Hi, Remoot people!

The community hasn't been active since 2010, because A Dance With Dragons just never came. Now it is coming. I was wondering if anyone would be interested in doing a re-read of A Feast for Crows?

There are 46 chapters in AFFC and about 51 days until A Dance with Dragons is released. I think we could do it.

HOWEVER, I'm going to be away for a large portion of June so I would need community members to pitch in and remember to post about a chapter each day? Thoughts?

Obviously, I forgot to post again the last two days. It keeps slipping my mind and I fear I'm not the best person to lead the discussion anymore.

I have questions to put to the community:

1. Would someone else like to take over (doing what I've been doing)?
2. Would someone like to post daily chapter summaries (as I feel that's easier than thinking up discussion questions) and let the community ask their own questions?
3. Should we take the next two weeks off for the holidays?

Book: A Storm of Swords
Chapter: Arya I
Narrator: Arya Stark
Discussion Date: December 18

Augh! I forgot to post again yesterday. I'm really sorry. I'll try to be better. :-(

Questions

Arya thinks that she feels calmer on the run than she ever did at Harrenhal. Why do you think this is? Just having her power back? Or something else?

Maybe I'm just inordinately interested in Gendry, but I like when the horse falls and he just gets right back on. Would other boys who had never ridden before do that?

I also like the little touches like Hot Pie being amazed she could "read writing." Are there any little instances like this that remind you it's a medieval world?

Arya howls to a pack of wolves and the largest returns her call. Do you think this is Nymeria? Or just another wolf?

She thinks of Gendry and Hot Pie as her pack. Later she will recant this, but do you think they are her pack? Or at least part of it?

He said it with me, like Jon used to. Gendry and Jon are both bastards, in what other ways are they similar?

This is the first clear wolf dream Arya has, I think. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) Aside from the fact that Nymeria saved them from the Mummers, do you think it has anything to do with the above mentioned feeling of calm that she can connect with Nymeria now? Or is it proximity?

Stuff I Always Ask

What passages, if any, do you have flagged or underlined?

What stands out in your memory from the first time you read this chapter?

What jumps out at you now--after having read the rest of the series--that didn't when you first read it?

Are there any meaningful passages you think we should discuss?

Book: A Storm of Swords
Chapter: Cat I
Narrator: Lady Catelyn Tully-Stark
Discussion Date: December 16

Questions

The news must have driven you mad. We know Cat does go mad. The Red Wedding will be the breaking point, but when did her madness start? When her sons died? When Ned was killed? When Bran fell?

Robb has taken a wound at the Crag. Ruh-roh, Scooby!

What do you make of Cat's recollections of Lysa? She doesn't seem so upset about marrying Jon Arryn (talking of the cousins the sisters will bare) but not conceiving seems to have hit her hard. I guess this question is like the first: when did Lysa start going crazy?

Who got the short end of the stick: Lysa having to marry Jon Arryn, who wasn't "warm" or Jon Arryn who had to marry Lysa?

Edmure again makes a bad move. It may seem smart to try to get Jaime back on the surface, but he's let Roose Bolton know he's weak and crushed Cat's hopes. Was there anything he could've done better in this situation?

Stuff I Always Ask

What passages, if any, do you have flagged or underlined?

What stands out in your memory from the first time you read this chapter?

What jumps out at you now--after having read the rest of the series--that didn't when you first read it?

Are there any meaningful passages you think we should discuss?

Book: A Storm of Swords
Chapter: Jaime I
Narrator: Ser Jaime Lannister
Discussion Date: December 15

Questions

So this is the very first Jaime chapter! How is he different than what you thought he'd be from the earlier books?

What do you think of Ser Cleos? He seems awfully concerned about Jaime's lack of courtesy? Has he never met the Lannister kids before?

The heart of Jaime's narrative seems to be what a "true knight" is. Here we see Brienne insist on digging graves for dead people. Is Jaime a true knight? Is Brienne?

Jaime thinks of Tyrion thinking of something clever to do. I seem to recall Tyrion also often wondering what Jaime would do. Why do you think each brother holds the other in higher esteem?

We know Jaime does not wish to go back to the dungeons. But why do you think he distracts the archers from killing Brienne? And why doesn't he take a swing at her with the oar?(I suppose this goes back to the true knight question.)

What do you think Jaime thinks of Brienne's intention to keep her vows?

Stuff I Always Ask

What passages, if any, do you have flagged or underlined?

What stands out in your memory from the first time you read this chapter?

What jumps out at you now--after having read the rest of the series--that didn't when you first read it?

Are there any meaningful passages you think we should discuss?

Book: A Storm of Swords
Chapter: Prologue
Narrator: Chett of the Night's Watch
Discussion Date: December 12

Hello, remooters! We have some new people joining us for aSoS and I'm totally excited about that. I hope you'll be chatty. See, we started out really strong and then we got into aCoK and we were kind of like, "Shit! We've talked about everything?!" I think. And the whole point of a reread is to discuss things in depth so we can't just quit! We have to keep at it! Focus, people.

Also, usually on Fridays we do two chapters and it's silly poll day. But I didn't want to start the book off with silly polls. (I felt it deserved more respect. Don't ask.) So we're doing one chapter of actual discussion, much like any other weekday. Next week the silly polls shall return!

Questions

I've forgotten to ask this before but we've never really discussed the maps that are included before each book. Does anything strike you about where cities are placed? I confess to having a terrible sense of direction so I'm always like, "What? In my head it was over there!"

Chett blames Sam for having to be out in the cold. Is it petty of me to point out that Sam is also out in the cold? Anyway, what do you think about Chett? He's kind of hard to like, but do you think Martin does a good job of making you understand his mindset?

Thoughts about Small Paul? Do you think he really knows what this conspiracy is about? He seems nice.

Small Paul, think as a castle wall. Shades of "Dunk the Lunk, thick as a castle wall" here, right?

A lot of people love Dolorous Edd. Favorite quote of his from this chapter? I like, "...if he had a lung. Most trees don't, as a rule."

Do you think Lord Mormont's plan to fight the wildlings would have worked if the Others had not attacked first? Chett doesn't seem to think so, but he's not the most reliable narrator.

Three calls for Others. The moment that third blast interrupts Chett's mocking of Sam it changes the whole dynamic of the chapter, and it's only a couple paragraphs. Do you think Martin does a good job of conveying the fear of that moment?

Stuff I Always Ask

What passages, if any, do you have flagged or underlined?

What stands out in your memory from the first time you read this chapter?

What jumps out at you now--after having read the rest of the series--that didn't when you first read it?

Are there any meaningful passages you think we should discuss?

Book: A Clash of Kings
Chapter: Bran VII
Narrator: Bran Stark
Discussion Date: December 11

Okay, you got me. I forgot to post yesterday. In my defense, I'm ill again. I have like the worst immune system ever.

Anyway, we'll be starting A Storm of Swords tomorrow. Please tell your friends about this community. I'd love to get more and/or new contributions!

Questions

First question: right off the bat, some people in fandom have questioned the description (from Summer's POV) of "... in the sky he saw a great winged snake whose roar was a river of flame." Do you hold with the theory that this is a dragon or do you think it's just Summer's way of conveying the smoke and flame? If it is a dragon, do you think it fits the prophecy of being woken from stone?

Why do you think Summer and Shaggy fight over the horse? Again, some have argued that this is foreshadowing of a future struggle between Bran and Rickon, do you think that is the case?

Bran thinks his father's statue looks sad when they leave the crypts. Why do you think this is? Is he mourning for Winterfell? Or is Bran just imagining things?

Bran sees gargoyles that fell where he did and wonders how he survived such a fall. Magic?

It's interesting that Osha and Meera are the two brave/fighter types of this band. Does this strike you as odd? Osha is very perceptive; she is the one who notices the Ironborn are dead. Do you think it will be important that Bran knows who did this?

Thoughts on the death of Maester Luwin? "What could you do when a maester was hurt?" Sob. Poor guy. I liked that he knew it wasn't Bran and Rickon because the Miller's boy had healthy legs. I wonder if anyone else noticed?

Maester Luwin gives two possibilities for where Osha should take Rickon: White Harbor and Last Hearth. Which do you think is more likely? Or would she take Rickon to neither?

How do you think Rickon will fare with Osha? He's a bit wild but she's a wilding, so she knows from wild. But will he remember who he is?

Am I the only one who cries when I read these last lines? It was not dead, just broken, Like me, he thought. I'm not dead either.

Stuff I Always Ask

What passages, if any, do you have flagged or underlined?

What stands out in your memory from the first time you read this chapter?

What jumps out at you now--after having read the rest of the series--that didn't when you first read it?

Are there any meaningful passages you think we should discuss?

Book: A Clash of Kings
Chapter: Jon VIII
Narrator: Jon Snow
Discussion Date: December 9

We're almost done with Clash of Kings! I'll post about the final chapter (which always gets me) tomorrow and then... I guess we'll start Storm of Swords? Does anyone have any suggestions for how to handle the third book? New ideas welcomed!

Questions

This is Jon's introduction to the wildlings. I have to admit, I sort of saw this coming when he saved Ygritte earlier. Did you? What do you think of Jon in this chapter?

What do you make of the message the Halfhand would send to Lord Mormont: Tell him that the old powers are waking, that he faces giants and wargs and worse. Tell him that the trees have eyes again. It's sort of what we knew already, from Dany's chapter about the magic coming back. But earlier it was attributed to dragons being in the world again. This all started before the dragons? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

The vows of the Night's Watch seem important. Do you see anything prophetic in them?

"Honor means no omore than our lives." Do you think Ned Stark would agree? (Keep in mind what he did, at the end, for Sansa's life.)

There's an interesting aside about how the Halfhand taught himself to use his left hand having losing (part of) his right. Do you think Jaime could do this? Or does he lack the discipline that Qhorin has?

Why do you think Qhorin was so concerned that Jon's blade be sharp?

What did you think when you heard the wildlings were marching on the Wall?

Stuff I Always Ask

What passages, if any, do you have flagged or underlined?

What stands out in your memory from the first time you read this chapter?

What jumps out at you now--after having read the rest of the series--that didn't when you first read it?

Are there any meaningful passages you think we should discuss?

Book: A Clash of Kings
Chapter: Tyrion XV
Narrator: Tyrion Lannister
Discussion Date: December 8

Questions

Tyrion "dreams" of the dead. Do you think he regrets what he has done? Should he?

Help me, someone help me. Jaime, Shae, Mother, someone... Tysha... I find it interesting that in his groggy state Tyrion knows enough not to wish for his father, but for some reason calls for his mother who has been dead all his life. What do you think this list of people says about him?

When they look at Tyrion, Tywin and Cersei frown; Littlefinger makes a quip; and Varys sighs. Why do you think Varys sighs?

His wits were all he had. Do you think this is true?

I wrote "Aww" in the margin near Tyrion's dream of singers singing of his "great deeds", his father approving and Jaime knighting him. Tyrion seems to really crave approval from everyone.

The dreams of Tysha are interesting too. They are our only glimpses of her. Do you think Tysha really loved Tyrion as she said? Or is he making that up?

Hee. I'm also highly amused by the description of Pod as the "Odd boy." I heart little Pod.

Any other thoughts on this chapter? On Tyrion's wounds?

Stuff I Always Ask

What passages, if any, do you have flagged or underlined?

What stands out in your memory from the first time you read this chapter?

What jumps out at you now--after having read the rest of the series--that didn't when you first read it?

Are there any meaningful passages you think we should discuss?

Book: A Clash of Kings
Chapter: Sansa VIII and Theon VI
Narrator: Sansa Stark and Theon Greyjoy
Discussion Date: December 5-6

Questions


Stuff I Always Ask

What passages, if any, do you have flagged or underlined?

What stands out in your memory from the first time you read this chapter?

What jumps out at you now--after having read the rest of the series--that didn't when you first read it?

Are there any meaningful passages you think we should discuss?