[Boaz]

I have felt that Martin has tried to keep the chaos and breakdown of morals and order during a civil war at a realistic level. The story of the Mountain's rape of an inkeeper's daughter was horrific, but fit the story.

I feel that Martin has made the bad guys evil, not just bland... The Mountain does not just lead raids, he rapes, murders, and relishes every minute of it; Tywin murders half the kingdom to keep his incestous daughter and her bastard inbred whelps in power. Martin's made the good people human... Jon slew Qhorin, loved Ygritte, and helped his brother's kill the wildlings; Robb raises his banners to rescue his father, declares himself king, wins battles, and breaks promises; Ned stands up to Robert, shows mercy to Cersei, does not tell Robert (on his deathbed) of Joff's parentage, and he proclaims himself a traitor to save Sansa.

Martin has not just made good guys good and bad guys bad... he's made them human in my opinion. So, I've bought into the regicide, flinging children from towers, rape, executions, murders, accusations of homosexuality, rape, lynchings, lies, swearing, incest, slavery, rape, murders, betrayals, treason, and prostitutes. Life is not a song, sweetling.

All that said, I thought Biter eating Brienne, Cersei's homosexual encounter, and Arianne's seduction of Arys were a bit too gratuitous for me. I felt that they were just inserted into AFFC because Martin wanted to feel like Quentin Tarantino. I don't know that any of those were necessary... they may be well written and aritistic, but to me they were there just to push the boundaries of what is acceptable.

hedgeknight, if that's what you've felt all along... well, that stinks.

Edit: JonSnow, you slipped that post in while I was writing mine! Welcome to the forums!