Asha Greyjoy

A very good prequel! I especially loved the way Collins puts you in Snow's head but still makes the dissonance between his views of himself and the truth pretty clear. You can see how he rationalizes his choices, how he feels he's doing grow right thing, but lacks any kind of perspective. He thinks he cares of Lucy Gray but obviously still looks down on her. He thinks he knows hunger and chaos and does what it takes to keep humanity from going out of control but still becomes the force that continues the struggle. I enjoyed the exploration of the question of human nature and the impact context can have. I really loved the theme of the loss of innocence and manipulation of a "vapid" child into a cold tyrant.