A dance with dragons

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A Dance with Dragons ( dt. A dance with dragons ) is the fifth volume of the fantasy saga A Song of Ice and Fire of the American author George RR Martin . The novel was firstpublishedin English-speaking countrieson July 12, 2011. In Germany the original volume appeared separately in the two volumes Der Sohn des Greifen and Ein Tanz mit Drachen . The novel presents several personal storytellers .

Creation and publication

The release of the fifth volume of the saga The Song of Ice and Fire had already been announced for 2006; but it was only published in June 2011. Martin gave his publisher a 1500-page manuscript. Originally, Martin had planned a trilogy, with A Dance with Dragons should have been the title of the second band; at a later point in time, when he had refrained from a trilogy, the title of the fourth volume.

Like A Storm of Swords for the British paperback publication in two half-volumes - Steel and Snow and Blood and Gold - the publication of A Dance with Dragons was first announced in two half-volumes - Dreams and Dust and After the Feast . Ultimately, the author covered the sequel to the song of ice and fire so extensively that a split publication became inevitable. Martin finally decided on a solution: instead of publishing the novel in two parts, he split characters and locations into two separate volumes in the series - A Feast for Crows , Volume 4, and A Dance with Dragons , Volume 5. In A Feast of Crows , Martin continues the fate of his characters and the events in the south of the Seven Kingdoms, the Iron Islands and the Free City of Braavos. Martin reports in A Dance with Dragons about the characters and events in north Westeros and in more detail in Essos .

Martin already wrote about a third of the narrative continued in the novel for the previous volume A Feast for Crows , although he had to rewrite most of the texts and adapt them to the new concept. This was also necessary so that an open outcome of various storylines at the climax of the event ( cliffhanger ) - the characters Sansa Stark, Brienne von Tarth, Jaime and Cersei Lannister - could be avoided.

The title of the novel refers to a civil war in the early history of Westeros. This title quickly led to speculation about the content of the novel, especially regarding the suspected, long-awaited invasion of the armies of Daenerys Targaryen in Westeros.

action

Conception

The events in the novel are set in a fictional, medieval Europe, on the continent of Westeros and increasingly to the east on the continent of Essos across a strait.

The novel picks up where A Storm of Swords ends and the author continues with the events of A Feast for Crows . The war of the five kings, which was waged for the right to the iron throne and supremacy in Westeros after Robert Baratheon's death, was settled with extremely lossy consequences for all involved. In the north, King Stannis Baratheon has established himself on the wall. He has vowed to win the support of the Northmen for his claim to the Iron Throne. His plan is complicated by the fact that after the fall of House Stark von Winterfell and the death of King Robb Stark, the rulers of the Iron Islands occupied large parts of the north and the houses of the north were divided.

On the wall, Jon Schnee has meanwhile been elected the 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, but has to assert himself against enemies in his own ranks and the increasing pressure of the wildlings beyond the wall.

After Tyrion Lannister murdered his father, he fled across the strait to the Free City of Pentos. His intentions and his goal, which he associates with a contact with Daenerys Targaryen, remain largely open.

In Slave Bay, Daenerys has conquered the city of Meereen and decided to stay there and take control of the city. She intends to develop her skills in the leadership of a state, since she believes without political and government experience that she will fail in her conquest of Westeros. In Westeros - in Dorne, on the Iron Islands, in the Citadel of Altsass and in the Free Cities - we now know about Daenerys' stay and military strength. Various ambassadors and diplomats are sent out to work to use their power and influence for their own ends.

Martin's 16 protagonists ( point of view ) tell the events in A Dance of Dragons from their own, subjective perspective, so that there is a frequent change of scene and plot. The author has again laid out the plot in a linear-progressive manner, so that 16 perspectives develop parallel and side by side in a longitudinal tension curve. The prologue and epilogue circle the narrative, put the reader in the mood and offer him a view.

Synopsis

In the North

Jon Snow, now Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, is exposed to threats and dangers from all sides. Stannis Baratheon urges him to give him lands and fortresses that belong to the Night's Watch to give as fiefs to his loyal followers. Beyond the wall, the uncanny Others are increasingly being spotted, and Manke Rayder's wildlings are gathering in their thousands. At the beginning, each wildling represents an uncivilized creature for Jon, who incite the others to attack the wall. Finally he struggles to unite the wildlings with the night watch and lead them against the common enemy. The decision made in need brings many of his brothers against him, who accuse him of treason and refuse to support him. When he finally leads an army of wildlings through the wall, four of his brothers stab him and Jon remains seriously wounded and lost consciousness.

In the Black Fortress, Melisandre burns Rasselhemd, the lord of the bones, camouflages him with a magical spell and pretends to sacrifice Manke to the Red God while she hides him behind the mask of Rasselhemd. She reveals to Jon that a gray girl is riding a dying horse up the Royal Road to seek asylum. With Jon's permission, she sends Manke and several of the spear women out to rescue the girl who she believes is Arya Stark. It turns out, however, that the girl is in reality Alys Karstark, who flees after her father's death to escape the plans of her relatives. With the support of Jon's council and loyal Stark allies from the mountains, the Karstarks, Glovers, Mormonts and part of the Umbers, Stannis finally succeeds in recapturing Tiefwald Motte for the north. He then moves on against Ramsay Snow, Roose Bolton's bastard, who, along with the other Northmen, has lodged in the ruins of Winterfell.

At the same time, Stannis sends his hand, Lord Davos Seewert, to Lord Wyman Manderly in Weisswasserhafen to solicit support for Stannis' cause. When Davos arrives in Weißwasserhafen, he finds the yard occupied by the Freys. He learns that Manderly's eldest son Wylis was killed by Robb at the Red Wedding, so that Manderly suspects a Stark sympathizer in Davos and arrests him at the Frey's request. Davos is housed in comfortable captivity and finally freed by Robett Glauer, who has shown loyalty to the Freys and has joined Lord Manderly. But he secretly organized their overthrow, especially after Cersei allegedly released Ser Wendel, who was killed at the Red Wedding. In Weisswasserhafen, Davos meets twelve-year-old Wex, a survivor of the pillage and pillage of Winterfell, who used to work for Theon Graufreud. He escaped into a tree and watched as six other survivors, Bran and Rickon Stark, Jojen and Meera Reed, Osha and Hodor, fled from the ruins of the fortress. Davos is then assigned to look for Rickon. If he succeeds, Manderly assures him, his house will join the Stannis cause.

Asha Graufreud, who fled the Iron Islands after her unsuccessful application on the Königsthing of the Iron Islands and the coronation of her uncle Euron, is captured during Stannis' attack on Tiefwald Motte and taken by him on his march to Winterfell. Theon Greyjoy, who has assumed his new identity named Stinker after his mental breakdown from Ramsay Snow's torture , is released by Ramsay. He is supposed to convince the iron men who hold Maidengraben to surrender so that the allied armies of Lord Roose and the Freys and those Northmen who survived the Red Wedding can return home. They also travel with Ramsay's new bride, a girl who is portrayed as Arya Stark but who is actually Sansa Stark's childhood friend Jeyne Pool, the daughter of Winterfell's former steward. Stinker warns her not to slander her new identity as Ramsay could become angry and mistreat her even worse. The bard Abel and his washerwomen, who are actually Manke and the spearwomen, are interested in stinkers . Together they smuggle Jeyne out of the fortress and finally reach Stannis' army. Ramsay demands his wife and Stinker back by showing that this is the only way they can escape the upcoming battle.

Essos

Daenerys Targaryen, now Queen of Meereen, experiences what it means to rule and feels that she is insufficiently up to the task. While she tries to maintain the city's political stability, an underground organization, the Sons of the Harpy , organizes resistance against her and kills her followers wherever possible. Many of Meereen's citizens resent Daenerys for the abolition of slavery, which has formed the backbone of the city-state's prosperity and economy. Another of her problems is that she does not know how to tame her now adult dragons, which roam the land in search of prey and eat what they find, including children. Quaithe, a shadow-binder from Asshai, visits Daenerys and warns her that others will follow her and threaten her power: a pale mare, octopuses and dark flames, a lion and a griffin, and the son of the sun.

Tyrion Lannister, who fled the Seven Kingdoms after the (alleged) kingside and parricide, reached the Free City of Pentos with the support of Lord Varys. There he stays with Illyrio Mopatis, who has already supported Daenerys and her brother. Tyrion decides to offer his services to Daenerys. Together with the taciturn knight Greif and his son, he sets off for the east. Tyrion notices the young Griffin's pale complexion and how carefully the ship's crew pays attention to his well-being. He concludes that the boy must be Aegon Targaryen, the long believed dead son of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell, and that Greif is Aegon's foster father Jon Connington, formerly Lord von Greifenhorst.

Hella, a dwarf who was present at the dwarf tournament at Joffrey's wedding as a member of the artist troupe, in which her brother and partner Oppo was killed in Cersei's purge, lies in wait for Tyrion on the way. Both are later picked up by Ser Jorah Mormont, who kidnaps them. He wants to offer Tyrion Daenerys as a gift to regain her favor. On the way to Meereen, the ship is seized by slave traders who want to sell Mormont, Tyrion and Hella, whom they consider to be a troupe of artists, to the slave market in front of Meereen. Tyrion manages to sneak away from the slave traders' camp. He reaches the camp of the second born, where Ben Pflum, known as the brown Ben, is in command. Tyrion offers his sword to the commander, hoping to get one more step closer to Daenerys.

The Iron Captain, Victarion Greyjoy, Commander of the Iron Fleet, sails to Meereen with his ships. It turns out that he owns Euron's horn, the sound of which is supposed to tame dragons. The red priest Moqorro from the temple of Old Volantis, who was on the ship with Tyrion, jumped overboard during the pirate attack. So Victarion meets the priest who converts him to faith in R'hllor, the Lord of Light. Moqorro, whom the iron men call the Black Flame , impressively demonstrates the power of the god of light and claims that he knows how to use the dragon horn safely.

Prince Quentyn Martell, the eldest son of Doran Martell von Sonnspeer, is also on his way east. He is carrying a parchment signed years ago by Ser Willem Darry, who saved the Targaryen siblings from Dragonstone. The document says that Quentyn's older sister, Arianne Martell, Daenerys brother, Prince Viserys Targaryen, was promised to be a wife. Doran Martell is now demanding that this alliance be confirmed after Viserys death through the marriage between his son Quentyn and Daenerys. But Quentyn reaches Meereen too late. Daenerys has now decided to enter into a politically motivated marriage. Quentyn tries to tame Daenerys' now incarcerated dragons, Viserion and Rhaegal. During this attempt, he was severely burned and died three days later. Unable to tame Viserion and Rhaegal, Daenerys continues to hold them captive while Drogon, whom she is unable to capture, continues to poach around Meereen.

Lord Connington and Prince Aegon have since given up their intention to reach Meereen. They join the Golden Company, a community of mercenaries in which exiled Westerosi have united militarily and of which Connington was once a member. Here Aegon recalls Tyrion's advice not to trust anyone. He also wants to ask for Daenerys' hand, but realizes that he has to offer her more than consanguinity. Arbitrarily, he decides to attack Westeros now to form a bridgehead that Daenerys can later strengthen and use for her attack on Westeros. With the Golden Company he first conquered Greifenhorst, his foster father's party. His real goal, however, is the old Baratheon Fortress Storm Cape, whose siege Aegon wants to lead himself.

The pale mare whose arrival Quaithe foretold is not a metaphorical, but a real horse that brings a refugee from Astapor to Meereen. This rider carries a present with him: an epidemic, the plague. Not only is the disease raging among the citizens of Meereen, it is also decimating the Yunkai slaves and mercenary companies. In the turmoil of the plague, Jorah, Tyrion and Hella manage to escape from their captivity with the slave traders. On the recommendation of her advisor, Daenerys marries one of Meereen's leading aristocrats, Hizdahr zo Loraq. She hopes that her new husband can end the resistance of the Harpy's Sons . She also expects him to negotiate on her behalf with Volantis, Qarth and Yunkai in order to pacify the hostilities that have broken out. Before her wedding, however, she gives in to her desire for Daario Naharis, whom she binds even closer to herself. An agreement of their wedding contract consists against their conviction in the reopening of the battle pits of Meereen. The clamor of the first fights of the slave gladiators, which she witnesses, attracts her dragon Drogon. To calm him down, Daenerys gets on Drogon's back, who rises into the air with her. Together they leave Meereen, whose government remains in the hands of Ser Barristan Selmy. He is convinced that the poison attack on Daenerys goes back to an intrigue by Hizdahr and cannot control the chaos that breaks out in Meereen after Daenerys' kidnapping. The war for supremacy of the city is entering a new phase. Meanwhile, Daenerys tries to get back to Meereen on foot. Drogon took them with him to the southern foothills of the Dothraki Sea, where the dragon has his hunting ground. On her way through the grasslands of the Dothraki Sea, Daenerys meets Khal Jhaqo and his Khalasar.

More characters and locations

Several chapters tell of the further fate of a novice in the house of the Many-faced God of Black and White, of a blind girl who was once Arya Stark. However, Arya's ritual blindness caused by a potion is just another phase of her initiation. She refuses to take an antidote because she knows that it will get her fired from her education. After successfully arranging the assassination attempt on a hated commercial agent, she is officially inducted into the next stage of her education.

Jaime Lannister, the regicide, travels to Rabenbaum, the seat of Tytos Schwarzhain, where Jonos Bracken, Lord von Steinheck, commands the siege. Tytos Schwarzhain is one of the last followers of Robb Stark who is still resisting. There, Brienne von Tarth arrives at Jaime's camp and claims that she has found one of the Stark girls and asks Jaime to follow her. The motives for acting remains unclear.

Areo Hotah, leader of the Sonnspeer city guard and bodyguard of Prince Doran Martell, observes the events in Sonnspeer. Doran confesses to Ellaria Sand, the mistress of his brother Oberyn, and his daughters, Nymeria, Tyene and Obara, that he convinced Princess Myrcella to lie about what happened during the failed attempt by Princess Arianne as Myrcella to become queen of the To proclaim the seven kingdoms. Doran decides to deny Cersei's request that his own son Trystan return to King's Landing with Myrcella, as an ambush was allegedly planned at Tyrion's instigation that would lead to Trystan's death. Instead, Doran sends Nymeria and Tyene, two of Oberyn's bastard daughters, to King's Landing: one to hear his voice in the Small Council, the other to join the Great Septe, where both his eyes and ears are to be in the capital.

Cersei Lannister, the Queen Regent, remains in captivity on the Great Septe of Baelor. After a period of forced insomnia, she confesses to the High Septon that she had given herself up to fornication and incest with Lancel, but neither to adultery nor to the murder of King Robert. Her confession gives her the right to receive visits, particularly from her uncle, Ser Kevan Lannister, who tells her about Myrcella's injury and Ser Ary's Oakheart's death in Dorne. Cersei now sees the opportunity to summon Qyburn's secret favorite, Ser Robert Kraft, to the Kingsguard instead of Arys, giving her the chance to decide the upcoming judicial duel in her favor. Eventually she is moved to the Red Tower, where she can be with her son until God's judgment. As a punishment, she is ordered to go all the way to the fortress naked and to expose herself to the humiliation of the people of King's Landing.

In the epilogue, the novel ends with the point of view of Ser Kevan Lannister, the last of Tywin's loyal supporters and the current regent. During a meal with Cersei and King Tommen, he noticed how much his niece's imprisonment in the Great Septe had broken psychologically. While the meal is still going on, Ser Kevan is called to Grand Maester Pycelle's cell, where a white raven has arrived from the Citadel of Altsass, the traditional sign that winter has come. When he arrives, he finds Pycelle dead. He himself is assassinated by Varys who wants to destroy the efforts to combine Rosengarten and Casterlystein. With Ser Kevan's death, Varys said, the way was cleared for Aegon Targaryen to take over the Iron Throne.

characters

Narrative perspectives

The individual chapters are each told from the perspective of a main character. The name of the person is partly also the chapter heading, but chapters are also named after the professions ( The hand of the queen ) or other titles ( the blind girl ) of some people. In A Dance with Dragons are 18 of these main characters - including six for the first time - presents, more than ever before.

expenditure

The novel is the fifth volume of the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire by the American author George RR Martin. A Song of Ice And Fire , Vol: 5, 2005.

In the German translation, these are the two half-volumes of Das Lied von Eis und Feuer : Vol. 9: Der Sohn des Greifen , 2011 and Vol. 10: Ein Tanz mit Drachen , 2012.

filming

Parts of the novel are shown - partially modified - in the fifth and sixth seasons of the US television series Game of Thrones .

Web links

The Song of Ice and Fire


Books

A Game of Thrones  (1996) • A Clash of Kings  (1999) • A Storm of Swords  (2000) • A Feast for Crows  (2005) • A Dance with Dragons  (2011) • The Winds of Winter • A Dream of Spring

series

Game of Thrones ( Episode  List • Season 1  • Season 2  • Season 3  • Season 4  • Season 5  • Season 6  • Season 7  • Season 8 )