The North Remembers

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Fanfiction
Title: The North Remembers
Author(s): qqueenofhades/Silverblood
Date(s): 2012 - 2014
Length: 603,063 words
Genre(s):
Fandom(s): A Song of Ice and Fire
Relationship(s):
External Links: AO3
FFN

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The North Remembers is a novel length A Song of Ice and Fire story by qqueenofhades. It is canon divergence AU set after the end of the Dance of Dragons. The fic gained a large following, and garnered media attention. As of June 2021, it has over 193,133 hits, 2000 kudos, 1000 comments, and 680 bookmarks on Archive of Our Own. In 2016 it won in the category All Time Favorite Game of Thrones Fanfic at the Fanatic Fanfic Awards.

Summary

In the ashes of war-torn Westeros, the fate of the remnants of House Stark - and that of their lovers, allies, friends, and foes - hangs in the balance. Has turned into my best attempt to complete the entire ASOIAF saga.

Author Comments

I have had seventy-year-old fans thank me for finishing the [A Song of Ice and Fire] story because they were afraid they might not live to see the official version of it, discovered that there is a TV Tropes page dedicated to it, and many other surprising things.

I am sensitive to this attention because George R.R. Martin is well known to dislike fanfiction, and I certainly don’t want to place myself into competition with him or act as if I am trying to one-up him. But I also happen to know that he is aware of it and didn’t send his team of lawyers after me, for which I am grateful. [The North Remembers] was supposed to be a way to pass the time waiting for The Winds of Winter and writing some about the Starks, and instead I grew so involved in telling the story and exploring the characters that it ended up becoming the monster that it is. It’s still one of the best things I have ever written, fanfiction or otherwise, and I am very proud of it.

Q&A with: Hilary Rhodes by Jennifer Gordon Reid, minervamag.com

Reactions and Reviews

Media Reviews

The problem with a lot of the fics I started reading wasn't that they were bad; it was that they weren't "The North Remembers." Written by a woman who goes by the pseudonym Silverblood, "The North Remembers" runs for almost 500,000 words and is virtually guaranteed to appear in any list of fanfiction recommendations.

The reason for this is simple: It's good. Silverblood picks up at the end of "A Dance With Dragons," giving point-of-view chapters to minor characters, acing a creepy scene beyond the Wall, and inventing impossibly convincing plot points. Her versions of the characters sound like themselves, and her story marches so steadily off in all the right directions that you may begin to suspect she knows something the rest of us don't. It lines up so neatly with Martin's narrative that it will mess with your head: I'm on chapter eleven of "The North Remembers" and already having to remind myself that these things didn't “really” happen.

The best (and the weirdest) of "Game of Thrones" fanfiction by Molly Templeton, salon.com

Fan Reactions and Reviews

I don’t often read GoT/ASOIAF fanfics as they rarely capture the feel or style of the books. This is one of the rare exceptions. If someone handed me a printed out version of this and told me that it was a rough draft of GRRM next book, I would honestly believe it. It seriously is that good.The author perfectly captures the tone and stye of the books, keeping the darkness of the series without going to over the top with the gore or violence. Just like in Martin’s books, several main characters die, but you never get that feeling of hopelessness or that there is not point in rooting for anyone. If Martin ends up dying before finishing his books, I would honestly feel conferrable with this story being the canonical ending of the series. As you might guess from the title the author is a big fan of the Starks, especially Sansa, and the story mostly focuses on them. Sansa I believe is the breakout character of the story, and if you need a palate cleanser of badass Sansa after Season 5, this is just what you need. Additionally this is the story that finally got be invested in the Hound, having been previously ambivalent about the character; with his pov chapters becoming some of my favorite after Sansa.[1]

This is easily one of the best fanfictions I've ever read - not only due to the storylines (which have been resolved in an absolutely perfect way), but also due to the sophisticated, complex language and the wonderfully executed descriptions. While Arya's arc has been my favourite in that fanfiction, others were resolved nearly that well too, especially the plot on Aegon and the stone dragons as well as Brienne and Sansa's experiences. While I understand the author wanted to end the story, the end felt kind of disappointing, not even showing anything about Daenerys' war against the others (only by other characters telling about it). Still, if this was George R.R. Martin's ending to "A Song of Ice and Fire", I'd absolutely accept it (in spite of missing resolutions to Areo and Aeron's arcs). Amazing piece of work which deserves five stars. [2]

(The North Remembers) is really good. The writing is very similar to GRRM. No AU divergence or anything, just the author's take from where GRRM left off.[3]

I could rec loads more but it’s still the best fic I’ve ever read in this fandom and if GRRM never finishes Winds or ADOS then this one serves as a good finale. Also, fandom legend has it that a friend of GRRM’s sent him a copy of said fic (George is not a fan of fanfiction, btw) and that he actually read it and received it positively. So who knows…[4]

This is a huge continuation of the story, basically picking up where the last book left off and finishing things. It has a whole lot of plot and action and pretty much every character you can think of. I love it.[5]

The maybe most famous work in the entire ASoIaF fandom is a continuation (and finish) of George RR Martin's books: Faithfully rendered, beautifully written. Reading The North Remembers will make the wait for both season seven and the lastest book seem less long - and maybe even sooth those frightened voices in the back of our heads that whispers that Martin won't ever finish. It's that good.[6]

It's the best long-form fanfic I can remember reading, and I greeted every new AO3 alert of a new chapter with glee I normally reserve for Christmas presents. The writer did an incredible job in more than 600,000 words and 113 chapters, completed over two-plus years, of finishing the story GRRM has not yet finished. When I consider that she did it without an editor, whilst finishing grad school, I am not surprised in the least that she now has a historical fiction of her own published in e-format. If you are at all a fan of Martin's universe, and don't mind (as he apparently does, sadly), the idea of good fanfic built within that universe; if you are afraid or convinced that GRRM will never ever complete his masterpiece and want some sort of quality conclusion; if you're willing to have your heart broken and thrilled at the same time by some fantastic writing (and, to be fair, if you're willing to understand that lack of a good editor - not a beta reader, but an editor - can trip up even the best writer), then go read this. [7]

I am five chapters in to The North Remembers and really enjoying it so far. I was doing okay with the waiting for GRRM, but it seems that finding out what happens next to these characters (even a fan writer's version of next) is like taking a drink of water when you were really thirsty but didn't realize it until the first sip hit your tongue. All of a sudden, you just can't stop drinking.[7]

The North Remembers is rumored to be the only fic that George actually likes, and is a good counterargument of his belief against fanfiction. Definitely a longshot, but if true, it is well deserved. Qquenofhades makes sure that her prose matches GRRM's, and the tone of the series does more or less a good job of keeping pace with the original. The biggest criticism is that the author is very biased towards Sansa, Sandor, Jaime and Brienne, as those are the characters that get the most focus in the fic. The finale is definitely anticlimactic, although the final Theon chapter is stellar and tragic. Very highly recommended.[8]

I’ve always felt Sansa was criminally treated in the middle season so of Game of Thrones; this story gives her the agency she deserves.[9]

A very satisfying and thorough completion to the sprawling canon. Although based on the novels, works even if all you know is the show.[10]

Links

Further Reading

References

  1. ^ "October 2015 Tumblr post by fanficoftheday". Archived from the original on 2021-06-08.
  2. ^ Goodreads review
  3. ^ "Comment on r/TheCitadel post General Recommendations, August 15, 2017". Archived from the original on 2021-06-08.
  4. ^ "June 20, 2019 tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2021-06-08.
  5. ^ "ASOIAF recs". Archived from the original on 2021-06-08.
  6. ^ "Multi(fantasy)fandom, 5 recs, Various pairings posted by zantedesha at het_reccers". Archived from the original on 2021-06-08.
  7. ^ a b "Dept. of Tuesday, August 5, 2014 LiveJOurnal post". Archived from the original on 2021-06-08.
  8. ^ "Comment on The Best Fanfic You've Ever Read post to r/fantasy on Nov 21, 2018". Archived from the original on 2022-06-19.
  9. ^ "The Rec Center #113". Archived from the original on 2024-07-21.
  10. ^ "The Rec Center #426". Archived from the original on 2024-07-24.
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