The cheeseman's book thread.

[The cheeseman Sola Scriptora]

In this thread I will be posting my full-spoiler thoughts on any non-Sanderson books that I read. Discussions and theories are welcomed and I will engage as best as I am able.

Currently, I am reading Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky and A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin. Every chapter or two, I will make a post with what happened, my thoughts on those happenings, and maybe a few theories.

Shards of Earth cover:

Spoiler

A Storm of Swords cover:

Spoiler

I will post again when I finish a chapter from whichever book I read from next.

Until then!

Edited July 17, 2023 by The cheeseman

[Edema Rue she/her]

OOOooooOOo this is a lovely idea, I haven’t read either of those books but I’ll come here anyway

One question, though. When will you realize that you can’t go by The Cheeseman when I think of you, and always will, as Cheesy?

[The cheeseman Sola Scriptora]

Well, how can you go by Edema Ruh when I, and most of the other Sharders who know you, think of you as Eddie?

To actually answer the question, fReE sPeEcH. So therefore, my username can be whatever I want. In fact, I already have - and have had for a while - an idea as to what my Ookla season name will be. No spoilers tho.

Edited July 17, 2023 by The cheeseman

[Edema Rue she/her]

I was talking about the title of the thread  

[The cheeseman Sola Scriptora]

So you want me to call it The cheesy book thread? Sounds kinda... cheesy.

 

Anyway! Chapters 5 and 6 of A Storm of Swords.

Chapter 5: Davos

This chapter follows introspection from Ser Davos Seaworth after he washes up on a (very) small island in the aftermath of the Battle of the Blackwater, the climax of A Clash of Kings, which is the previous book. While not a lot happened, it was an interesting insight into a character that hasn't gotten much page time. He spends most of the chapter making horrific recollections of the battle, which involved a bay getting set on fire by Wildfire (basically napalm).

Partway through the chapter, he spots a ship heading through the area he was washed up in. I don't recall the name of the region, but in it, there are a bunch of tall, thin islands that stick out of the water. There are also a bunch underneath the water. Because of that, ships do not often traverse there. At the end of the chapter, he hails the ship and is rescued after telling them that he serves the true king, Stannis Baratheon.

Thoughts: I enjoyed it even though not much happened. But neither was the chapter filler. It - probably- sets up Davos returning to Stannis at Storm's End (his fortress) and continuing to advise him in his war against House Lannister. I have a feeling that Ser Davos has a large part to play in the coming books.

Chapter 6: Sansa

The next chapter follows Sansa Stark, who is the eldest daughter and second child of Ned Stark and Catelyn Tully. She has been, in all but name, been imprisoned in Maegor's Keep since the end of the first book. In this chapter, she dines with Margaery Tyrell and her grandmother Olenna. During the conversation, Sansa reveals her abuse at the hands of King Joffrey Baratheon, the bastard son of Queen Cersei Lannister and her brother Jaime. Margaery - who is betrothed to Joffrey to be his queen - and Olenna then decide to get Sansa out of King's Landing and to Highgarden, the seat of House Tyrell, to wed her to Willas Tyrell, one of Margaery's brothers. (Confusing, I know) The chapter ends with that.

Thoughts: I enjoyed it more than the previous one. I've very much liked the intrigue and politicking of A Song of Ice and Fire, and this chapter had a lot of that. I would theorize as to what Margaery and her grandmother are going to do about Joffrey, who can be described as a bastard in more ways than one, but being the idiot that I often am, I spoiled the ending of this book. But still, I won't talk about that until I reach that point. Overall, great chapter. Can't wait for Sansa to get the hell out of there.

The next chapter is from the POV of my favorite character so far, Jon Snow. I'll post about it when I finish it.

Edited July 17, 2023 by The cheeseman
Discourse

[Edema Rue she/her]

I want it to be called “Cheesy’s book thread”  

Should I read a song of fire and ice?

[The cheeseman Sola Scriptora]

25 minutes ago, Edema Ruh said:

I want it to be called “Cheesy’s book thread”  

*sigh*

25 minutes ago, Edema Ruh said:

Should I read a song of fire and ice?

That depends on the amount of adult content you are okay with reading. While not as often as in the show, there are... certain things that may be incredibly triggering. That said, it is a very, very good series that feels real. Everything that happens is realistic to the world and to the characters. Every character is well-written with none of them being perfect. Not even Eddard Stark.

If you can read the triggering things, then absolutely yes you should read A Song of Ice and Fire.

Edited July 17, 2023 by The cheeseman

[Edema Rue she/her]

What do you define as triggering? Like, I don’t mind violence or gore or anything like that, but I don’t appreciate adult romance scenes (like some of the ones towards the end of WoT or like A Wise Man’s Fear).

1 hour ago, The cheeseman said:

*sigh*

 

What’s that supposed to mean?

[The cheeseman Sola Scriptora]

6 minutes ago, Edema Ruh said:

What do you define as triggering? Like, I don’t mind violence or gore or anything like that, but I don’t appreciate adult romance scenes (like some of the ones towards the end of WoT or like A Wise Man’s Fear).

The are adult scenes, but they're short and not very many. By triggering I mean mentions of rape and depictions of sexual violence.

6 minutes ago, Edema Ruh said:

What’s that supposed to mean?

Well, I like all my thread titles to be of a kind, so if I change one I have to change all the others. It's not anything against you, it's just the way my brain likes things.

[Edema Rue she/her]

9 minutes ago, The cheeseman said:

The are adult scenes, but they're short and not very many. By triggering I mean mentions of rape and depictions of sexual violence.

Ah. I might try it.

9 minutes ago, The cheeseman said:

Well, I like all my thread titles to be of a kind, so if I change one I have to change all the others. It's not anything against you, it's just the way my brain likes things.

THEN CHANGE THEM ALL

[The cheeseman Sola Scriptora]

2 hours ago, Edema Ruh said:

THEN CHANGE THEM ALL

BUT THEN I HAVE TO CHANGE MY USERNAME

[Elf They/them]

6 hours ago, Edema Ruh said:

What do you define as triggering? Like, I don’t mind violence or gore or anything like that, but I don’t appreciate adult romance scenes (like some of the ones towards the end of WoT or like A Wise Man’s Fear).

 

Spoiler

incest! One of the very first scenes! Watched by a child! You know that i myself dont really mind things if an explicit nature but this bordered on the line of bit too much for me.

Also I'm not saying that it is a bad book but i found it (personally) bland and with tiresome characters

I gave up on it halfway through 

And obviously there's strong female characters and whatnot like that braid lady but the objectification and misuse of women in general just left a bad taste in my mouth. I get that its true to the times its trying to portray but i honestly couldn't handle it.

So here you have two very different opinions so i think maybe it might be worthwhile to search up the trigger warnings 

I would say its definitely grittier than the Kingkiller chronicles with way more triggering stuff. And honestly its kinda depressing at times. And for me it wasn't in a way that makes you think differently about the world around you or the things some people go through but depressing just for the sake of it. 

Then again Cheesman obviously seems to enjoy it a lot and its all definitely subjective. Its not a bad book, probably, its just not for me.

Edited July 18, 2023 by Cruciatus_heart

[The cheeseman Sola Scriptora]

4 hours ago, Cruciatus_heart said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

incest! One of the very first scenes! Watched by a child! You know that i myself dont really mind things if an explicit nature but this bordered on the line of bit too much for me.

Also I'm not saying that it is a bad book but i found it (personally) bland and with tiresome characters

I gave up on it halfway through 

And obviously there's strong female characters and whatnot like that braid lady but the objectification and misuse of women in general just left a bad taste in my mouth. I get that its true to the times its trying to portray but i honestly couldn't handle it.

So here you have two very different opinions so i think maybe it might be worthwhile to search up the trigger warnings 

I would say its definitely grittier than the Kingkiller chronicles with way more triggering stuff. And honestly its kinda depressing at times. And for me it wasn't in a way that makes you think differently about the world around you or the things some people go through but depressing just for the sake of it. 

Then again Cheesman obviously seems to enjoy it a lot and its all definitely subjective. Its not a bad book, probably, its just not for me.

One of the things that I've noticed about this series is that unlike something like WoT or Stormlight, everyone sucks. Some not as much as others, but none of them are without major flaws. This just adds to the depressing aspect of the world that's preexistant because Martin has to be the "I'm not like other girls" of fantasy. Also, he often has way too much purple prose.

But, like Cruci said, it's definitely subjective. I enjoy it, others don't. That's what's great about having so many different types of books and people out here, you'll always be able to find more recommendations of things to read.

4 hours ago, Cruciatus_heart said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

incest! One of the very first scenes! Watched by a child! You know that i myself dont really mind things if an explicit nature but this bordered on the line of bit too much for me.

 

Oh yeah. Forgot about that. It is the only time - in the first two books at least, I'm only seven chapters into the third - where incest is actually shown. It is, however, talked about a bunch. Especially where the Lannisters and the Targraryens are concerned. It's pretty gross.

Edited July 18, 2023 by The cheeseman

[Edema Rue she/her]

11 hours ago, The cheeseman said:

BUT THEN I HAVE TO CHANGE MY USERNAME

Not true! If someone’s name is Adeline, but they go by Addy, they don’t have to change their name!! Or a Charles going by Charlie, or a Samuel going by Sam!! It’s very much possible!!

Thank you both for the advice, I might read it eventually but I’ll definitely be hesitant. I don’t love unlikeable characters or incest (crazy, I know).

Edited July 18, 2023 by Edema Ruh

[The cheeseman Sola Scriptora]

On 7/18/2023 at 9:42 AM, Edema Ruh said:

Not true! If someone’s name is Adeline, but they go by Addy, they don’t have to change their name!! Or a Charles going by Charlie, or a Samuel going by Sam!! It’s very much possible!!

Maybe I'll change it sometime in the future, but for now, it stays.

 

On 7/18/2023 at 9:42 AM, Edema Ruh said:

I don’t love unlikeable characters or incest (crazy, I know).

With Martin's writing, there are very obvious characters you're supposed to like and supposed to hate. The Lannisters are like the Whitecloaks or the Seanchan: we love to hate them.

-----

A Storm of Swords

Chapter 7: Jon

As I said in a previous post, Jon Snow is my favorite of the POV characters thus far. This is his first chapter in ASoS. It begins where he was left off in A Clash of Kings: captured by Wildlings after having been forced to kill a brother of the Night's Watch. The Wildlings are taking him to see Mance Rayder, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, who used to be in the Night's Watch before he defected. He and Jon have a conversation about why they defected, with Mance telling that it was because after a Wildling woman healed wounds he had taken and repaired his black Night's Watch cloak with some red silk, his commander demanded that he burn his cloak and replace it with an all-black one. So, Rayder defects because he thinks the Night's Watch is too strict with their rules.

Jon, on the other hand, is ordered to surrender to the Wildlings so he can gather information about them and eventually return to the Wall. Naturally, he can't tell the Wildlings that, so he says that - because he's a bastard in the literal way - there's never really been a place for him. Mance believes this, and the chapter ends with them sharing a meal.

Thoughts: This chapter was a very good way to introduce a new character. In it, you get a very good initial feel of just who the King-Beyond-the-Wall is. I enjoyed it, but I think that my favorite chapter so far has been the previous one because of the politics. That's one of my favorite things about this series.

The next chapter is from the POV of Daenerys Targaryen, the daughter and last surviving heir of King Aryes II Targaryen, who was killed by Jaime Lannister during Robert's Rebellion. She is currently on an entirely different continent as she builds an army to retake Westeros from the Baratheons.

 

Oh yeah, and she has three dragons.

Edited July 19, 2023 by The cheeseman

[Spren of Kindness she/her]

Curious to see what you think of Shards of Earth.  I read that a few months back.  It was very interesting.  Have you read any other books by the author?

[The cheeseman Sola Scriptora]

I have not. This is actually going to be the first sci-fi book I've read in a while, as I've been spending most of my time with fantasy and history books.

Edited July 22, 2023 by The cheeseman

[The cheeseman Sola Scriptora]

A Storm of Swords

Chapter 9: Daenerys

It's been a while since I read this chapter, so the summary will be quite short: Jonah Mormont, Daenerys' first Queensguard, tells her about her older brother Rhaegar Targaryen, who is called The Last Dragon. He tells her about the things he enjoyed doing, and that he was only second to Arthur Dayne in his skill with the sword.

Then Mormont sexually assaults Dany.

Whoop-dee-storming-doo.

That's ASOIAF for ya.

The chapter ends with Dany very strongly rebuking him and basically threatening him not to do so again. Because she has three dragons.

-----

I enjoyed this chapter up until Mormont - who had been one of my favorite minor characters - assaulted Daenerys. Not that the Dany POVs have been my favorite anyway, but this kinda ruined it. It's been about a week since I picked up this book.

That is all.

The next chapter is Bran Stark, my thoughts on that will be up... soon, probably.

Edited July 27, 2023 by The cheeseman