First time reading

[Grunkins]

Arya really grew on me too.

 

[Tywin]

Yeah, the Imp was great.

 

[Wiggum]

Dobby does kill Buckbeak.

Just an FYI.

 

[Grunkins]

Buckbeeeeeeeeeeeakk!

 

[Wiggum]

Dude, Buckbeak is dead.

Friggin' Dobby.

 

[CyBeR]

The fudge...?

I so wish somewhere in this series someone gets a knife hilt deep into Sansa's throat. I find myself almost wishing to skip her chapters.

 

[Grunkins]

The fudge...?

I so wish somewhere in this series someone gets a knife hilt deep into Sansa's throat. I find myself almost wishing to skip her chapters.

Many of us had the same reaction to her. I can say she becomes more palatable. (hm, palatable . . . am I saying she gets eaten? hm . . .)

 

[Needle]

The fudge...?

I so wish somewhere in this series someone gets a knife hilt deep into Sansa's throat. I find myself almost wishing to skip her chapters.

I know it's tempting but don't do it! There is info here you may need later, plus key insights into other characters.

 

[The Imp]

The fudge...?

I so wish somewhere in this series someone gets a knife hilt deep into Sansa's throat. I find myself almost wishing to skip her chapters.

You may find that characters you hate end up becoming likeable, ansd possibly vice versa. And as Needle said, you'll mist a LOT of important things.

 

[Wiggum]

Don't.Want.To.Spoil.

So, all I'm going to say is that her chapters become some of the most important (in regards of her POV and revelation of plot), in his writing.

Never skip one.

 

[Keebs411]

I was some one who started with the show 1st as well. I didnt know anyone who read or knew of the book series (if they had they never tried selling me on it lol) However i know that once i do like something i am sooo impatient lol. I can only best compare this to being spoiled by joining a show season after it comes out via DVD and having the "next episode" button option. SO SPOILED BY THAT,it drives me nuts waiting, very much the same in this instance, i could not wait a year to find out what was going to happen when the next season started. So i bought all the books that where out right away, read them all, and am now trying to do the "waiting" thing till the next. Till then season 2 is inching closer and closer, and i went on to reread the series.

Its funny too cause sometimes i think of Martin to be similar to the writers of the show The Sapranos. Only as far as him having no fear in killing off characters no matter if they are popular/favs/hated. Both remind me of one another in just that one aspect, You just never know who or when but constantly on your toes!

 

[CyBeR]

I'll cover this up as a spoiler for those that are still reading.

One thing that I really must give mr. Martin is how subtly he makes you care. I'm well past Ned's imprisonment and at one point Jon thinks of the dead Lady and lost Nymeria...and just the mention of that made me get angry at the Lannisters and at the unfairness of the whole ordeal back then. I had a moment of "screw this book" when the thing happened and each time it's mentioned I still feel pangs of that anger.

It's actually a very impressive thing for an author to achieve something like this.

 

[Tywin]

Its fun for me to see where you're at by your spoiler comment above. It makes me remember what I was feeling at that point.

 

[CyBeR]

Well, done with the first book. The second has been ordered and I'll have some time to wait for it.
Good feel for the ending, I really enjoyed it and it actually brought up my opinion of the book. I did like it...I just did not enjoy it as much as I would have hoped. GRRM's style is to blame for that as there were more moments in the book aside from the aforementioned one that really got my goat.
As I said..I liked it, but my enjoyment of the book came at around the last couple hundreds of pages.
I really have no taste for cruelty, but I can appreciate it when it's used to greater goals.

 

[The Imp]

Well, done with the first book. The second has been ordered and I'll have some time to wait for it.
Good feel for the ending, I really enjoyed it and it actually brought up my opinion of the book. I did like it...I just did not enjoy it as much as I would have hoped. GRRM's style is to blame for that as there were more moments in the book aside from the aforementioned one that really got my goat.
As I said..I liked it, but my enjoyment of the book came at around the last couple hundreds of pages.
I really have no taste for cruelty, but I can appreciate it when it's used to greater goals.

Cruelty is part of aSoIaF as it is part of our real world. I don't like it either, but it makes things seem more real.

 

[Mesanna]

Your sentiments do you credit CyBer, but I should warn you that the cruelty only gets worse as the books go on. I don't believe that GRRM includes this type of scene just for shock value though. He's usually making a deeper point about the lengths some people will go for power, and the numerous injustices forced on smallfolk, women and anyone who happens to be on the losing side in a medieval society. Sometimes, I've felt angry and a bit sickened at what happens to some characters. But it's so worth it!

 

[CyBeR]

Imp...if anything, it made me care for the characters. By the end of the book I didn't hate Sansa anymore. She wasn't as fault as far as I'm concerned, no more than any other child in the world that didn't know better about sticking his hand in the fire ant mound. As far as the last chapters go my feelings had been brought to the level of:

YES, CRUSH THEM ALL!

which brought about a very satisfying ending to the book.

Mesanna...in my Goodreads mini-review I have compared this first book to anime such as Now and Then, Here and There and films like Lord of War, pieces of entertainment that prove points and are not to be enjoyed as much as experienced. Everything that GRRM did he did well as far as I'm concerned. I liked some characters, despised others and downright hated a few...but it came from their actions, not just from the general character trope. Which is a very impressive achievement in my book.

 

[Mesanna]

I'm glad you're enjoying the series so far CyBeR and look forward to hearing what you think as you read on.

 

[Boaz]

CyBeR, let me welcome you to the wonderful, tragic, beautiful, and scandalous A Song of Ice and Fire. Congratulations on actually finishing the first book. I know people who quit reading when they learned the aftermath of Arya's training with Mycah and of others who quit when they learned what happened when Joffrey addressed the crowd outside of the Great Sept. It was the latter that hooked me on this story. I thought the worst thing of AGOT was when a boy saw something he was not meant to see.

I'll try to avoid even spoilers from AGOT... and I'll avoid any details from the rest of the series. With that in mind, I'd encourage you to stay away from even the GRRM forum page because there are many spoilers even in the titles. Like Catelyn understood that in one brief moment Bran could lose his balance and have his future shattered, so too could you have your sense of wondrous anticipation ruined in a single glance.

I so wish somewhere in this series someone gets a knife hilt deep into Sansa's throat. I find myself almost wishing to skip her chapters.

Robert wanted a knife to deal with Daenerys, a teenage girl. Dany's crime? She is the last daughter of House Targaryen. She's a political and military threat to the kingdom. It is very sad, but the plotting of Daenerys' death became national policy.

Sansa's crime? She's annoying teenager... self-centered, obsessed with appearances, and insecure. Yet, I doubt "a knife hilt deep into Sansa's throat" is an appropriate response.

Yes, my tag line says, "Catelyn delenda est." It is a play upon the reputed refrain that Cato the Elder would end his speeches to the Roman Senate... "Carthago delenda est", i.e. Carthage must be destroyed. I know that the previous paragraph will seem like hypocrisy coming from me... but I beg you to reserve judement upon me until you're much further in the story. To say anymore would spoil it.

But yes, I've also wished that violent deaths would find a number of characters, most notably many Lannisters.

Cy, I find that I dislike a number of the POV characters, but that does not mean that I do not their stories. Personally, I dislike Catelyn intensely. I think this is because she is an intelligent and cultured woman who repeatedly bases her decisions upon her emotions and only reacts to outside pressures. My major issue with her, in all honesty, is that I see myself in her... and it bothers me. I sympathize with her... even as I detest her.

But I must say that I rather enjoy her POVs. Catelyn's thoughts and experiences give us insight into Lyssa Arryn, the Riverlands, Tyrion, motherhood, direwolves, politics, embassies, quests, knighthood, war and leadership. Through her POV we get our first glimpse a number of characters. I cannot go into more detail since you've not read beyond AGOT. She gives us our first looks at Winterfell, the Eyrie, the Twins, and Riverrun. Very importantly she gives us independent views of the Lannisters, most importantly Tyrion.

Even though I do not like Catelyn, I think she's a great character.

Along the same lines, Sansa is not immediately likable. The only aspect of Sansa that is at all appealing is the sympathy aroused from losing her pet... and even that happened because she lied about Arya, Mycah, and Nymeria. She manipulates her parents, as much as she can, to keep coddling her. She betrays her father's plans to the Queen, which results in Eddard's execution as a traitor.

Yes, I understand that Sansa is only thirteen. It's sad that she's been put into these difficult positions at such a young age. Her only malicious act was lying about Arya and Joffrey... and that's not such a great crime, right? Yet, the High Septon says, "As we sin, so do we suffer." What a crock.

She's manipulated by Cersei on multiple occassions. She's threatened by Sandor. She's intimidated by Gregor and Ilyn. And she's betrothed to a vindictive, vain, and vile King. After Eddard, Jory, and Septa Mordane are killed, sympathy for her plight increases.

I know I am rambling a bit... it's hard when I must only discuss the story from the first book when I want to give you examples of characters and their POVs from all five.

You commented in your OP, that giving the POVs around the throne is better than going straight to the source. I agree. And that is why Eddard had to die... he knew too much and GRRM could keep the secrets of Eddard's life out of Eddard's POV any longer. My point is that each of the POVs serve a distinct and precise purpose. Many give insights into the game of thrones. Some allow us to glimpse the supernatural world. A few show us the plight of the common man. Some show us kings. Some show us queens. Many show us power brokers. A few actually reveal the past. But together, they give us a much more well-rounded perspective of the game, the players, the threats, and the future.

Personally, I don't like Jon Snow. Not at all. But I love his POV. Without it, we'd be in the dark regarding the operations of the Night's Watch, it's strength, and it's men.

Everything that GRRM did he did well as far as I'm concerned. I liked some characters, despised others and downright hated a few...but it came from their actions, not just from the general character trope. Which is a very impressive achievement in my book.

Well said. I love the way that Martin completely changed my perspective of Tyrion from the opening Stark POVs through Tyrion's decision to take a certain companion to King's Landing.

I helped a friend move in some new couches today and his wife told me that they were eight episodes into HBO's AGOT first season. Neither of them has read any of GRRM's works... all they know is that Eddard is imprisoned. Their favorite characters are Dany (Khaleesi, she called her), Eddard, Robb, and Tyrion. I made the mistake of telling them who my favorite character is... my fave starts as a villain, and may be a villain at the end of the story, but there are signs of a possible redemption.

Anyway, the point is that GRRM's characters earn their places in our hearts. Respect, loathing, adoration, sympathy, hatred, pity... he does a tremendous job, as you said, of letting their actions speak for themselves.

I hope I've not spoiled any of the story.

Just my rambling thoughts.

 

[southron sword]

I actually put GOT down after halting through the prologue. Couldn't get into even that little bit. (I think my mind was jumbled). then a year later (Much more organised) picked it up again and didnt stop reading until the end of storm of swords. Then agonised over the wait for Feast, and we all know about Dance. For the new kids you dont have much of a wait, but for most of us, the years in between books is a killer. This is by far the best series of books Ive ever read and will ever likely read and I'm always stoked when one of my mates starts reading them.