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walkerct's review
4.0
I recently finished reading this in conjunction with a re-read of [b:A Clash of Kings|10572|A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)|George R.R. Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1358254974s/10572.jpg|3272005]. For a more in-depth look at how much I enjoy Attewell's work, check out my review of [b:Race for the Iron Throne: Political and Historical Analysis of "A Game of Thrones"|21895356|Race for the Iron Throne Political and Historical Analysis of "A Game of Thrones"|Steven Attewell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1397188302s/21895356.jpg|41186709], because all of that positive feedback applies just as much to this book.
Attewell's insights into the political world of the ASOIAF series are incredibly valuable. I'm in the midst of my third read through of the series, and his analysis helps me pick up so many of the nuances that I missed on the first two read throughs that it's almost like reading a completely new series. As the political situation becomes more complex it's really great to read essays by someone who really understands all of the plots and intrigues. Not only that, but he also allows for competing theories, weighing the evidence for and against, and is completely up front about the times when he really doesn't know what's going on.
As with the last book, the political analysis sections of each chapter are where I get the most value. Though I will say that, as he goes along, he delves more into literary analysis of the various storylines, pointing out the ways in which Martin both subverts and honors fantasy tropes. I found this especially helpful for Dany's arc in this book, which I never really enjoyed before. His contextualization of it as a prophet narrative made me see it in a new light. I do think that, as with the first book, he somewhat fails to appreciate the literary value of Bran's storyline, and that he sometimes seems to be looking for the importance to the plot of certain elements when he should be looking more at their thematic or atmospheric resonance.
The history sections continue to be interesting, though I'll admit that I was glad when the War of the Roses comparisons thinned out. They're very apt, and he explains them well, but I just can't get into them. Same with the Constantinople/King's Landing parallels that begin to crop up toward the end of the book.
The What Ifs are tantalizing, but at this point some of them are slightly repetitive, as the larger differences between a main character living or dying don't tend to differ all that much, or they would disrupt the plot so much that they kind of bring the analysis to a standstill.
I enjoy the Book vs. Show comparisons more in this book than in the last one, though I honestly feel he goes a bit easier on the show than he could (with a few notable exceptions. I feel he nails the botch of Jon's arc in the second season).
From an editorial perspective the book has improved a lot. The first book had a large number of typos, but I didn't notice nearly as many in this one. My one big issue is that, reading this on my 5th generation Kindle, none of the illustrations displayed at all! This was largely ok, but it really detracted from some of the battle analysis, as his pictures of troop dispositions were missing. I'm not sure if anyone else had this problem, but if so I hope it is fixed in subsequent books!
An absolute joy to any die hard ASOIAF fan, I look forward to reading Attewell's continuing analysis of the series.
Attewell's insights into the political world of the ASOIAF series are incredibly valuable. I'm in the midst of my third read through of the series, and his analysis helps me pick up so many of the nuances that I missed on the first two read throughs that it's almost like reading a completely new series. As the political situation becomes more complex it's really great to read essays by someone who really understands all of the plots and intrigues. Not only that, but he also allows for competing theories, weighing the evidence for and against, and is completely up front about the times when he really doesn't know what's going on.
As with the last book, the political analysis sections of each chapter are where I get the most value. Though I will say that, as he goes along, he delves more into literary analysis of the various storylines, pointing out the ways in which Martin both subverts and honors fantasy tropes. I found this especially helpful for Dany's arc in this book, which I never really enjoyed before. His contextualization of it as a prophet narrative made me see it in a new light. I do think that, as with the first book, he somewhat fails to appreciate the literary value of Bran's storyline, and that he sometimes seems to be looking for the importance to the plot of certain elements when he should be looking more at their thematic or atmospheric resonance.
The history sections continue to be interesting, though I'll admit that I was glad when the War of the Roses comparisons thinned out. They're very apt, and he explains them well, but I just can't get into them. Same with the Constantinople/King's Landing parallels that begin to crop up toward the end of the book.
The What Ifs are tantalizing, but at this point some of them are slightly repetitive, as the larger differences between a main character living or dying don't tend to differ all that much, or they would disrupt the plot so much that they kind of bring the analysis to a standstill.
I enjoy the Book vs. Show comparisons more in this book than in the last one, though I honestly feel he goes a bit easier on the show than he could (with a few notable exceptions. I feel he nails the botch of Jon's arc in the second season).
From an editorial perspective the book has improved a lot. The first book had a large number of typos, but I didn't notice nearly as many in this one. My one big issue is that, reading this on my 5th generation Kindle, none of the illustrations displayed at all! This was largely ok, but it really detracted from some of the battle analysis, as his pictures of troop dispositions were missing. I'm not sure if anyone else had this problem, but if so I hope it is fixed in subsequent books!
An absolute joy to any die hard ASOIAF fan, I look forward to reading Attewell's continuing analysis of the series.
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