A Dance With Dragons

As most of you can imagine, I was pretty excited about the release of A Dance With Dragons.  I went to Wal-Mart after work on Monday around midnight hoping it was out.  I was informed by the girl old lady working that they did not have it.  I woke up the next day with a sense of purpose.  I went back to Wal-Mart because I was told that it might come on the truck in the morning.  Unfortunately, it was not there and there were no other bookstores in Ebensburg.  I asked Lindsey if there was a bookstore in Johnstown and she said yes.  I then checked my account and found that I had no money.  How depressing!

Lindsey came home from work and surprised me with a copy.  What an awesome girlfriend!  Although, it was probably a bad move for her since she barely saw me after that, haha.  Alright, fun story, but now for the thoughts on the book.

I have decided not to bore you with a lengthy recap.  Honestly, only a few of you actually read books and of that small group, only a few of those people read this series.  Instead, I have decided to just look at some of my predictions and see how close I am.

Jon's Parents
My prediction was Rhaegar and Lyanna.  Unfortunately, it really does seem like Jon is Eddard's bastard son.  More than one character has made a comment about Eddard's woman (I cannot remember her name).  I still believe that Rhaegar and Lyanna ran away together and were probably in love. 

Arya's Blindness
I was right about that and an earlier prediction was that she would become a great assassin.  She refused to allow them to give her the antidote to cure her blindness and she goes about continuing her training.  At one point she figures out who keeps hitting her with the stick and gives him the three things she learned as he wanted.  She also succeeds in killing the insurance agent.  It made me laugh as they explain to Arya what the man does for a living and she is completely astounded that people would waste money on gambling whether there ship makes it or not.

Dorne
Quentyn Martell makes his way to Daenerys and shows her the letter that was an agreement to wed Viserys and the princess of Dorne.  Viserys was to return to Dorne with an army and they would join forces to retake the Iron Throne.  Unfortunately for Quentyn, he is a little late, as Daenerys is about to marry a guy from Meereen.  In his desperation to prove that he is not a loser, he breaks into the pyramid holding the two chained dragons and wants to steal one.  He figures he has a little Targaryen blood in him, he will be fine.  HAHAHA, how does being burnt alive feel Quentyn?  Yeah, he died pretty horrifically. 

Daenerys
I predicted that she would raise an army and come to Westeros.  Well Meereen has been a slight detour.  She has an army and a bunch of enemies, but instead of being a conqueror, she has become a true ruler.  She worries about how to feed her people and keeping them from slavery.  After her wedding, she is almost assassinated by her own husband.

Fortunately, she is saved when Drogon comes to the fighting pit and starts killing people.  She is able to control her dragon and hops on his back and flies away.  They are out hunting together when they come on the khalasar of Khal Jhaqo.  Ser Barristan Selmy has led a coup against Meereen's new king (Daenerys husband, who Barristan believes tried to kill her), but unfortunately, the armies assembled outside have decided on war.

New Predictions
-I still believe that Daenerys will eventually return to Westeros and conquer it or at least become Queen.  I think with Drogon, she will cause Khal Jhaqo to join his khalasar to hers.  I believe that from the first book, when two khalasars met up, they would battle and then the survivors would form into a new one and the leader would be the new khal.  With her new khalasar, she will return to Meereen and defeat the armies outside her walls.

-The new dragon, and I am guessing the real heir to the Iron Throne, Aegon, will not survive.  He will cause a ton of problems and probably give Westeros a real scare, but in the end, he will be defeated by someone.  OR, he will ride one of the other dragons.  As will Victarion, with his horn, but he will turn against his brother and join Daenerys cause as well.  I doubt that last one though.

-Tyrion will reclaim Casterly Rock and become the other force that everyone worries about.  Actually to piss off his sister, he will lend his support to Aegon and eventually Daenerys. 

-What will happen with Jaime?  He is now in the hands of the resurrected Catelyn Stark (Lady Stoneheart).  I loved how he handled the situation with the Bracken's and Blackwoods.  If you combined all three Lannister children, that would make a great king (or queen).  Anyways, I am guessing that Brianne promised to deliver him to Stoneheart in exchange for her life. 

-Jon Snow will not be dead.  He is wounded and will probably be saved by someone.  I have a feeling he will still lead his wildling friends against Ramsay.  Hopefully Jon will kill Ramsay and become the new Lord of Winterfell.  Although, he is still a bastard and if Stannis is dead, he has no shot of being naturalized.

-In fact, is King Stannis really dead?  I just hate Ramsay.  I never liked Theon, but after reading about his horrible captivity, I really want him to go back to the Iron Islands and either claim his right as the king, or just ask his uncle to kill Ramsay.

-I also still believe that the Others will make their way over the Wall or at least make a very good attempt.  The Night's Watch will regret losing Snow, but they will be saved by an unexpected source:  Bran and his friends, the Children of the Forest.

-Speaking of Ned's children:  Rickon will be the new Lord of Winterfell.  Davos will find the boy and help him regain his position. 

I am sure I will think of other things, but since I will have a few years between now and then, I will definitely write more about this series.