Fanfic Great premise, Poor execution
The Writer has an interesting premise with great detail on how this POD affects the ASIOAF series. During the expedition beyond the Wall, Jon Snow discovers a dragon hidden and manages to bond with it. This discovery proves to have tremendous changes to the North and beyond. The writer knows how to describe the setting in great detail. They have a firm grasp of the characters and how Jon Snow bonding with a dragon would have an impact on Westerosi society. Despite having a powerful weapon on Jon's disposal, the writer knows how to balance the odds so that the story doesn't fall short and turn Jon Snow into a Gary Stu.
Unfortunately, the writer falls victim to GRRM syndrome, as the writer seems to be compelled to complete his personal version of GRRM's story. Consequently, character and plot arcs fail to get resolved in a timely fashion and the chapters seem to get longer and longer with few resolutions. Notably, the writer tends to come up with theories about the characters and lore that has no relevance to the plot. The story also has details that make the story feel bloated. In addition, the increased word count, and uneven pacing of the story's balance of multiple POVS leads to an uncomfortable experience as the reader fails to understand where each chapter stands in the timeline of the story.
Fanfic One of the best of the ASOIAF fandom
Dragons of Ice and Fire is not afraid to diverge from the stations of canon. After Jon awakens a monster of a forgotten time, the world changes around him as a consequence. That does not, however, mean that the world revolves around him. The other fan favorites like Bran and Tyrion and Euron all find all manner of new stories that diverge from the canon. And Jon himself does not easily adjust into his newfound role as a leader and a King. Power doesn't only solve problems; it creates new ones of its own.
The story is a true standout for the portrayal of magic, the ASOIAF bestiary, and the darker aspects of the world building. No ASOIAF fanfic ever before has delved into the realms that Dragons of Ice and Fire does.
The story particularly wins for the representation of the Others.
Fanfic good start, deteriorates
My biggest problem is that the author seems hell-bent on making the story as depressing as possible.
Admittedly it started off well. Despite the grimness of the story the characters were fairly competent, believable, and likable, and the writing style is excellent.
As the story went on the competent Jon and his allies start acting absolutely stupid for no reason. The 'twenty good men' trope is shoved in the reader's face when Ramsay Bolton and Roose Bolton effortlessly: poison Jon's dragon, land ships at White Harbor (which wasn't explained, the sigils implied they were southern vessels), ambush Jon's army, infiltrate his ranks, without anyone noticing.
Holes in the plot the size of asteroids pop up again and again around the time of the Battle In the Snows, or more accurately, after Jon reaches the Wall. He makes absolutely no proactive effort into attacking his enemies despite having an immeasurable amount of time to do so, and all the resources at hand.