A Dance with Dragons - Chapter 2 - Daenerys I

From George RR Martin's "A Dance with Dragons"
If you like what you're hearing, be sure to check out my channel, where you can find all of my A Song of Ice and Fire recorded chapters in order in playlists! And leave a comment! I don't care about any youtube algorithm reach nonsense but I love hearing from people who are listening!
I am in no sense a professional reader, voice actor, or what have you. I began this audiobook project some years ago when some friends of mine jokingly said they'd read A Song of Ice and Fire (my favorite fantasy series) if I personally recorded the whole series in audiobook form and sent it to them. Having now made my way almost through the first two books in the series, I decided to join the small community of people who post their own amateur audibook readings to youtube, and share my efforts.
I have no intention of profiting off of the work that is copyrighted to George RR Martin. This upload is a tribute to a series I deeply love, and I strongly encourage you to purchase these books. You won't regret it.
Also I should give full credit to my cat, Claudio, for the frequent background meows and purring sounds you hear throughout.
Art by lvlorf3us www.deviantart.com/lvlorf3us

[@jamesbeckwith183]

At first the cat bugged the shit out of me. Now I couldn't imagine this literarily masterpiece without a random meow.

[@DavidReadsASoIaF]

Har! I’ll pass that along to Claudio.

[@laughs150]

Honestly the cat is what brought me in im committed to finish asoiaf here. Hopefully George start doesn't writing another book before he finishes winds of winter.

[@LPNBKeith]

I agree!! Although sometimes I think it’s my cat who rarely meows unless she needs something. She growls a lot and her name is Storm Snow!

[@angelined9814]

Hate it. And I love cats. It was just horrible in the first book or two. Neglectful.

[@mortalkomment8028]

Not everyone loves Claudio but everybody has to pay respect to a cat this commited to an audiobook.

[@DavidReadsASoIaF]

I differ with many fans in that I think that Dany's ADwD storyline is one of the most interesting and compelling in the series.

[@dablackangel]

Completely agree... but tbh I've heard so many people say Feast and Dance are boring... I completely disagree... I LOVE them... i love all the politicking and where George is taking everything. I'm glad it's getting more complex not less.

[@oz4087]

I like the theory that she will never return to westeros, instead she makes a new valyria and the westerosi refugees come with her abandoning westeros to the others and the children as some kind of new "peace" deal

[@EnderWarden]

@@oz4087 Unfortunately, from what I've seen in the finale matching up with the betrayal of love it seems inevitable Jon kills her.

[@oz4087]

@@EnderWarden thats the fanfic ending dnd came up with, i trust George can come up with something more intresting ;)

[@amethystliime]

nooo spoilers

[@aryanak1234]

That intro with Stalwart Shield and Dany is such an amazing way to set the tone for Danny’s story in ADWD

[@arshadsaleem88]

Even those who lack a mans parts, may still have a mans hart your Grace. Gray worm the man!

[@kingofdragons7]

Crazy that some says he's not a man just because he doesn't have an organ lol

[@TheKpa11]

Do I even want to know how the unsullied pee. You’d think there would be some death from infection if not properly treated

[@jessp8238]

@@TheKpa11heat sutures

[@HippytheKid419]

A eunuch by definition is just a man whos genitals were removed its sad that stuff that you have no say in and stuff you actively suffer from is used to shame people so heavily in this culture

[@cherylbaxter8986]

​@@TheKpa11 this is a good question does anyone know the answer to this

[@sgauden02]

I can only imagine Dany's horror at seeing the burned child at the end of the chapter. Her dragons are growing beyond her control.

[@dablackangel]

I don't think I could listen to Any one else read ASOIAF now. You've ruined me David... ruined me 🙈

[@levoxsixty-nine6843]

Same. The other readings on here are definitely inferior. I’m spreading the word that David’s vids are impeccable.

[@comradestannis]

@@levoxsixty-nine6843 Agreed.

[@thesamejackalsniperthatkil117]

Never forget Stalwart Shield #defundthegreatmasters

[@comradestannis]

Haha, yeah!

[@jorikrouwenhorst7220]

F in chat for our bro Stalwart Shield #defundthegreatmasters

[@comradestannis]

“Man wants to be the king o’ the rabbits, he best wear a pair o’ floppy ears.” - Brown Ben Plumm

[@guineveree1569]

Yesssss Dany is back!!!!!! I don’t know why I’m so happy

[@EnderWarden]

Mayhaps it's your name...

[@thegrimmarcher202]

Becouse she is back

[@dablackangel]

"I'm only a young girl..." I love when she says that. It always shames them.

[@comradestannis]

It seems like an excuse to me.

[@dablackangel]

@@comradestannis I guess we all interpret things differently

[@comradestannis]

@@dablackangel And that's okay.

[@dablackangel]

@@comradestannis indeed

[@evermoredany]

@@comradestannis it’s not an excuse. she says it ironically and follows it up with sound reasoning and rebuttals

[@fernandosimon5621]

The end of this chapter hits so much harder now that I have a son...

[@tsoliot5913]

Heard

[@EnderWarden]

You are my savior of these dreaded power outages

[@martinebner3522]

And again a marvelous episode of ASoIaF. Thank you David, it is great to listen to every character come to life by your voice. If you are considering to do another audiobook after ASoIaF you could try to do it with another person. For example Sherlock Holmes where one could speak Holmes and another one John Watson. Though there are a lot of Sherlock audiobook out there already maybe you could do some other book you like. I would definitely like to hear more from you.

[@comradestannis]

Same~

[@TheCbot88]

Could Illyrio be the betrayal for love?

[@billyguyjoe1858]

Never thought of it but yea that would make sense if the theory about faegon being his son is actually true

[@KaiHung-wv3ul]

That’s my theory as well

[@washingtoncommandcenter5541]

Binged DavidReadsASOIAF over the last month up to this point, now my thoughts are in David's base reading voice...

[@comradestannis]

Same here.

[@thewanderingartists]

Better him than Roy 😂

[@christophergibson9337]

Awesome job bruh…. It took a while before I stopped looking around for my cat while listening… it stays outside and usually sounds as yours when he’s in a fight!!🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️😂😂💪🏻💪🏻

[@williamcross6922]

How many chapters have you done every time I refresh there is a new one.

[@DavidReadsASoIaF]

Just these three. Recorded them over the weekend! This is NOT a 3 a day precedent lol

[@dablackangel]

And let's be grateful for them.

[@jettblack9214]

listening to all your videos thanks so much! already completed two GOT books with your help. Now i can finally do art and "read GOT at the same time" Seven blessings friend!

[@rossnavy]

I had an audible credit to spend and nearly got ADWD…but had listened to your version of AFFC and I’m too used to your character voices to change…so got the world of ice ad fire instead ☺️

[@comradestannis]

Good choice.

[@brainstorm9560]

I hated what the show did with Hizdar. He's so much more intreresting in the books. Ambitious yet pragmatic. He's even kind of funny in a cheeky sort of way.

[@comradestannis]

Books > show

[@ciandryl]

He might be cute when he had a haircut, i bet

[@comradestannis]

@@ciandryl His hair *does* look cute, tbh

[@Simplejackfade]

I love Dotrice, but when he gave Daenerys his voice for Tyrion I had to come here. Nice work.

[@2KOREAN]

I fell asleep listening to this chapter (for the 5th time) and dreamt I had a dragon. I was super excited until the USAF and Space Corp teamed up like Mereen and Astapor and shot it down. Bummer. 😅

[@connormitchell6446]

Hahaha

[@comradestannis]

Meereen does seem to mirror the Iraq war.

[@christophertracy4377]

It's very interesting that Loraq is mentioned as 1 of the enemy families. I believe Hizdar was trying 2 poison Daenerys with the honeyed locusts. It is known.

[@username.not.known2473]

It is known.

[@Caramelo23606]

This is a great series of essays about Meereen: meereeneseblot.wordpress.com/2013/09/27/untangling-the-meereenese-knot-part-i-who-poisoned-the-locusts/ Im not sure if I buy into it but it makes sense, if Hizdahr did it, it was an awfully clumsy work, most likely it was the same dude listing Hizdahr´s family in the first place.

[@username.not.known2473]

Surprisingly good, thank you

[@oussamabsn5016]

I don’t know how to explain this, but there is a scent of Cersei in Danny ever since she got to Meereen and even sometime before. I first noticed it when White beard had his first conversation with her about Rhaegar, and there I noticed that all she knows about him and Westeros is what her brother had told her before he died. That perspective is later reenforced in yet an other conversation with Barristan, all her life all she had is a fake version of history that suits her motivations and in my opinion that’s dangerous, since we all know that Viserys was motivated by a lust for blood and vengeance against those who took what was his. Cersei’s mistakes in AFFC were also consequences of both her ignorance of the history of the faith and the faith militants, and her desire to punish all those who harmed her in the past. And here lies the similarities between the two. But maybe I am just saying shit 🤷‍♂️

[@abo0sharkas]

i think i see what you mean. still the displayed madness and its velocity is pretty distinguishable when compared of Cersei's and Danny's. (my comment concerns the events up until this point in the books and nothing further) Cersei justifies her insolence with the motive of protecting her children ( this overprotectivness is understandable after losing a child by having him being killed- it is a "normal" reaction of a parent losing their ken.) and these justifications lead her to firstly dismiss the surprisingly good council of Pycelle (never thought i'd say that but he gave lots of good advice and perspective in AFFC) and secondly ease the way into madness by for example allowing the faith to take arms again and gain power. her romanticising about being "female-Tywin" is also another hint at her desperate need to justify her paranoia and shows how much stuck in her own head she is. Danny for me tries to reflect on the knowledge she has( sometimes she needs a nodge to start reflecting but mainly she reflects) and when for instance she talks with White beard she tries to obtain knowledge and inform herself, although she gets stubborn at times and maybe even refuses to continue the process of reflecting. Danny goes really wild as well and doesn't hold off her mad side every once and a while that's for sure. in contrast i see that Danny learns (or at least tries) where Cersei mainly ignores because "she is queen she is powerful she is a lannister she is a lion". Cersei is the product of a disfunctional relationship with her father, she turns the relationship with her brother to a manipulative one with Jaime and a destructive and hateful relationship with her little brother. she is also the product of king's landing and the deciet that is a constant factor at that place. she has a family and is mainly getting her history from her father who is himself biased yet firm when it comes to learning valuable lessons. thus changing beliefs and evaluating history and knowledge for her comes with a big deal and sense of authority as well, which she doesn't necesserily respect or care for. Danny on the other side had no family other than her fucked up Brother who treated her poorly, was ready to sell her to get his throne back and abused her in many ugly ways. his history is charged with fury and vengence concerning his foes and understanding towards his not very peaceful ancestry to say the least his father. Danny has never had a single place that she could call home. she and her brother were always on the move and change played a big role in the process of her growing up. she realises every once and a while that there are stuff that she doesn't know and is "more open" to reflecting. i might be blabbering as well but that is what i thought of when i saw your comment. cheers

[@oussamabsn5016]

@@abo0sharkas Yeah you totally got the point I was trying to make. And I gree with you on several points you made, especially for your analysis of Cersei’s twisted psychology. If I had something to add however, I feel like the magical influence on Danny’s arc is somewhat neglected in this comparison. Magic was too merciful in Danny’s story in my opinion ( all the way to the end of ADWD) After all, magic gave her her fever dreams, and thus the way to birth her dragons. Magic led her on her path afterwards when she followed the comet. In the house of the undying, she got glimpses of answers to questions she is yet to ask. And most importantly she had Quaithe of the Shadow, who never fails to put Danny back on track whenever she derails, she reminds her at least three times in the books that she is the mother of dragons, that she is the blood of the dragon. She comes often with warnings, prophecies, and advice. In a form that it a bit puzzled and complicated, yes, but that’s part of the game. In her last chapter in ADWD Danny is left with nothing, no husband, no crown, no food, and no shoes, even her belly was empty after she throws up some shit fruit she ate, and in that moment, comes Quaithe, to give that sweet smooth reminder, of her roots of her ancestors and her goals. In the other hand Cersei too had some dealings with magic, the Valonqar prophecy was basically the motive of her shitty decisions in AFFC, or at least it didn’t help. 🤷‍♂️ Cersei had no one to remind her of what she is, or what she aspires to be, she had to tell herself over over that she is a lion cause even her brother apparently forgot that. When Tywin dies, the lions forgot how to hunt, and Cersei felt the responsibility to fill that void, maybe a part of it was for her own satisfaction, but all she did was mainly for her cubs, her sweet children. When Danny says that she is a dragon, or when arya reminds herself that she is a stark wolf we don’t necessarily see it as narcissism, but when Cersei does it, we become a bit sinister about it. Thanks again for your comment, I really appreciate these kind of random debates about asoiaf.

[@abo0sharkas]

@@oussamabsn5016 i started reading until i realized there might be spoilers ( have to be careful since i haven't finished ADWD yet but i will surely be back to share my extensive point pf view when i am done with it). :P however: i totally agree with the remark that magic was not considered in the comparison and that it is of huge importance in Danny's Storyline and development. i guess one can consider magic as another factor that helps differentiating both charachters in that Danny is surrounded with uncertinity; she is mostly in situations where she more or less forced to improvise or at least learn. she never experienced Westeroes yet she is a tad more familiar with the conventions and social constructs of that realm than she is with the these of the cities on the other side of the narrow see. magic is a really delicate thing in this universe. it comes in different forms and can vary from actual practiced magic like, what we see in the house of the undyying, dark magic (maybe changing faces too) and so on to a sense of magic like dragons prophecies, dreams and so on. Danny is constantly confronted with magic. magic is, and maybe i am wrong but this is my observation, more practiced on the other side of the narrow see or at least less practiced in Westeros - it is at least frowned upon in Westeros. with magic comes uncertainty. where there are mainly gods in westeros that tell you ( or at least assume to tell you) what is what and religion hence a more raw understanding of reality, the whole idea of being uncertain or questioning knowledge follows different criterias of differentiation than in places where you have less "certain" answers - or to put it differently a bigger number of possible answers and gods- and where the unknown or aesoteric is more visible. Cersei doesnt have that input; for her it is more like you either believe, don't believe or pretend to believe in the gods and go on with your life. although in my opinion dragons are not magic in this universe but creatures that exist as much as humans do, Cersei's and Tywin's refusal to believe that Dany had dragons at the start or even the ever reoccurring disbelief in the white walkers, giants and so on is a huge indication of the lack of magic as input not only for Cersei but throughout the realm and can be seen as a way of interpreting the decision making process and the interpretation of knowledge and how it varies even if you "only" change the habitat or surrounding of a character. this ironically applies to out societies and way of living; in a different sense i guess. another comparison is Varys and Littlefinger. cheers

[@abo0sharkas]

@@oussamabsn5016 and i still see the similarities. i just like to put more oil on the fire and see how majestic it can become. afterall that is exactly why these books are freakin awesome! GRRM writes these characters with absolute brilliance

[@oussamabsn5016]

@@abo0sharkas sorry for the spoiler. I couldn’t wait for him to finish, I just went on. 😅 I agree that magic of late has been practiced more in Essoss " It is known " lol. After all the Valyrians were the first to use glass candles (which, as stupid as it may seem, I consider the most amazing magical shit in the story lol ) However when I finished the asoiaf series I started reading the world of Ice and fire, the untold history of westeros. And in just a few chapters, it changed my perspective completely about magic in westeros. I won’t spoil it for you, but I strongly recommend you take a look. There are weird tales about giants, the children of the forrest and the first men. Tales about spells, and heroes and shit like that. So many rituals and traditions that we see in the series are explained in that book. It gives us so many answers to so many whys. Sometimes in a direct way, other times with hints and obvious links. And the north especially is way more fucked up with sorcery than we can begin to imagine. All this to say that I wouldn’t go so far as to say that westeros was ever magic free, ever. They say that they remember, but the stupid fools don’t. 🍺

[@sandmanenters4187]

Ah fantastic, thank you. I struggle to listen to Roy Doltrice's version of this book.

[@andrewturnbull8383]

his lack of diversity for different voices is frustrating.

[@comradestannis]

@@andrewturnbull8383 His voices in general are frustrating.

[@charitysweetcharity3091]

Danerys for president 2024

[@coryfarrell3211]

Turning the page and seeing I have to read ANOTHRR DANY CHAPTER... 😢😢😢

[@cherylbaxter8986]

11:39 11:12 Viserion- Your lazy with his golden horns

[@comradestannis]

Hahahaha

[@cherylbaxter8986]

???

[@BloodyFoxDK]

Blood for blood,I agree with Shavepate there will be no third murder.

[@comradestannis]

Shavepate is... an interesting character to me.

[@billyguyjoe1858]

Justice for Stalwart Shield :(

[@bobbobson661]

How many mo s are there ?

[@aryanak1234]

She’s muh queeeen

[@comradestannis]

lmao

[@thewanderingartists]

This version of Missandei is wayyyyyyy better !!

[@BobbyFlay14]

Muh queen

[@comradestannis]

She is muh kween

[@pirateboyfearless]

Is grey worm a native American in a 1960s western?

[@DavidReadsASoIaF]

Hmmmmm hadn't thought of that! I just wanted him to sound vaguely "foreign" and to have an affected, stilted manner of speaking due to all of the hideous training. Sad to say I'm pretty ignorant on classic westerns.

[@pirateboyfearless]

@@DavidReadsASoIaF ha is all in jest. Im a few episodes in, ive read the books several times but great to have these audio books. Its much more fun with the accents and the effort you put in is obvious. Great job, thanks a lot.

[@DavidReadsASoIaF]

@@pirateboyfearless Thank you! And thanks for listening! I really love hearing from people who are listening along, and funny comments about voice choices are always welcome!

[@skull_princess7320]

You should do house of dragon

[@paulwilliams1731]

Dany's back 😊

[@AnarchoCatBoyEthan]

I missed Dany so much!

[@thetreeoflifeandfortnite2214]

I would love for someone to make an audiobook of the book series about Casca

[@arshadsaleem88]

15:38 Dany was conceived after Aegon (Rhaegar's son) was killed???? thats a shocker and confusing

[@dobson.]

Aerys had just sent Rhaella away to safety so he probably got one last quickie in

[@arshadsaleem88]

@@dobson. Ha ha ha, Good one mate!

[@ryanmontgomery9749]

Hizdar zo loraq is LittleFinger apparently! XD

[@comradestannis]

I hate how Daenerys refers to Robert and his allies as the "Usurper's dogs" but eh, it's understandable.

[@thewanderingartists]

All her life she was told that, I wonder how she will react when she knows what the mad King was like 😂

[@comradestannis]

@@thewanderingartists Yeah

[@KaiHung-wv3ul]

@@thewanderingartistsDenial most like

[@takemywordforit4128]

The arguments for the fighting pits are highly persuasive. I can't imagine why not :/

[@christophertracy4377]

All hail her grace Queen Daenerys Targaryen the Breaker of Chains ⛓️ and Mother of Dragons 😁! My favorite 😍. Your cat is a dragon 🐲.

[@Spendycakes]

You sound suspiciously like Dexter Morgan

[@eonsislept207]

I'm sorry but your Dany voice is hilarious 😆

[@cherylbaxter8986]

12:00

[@napolien1310]

This is what happened when you undergo into a new management.

[@bmsg1]

it is know :)

[@oz4087]

Daenerys is not the Mad Kings Daughter. She is Rhealla Targaryens Daughter and Sister of Rheagar Targaryen.

[@WCLCooke]

Dany needs cheeks of steel? I don't blame her, especially for when she takes the Iron Throne.

[@thetreeoflifeandfortnite2214]

My cat rarely meows. But at first I kept thinking why is my cat meowing ... LOL

[@MegaPossesed]

Xb sh 😅h😅😅 20:09 😊 20:13

[@clarencerichmondjr8609]

“The harpy has a new son “

[@halfbloodprince5246]

Daenerys suck at ruling😅

[@angelined9814]

Greyworm voice..is he s robot? Lol. Just stop.

[@QueenOfScorpions]

The reader's idiotic emphasis on ss, especially at the end of sentences, is so tiresome and irritating