Blog of Ice and Fire

[viZion]

Some guy is reading the series for the first time and writing brief blog entries about the chapters as he reads them. He's got a good sense of humor and it's fun to see the series from the point of view of someone who isn't an expert in all of the details like just about everyone here. Check it out:

Blog of Ice and Fire: Eddard • Jon

 

[soulsinging]

Some guy is reading the series for the first time and writing brief blog entries about the chapters as he reads them. He's got a good sense of humor and it's fun to see the series from the point of view of someone who isn't an expert in all of the details like just about everyone here. Check it out:

Blog of Ice and Fire: Eddard • Jon

Let's hope he doesn't read any spoilers about a certain pivotal and shocking event in book 3 like I did!

 

[Wiggum]

Lol, thanks Vizion, I had fun reading a lot of his posts

 

[Ursa major]

That blogger has a very amusing way of recording his impressions of the series.


Thanks for the link, viZion.





(Can we start complaining about how he should be reading - and blogging - faster than he is at present? He hasn't updated since the 12th! )

 

[Boaz]

Very droll, Big Bear.

 

[The Imp]

That blogger has a very amusing way of recording his impressions of the series.


Thanks for the link, viZion.





(Can we start complaining about how he should be reading - and blogging - faster than he is at present? He hasn't updated since the 12th! )

that's a riot

 

[The Imp]

Let's hope he doesn't read any spoilers about a certain pivotal and shocking event in book 3 like I did!

That's just awful. Anyone who let that loose without warning has to be a complete moron.

BTW, on a re-read, you can see it coming from a mile away. It's really quite amazing that no one (at least no one that I've heard say it) saw it coming. GRRM's ability to pull that off catapulted him into a class virtually by himself among authors IMO

 

[Ursa major]

GRRM's ability to pull that off catapulted him into a class virtually by himself among authors IMO

GRRM is very good at providing hints that things might happen, but hints that the reader may easily miss on their first time through one of the books. The use of so many POVs helps with this: this reader, at least, cannot hold all the threads in his head at once, so that GRRM can surprise me without cheating me. (Stannis's trip north was a good example of this: it was a complete surprise to me, but it did not come completely out of the blue, once I thought back to what Davos had been doing and the information he'd been sent.)



Oh, and the blogger has got his finger out and read a couple more chapters of AGoT.

 

[Wiggum]

I would just like to say, as being a voice of fandom, whether it be books, sports teams, movies, or whatever....

Fans tend to take themselves more seriously than they really should.

It's nice to have a point of view that is both flippant, and also appreciative.

Plus his blog gave me a good laugh.

 

[viZion]

Wow, I feel kinda stupid now. This guy points out how Catelyn is the dead mother wolf with an antler in her throat. I seriously never made that connection before. Martin tells the reader that Catelyn gets her throat slit right in the beginning of the book. Am I the only one that missed that? The way this blogger notices such details on his first read makes me want to think he's read the series or forums/spoiler sites like this before. But then he says stuff like "Jaime sent the assassin to kill Bran" which makes it highly likely this really is his first time through. Anyway, I'm enjoying the fresh perspective...and I still like discussing the series with the experts here, too.

 

[JDP]

Hmmm... I wouldn't agree that Catelyn is the mother direwolf at the start of the story; for me the direwolf represented House Stark itself. Far more representative of Eddard and the kids than Catelyn.

 

[Sapienti]

Yea when I first sat down with the book I was coming into it knowing nothing about GRRM or much of the books background (I was searching on the random house site for a book to get into and chanced upon it). Later when I learned the kings symbol was a stag in the back of my mind I was thinking "maybe the dead dire wolf at the beginning was some kinda hint" and that stayed in the back of my mind up to the point with Ned and the execution.

And then there was the whole bit with Dany basically seeing the Red Wedding in that hallucination hallway. I didn't know what to expect up to the point when Catelyn feels the armor under that Frey's clothes and then I was as shocked as she was. I've never had a book affect me the way this series has.

 

[Syphon of Oor-Tael]

I went in assuming it was going to be a great laugh, but it was lukewarm at best.

 

[Ursa major]

It isn't a comedy blog, SoO-T, (although the blogger does have some nice turns of phrase); it's amusing because the blogger is experiencing what we did for the first time - though noticing things some of us may not have - and mostly being directed to somewhat iffy conclusions by GRRM (as were most of us.)

We wouldn't get the same experience by re-reading for ourselves: one can't simultaneously be hoodwinked and know how one is being hoodwinked. (Well I can't.)



Now where is the next installment?! That blogger is our bitch whatever Gaiman may think.

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

This blog is quite entertaining. Thanks Viz for sharing. I particularly like his sarcasm and humor, although sometimes it leaves you wondering if he's enjoying the book.

One of my favorites so far...

More Stark badassery: when Catelyn talks about how their three year old is fearful of his new wolf pet, and Eddard responds "then he must learn to face his fears." Apparently, the Starks are training Rickon to be Batman.

 

[Ghost of Harrenhal]

Not only is this guy hilarious:

he [Bran] wakes up and names his wolf “Summer,” when “Fall” is clearly the more appropriate name

But he also picked out something remarkably obvious and (seemingly) important that I completely overlooked when I read the chapter where Lady dies:

Sansa ceased being a Stark in spirit when she chose Joffrey over her family, and her symbolic connection with "northness" was fully severed with Lady's death. If Arya-vs-Joffrey was a character test for Sansa, she failed in every way possible way.

It's true really. What has Sansa got in northern spirit? She's a bit of a wet blanket, she dreams of silly things, she betrayed Arya in that chapter and later betrays Ned to the Queen. I know she is only a little girl but Arya is younger and would never have done those things, even though she doesn't like her sister at times.

There was a time where I would have accepted Sansa becoming the next Lady of Winterfell and having the Stark line continue through her but now I think not. She must step aside or die, lest the future generation of Starks become weak-kneed, snot-nosed Robert Arryns!

You could argue that she is becoming stronger but that's only because she is forced to be stronger because she has lost everything. The Starks are strong willed naturally. Even Bran is the kind of boy who would lie to a prince to save his family.

 

[viZion]

I have a feeling he'll be saying, "There's not a lot to say about Bran's chapter" a lot. I can do a summary of all of them right now:

Bran whined, Bran dreamed, Bran whined some more.

Maybe later it would be:

Bran whined, Bran dreamed, The Frogs told a boring and vague story, Bran whined some more.

 

[Werthead]

Bran whined, Bran dreamed, The Frogs told a boring and vague story, Bran whined some more.

Isn't the 'boring and vague story' one of the most critically important episodes in the entire series for understanding the backstory and how the politics and personalities played out. I thought that section was extremely well-done.

 

[Ghost of Harrenhal]

Even though Bran certainly isn't the most interesting character (I still think Brienne is the least interesting and she remains my least favourite POV) his chapters weren't exactly useless. We learn a bit and besides Meera is hawt.

 

[Sapienti]

When I first read through A Game of Thrones I immediately latched onto the dire wolf pups as being a symbolic link to the house. When Lady died though I didn't immediately think "Sansa isn't a Stark anymore" because, although I hated her and Arya was my favored character, I didn't think she could fall so low. When she did I was glad she lost her wolf and link to house Stark because out of all the chapters, hers tend to make me sick the most in a "man I really hate this b*tch but if I didn't then it'd be boring" sort of way.

Also, I never really found Bran's chapters all that boring at first because I was always curious to see how things would play out. He's very stupid but that's because he's 8 years old. I have a nephew who's 8 and he's pretty dumb (can't imagine him as Bran though cuz we're black lol) and its kinda fun looking through the mind of a kid and seeing how he takes in information and interprets things. Thats one of the things I love most about ASOIAF.

The blog continues to be interesting and a good diversion while I go through the motions waiting for ADWD.