doesn't necessarily mean much.

An epilogue from Martin at the end of the book explains that this books is merely half of what he intended to publish. When he realised the book was going to be excessive in size he decided to split it in half but struggled over whether it would be better to take the finished work, cut it in half and slap a "to be continued" at the end or to divide the characters in half and tell the complete story for half of the characters in one book and then release a second book that completed the story for the other half of characters. He decided on the latter, though I'm still debating over whether that was the right move to make or not. For instance in this book we learn that a mid-level character is dead and in the epilogue Martin says that we'll hear from that character. But will it just be telling the story that we heard in this book or does that suggest that there is more to the story and we'll find out perhaps he isn't dead or something else happened before he died which was kept from the Queen and those in King's Landing? If it's the second option then yay! But if it's the first and it plays out as it was told to the Queen then I think it'll be rather boring and something I don't care to read.

So in this book we see a Westeros that has been severely damaged by the war that has nearly petered out completely. The Northmen have died or bent their knee to the Iron throne, Stannis is at the wall but is excluded from this book, Rob is definitely dead and his resurrected mother features very little in this book (though I hope she has a place in A Dance with Dragons), Cersei is losing it and Jaime seems to have had a change of character and is actually proving to be a tough but just lord commander of the Kingsguard. Though the threat of war has been extinguished to the north the Iron men (Theon Greyjoy's family) have taken up arms and are threatening the southern realm, there are more and more outlaws and wolves (the four legged kind) roaming through the kingdom and in Dorne trouble brews.

One of my main concerns about this book was that it focused so heavily on the lagging kingdom and omitted where the action would be, i.e. the wall and with Daenerys. There is far too much focus on Queen Cersei's insane fear of opposition, desperation and utter stupidity. Seriously, she's the stupidest character in the series (in terms of intelligence) and it seems like more and more people are coming to realise that. It was interesting to watch her plot and plan and think how brilliant she was and then read a chapter from Jaime or another character which demonstrates how stupid her plans are, how transparent her schemes are and how disliked she is by everyone. I'll enjoy it greatly when she finally dies, which is such a horrible thing to say, but it's only fiction so I'm allowed to be heartless and bloodthirsty like that! Though this stuff was interesting and will serve in later books as the catalyst for the Lannister kingdom's implosion I'm sure, it did grow a little tedious to just read over and over about her little schemes and men fawning over her and her and Jaime's constant bickering. Similarly I found the travels with Brienne to be equally tedious. I never warmed to her character and now she's almost overwhelmingly obnoxious, always going on about honour and keeping oaths and freaking Jaime Lannister. Seriously Martin, just make them bang already. Though she isn't as pious as some of the other characters have become her self-righteousness is just as annoying and I'm sick of reading how ugly a maid she is.

I suppose this leads fairly well into my second complaint. Because this book only contains half the stories we've been following we also only hear from half the characters. Unfortunately these characters are some of my least favourite (Cersei and Brienne especially) and for much of the time I was desperately wondering what was happening with Jon and Stannis on the wall. What happened with Tyrion, where did he go and is Varys with him? Will he join with Dany, or plot some other war against his sister? And what about Dany, how is her endeavour going? The few characters that I did really enjoy (Arya, Samwell, Sansa etc) had chapters few and far between and are likely to go undocumented until the book after A Dance with Dragons if Martin's epilogue is still true in intent. A few new characters were introduced and held their own chapters but they were also in the minority. On the plus side A Dance with Dragons should be an absolute cracker since it'll tell the stories of the characters which hold my interest the most.

Complaints aside this was still and interesting book and equally as well written as it's predecessors. There are a few interesting story lines that have begun to be explored namely, without giving away any spoilers, the Ironborn Euron Crow's Eye and his recent trip to the depths of Valyria, what is awaiting Samwell in the Citadel and the hints of collusion and revenge mentioned in Dorne. Although these probably set up the events for A Dance with Dragons and more likely the book that will follow I feel like they could have been explored more thoroughly and earlier, seeing as the Euron Crow's Eye plot was the only one really mentioned earlier than 700 pages in. Obviously ends have to be tied for the new chapter in the tale to begin but I really do think too much emphasis was placed on it, and particularly Cersei, and a few hundred pages could have served a better story.

While the seeds for the new war/uprising/threat have been planted and the secrecy of this series has hit an all-time high I'm a little worried about beginning A Dance with Dragons and coming up against the same thing. Perhaps Martin's story would have been better served to have a 'to be continued' line at the end rather than the split it was published with but I won't know until I begin A Dance with Dragons and find out for certain. I know this review has been a bit of a downer but it was still a great book, just a let-down compared to the previous epic tales of the wars and worries of Westeros. Definitely don't give up on the series or skip this book, just be prepared for a dip in awesomeness.

Review: A Storm of Swords 2: Blood and Gold by George R.R. Martin

A Storm of Swords 2: Blood and Gold
(A Song of Ice and Fire #3)
By George R.R Martin

Published: 2000

Synopsis:  The Seven Kingdoms are divided by revolt and blood feud, and winter approaches like an angry beast. Beyond the Northern borders, wildlings leave their villages to gather in the ice and stone wasteland of the Frostfangs. From there, the renegade Brother Mance Rayder will lead them South towards the Wall. Robb Stark wears his new-forged crown in the Kingdom of the North, but his defences are ranged against attack from the South, the land of House Stark's enemies the Lannisters. His sisters are trapped there, dead or likely yet to die, at the whim of the Lannister boy-king Joffrey or his depraved mother Cersei, regent of the Iron Throne. And Daenerys Stormborn will return to the land of her birth to avenge the murder of her father, the last Dragon King on the Iron Throne.


Wow book two, what can I say?!

After completing the 'complete' book I think I'd have to say that this is probably my favourite book (by which I mean part 1 and 2 combined) that I've read in the series so far. It is by far the most complex, character-driven and action packed book of the series and I'd say Martin's most ambitious attempt yet.

When I reviewed A Storm of Swords book 1 I mentioned that it began to really delve into the character's psyche and motivations. This continued throughout book two also. In a world like Westeros life can be pretty black and white at times. You work tirelessly in your position, you marry to strengthen ties with other families in the realm and you honour your king but your family comes first. Because of the fairly rigid social and cultural boundaries and expectations many of the characters appeared to be fairly easy to assess. In this book (and part 1) Martin almost makes you feel bad for judging the characters so superficially or quickly. Characters like Jaime Lannister who seemed at first to just be an incestuous killing machine appears to have grown a conscience and built a wall between him and the rest of his family and Sandor Clegane, while not honourable or a gentleman, is definitely more than the 'king's dog'. It isn't as though they've simply swung in the other direction from bad to good, or good to bad but now they have far more texture and complexity and their morality is now hard to pinpoint, at least definitively.

Unlike A Storm of Swords 1 that seemed to concentrate more on this character investigation at the expense of action, this part definitely didn't lack in action. Unlike A Game of Thrones which heavily featured big and expansive battle scenes, this book's action was smaller but more potent. This time it was personal. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself!) Rather than large fights between faceless armies, brothers turned against brothers, friends vs friends, shadows flickered in the dark and the deaths were messy, unexpected and horrifying. Some (one in particular) were so unexpected and came from such secret planning that I could barely believe they had actually happened, while others were the culmination of three previous books of animosity or planning. In addition to the characters releasing some venom in their revenge or battle tactics Martin decides that this is the book that will begin to see some serious death tolls.

Death isn't a stranger to the people of Westeros. So far we've seen Ned Stark, Viserys Targaryen, King Robert, Lord Renley and countless smaller characters that won our hearts and some that perhaps we were glad to see die. This book trumps them all though. Death haunts every chapter but very few are expected. Unlike some books like Harry Potter where the death of popular or prominent characters seemed to be a bit heartless or unnecessary each and every death makes sense in this book. Sure I'd prefer a few of my favourites remained in the land of the living, but their deaths have so far proven crucial to the unfolding narrative. The sudden spate of deaths also seem to be pushing the story in a new direction and I think my prediction about the fire god R'hllor taking centre stage in the coming books will be correct. At least to a degree. I think I'd rework that prediction to say that R'hllor may not be key to the story, but it'll be key in pushing the story onwards away from the original narrative. If you read this book, perhaps you'll understand what I mean better, but I'd hate to give away any spoilers or influence your perspectives so I'll speak no more!

The books are roaring towards the conclusion now and to honest I can't wait to put this series behind me! It's been so consuming of my time and energy. The nature of the chapters means that it may be 100 pages between a Tyrion cliffhanger (for example) and the conclusion of that cliffhanger. That makes it hard to put down the book at 2am even when you know you have to be up in 5 hours, or to put it down so you can work on your big scary thesis that really needs to be worked on! I'm not very patient and I hate cliffhangers so more than once I've taken a stickybeak at some of the later chapters, reading sentences here and there to see if I can get a hint at where the story is going. This isn't a complaint about the book, more like a complaint about my lack of will power and hours in a day! Martin has superbly crafted a story that is so difficult to put down and that you can't get out of your head.

A brief update

So this weekend has been a little chaotic... at best! I've been struggling over this exam/assignment, changing focus slightly one way and then back and then in another direction and then back again, so I'll be extremely happy once I hand it in tomorrow evening and had wash my hands of it! On top of that I spilled coffee all over my laptop and have practically been breathing into a paper bag for the past 8 hours hoping it'd survive, which I'm happy to report it has!

Today is my wonderful uncle Rowan's birthday and by some form of kismet I met my original fundraising aim for the MS Readathon! If you've read my earlier post you'll know that my uncle is the reason I took part in the challenge as a kid and the reason I joined up this year when I heard they'd opened it up to adults. So I've upped the ante and am now aiming for $500 which I think is definitely achievable considering I've got another month and a half to fundraise...although my parents have both already gone above and beyond the parental duty so maybe it will be harder than this first hurdle!

New Challenge: MS Readathon

When I was a kid I used to take part in the MS Readathon every year. For 30 days I'd read as many books as I could get through as my friends and family sponsored my efforts. I loved taking part in this challenge because it basically gave me an excuse to keep my nose in a book for 30 days straight but it had a greater purpose than simply providing me with some pleasure.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a serious and debilitating disease which affects the communication between the nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Three times more women are affected than men and the average age for diagnosis is just 30 years old. There is no known cure and for some MS means life in a wheelchair with extremely limited control over their body. My uncle is one such sufferer.

For much of my life my uncle has been aware of his MS but before that he was an active and sporty kid and teen who spent more time on a variety of sports fields than anywhere else. He was diagnosed earlier than most but it wasn't until about 10 years ago that it really began to impact on his life. His health declined and he's now restricted to a wheelchair and living with my incredible grandparents, but he's never let it get him down. His amazing positivity and mad sense of humour is a testament to his character and he's one of the strongest and most interesting and amazing people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.

So it was for him that I used to scramble through those books each year as a kid and it's for him that I'm doing it again now. An adults edition of the Readathon called 'The Novel Challenge' will be running for 30 days in August and I've signed up to take part. I'm not really comfortable using my blog as a platform for raising money, what I really want to do on here is to raise awareness and hopefully motivate any Aussie bloggers into taking part and any international bloggers into hunting down whether such a challenge exists in their area.

The other thing is an appeal for book titles to read during this challenge! The titles I'd been planning to read for the 'Book to Movie' and 'Books I Should Have Read' challenges will also go towards this challenge but I'm eager for some new titles to add to my Readathon TBR list and I want you guys to help me out there!

I'll be updating posts daily through August but you can also go to my fundraiser page to check out my progress. Wish me luck guys!