A Review of A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin

A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Writing 5/5

Imagination 5/5
Plot 5/5
Setting 5/5
Characters 5/5

My Overall Enjoyment (Not an average) 5/5

I came late to the ASoIaF party, having read A Game of Thrones for the first time in 2013, but better late than never so they say. I have not previously reviewed any of these books and being the quintessential grimdark blog, it is time to remedy that. In my notes about A Game of Thrones I said it was "epic, multilayered, with great dialog, characters, plot, action scenes, suspense, and the writing is beautiful with moments of brilliance." About the second book, A Clash of Kings, I said "it's very dark, gritty, violent, unpredictable, bloody." Next up was A Storm of Swords, about which I noted  "almost everything about this book is amazing! Its really the largest scope and scale of fantasy I ever remember reading." I was hesitant to start A Feast for Crows because I heard a lot of negative things about it. But I was still excited and based on the first read first 3 books, George R.R. Martin could do no wrong in my eyes. At 350 pages I gave up. I read chapter summaries to prepare for book 5. About A Feast for Crows I said "compared the the first 3 books this was a huge disappointment. While it may be necessary for the overall story I just felt this was too long and there were way to many non-essential characters and places to keep track of and remember. Some of the main story pov's were just not interesting. There was too much dialog and beating around the bush. Not terrible but just not what I expected after the first 3 amazing books." I really felt the magic was lost. I was very nervous to start A Dance with Dragons. I am happy to say, I was not disappointed this time!

Everything to me about this book was solid. The pacing, history, magic, plot, writing, dialogue, and especially the increased character development. What stands out to me is that I was intrigued and captivated by almost every POV character in this story. Whenever I read multiple POV books, there are usually more characters I don't care about than that I do. So reading this, I was so blown away by the depth which I cared about the fates of so many characters.

There was also a humorous element I began noticing in this book. I don't recall much in the other books but perhaps I just didn't notice. It was really surprising and refreshing here mixed in with the horror and bleak atmosphere so pervasive throughout this book.

As mentioned above, I believe this is the most epic, ambitious fantasy story ever written, certainly that I have ever read. There are so many layers and so much depth to each layer that it is nearly overwhelming, but in a satisfying way. This is not a book you can read once and put it on the shelf. To grasp it as intended,  it needs multiple reads. At a bit over 1000 pages, it read more like 2000 to me. I had to read slowly and cautiously, paging back at times and consulting Wikis. But it never seemed like a chore and I never wanted it to be over.

There is nothing about this book I didn't like. I am dying for The Winds of Winter, book 6. There is so much going on plot-wise that I don't see any possible way book 6 won't be amazing, maybe the best of the series. If you haven't read this series, you need to begin it next.

Review of The Barrow by Mark Smylie

The Barrow by Mark Smylie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Writing 4/5
Imagination 5/5
Plot 4.5/5
Setting 5/5
Characters 4/5

Overall enjoyment 4.5/5

Goodreads Summary

Action, horror, politics, and sensuality combine in this stand-alone fantasy novel with series potential. Set in the world of the Eisner-nominated Artesia comic books.
To find the Sword, unearth the Barrow. To unearth the Barrow, follow the Map.
When a small crew of scoundrels, would-be heroes, deviants, and ruffians discover a map that they believe will lead them to a fabled sword buried in the barrow of a long-dead wizard, they think they've struck it rich. But their hopes are dashed when the map turns out to be cursed and then is destroyed in a magical ritual. The loss of the map leaves them dreaming of what might have been, until they rediscover the map in a most unusual and unexpected place.
Stjepan Black-Heart, suspected murderer and renegade royal cartographer; Erim, a young woman masquerading as a man; Gilgwyr, brothel owner extraordinaire; Leigh, an exiled magus under an ignominious cloud; Godewyn Red-Hand, mercenary and troublemaker; Arduin Orwain, scion of a noble family brought low by scandal; and Arduin's sister Annwyn, the beautiful cause of that scandal: together they form a cross-section of the Middle Kingdoms of the Known World, brought together by accident and dark design, on a quest that will either get them all in the history books, or get them all killed.

Summing up for experienced fantasy readers I would say this book is a combination of the Malazan Books of the Fallen by Steven Erikson in terms of world building and Joe Abercrombie in terms of grittiness; and, in both world building and grittiness, Mark Smylie is as good as both those huge names and goes even further adding elements of provocative sexuality. This book is a major investment as it will immerse you in an unbelievably huge new world with a massive cast of characters to get to know.

The world is expertly detailed and immense. To me, this book strikes of older epic fantasy in that the setting is often more of a focus than the characters. The maps and glossary come in handy because there are so many characters and places that without a reader could become confused quickly. I thought the author did a great job of introducing everything and it was rare I needed to consult either of the former but they are there which is nice and many will rely on them. This being said, there is no lack of character building and interestingly my favorite character is Erim, who receives the least time but that is probably the reason for my fascination. She seems very complex and mysterious. Another main character who was deeply drawn was Stjepan, although I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to pronounce the name. Fortunately, most of the names and places were easy enough to remember.

The plot was multi-layered and complex which, although this was a quest type story, it felt very fresh and it was enjoyable figuring out its complexities. It caused me to think; a lot, which some readers might find difficult but I found pleasurable. The lore and history are woven tightly into the plot and there is so that it could make up its own book. I thought it was wonderfully delivered as well. Sometimes in fantasy, lore can be placed a bit awkwardly but not here. If you love lore, as do I, this book has some of the richest I have ever read. The ending was excellent and sets up for what could be an even better second book.

Sometimes I read reviews critical of some perceived philosophy in a book, an authors motives, or what they believe are the authors personal beliefs. Those reviews annoy me so I try to avoid them. Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion and people read into things in different ways but I think a review should be about what specifically a reviewer liked, what excited them, and what they didn't like rather than their interpretation of the book. I'm not interested in a reviewers abstract interpretation of a story. If you tell me what you like and what you didn't, I will use that along with the description and blurbs to decide whether to read it or not. I mention this because there is so much going on in this book that it is inevitable that some reviews are going to get into a verbose rendering of what this book is about. I loved this book for its fantastical elements, excellent story lines, and the beautiful world the author has created. I had fun reading it.

This is also a book that, because of its dark themes and adult subjects, will certainly provoke controversy and with that negative reviews based on that. If you're an adult who's prone to offense, I can say with confidence you will find something in this book to be offended about. People will complain about the violence, cussing, sex, deaths, etc. If you don't enjoy books which have the those elements on a regular basis, then save yourself the grief and time and skip this. You will be unable to objectively rate this book. This is a book for adult fantasy fans that can handle adult material and are not so easily offended. Even though this book is obviously edgy, I don't think that was its primary purpose. I got the impression the author is a lover of fantasy and wanted to create a highly unique world with realistic characters and a great plot that would be fun to read. Perhaps some of the scenes were a little over the top but that really just added to the atmosphere of this world. I was troubled at times but I enjoy reading troubling events. It provokes emotions and I learn more about myself in the process.

I hope this book gets the recognition it deserves because I rank it with George R.R. Martin, as well as the authors I already mentioned, Steven Erikson and Joe Abercrombie, in terms of quality, grittiness, and epic world building. If you enjoy grimdark, and those 3 authors, this is a must-read book. If you love epic fantasy, and even if you're not a fan of grimdark, try this anyway for its epic scope and classic questing for a lost relic storyline. I think you will be amazed at what Mark Smylie has done here. I know I am.

View all my reviews

Grimdark Defined

Grimdark fantasy has been heavily discussed across the internet (I provide links at the bottom of this page to articles I agree with and ones I don't), especially in 2013 when a bunch of essays for and against it came out. My purpose here is not to "defend" grimdark fantasy. Does grimdark need defenders? Possibly. But that has been done, most brilliantly by Lord Grimdark himself, Joe Abercrombie, in his essay, The Value of Grit, which should be read by anyone considering a foray into this genre or an understanding of it. I simply want to write about why I love reading grimdark and how I understand it. I'm not really sure if there is any consensus on what exactly grimdark is. I will add my two cents here because just as I have gained understanding through some writers and not others, there will certainly be readers who will come to a better understanding through this piece. Will everyone enjoy reading grimdark fantasy books? Of course not. Just as everyone doesn't like to read about politics, or classic Russian literature, or cooking, or hundreds of other genres/topics. Should everyone appreciate grimdark fantasy. I would like to think so. This leads me to the first of the reasons I read grimdark. Themes.

One of the reasons classic literature like The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Aeneid, and the hundreds of other enduring works resonate so strongly yet today, some dating back thousands of years, is because they tell real stories about the human condition. When I think of the many classic literature books I have read, most touch on or involve major themes about the worst sides of human nature; jealousy (Othello, Persuasion, Tess of the D'urbervilles), murder (Crime and Punishment, Macbeth, Agamemnon), adultery (The Scarlet Letter, Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary), pride (The Illiad, Pride and Prejudice, The Crucible, Faust, Antigone), human suffering (Crime and Punishment, The Odyssey), warfare (The Illiad, The Aeneid), temptation (Paradise Lost, The Odyssey, Great Expectations, Lord of the Rings) and the big one, revenge, which I am most familiar with The Count of Monte Cristo, Hamlet, The Illiad, and Wuthering Heights. Many grimdark works I have read have major revenge themes including the apt title Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie, George R.R. Martins series, A Song of Fire and Ice, has many revenge story lines, (Arya Stark's revenge list prayer- "Weese," she would whisper, first of all. "Dunsen, Chiswyck, Polliver, Raff the Sweetling. The Tickler and the Hound. Ser Gregor, Ser Armory, Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, King Joffrey, Queen Cersei.") and my favorite series ever written, The Broken Empire (Prince of Thorns), by Mark Lawrence, is largely about Jorg's revenge. The Illiad, Faust, Romeo and Juliet, Oedipus Rex, Dracula, Frankenstein, and Shakespeare's whole catalog, are about as dark as you can get. Most of these works are considered "tragedies" and most grimdark books are very, very tragic. Really, if you made up a world and put the story of Hamlet in it, I think you would have grimdark fantasy. All the other themes I mentioned above and many more are woven thickly in grimdark. Grimdark gives fantasy the themes of classic literature tragedies but sets them in fantastical worlds.

I love the focus on character rather than world building. Most grimdark books I have read focus much more on the character; their likes, dislikes, motivations, past, and most notably to me, how they see themselves. Off the top of my head, I vividly remember many grimdark characters; from Mark Lawrence's Broken Empire I remember most Jorg, The Nuban, Gorgoth, and Sir Makin; from Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie there is Nicomo Cosca and Monza Murcatto and from his The First Law Trilogy (The Blade Itself), I clearly remember Logan Ninefingers, Glokta, Black Dow, and Dogman; from Glen Cook's The Black Company, I remember Croaker and Silent; from Gardens of the Moon, I remember Whiskeyjack and Quick Ben; Roland from Stephen King's Dark Tower Series (The Gunslinger); many from A Song of Fire and Ice (A Game of Thrones) most notably Sansa, Arya, Ned Stark, Jon Snow, Robert Baretheon, Tyrion Lannister, Jamie Lannister, Sandor (The Hound) and Gregor Clegane, Littlefinger, Daenerys; from David Gemmell, there is Waylander and Druss (Legend); Michael Moorcock gave us Corum (The Knight of the Swords) and Elric, and Conan is a very dark series of books and he is a very memorable character to me. Of the thousands of books I have read, I can't remember names or traits of many characters, especially outside of classic literature. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Hunger Games, The Alchemist and many other good books I have no idea what the names were and I don't recall many details at all about these books. They were largely plot driven and I just flew through them, was entertained, but didn't really give it any thought afterwards and I don't recall really caring about any of the characters much or at all. And if a main character happened to die, it didn't really affect me. But with grimdark characters, I became heavily emotionally and intellectually involved. And that is a real hook for me.

When reading grimdark, I have hope for a characters redemption. Because I begin to care about them, even if not identifying with their murderous actions but with them as fallible humans who have a choice to do good or evil. When they go to a village and have to make a decision on how to treat the people I expect it may end in a violent, bloody massacre but I still hope it won't. That compassion will be shown. In most of the grimdark I have read, there is some indication of a character wanting to change and knowing he is evil, even if he thinks he can't or won't change. Caul Shivers, Logan Ninefingers ,Waylander, and Jorg come immediately to mind although there are many others. After s/he falls short again, it reminds me of all the times I have wanted to make a change and couldn't do it. And I am not coming from a background of a lifetime of inflicting pain on others and having it inflicted on me. How hard must it be for these characters to do what's right when you have the power and authority to do whatever you want. When a character meets his ultimate end unreedemed, it resonates with me because its so real and possible. Grimdark stands out to me because of the shocking ends of many major characters, many passing on unredeemed. I have felt overwhelming emotions upon many of these situations. As mentioned earlier about not remembering the characters from many popular books, I also can't remember how many of them end except in very vague and general terms. I enjoyed reading Dan Brown's books, especially Angels & Demons and The Davinci Code but really all I remember is that the hero scientist saved the world both times from evil forces. But with grimdark, I remember very specific scenes and situations which occurred and I remember how I felt when reading them. Some that come to mind are ****Spoiler Alert****do not read if you have not read A Song of Fire and Ice, The Broken Empire Trilogy, and The First Law Trilogy.

Ned Stark's killing, the bloody wedding scene in ASoIaF, the terrible agonizing death of The Nuban in The Broken Empire, and Rudd Threetrees killed by Fenris the Feared in The First Law Trilogy.

So often in traditional coming-of-age and quest epic fantasy, the hero character completes his quest and goes on to live a wonderful life. If he dies, it's honorable and usually after completing his duty. But not in grimdark. Just as in life, anyone can die at any time, regardless of being redeemed or completing their mission. And I like that. I like reading books where anything can happen; where everyone is at risk. Where characters I hope for can unexpectedly die. Not that I want them to die but there's a suspense reading novels where you know a character can die regardless of completing their mission or being redeemed.

Another reason I read grimdark is because to me, it resonates with the view of humans that I have that they are fallible and human nature is corruptible as in Lord Acton's brilliant quote, "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely". I find a huge underlying moral philosophy in grimdark that I don't often find in other books of fantasy or other genres. Furthermore I have come across so many aphorisms and other philosophical bites that it reminds me of my philosophy addiction days reading Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Marcus Aurelius. A few grimdark authors I have found to be particularly insightful have said these things;

“Nothing of real worth can ever be bought. Love, friendship, honour, valour, respect. All these things have to be earned.” David Gemmell

"Warriors fear surrender. They are proud and defiant. They will fight to the death for what they believe in. They will struggle to conquer. Love is not about conquest. The truth is a man can only find true love when he surrenders to it. When he opens his heart to the partner of his soul and says: 'here it is! the very essence of me! It is yours to nurture or destroy." David Gemmell

"Man is capable of greatness, love, nobility, compassion. Yet never forget that his capacity for evil is infinite. It is a sad truth, boy, that if you sit now and think of the worst tortures that could ever be inflicted on another human being, they will already have been practiced somewhere. If there is one sound that follows the march of humanity, it is the scream" David Gemmell

"Memories are dangerous things. You turn them over and over, until you know every touch and corner, but still you'll find an edge to cut you." Mark lawrence

"This is where the wise man turns away. This is where the holy kneel and call on God. These are the last miles, my brothers. Don't look to me to save you. Don't think I will not spend you. Run if you have the wit. Pray if you have the soul. Stand your ground if courage is yours. But don't follow me. Follow me, and I will break your heart." Mark Lawrence

"There is no sound more annoying than the chatter of a child, and none more sad than the silence they leave when they are gone." Mark Lawrence

"I have learned all kinds of things from my many mistakes. The one thing I never learn is to stop making them." Joe Abercrombie

"The truth is like salt. Men want to taste a little, but too much makes everyone sick." Joe Abercrombie

This is but a tiny sample. There are hundreds, even thousands of these gems throughout the grimdark books I have read.  I have hundreds of bookmarked pages on my tablet because there are so many amazing passages. I like to stop reading when I come across something like the above and relate it to my life. Through grimdark, I learn more not only about fellow humans, but about myself.

Another grimdark element I love is magic. It's so subtle (usually, not always). It is kind of like intermittent reinforcement for my taste in magic.  There are just small samples that make me crave to find out more as does my other favorite element, lore. I love world background information and in the grimdark I have read, there is lots of character background information woven into the story through reminiscing and chapter flashbacks. We learn to understand the characters through this device and why they act in the ways they do. This not only relates to character building but it helps create a rich, imaginative world, which grimdark certainly does, even if the heavier focus is on character development.

The prose I have read in grimdark is as good and sometimes better than any I have read in any other genre. Mark Lawrence has the strongest and most elegant prose I have ever read. Joe Abercrombie is amazing with wordplay. Aaron Dembski-Bowden writes wonderfully. George R.R. Martin is a wizard with a pen. David Gemmell, Glen Cook, Michael Moorcock are all so fun to read. I think these three have a similar style, very succinct. For pure literary value, I have found that grimdark authors lead the way.

As for violence, misogyny, racism, and the other negative and politically incorrect behaviors characters sometimes exhibit in grimdark, I say so what. Those things are also part of life and they happen. I don't read grimdark because they have these elements but I certainly would find it odd if in the middle of a war, a character who lacks moral courage would not be tempted to rape and pillage. I don't believe that authors who write grimdark set out to use shock for its own sake. In reading these disturbing scenes, I am able to experience some emotions I would not otherwise. I don't like to run and bury my head in the sand when anything disturbing happens. I like to take in the pain, focus on it, and release it. I think that experiencing some pain and discomfort helps me be a stronger person, better to empathize with those around me.

In closing, as perhaps it's not obvious to everyone, I am making generalizations and these points could be argued against one by one. In my own mind, I have many counter arguments; What about all crazy magic in Malazan's Gardens of the Moon? You said the magic in grimdark is subtle? Wasn't Ned Stark a "hero"? I thought you said grimdark is about flawed characters? Wasn't Romeo and Juliet a love story? Is Mark Lawrence really a better writer than Charlotte Bronte or F. Scott Fitzgerald? Obviously, the debate about grimdark can go on forever. As I mentioned in the beginning, its not my purpose to defend or even define grimdark. I enjoy different aspects of it than others and view it through my own experience. I have not included every single element I enjoy about it either; that would be tedious and boring to read.  I hope some readers come to understand Grimdark a little better and understand why one reader enjoys these type of books. And for the record, I love many other fantasy books outside grimdark. I read all the Harry Potter books (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), the Twilight books, The Hunger Games, I very much enjoyed The golden Compass, I loved The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, Patricia Mckillip's beautiful book The Forgotten beasts of Eld. They all have much to offer readers. Just like Grimdark. Also, to help those new to the genre, as well as those familiar with it, I have used the books I believe best represent the genre. There are loads of other grimdark books out there to explore and hopefully soon I will be able to start making lists.

Lastly, and on a bit of a different note but still important, I believe the term grimdark should be embraced. I read that (I haven't verified this but it appears to be the case looking at Amazon's fantasy pages) novels falling in the grimdark category are by far the largest selling fantasy books now. When I started reading grimdark early in 2013 I had to do my own research to find books outside the most known ones like Mark Lawrence's Broken Empire books, Joe Abercrombie's books, and George R.R Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice. This included searching forums, Goodreads, and Google. I wonder if the millions of lovers of grimdark books would have an easier time if there was somewhere they could go and easily access a huge listing of books in this category. There are better lists out there since I started but there is a lot to be desired. That's the reason I started this blog. Until there is some general consensus on what the term means it would be difficult to have a grimdark category on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. But I think that there should be because people are searching for these books and a lot of authors could really blow up because of the thirst for these books. I think the tide will eventually turn against grimdark critics and they won't be able to use it against the authors and fans. It's been mentioned that the term grimdark is used pejoratively. Since when have words not been used this way? The terms liberal and conservative are used as pejoratives but most will proudly call themselves one or the other. The term Obamacare was once a pejorative until the tide slowly turned in 2012 when it became embraced by the laws supporters.  Perhaps the authors of these books feel that if they are classified grimdark, they will be losing a large potential audience of fantasy readers. I think that is why grimdark should be included in fantasy lists as well the sub-list grimdark fantasy. I think if someone is a reader and they love fantasy they will absolutely love many grimdark books. I also believe grimdark is a style that is not confined only to fantasy, it encompasses many genres, but for the sake of this essay, I have primarily explored grimdark in fantasy. Obviously I'm only one tiny voice among thousands or millions of voices who has an opinion on this. Most of the arguments against grimdark have appeared to me to be weak, out of touch, overly sensitive and emotional, and very shrill.

For more information

This is probably the best summation and defense of Grimdark or "gritty" fantasy available. By one of my favorite authors
The Value of grit

From author Daniel Abraham
Another World

A kind of crazy piece by Richard Morgan
Grim, Dark, And Straw

Several good articles about Grimdark here
Grimdark

Here is a blog that seems to condemn Grimdark fantasy on biblical grounds, I am going to read this again because I disagree with most of it and I also have a "Christian" worldview.
On Gritty Fantasy

A book review of Luke Scull's Excellent book The Grim Company which extrapolates about Grimdark
Review of The Grim Company-Luke Scull

Author Sam Sykes on Grmdark
Gritty People Gritty Problems

Lots about Grimdark here I haven't read the whole blog yet but it appears to be a condemnation
My Considered Contribution to Grit

What is Grimdark

This is kind of a lengthy post on Grimdark, I'm not sure yet how I like it. I only just skimmed it
Grimmy Grimmy Dark Dark

Last one for now
You Got Grit in My Fantasy Story

this is a brief but great article by popular author Elizabeth Bear
I Love a Good Tragedy As Much As the Next Guy

2013 Fantasy in Review; When I Discovered My Love of Grimdark and Gritty and Dark Fantasy

2013 was a great year of reading for me! I managed to open 350+ books and complete 253. About 8 years ago, I completed about 300 books and that's a record I will most likely never surpass; until retirement at least. This year, I had 2-4 hours down time at my job where I could read, until I was laid off in March. I spent the next 5 months on unemployment, being a stay at home dad, and full time job seeker. But after those responsibilities, I still managed to have ample time to read, and it helps that if I am enjoying a book, I can read very quickly, sometimes 100+ pages per hour. My reading has slowed a bit now that I am employed full time. My 2014 goal is scaled way back to 75 books due to planning on beginning a career as an electrician.