Post originally by Luke Silburn at 2003-09-05 03:25:39
Converted from Phorums BB System

Ryan Bigelow wrote:
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I felt that it was because of all these subplots that the book moved so slowly. So many things were going on that we were given only snippets from time to time. A good case is the Northern zombie problem. This is the first chapter of the book, and from that, the readers are led to believe that this will be a major focus of the book. Every time the northern wall was written, I was expecting something epic to happen. Unfortunately, noth a lot happens with this plot thread in this book, leaving me unsatisfied, instead of wanting more.

Unfortunately this is a problem with the six book format that Martin is writing to. The northern zombie plot *is* the most important long term issue facing Westeros, but it is being ignored by most of the seven kingdoms who have been lulled into a sense of false security by the long summer.

Part of the way that Martin has chosen to communicate this lack of concern is to reduce this plot-arc to a series of teasers and a sense of rumbling menace. This sacrifices the structure of the book in favour of the overall structure for the series and is pretty much inevitable I think.

Regards
Luke