What is the best reading order for the Song of Ice and Fire?
July 15, 2011 9:16 AM Subscribe
What is the best reading order for George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire? (no spoilers, please!)
I've read the first few books in the series at a run, and just finished book 3 (Storm of Swords).
I heard that, unlike the first 3 books, which follow a mostly synchronized pattern among the various storylines, books 4 and 5 overlap chronologically and are split by characters/geography instead. I've also heard that the sheer quantity of Cercei Lannister in book 4 can get a little overwhelming.
Instead of reading fully through book 4 and then on to book 5 in the order it was published, I wonder if I might have a better experience alternating chapters from book 4 and book 5 in the order they would have fallen chronologically. Has anyone worked out what the chronology would be if the two books were interleaved? Would this even make sense? or will the early chapters of book 5 depend on having read book 4 even though the story takes place at the same time?
Am I overthinking this and should just read the damn books already? I'm eager to get back to Jon Snow and Tyrion, not so much Cersei and Sansa.
I've read the first few books in the series at a run, and just finished book 3 (Storm of Swords).
I heard that, unlike the first 3 books, which follow a mostly synchronized pattern among the various storylines, books 4 and 5 overlap chronologically and are split by characters/geography instead. I've also heard that the sheer quantity of Cercei Lannister in book 4 can get a little overwhelming.
Instead of reading fully through book 4 and then on to book 5 in the order it was published, I wonder if I might have a better experience alternating chapters from book 4 and book 5 in the order they would have fallen chronologically. Has anyone worked out what the chronology would be if the two books were interleaved? Would this even make sense? or will the early chapters of book 5 depend on having read book 4 even though the story takes place at the same time?
Am I overthinking this and should just read the damn books already? I'm eager to get back to Jon Snow and Tyrion, not so much Cersei and Sansa.
I would just read the books in the order they've been published. It would be a ton of work to alternate and try to keep chronology, especially without actual chapter numbers. I don't find that there is "too much" Cersei in four, in fact the thing that bothers me about it is that chapters start to use titles of (new) people rather than their name and it doesn't help the confusion.
posted by InsanePenguin at 9:23 AM on July 15, 2011
posted by InsanePenguin at 9:23 AM on July 15, 2011
And yes, too many new POV characters that are totally boring. But I digress.
posted by InsanePenguin at 9:24 AM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by InsanePenguin at 9:24 AM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Read the damn books already. If you take a look at the timeline (major spoilers), you can see that none of the books are rigorously chronologically distinct. For example, the first Dany chapter in ASOS happens in August 299, but the last chapter in ACOK takes place in September of that year. Similarly, the first chapter in AFFC happens in December 299 but the last chapter in ASOS is in March 300.
Just read the books.
posted by valkyryn at 9:25 AM on July 15, 2011 [5 favorites]
Just read the books.
posted by valkyryn at 9:25 AM on July 15, 2011 [5 favorites]
What an interesting idea.
I read book 4 when it came out. I didn't realize half the characters would be left out and I never took to the new characters brought in. I was really annoyed at the end of the book. If there was a way you could mash them together, that might be cool.
However, Martin didn't write them that way. There may be something in the experience of reading book 5 already knowing what you know in book 4. This may add a layer of omniscient knowledge (is that even a phrase?) that may be critical for fully appreciating book 5. Like a sort of sense of hindsight if that makes sense?
I dunno, I haven't thought about it as hard as you have. But I'm also not as patient, I would haev already started devouring 4 and not bothered with this AskMe :)
posted by like_neon at 9:26 AM on July 15, 2011
I read book 4 when it came out. I didn't realize half the characters would be left out and I never took to the new characters brought in. I was really annoyed at the end of the book. If there was a way you could mash them together, that might be cool.
However, Martin didn't write them that way. There may be something in the experience of reading book 5 already knowing what you know in book 4. This may add a layer of omniscient knowledge (is that even a phrase?) that may be critical for fully appreciating book 5. Like a sort of sense of hindsight if that makes sense?
I dunno, I haven't thought about it as hard as you have. But I'm also not as patient, I would haev already started devouring 4 and not bothered with this AskMe :)
posted by like_neon at 9:26 AM on July 15, 2011
I don't think you actually *can* force the two books into chronological sequence by interleaving chapters. I think it's more a case of having chosen the construct of POV chaptering, some chronologies are necessarily abused as various POVs start before or end after the stopping/starting points of the next POV. Just keep reading.
posted by cairnish at 9:27 AM on July 15, 2011
posted by cairnish at 9:27 AM on July 15, 2011
This is merely my opinion, but I'd read the books in order with the exception of reading the prologue to A Dance With Dragons LAST.
posted by sinnesloeschen at 9:46 AM on July 15, 2011
posted by sinnesloeschen at 9:46 AM on July 15, 2011
Best answer: I just finished A Dance With Dragons, and I strongly suggest you just read them in order. ADWD was pretty obviously written with the understanding that you already know how certain offscreen plotlines are playing out, and the timelines don't overlap completely - the newer book pushes the timeline further. It would be an interesting exercise to splice them back together, but I don't think it would ever work all that well for a first reading.
posted by restless_nomad at 9:49 AM on July 15, 2011
posted by restless_nomad at 9:49 AM on July 15, 2011
I loved book 4, but I am clearly in the minority here.
It won't work to read the 4 and 5 in chronological order - the relative chronologies aren't always clear in the books (characters aren't always geographically close to one another).
In many cases, one timeline 'jumps' based on something you find out happened in another. (Character A fights a battle and character B already knows the results of the battle, which have had consequence in character B's timeline before you hear from character B again, for example)
posted by Wylla at 9:49 AM on July 15, 2011
It won't work to read the 4 and 5 in chronological order - the relative chronologies aren't always clear in the books (characters aren't always geographically close to one another).
In many cases, one timeline 'jumps' based on something you find out happened in another. (Character A fights a battle and character B already knows the results of the battle, which have had consequence in character B's timeline before you hear from character B again, for example)
posted by Wylla at 9:49 AM on July 15, 2011
Urm, Sinnesloeschen..I assume you are joking here, but just in case...
The prolog to book 5 shouldn't be read last, since it contains information you need to follow one of the plotlines in the rest of the book.
Probably just me being literal and humorless on a Friday, though. Not that I can't be literal and humorless monday through thursday...
posted by Wylla at 9:57 AM on July 15, 2011
The prolog to book 5 shouldn't be read last, since it contains information you need to follow one of the plotlines in the rest of the book.
Probably just me being literal and humorless on a Friday, though. Not that I can't be literal and humorless monday through thursday...
posted by Wylla at 9:57 AM on July 15, 2011
Best answer: You should read the books in order, but you should also read the three short stories before Book 5. It's not necessary, but they help elaborate and explain a lot of backstory that is only obliquely referred to in the novels, and this backstory emerges in a bigger way by the fifth book.
posted by kingoftonga86 at 10:17 AM on July 15, 2011
posted by kingoftonga86 at 10:17 AM on July 15, 2011
What are the three short stories, and where are they available? I've never heard of them.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 11:04 AM on July 15, 2011
posted by jeff-o-matic at 11:04 AM on July 15, 2011
Nthing to just read them in published order and also to read the "Dunk and Egg Tales" (The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight which take place about 100 years before ASoIaF) between Book 4 and Book 5.
You can find summaries online (I read these) or buy the anthologies they appeared in: Legends and Legends II edited by Silverberg and Warriors edited by Martin and Dozois.
posted by blueskiesinside at 11:19 AM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]
You can find summaries online (I read these) or buy the anthologies they appeared in: Legends and Legends II edited by Silverberg and Warriors edited by Martin and Dozois.
posted by blueskiesinside at 11:19 AM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]
The three short stories are "The Hedge Knight," "The Sworn Sword," and "The Mystery Knight." The first appears in an anthology called "Legends", the second in "Legends 2", and the third in the "Warriors" anthology. I believe there's plans in the works to publish all three stories in one volume, but I'm not sure when this is supposed to happen.
posted by kingoftonga86 at 11:20 AM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by kingoftonga86 at 11:20 AM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Well, that is a rousing consensus. Starting book 4 tonight... Thanks for the head's-up about the stories, kingoftonga. MeFi book club anyone?
posted by libraryhead at 11:25 AM on July 15, 2011
posted by libraryhead at 11:25 AM on July 15, 2011
I just finished book 4, and I also really liked it. I don't get the hate. I thought the ending was especially good.
Just starting book 5 now, but I think restless_nomad is right that it was written expecting you would have read book 4.
posted by exceptinsects at 11:45 AM on July 15, 2011
Just starting book 5 now, but I think restless_nomad is right that it was written expecting you would have read book 4.
posted by exceptinsects at 11:45 AM on July 15, 2011
I for one would be very willing to go for these books as focus of the current MeTa Book Club (check out sidebar on the MetaTalk page) once we are done with current Yale Open Course syllabus. I've been hooked since I started listening to Book 1, just finished Clash of Kings.
Can't speak for the rest of the MeTa Book Club of course.
posted by bearwife at 1:39 PM on July 15, 2011
Can't speak for the rest of the MeTa Book Club of course.
posted by bearwife at 1:39 PM on July 15, 2011
@Libraryhead: Am I overthinking this and should just read the damn books already?
Yes. Yes.
posted by kjs3 at 5:00 PM on July 15, 2011
Yes. Yes.
posted by kjs3 at 5:00 PM on July 15, 2011
Yeah, Book 5 will be too puzzling if you skip over 4. If you look at the Table of Contents for 5 you may see what I mean. Don't want to say too much, though!
posted by dragonplayer at 6:06 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by dragonplayer at 6:06 PM on July 15, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Sadly, book 4 wasn't that good, in my opinion. It seemed to take a very long time to do not much. It probably didn't help that half of my favorite characters were MIA (of course, he added about twenty new POV characters that I didn't care about. Fair's fair).
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 9:20 AM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]