A man aflame in The fervor of the divine Is a burning bush.

Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_R_R_Martin_2011_Shankbone_2.JPG

(This is part 6 of an exploration of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin.  Read prior posts here.)

(Series spoilers ahead!)  In my review of Game of Thrones a few months ago, I noted that the series was about the fall of the Stark family, how good intentions can lead to ruin.  But in reading the rest of the series, I discovered it’s not about the Starks at all, although members of that family figure prominently in the plot.  No, the series is about the need for realistic, sometimes cynical decision-making in a world with no room for error, but the defining moment isn’t when Ned Stark loses his head.

It’s when Robert Baratheon slayed Rhaegar Targaryen.

Polenta, my polenta. You don’t go out by yourself. Friends make you more fun.

Tampa is flooded. Cars ford inundated streets Like urban rivers.

(This is part 5 of an exploration of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin.)

George R. R. Martin faced a difficult problem when he finished A Feast for Crows.  He had written a significant portion of his next book – A Dance with Dragons – from the leftovers from Feast, but it wasn’t coming together.  He faced the task of rewriting the unpublished half of a popular published book, breaking nothing in the existing narrative while improving the story.

This is why it took six years to finish.

Martin’s entire series is is a hydra: for every plot head he cuts off, another three take its place.  A Dance with Dragons doesn’t cover much more ground than A Feast for Crows – mostly that already told in the last book – but makes up for it in the sheer breadth of character interaction and story continuity.

It is also about characters forced out of their depth.  Adept chessmaster Tyrion Lannister becomes powerless; would-be child conquerer Daenerys Targeryen must learn to rule; and idealist Jon Snow learns the price of compromise in Westeros.

The wave crashed at my feet upon the beach, Leaving nothing but a sodden shadow. The ocean has gifts for supplicants each, But none for me, except for a wave’s bow.

(This is part 4 of an exploration of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin.)

Back when I reviewed A Game of Thrones, I likened the series A Song of Ice and Fire to a television show, given Martin’s experience in showrunning.  If that’s so, then A Feast for Crows feels like a season abbreviated by a writer’s strike: some excellent leadup, including exploration of two intriguing characters we’ve only witnessed second-hand, but with the series’ most popular characters left out for the sequel.  But it also covers excellent ground, scarce explored previously.  This is a book about a loss of identity, and what happens when peasant revolt and religious fervor mix.

What you sow is What you reap. Blowing kisses In your sleep.

(A day late and a dollar short, sorry!)

Me asleep on you. Longing, I dream tonight of You asleep on me.

A friend of mine in college once contrasted Russell Crowe and Vin Diesel.  One, she said, was great actor but a horrible human being; the other was a great human being but a horrible actor.  The point was that the ideal actor would be some combination of Crowe and Diesel, perhaps “Russell Diesel” or “Vin Crowe” (actually, I like that one!).  “Vin Crowe” would be the best of both worlds.  But what surprised me is her mention that Vin Diesel plays Dungeons and Dragons.

Yes, the star of the Fast and the Furious series rolls a D20.

And Diesel’s no casual fan, either.  Playing for 20 years, he’s been a DM for many campaigns, written material for D & D manuals, and had his favorite PC tattooed on him.  It’s such a surprise because a high-profile action star isn’t what one has come to expect from the typical role-playing geek.  Well, there shouldn’t be such a thing.

What disarms me the most is how fit he is.