The Wait

For some it's eleven years since A Storm of Swords.  For me it's only been four.  It's been six since A Feast for Crows but again for me just four.

Today the wait is over.

I mention A Storm of Swords because half of the characters of that book have not been heard of since.  Imagine waiting eleven years to pick up A Dance With Dragons.  Fuck.

I got through all of the previous books on my re-reading quest and despite Feasts slow and ponderous meander around Westeros I loved every second.

But today, today is different.

After a dark and violent prologue the book proper starts.  The first four chapters go; Tyrion, Daenerys, Jon and Bran and for anyone who's been immersed in Martin's opus that's music to the ears.  Four of the strongest characters right there from the start.  Martin couldn't really have started it in any other way after that long long wait but it's a relief that he just gets straight down to it right from the start and doesn't make us suffer.

And there's more good news.  The book continues the story from Feast once it gets to a point when the timeline has caught up.  There's a little note at the start of the book from Martin how everything fits together.

Four chapters down then.  Is it a kick ass start?

Fucking is.

Thank fuck I only read the first four books four years ago though.