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This post is habit's child, because there is absolutely nothing to report from Che Guera. Today, I bought cereal and the fixings for tacos and read more of Clash of Kings, and tomorrow, I'll go go to the store for Christmas cards, wrapping paper, and household necessities.
Kings is good, but it drags more than its predecessor, and the more I read of it, the more I'm convinced that the magic in GRRM's world is a convenient authorial shorthand for deus ex machinae and necessary plot advancement. Jon Snow has never had a prophetic dream before, and suddenly, he's pulling a Bran and having "wolf dreams" as Qhorin calls them? As the Church Lady once said, "Well, isn't that special?"
Granted, it's been many a year since I was a girl on the cusp of pubescence, but Martin's description of Sansa's first period made me snort. It's different for everyone, I suppose, but I don't remember my first "flowering" being that painful. I felt a bit punky the night before, and my budding boobs hurt, but it most certainly didn't feel like I was being kicked in the stomach or shivved with dull knives. It still doesn't, as a matter of fact, though it did become more painful in my late twenties. I should also note that there was no dark torrent of blood on my bedclothes. Just a tidy splotch of blood dead center in my underwear. So Sansa's horror period read like a period as a bumbling man might imagine it to be.
I felt an unexpected affinity for Cersei during her brief conversation with Sansa shortly thereafter. She's still terrible, but I was impressed by the blend of pity and frankness when it came to what Sansa could expect from Joffrey, and from her lot as a woman in a loveless, arranged marriage. And her anecdote about Jaime threatening his way into the birthing room while Robert was hunting inspired a grudging admiration for him as well. Incest is still gross, and Cersei is still an unfaithful wife, but it's not as though Robert gave her much incentive to be so when he was pining for a dead ideal and whoring with every wench in the kingdom. If I were Cersei, I might look for love elsewhere, too, though I'd hope it wasn't with my twin brother. And Jaime Lannister clearly loved her enough to be there for the birth of his children. So while I still want to see them get their comeuppance for the attempted murder of Bran Stark, I'm Team Lanncest in this instance.
Ygritte the wildling could be interesting, and I'm sure Bael the Bard's tale of clandestine romance will prove important later.
Kings is good, but it drags more than its predecessor, and the more I read of it, the more I'm convinced that the magic in GRRM's world is a convenient authorial shorthand for deus ex machinae and necessary plot advancement. Jon Snow has never had a prophetic dream before, and suddenly, he's pulling a Bran and having "wolf dreams" as Qhorin calls them? As the Church Lady once said, "Well, isn't that special?"
Granted, it's been many a year since I was a girl on the cusp of pubescence, but Martin's description of Sansa's first period made me snort. It's different for everyone, I suppose, but I don't remember my first "flowering" being that painful. I felt a bit punky the night before, and my budding boobs hurt, but it most certainly didn't feel like I was being kicked in the stomach or shivved with dull knives. It still doesn't, as a matter of fact, though it did become more painful in my late twenties. I should also note that there was no dark torrent of blood on my bedclothes. Just a tidy splotch of blood dead center in my underwear. So Sansa's horror period read like a period as a bumbling man might imagine it to be.
I felt an unexpected affinity for Cersei during her brief conversation with Sansa shortly thereafter. She's still terrible, but I was impressed by the blend of pity and frankness when it came to what Sansa could expect from Joffrey, and from her lot as a woman in a loveless, arranged marriage. And her anecdote about Jaime threatening his way into the birthing room while Robert was hunting inspired a grudging admiration for him as well. Incest is still gross, and Cersei is still an unfaithful wife, but it's not as though Robert gave her much incentive to be so when he was pining for a dead ideal and whoring with every wench in the kingdom. If I were Cersei, I might look for love elsewhere, too, though I'd hope it wasn't with my twin brother. And Jaime Lannister clearly loved her enough to be there for the birth of his children. So while I still want to see them get their comeuppance for the attempted murder of Bran Stark, I'm Team Lanncest in this instance.
Ygritte the wildling could be interesting, and I'm sure Bael the Bard's tale of clandestine romance will prove important later.
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