You know these books are basically A Song Of Ice And Fire but better. I know they're for kids, but nonetheless they're just better-executed at all the shit GRRM tries to do. They've got gory deaths just like ASOIAF, they've got perilous stakes just like ASOIAF, they've got puzzles and mysteries just like ASOIAF, and they've got elaborate descriptions of feasts and meals just like ASOIAF. It's just that none of it sucks, and it doesn't leave us waiting for a story conclusion that will probably never come.