Book Discussion: A Game of Thrones

[Silver]

the characters themselves are cool (some of them) but so far i've been finding the books fairly boring. there haven't been any 'on the edge of your seat thinking "That is so cool!" moments'

 

atleast not for me. i want a battle dammit!

[Niamh Sedai]

Just wait and see... ;)

[Oregon]

I've not written them yet, but since I'm mildly drunk there's a good chance that there will be minor spoilers below this point.

 

Agreed that this a strong series...much better than most.

 

Favorite characters? In the early book(s)Ned Stark is quite likeable: an idealist torn away from those he loves...always an attractive archetype.

 

Whoever said they were never bored with an Arya chapter had it half right. I was never bored with an Arya chapter either, but I perpetually lived in fear of being bored with an Arya chapter. I kept expecting her arc to bog down into tedium, but it never quite happened.

 

Daenerys was always interesting...if for no other reason than that she was in a completely different setting than everyone else.

 

Catelyn I could barely tolerate, even at the beginning. Then it got steadily worse...until Crows when it became, well, strange.

 

After the first half of book one, Bran is deadly dull.

 

Tyrion is amusing, though never quite as amusing as Martin imagines.

 

Jamie has the best (most dynamic) story arc of any character in the first four books.

 

Robb...his fate (and Catelyn's) blew me away. Even more than Ned's. Martin doesn't mess around with his characters.

 

All in all, a top-notch series. Easily one of the best I've ever read...though not as compelling as WoT at it's best (nor ever as slow as WoT at it's worst).

[Werthead]

the characters themselves are cool (some of them) but so far i've been finding the books fairly boring. there haven't been any 'on the edge of your seat thinking "That is so cool!" moments'

 

atleast not for me. i want a battle dammit!

 

I did think long and hard at the time before concluding that:

 

The Battle of the Blackwater > The Battle of Dumai's Wells

 

There are at least three other major battles (one of them in the first book) that also come to mind as excellently-portrayed major engagements.

 

Slightly off-topic, but Erikson and Bakker have really awesome battle sequences as well. Hmmm. I feel a new thread coming on (heads off for General Chatter).

[Twitchy]

I'm sorry...but...no.

Heh, Dumai's Wells is still > than any other battle scene I have ever read in my life. And believe me, i've read hella lots. Battle of Blackwater was more realistic, but I still prefer Dumai's. Blackwater is my 2nd fav.

 

I hope that Tarmon Gai'don will be my favorite and that the Other's will be my second.

[JenniferL]

There's an excellent duel in either the second or third book. That had me rivted.

[Twitchy]

With the prince of w/e the other nation is? Yeah, that was a pretty good duel :P

Surprised me alot.

[Werthead]

That duel suggests that GRRM has a 'double jeopardy' principle in operation. In AGoT Tyrion is in a difficult bind and pins his hope on someone taking his part in a duel to the death (Bronn). This works. When exactly the same thing happens later on...not so good.

[Oregon]

It's been really tough to figure out who the central players in this saga will be, because so many of them keep dying! One thing is certain, the holding of high office in the series is no more a guarantee of survival than in real life feudal Europre. Yikes.

[Werthead]

I think we can safely say that Jon Snow and Daenerys are the two principle characters and unlikely to die before the end, although they are both outside the 'main' storyline in the Seven Kingdoms. George RR Martin's girlfriend told me that George is not allowed to kill Arya on pain of sleeping on the couch for a month, so we can rule that out for now. Tyrion is GRRM's favourite character and thus also quite likely to survive until later in the series, so I'd say bet on those four. Bran is also a favourite of George (he was the first character GRRM created for the series), so he's likely in it for the young haul.

 

spoilers:

 

Davos, Jaime, Cersei, Theon, Asha and even Sansa, I'm not sure about.

 

Cersei at least I imagine has a sticky end waiting for her, Theon as well I'd imagine.

[Twitchy]

*coughs* You better edit that before people notice that some of the mains are gone *

[Silver]

middle of second book. still bored... :P

[Helike]

*pets silver*

 

That's OK. Book 3 is the one that had me running through the house screaming...

 

*shudders*

[Silver]

ok, a bit of the way through book 3 and it's much better than 2. 2 was just awful

[Mendorah]

Ok, I just finally finished Book 1 this morning. And I'm probably going to go out and get book 2 after work.

 

Early on I posted that Daenerys was my favorite character, I was only half way through with the book then. I'm still certain that she's my fav. There's just something about her determination and her Growth from a scared little girl who was being beat up daily by her own brother into a woman who knows exactly what she wants and won't take "No" for an answer that really gets to me. So far, she's worked hard for everything she's recieved. Well, the initial handing over to Khal Drogo she didn't work for, but whether she ened up loving Drogo or not, she still had to PAY and/or manipulate for everything that she recieved thereafter.

 

Arya is of interest to me, but I was disappointed to not hear more about her. I wanted more, actually. But there can only be so many pages in one book right?

 

And somebody mentioned that Sansa may have potential to be an interesting character. I agree. I think that she's beginning to open her eyes to how the world around her really is. And I hope she gains a strength from that as is able to kick some people in the butt later on. Although, in this book, she's a pain in the butt and I can't stand her.

 

I'm really interested to find out what Tyrion does when he gets to Kings Landing. I wanna find out what he's got up his sleeve.

[Taymist]

I don't actually think there has to be a huge point to these books. I love them and think they are absolutely the best adult fantasy series going at present. I like the way GRRM doesn't shy away from being realistic with characters dying at the right time instead of miraculously winning everything. I also enjoy the politics of the books. No-one really is truly evil, we see the reasons for people behaving the way they do in pretty much every case.

 

I like Tyrion and Jaime, also Arya, Brienne and The Hound. Jaqen was interesting and I'm looking forward to seeing where GRRM takes the story of the Wild folk of the North. Daenerys annoys me, Sansa is tolerable now, Caetlyn I can't stand. I reckon there's a lot more to come where Bran is concerned and that he is key to a lot of the story.

[Silver]

ok, just read the part where Edmund marries one one of the Frey's, Roslyn or something like that. well, i just have to say...

 

 

WTF?!?!?

[Niamh Sedai]

Ah, The Red Wedding...

 

*nods sagely*

[Twitchy]

Yeah, I read that whole chapter over again...

Then read the last parts...

Then put the book down and said exactly that :P

[Werthead]

Eek. Avoid spoilers for the sake of other people in the thread but...yeah. That was kind of out there.

 

I don't actually think there has to be a huge point to these books.

 

I think I mentioned somewhere that I think the theme of the books is Power, who wants it and for what reason, and what they are prepared to do to get it, or dispose of it, or pass it on. Other elements come into play as well, but I think that's the central element. A lot of people argue over who is the rightful king and I think the point is that there is no easy answer.

 

I like Tyrion and Jaime, also Arya, Brienne and The Hound. Jaqen was interesting and I'm looking forward to seeing where GRRM takes the story of the Wild folk of the North. Daenerys annoys me, Sansa is tolerable now, Caetlyn I can't stand. I reckon there's a lot more to come where Bran is concerned and that he is key to a lot of the story.

 

Hmm. Whereabouts are you in the story?

 

Potential Spoilers (highlight to read):

We get a massive clue to what Jaqen's up to later, which is interesting, and Bran does indeed have some connection to the 'main' storyline, which some believe is the situation on the Wall with the Others.