Page 700: How To Train Your Drogon

Yes, by the way, I've been looking for a way to make a HTTYD joke ever since I read the line in Storm when Dany said she had no idea how to train her dragon. If only Hiccup made house calls.

Jon: I like Alys. She's the latest in a long line of pretty badass female characters that crop up from time to time. I'm a little shocked to see her so quickly married off to a wilding lord, but he actually seems like a decent guy, for what it's worth, and it looks like it might actually work out in some ways, as well as securing the Karstarks once again. Melisandre's warnings about the Wall worry me some. Between the Wildings, who I don't trust, and the Night's Watch men, who are increasingly chafing under Snow's rule (after killing Mormont), he's surrounded by knives. Neat that Val actually brought Tormund back. I like him, and things could get interesting if Jon can broker a peace. 

Daenerys: It sort of sucks to see Dany's peace be so hollow. She sacrificed a lot of herself for a peace she's totally unhappy with. But, she made peace. What really sucks is that she had to give up some valuable friends and allies to be hostages to the Yunkai. Not sure why she had to personally give up so many, doesn't seem fair, but again, it shows just how important this peace is to her. These last couple chapters have been short, with only bits and pieces of information. The pace is really building for something. Short, rapid chapters with the same characters over and over. Fun how he uses chapter length and pacing to build the tension. He uses the format of the novel to complement his storytelling. 

Theon: Note how his name has changed over the course of the novel. Reek, The Prince of Winterfell, the Ghost of Winterfell, and finally, at the close, Theon. Martin has been really careful to use the chapter headings to emphasize the identity crisis he's suffering, and we've seen him slowly clawing his way back toward humanity. This is where he's closest, I think. I'm surprised it took this long for Manderly and Frey to come to blows. I'm a little surprised to see Roose send them out of the castle. I mean, sure, protect the larger army by setting them out, but, you can't trust them, and they are just as likely to kill each other. It's a risky move for Roose. I really just hope that Manderly is actually still alive after getting slashed in the throat. It appears that he's alive for the moment. Things are really coming to a head here. I know Theon has his own subplot with Mance, but, I'm pretty tense about what happens with the White Harbor men. The part where he realizes just how wrong he has been, and that he should have stuck with Robb like he promised is a little sad. Yes Theon, you should have stayed by Robb's side. It might not have mattered, but at least you would have died with honor, and Winterfell would be intact. I'm a little shocked, but not really, that, yet again, a womanly scream ruins everything. For all the strong women of this story, the stupid ones who scream and do really dumb, incredibly counterproductive things at exactly the wrong moment still astounds me. But the, Jeyne was best friends with Sansa, so, no surprise there.

Daenerys: Special second entry for her this time. Usually I try not to do duplicates, but, Martin stacked them together so I'm making an exception. Not a whole lot going on here except the BIG THING THAT HAPPENS! As for the rest, a lot of it is really the final indignity. Slave markets within sight of her walls, the fighting pits back open again. All things she had staunchly opposed. What is it in this series about victories feeling as terrible as defeats? This is no exception it seems. I thought it was sort of amusing that she incidentally saved Tyrion and Penny. Frankly I think she was always wrong about some aspects of slavery and the fighting pits. She simply upset society too rapidly for it to adjust. Better to slowly introduce reforms. The scene where Drogon comes back was simply awesome, and we've all been waiting for this to happen since day one. Pretty awesome. I had to laugh when Hizdahr yelled "kill the beast!" because all I could think of was the song from Beauty and the Beast, which, coincidentally, Martin used to write for the live action tv show version of. Intentionally? Doubtful, but it is amusing. And seriously...Dany is such a badass! It was great, after all these defeats, after this hollow victory, after all the trials she had suffered, after being forced to pen up her dragons, to see her just totally take control, take command, and finally mastered a dragon. I can't wait to see what happens next, and I hope it involves her swooping back in to light stuff up!

Also, I took a peek at some of the chapter headings for the chapters to come, and there are some pretty weird ones. I've really enjoyed in the past how Martin uses the chapter headings to denote a change in status or identity for the characters, and if the odd names I see are any indication, there's a lot of upheaval ahead of me.