Rae of Light

A Dance with Dragons (After The Feast) by George R R Martin This book was as exasperating for me as the Dreams & Dust instalment, primarily because I knew much of the events from the TV series albeit in a truncated and slightly altered version. The name listing akin to the begats of the Bible was equally trying and pulled me away from the story far too many times for my liking. I wouldn’t have minded too much if it had been an isolated incidence, but it seemed to be almost everywhere. There were some lovely moments when characters voiced realisations about situations or their own flaws but in general I was a little under whelmed by this book.  I found myself eager to get to bits I was as yet unaware of. And while there were such moments, they were far too rare. It was pretty obvious that everyone who was anyone was gathering their forces as there are a few almighty battles in the offing. I did not find this section stirring or entertaining. My main thoug...

A Storm of Swords II by George R R Martin After starting on the set in September last year, I’m getting through the Game of Thrones series at quite a clip now. This is no doubt due to their intriguing nature and Martin’s writing style which makes reading this collection of books so easy. So far, my favourite character in every one of the books in this series is Tyrion Lannister. I find myself rooting for him at every step on his life journey.  He works so hard to be a better man despite people’s preconceptions. When he was made The Hand in the previous book I was not at all surprised that he did a good job of it. Tyrion reminds me of some of the talented yet underrated children I’ve taught in the past. Once they were given a task which excited and involved them they relished the challenge and surpassed all expectations. Unlike my students though, Tyrion receives no praise for his efforts and achievements. Perhaps I like him so much because he almost always has his now...