Game of Thrones Progress Post #4

Tags

A Game of Thrones, A Song of Ice and Fire, George R R Martin, Readalong

This is the third of four read-a-long updates for the Game of Thrones Readalong hosted over at BaffledBooks.

Click here to read the first progress post.

Click here to read the second progress post.

Click here to read the third progress post.

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We have finally come to the end of A Game of Thrones! I’m already excited to be picking up the next book, A Clash of Kings.

A lot of things have happened here and there are still a lot of unanswered questions.  Anyway, let’s see what our eight POV characters were up to:

Sansa Stark – The only Stark left in King’s Landing (well Arya is still technically in KL but she’s out of the castle).  The King is dead and Cersei wastes no time in declaring Joffrey the new king.  Despite my obvious dislike for Sansa, I can’t help but feel sorry for her when she pleads that her father be shown mercy.  And despite not being locked in a cell, she is practically a prisoner of the Lannisters at KL.

Sansa finally shows some spine when she told Joffrey that her brother Robb might give her his head as a present.  That of course, earned her a bruise on the face as Joffrey had Meryn Trant of the Kingsguard reward her with a slap.  We also learn that Sandor Clegane, the Hound, can be rather kind or is feeling sorry for Sansa for being maltreated by Joffrey.

Eddard (Ned) Stark – Ned is a prisoner at KL and is being accused of treason.  Alone in a dark cell, he remembers the events of the past and the tourney at Harrenhal to be exact.  He was 18 at the time and remembers Rhaegar Targaryen winning the joust and presenting the queen of beauty’s laurel in his sister Lyanna’s lap.  The flowers: “winter roses, blue as frost.”  He is also haunted by his sister’s last words in a “bed of blood”: “Promise me, Ned.“

He gets a visit from Varys, who has disguised himself, who tells him that he should denounce everything that he has said and maybe his life would be spared and he would live out the rest of his days on the Wall.

Catelyn Stark – Robb and the bannermen of House Stark and House Tully are at war with those that are on the side of House Lannister.  They desperately need to pass through The Twins (controlled by House Frey) to get to Riverrun.  The Frey’s have exacted a toll on those who would pass but Catelyn offers to speak to Lord Walder Frey since he is a bannerman for House Tully.  After some haggling, Lord Frey agrees to let them pass.

At Riverrun, their army was able to defeat those of Jamie Lannister’s, because they weren’t expecting it, and actually take him captive.  Catelyn finally gets to see her father, Lord Huster Tully and Robb is declared as King in the North.

Jon Snow – Jon’s hand was burnt when he set fire to the drapes in Lord Mormont’s room to kill the wight.  Mormont, as a token of his appreciation, offers the sword that has been in his family for generations to Jon Snow.

After hearing that Robb has led an army into battle, he decides to desert the Night’s Watch and aid him.  He is successfully stopped by his brothers in the NW as the punishment for desertion is death.  He has a chat with Maester Aemon who reveals that he is a Targaryen and can understand why Jon would want to run away and help his family.

Mormont then has a chat with Jon and tells him of his plans to go beyond the Wall in search of Benjen Stark and asks for Jon’s support.  Jon accepts that the Wall is now his place and agrees to go on the quest.

Tyrion Lannister – Tyrion gets his taste of battle and comes out just a little wounded.  House Lannister and troops won a battle against the bannermen of the Stark’s and Tully’s but also find out the Robb Stark was not one of the attacking troops and that he and his men have crossed the Twins and have taken Jaime captive.

We also find out in this POV that Renly Baratheon has wed Margaery Tyrell and that the Tyrell bannermen has pledged their loyalty to Renly who has claimed the Iron Throne as his.  Curious as to why.  It is Stannis’ by right as the older brother.

His father, Tywin, decides to send him back to KL to rule in his stead as Hand of the King.

Bran Stark – Bran has dreams of his father in the crypt at Winterfell.  Oddly enough, his younger brother Rickon had them too.  Maester Luwin decides to put peace in the mind of the child and takes him to the crypt to show that Ned Stark wasn’t really there.

Through this POV, we also learn a bit of history of the children of the forests and the First Men, from whom the Starks are descended.  We also learn a little Stark history.

Arya Stark – She hunts pigeons and tries to sell them in exchange for food.  She follows the crowd that have gathered at Baelor’s Sept to hear Ned Stark confess his sins and pledge his loyalty to Joffrey.  Ned does so but Joffrey demands his head and Ser Ilyn Payne, the King’s Justice, beheads Ned with Ned’s own sword.

It is odd that he confesses false sins knowing his character, but then again, if it was for life one must do what one needs to do.  But despite that, Ned has to die with the stroke of the sword that has killed many Night’s Watch deserters.

Arya does not see the beheading because Yoren of the Night’s Watch tells her to look away.  She is later taken in by Yoren, who is scouring KL for possible recruits for the Night’s Watch.  However, Yoren wants her to pretend to be a boy.

Daenerys Targaryen – Khal Drogo is severely wounded in battle and she asks for anything that can be done to help save him because if he dies, she has nothing as the Dothraki follow only the strong.  She asks Mirri Maz Duur to perform black magic to save the khal.  Despite being warned that the price for a life is death, she agrees.

She heads into labor as Mirri Maz Duur performs her magic.  Unfortunately, her son did not survive as the death that needed to be paid for her husband’s life was her son’s.  Khal Drogo survived but he was no longer strong and cannot walk unaided and therefore cannot ride, hence his army deserted him.  Knowing that her husband is practically dead, she smothers him with a pillow.

She then plans a funeral pyre for Khal Drogo.  She has his bloodriders kill a horse, as is Dothraki custom, to burn with him in the pyre.  But she also instructs that Mirri Maz Duur be put on the pyre as well.  Mirri Maz Duur suspects the reason and tells he that her plan won’t work.  She takes her dragon eggs and places them in the pyre and lights a fire.  She asks that Drogo’s bloodriders pledge their lives to her but they do not bow to a woman.

She steps into the flames BUT comes out unscathed with three dragons.  The bloordriders then pledge their lives to her.

Danaerys showed that she can be ruthless as well when she had Mirri Maz Duur burn in the pyre.  But then again, the woman practically killed her unborn son.  Well, it was partly her fault as well, but whatever … we have three dragons!

Game of Thrones Progress Post #3

Tags

A Game of Thrones, A Song of Ice and Fire, George R R Martin, Readalong, Reading Challenge

This is the third of four read-a-long updates for the Game of Thrones Readalong hosted over at BaffledBooks.

Click here to read the first progress post.

Click here to read the second progress post.

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Adventure, adventure, twists, turns, and betrayal is what this reading was filled with. The most exciting POVs weere Eddard’s and Jon’s. The most amusing one was definitely Tyrion’s.

In this reading, we finally learn the truth behind Jon Arryn’s death and it confirms that Sansa Stark is the most useless child that Eddard and Catelyn have brought into the world of Westeros. However, her seemingly useless remarks are what drove Eddard to finally discover the truth. According to Eddard, “It was queer how sometimes a child’s innocent eyes can see things that grown men are blind to.” This also exemplifies the long said “Be careful who you trust.“

I like Jon’s POVs because we finally get to see the supernatural in action. And he has definitely grown into one of my favorite characters. I love what he did for Samwell Tarly.

Bran Stark – Bran, his brother Robb, their direwolves and some of the Stark men go out riding in the woods. The direwolves go off to hunt and Robb decides to tell his brother about their father sustaining injuries during the fight with Jaime Lannister and his men. When the wolves howled, Robb and the rest go to look for the wolves and leave Bran by a tree. Insane thing to do to leave a crippled eight year old boy by himself in the woods.

Ragged men step out of the woods and Bran knew with one look that they were neither foresters nor farmers then he suddenly became “conscious of how richly he was dressed.” He observed one man’s clothing and it seemed like it was the black used by the Night’s Watch. True to his assumptions, the ragged men tried to rob him. While debating whether or not to kill him, they mention Mance Rayder, who was known to have affiliations with wildlings. Robb and the direwolves arrive and they and the wildlings battle it out until only one woman is left who was called Osha. They decide to take her in as captive once Bran informs Robb that she is a wilding.

Armies of the houses of the North begin arriving at Winterfell to head to war that started when Catelyn Stark took Tyrion Lannister hostage. Robb decides to go with the men and leaves Bran in charge of Winterfell.

Catelyn Stark – She has left the Eyrie with some men and met up with her son Robb who was leading an army to war. She helps him with his plans and then decides to head for Riverrun instead of Winterfell to help out her father and brother.

Jon Snow – Jon and seven others were selected to take the Black because new recruits would be coming soon. He grows concerned over new friend Samwell because he is sure that they would never go easy on him. He goes to Maester Aemon to request that Samwell be asked to take the Black and be assigned as a steward since he can read and write unlike most of the men on the Wall.

The request to make Sam a sworn brother of the Night’s Watch was granted and he was to be a steward and so was Jon. This made him furious because he wanted to be a ranger but Samwell comforts him by saying that maybe he was being groomed for command.

Jon and Sam then head to the weirwoods to pray to their gods and take their oaths as men of the Night’s Watch. Jon’s direwolf Ghost brings them back a hand. The men of the Night’s watch investigate and they find the bodies of two of Benjen Stark’s companions who have somehow spontaneously developed blue eyes when the men swore that none of those two had blue eyes. The others decide to burn the bodies but Mormont, the commander of the Night’s Watch, decides to bring them back to the Wall.

Later in the night, Jon spies a hooded figure headed for the quarters of Lord Mormont. He follows along with his direwolf Ghost and is shocked to see one of the men he saw dead back to life. They struggle in Mormont’s room and Jon burns the curtain drapes and sets the man on fire hoping that he/it burns.

Daenerys Targaryen – In the Mother of the Mountains, Daenerys is forced to eat the heart of a horse (and consume the entire thing!) as part of the ritual to ensure that the child he will bear will be male. She does consume the entire thing and when they go to celebrate, Viserys in a drunken rage demands that Khal Drogo give him his crown. True to his word, Drogo does give him a crown made out of melted metal and pours it over his head thus ending his life.

Daenerys also survives an attempt on her life at the Western Market through the interference of Jorah Mormont. This enrages Khal Drogo and when he is told that the king who sits at the Iron Throne is the one that ordered the kill, he declared that he would cross the sea and claim the throne.

Sansa Stark – Sansa has done nothing yet to make me like her. Her head is filled with romances she reads in books that she refuses to see the truth. When their father tells them that he has to send them back to Winterfell for their own safety she tells him that she can’t because she is to marry Prince Joffrey and be his queen and bear him children.

Sansa goes as far as “I’ll give him a son with golden hair … and he’ll be as brave as the wolf and as proud as the lion.” When Arya tells her that Joffrey is actually a stag, she freaks and says “He’s not the least bit like that old drunken king.” Despite my hate for Sansa, you have got to thank her for letting go of those words as it really gave Eddard a light bulb moment.

Tyrion Lannister – Tyrion was prisoner at the Eyrie and demanded that there be a duel to determine whether he goes free or not. Bronn declares himself protector of Tyrion and actually manages to kill the knight chosen by Lady Arryn to slay him. Since a deal is a deal, Tyrion was set free.

He decides to attract the mountain people by building a fire despite the protests of Bronn. He claims that he has a plan. True to his word, mountain people arrive and he promises them money and the Vale of Arryn if they decide to keep him alive.

Eddard (Ned) Stark – Thanks to his self-absorbed daughter, Ned finally connects the dots. He finally figured out the connection of the book and Jon Arryn’s visits to the armorer and the brother. He checks the book for unions between Lannisters and Barratheons and fought that every time those pairings bear a child, the child always ends up with dark hair. He even made sure to check across the years and still “he found the gold yielding before the coal.” The same can be said for Robert’s bastards as Gendry’s mother was blonde and Barra’s mother was a redhead. Even the baby Robert fathered before he was king had dark hair.

He decides to tell Cersei Lannister that he has discovered the truth that he knows that her twin brother Jaime Lannister is the father of all three of her children. She does not even deny it and uses the Targaryens as an excuse for her behavior (as Targaryens married brother to sister to keep the bloodline pure). When asked why she hated Robert so much, the reason was very simple: on their wedding night he called her Lyanna.

Ned tells her that he has to tell Robert the truth and when he does, for sure he would want Cersei, her children, and her family dead. So he offers her the chance to leave before he does. Cersei disagrees and tells him that “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.“

Robert Barratheon returns from his hunting trip injured and near death. He asks Ned to be Lord Protector of the Realm until Joffrey, “my son,” comes of age. He asked Ned to write it on paper but where Robert dictated “my son“, Ned replaced it with “my heir” and it made him feel sick to deceive but it was the right thing to do. However, he did not have the the heart to tell him the truth given his condition.

Ned has Littlefinger called and actually decides to tell him the truth despite vehemently distrusting him from the moment he clept eyes on the man. He tells him the truth about the lineage of Cersei’s children and by law, none of them have the right to the throne. As law dictates, without any legal heir, the throne passes on to Stannis Barratheon who is Robert’s younger brother. He and Littlefinger disagree but Ned insists that it is the right thing to do.

He further requests of Littlefinger something that he cannot do himself. He asks that Littlefinger pay the City Watch so that they would have his back if ever Cersei Lannister decides to strike against them if Robert dies. Littlefinger “promises” to do so.

On the day that the king died, Cersei Lannister wastes no time in declaring her son Joffrey king and calls a meeting. Here Ned is in the throne room surrounded by the City Watch, his men, and Lannister guards as well as the council. He gives the paper signed by Robert Barratheon declaring him Lord Protector until Joffrey comes of age. Cersei tears this up and Ned has her arrested but instead his men are killed and he is taken prisoner. Littlefinger then tells him “I did warn you not to trust me, you know.“

Fighting erupted and this leads us to

Arya Stark – who upon being accosted by Lannister men while having her last lesson with Syrio Forel, runs away with the help of Syrio and finds her father’s men dead and then decides to flee as well.

Poor Eddard. No one had his back. We later find out that it was even his own daughter Sansa who went to the Queen and told her of her fathers plan to send them back to Winterfell. The Queen then uses Sansa further in her plan as she forces the child to write a letter to her brothers and mother that they should come to King’s Landing to swear their loyalty to Joffrey with the promise that she might one day be married to him. Stupid Sansa also believed her. After everything has been said and done, it was then that Sansa remembered that she has not asked about her sister.

Tyrion and his little army of brigands are finally with the Lannister army and he gets an audience with his father, Tywin Lannister. Tywin shows no love for his son, who was the reason for the war that has erupted. But instead instructs him and his army of brigands to fight on their side.

So that was the events that transpired for this reading and I’m very excited to read how this all turns out.

Game of Thrones Progress Post #2

Tags

A Game of Thrones, A Song of Ice and Fire, George R R Martin, Readalong, Reading Challenge

This is the second of four read-a-long updates for the Game of Thrones Readalong hosted over at BaffledBooks.

Click here to read the first progress post.

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This progress post covers pages 190 (Eddard) to 395 (Daenerys).  Please note that this post might contain spoilers.

Well, this reading has been full of twists and turns. Lets look at the eight character POV’s and how they are doing:

Eddard (Ned) Stark – Ned receives all the bad news he can take starting with finding out about the tournament Robert wan’ts held in honor of his appointment as Hand of the King.  Ned also learns that they are planning a tournament without money to finance it as the king has squandered away their riches.

Ned also learns about the events that transpired prior to Jon Arryn’s passing from Grand Maester Pycelle.  The Grand Maester tells him that Jon was interested in a book by Grand Master Maellon on the lineages of the great houses.  Furthermore, he learns that Jon’s last words were “The seed is strong.“

But despite those seemingly bad news, he gets two nightly visits from two very untrustworthy people Littlefinger and Varys the eunuch who come to him with offers of help.

Littlefinger offers help in the form of divulging the four former servants of Jon Arryn, who have remained at King’s Landing after his widow took off for the Eyrie, that Ned could talk to to help solve the mystery of his death.  The four former servants include a pregnant kitchen’s girl who was hurriedly married to one of Lord Renly’s grooms, a stablehand who joined the City Watch, a potboy who was discharged due to theft, and Lord Arryn’s squire Ser Hugh of the Vale.

Littlefinger also manages to point out to Ned that he is being followed and even points the people who have been following him: one was a spy of Varys the eunuch and the other reports to Cersei Lannister.  Ned thanks Littlefinger but instead gets this reply: “Distrusting me was the wisest thing you’ve done since you climbed down off your horse.“

Of the four people that Littlefinger named, the potboy seemed to be rather useful as he divulged information that Lord Arryn went to an armorer and a brothel and both times with Stannis Barratheon, the king’s brother, who has now also fled for Dragonstone.  Ned decides to visit the armorer and there learns that the master armorer Tobho Mott has been keeping an apprentice named Gendry (a young lad the same age as Robb) who Ned swears is Robert’s bastard just by the looks (dark hair, blue eyes).  He also learns from the lad that Lord Arryn was there questioning him about his mother and what she looked liked (she was blonde).

The day of the tournament arrives and knights from all over have come to participate including Ser Hugh of the Vale who unfortunately meets his demise at the hands of Ser Gregor Clegane (the brother of the Hound, Sandor Clegane) during a jousting match.  It was odd enough to have happened since he was one of the people that Ned still needed to talk to regarding Jon Arryn.

Later in the night, Ned gets a visit from an unrecognizable Varys who tells him about a plot to kill Robert if he had joined the tournament.  Ned also learns from Varys that Jon Arryn was killed by the tears of Lys, “clear and sweet as water, and it leaves no trace.” Ned asks why Jon Arryn was murdered and Varys replies “Asking questions.“

Ned finally visits the brother but had extra help from Littlefinger in finding it.  In the brothel, we meet a very young girl (a redhead) that Robert had impregnated and was now nursing a daughter she has named Barra.  Ned notes that the child has the same dark hair as Robert and reminds him of Robert’s first bastard, a girl, who he fathered while not yet king.

While leaving the brothel, they are attacked by Jaime Lannister and his men because he has just found out that his brother has been taken captive by Ned Stark’s wife (more on that below).  Jaime tells Littlefinger to go away and Littlefinger promises Ned he would bring the City Watch.

Here we find out the Jaime can be really brutal as he ordered his men to kill Ned Stark’s men and Ned himself was badly hurt trying to defend his men.  So when the City Watch arrives, nothing more can be done and they just brought Ned back to the castle to heal.

Tyrion Lannister – Tyrion is leaving the Wall but stops at Winterfell at the request of Jon Snow to give his brother Bran something that would make him happy.  Tyrion sketches a saddle that would be customized for Bran so that despite being crippled, he would still be able to ride.

He and his crew bid farewell and head for an inn where they meet …

Catelyn Stark - who has just arrived from her brief visit to King’s Landing.  Armed with the knowledge that the inn is filled with men who are bannermen for House Tully, she calls them up to seize Tyrion as he has committed the crime of attempting to kill her son.  I love how badass Catelyn was here and how she outwitted Tyrion Lannister by taking him to the Eyrie instead of back to Winterfell.

They encounter men from the mountains on their journey to the Eyrie who attack them but they somewhat manage to survive.  Now the Eyrie seems to be a very desolate place that requires you to suffer first before getting there.

Tyrion is taken to Lysa Arryn, who seems to be cuckoo, and her equally cuckoo young son who wants to see Tyrion fly.  Odd family.  I dunno how the boy managed not to get even sicker than he already is given how one travels to get to the top of the Eyrie.

Here Tyrion demands that there be a duel to determine his fate since Lady Arryn will not listen to his declarations of innocence.  Bronn, a sellsword who accompanied them from the inn to the Eyrie, stands up for Tyrion and actually defeats one of Lady Arryn’s knights.  With that, Tyrion was granted his freedom.

Arya Stark – Ned finally relents and hires Syrio Forel to teach Arya swordfighting.  But she also tumbles into the dungeons trying to run away from the guards of the castle, who thought she was a stray.  I just found it funny that these people would not recognize their own guests! In the dungeons, she overhears two cloaked individuals plotting to murder her father and one seemed familiar to her.  She wanted to tell her father but he was to busy with Robert’s problems.

Sansa Stark – The only thing I could request for Sansa at this point if for somebody to put some sense into her.  How could you not want to smack her when she says things like: “She could not hate Joffrey tonight.  He was too beautiful to hate.”  However, having said that, I enjoyed her little scene with the Hound where Prince Joffrey commands him to escort her home.  We get to learn about the Clegane household where everyone have either mysteriously disappeared or have died because of mysterious circumstances.

Daenerys Targaryen – We learn that she is pregnant and through Ser Jorah Mormont, the Council at King’s Landing now know as well and plot her demise.  Daenerys also finally steps up to her brother.

Bran Stark – The only time we see Bran was when Tyrion Lannister requested his presence to give him news that he can ride again with a saddle specially customized for him.

Jon Snow – Jon seems to be adjusting well to life on the Wall.  He has made a couple of friends with the people who have been there before him.  And he also has a new friend in Samwell Tarly, son of Randyll Tarly who is a bannerman to the Warden of the South Mace Tyrell.  Interesting to note here that Jon is a son of the Warden of the North.

Well, that about wraps up my post for this reading.

Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things — Being the First of Four Game of Thrones Read-a-long Updates

Tags

A Game of Thrones, A Song of Ice and Fire, George R R Martin, Readalong, Reading Challenge

This is the first of four read-a-long updates for the Game of Thrones Readalong hosted over at BaffledBooks.

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Yes, I dared to use the titles of one of the episodes of HBO‘s A Game of Thrones.

Anyway, this post concerns the Prologue up to the end of Jon (pages 1 to 189) character point-of-views (POVs).  Even though this particular book in the series is a reread for me, I still have to say that I am really having fun reading this again.  George R. R. Martin knows how to grab your attention.

I also liked the references to to the cold, ice, etc.  Things like “his voice was like the cracking of ice on a winter lake,” “a blue that burned like ice,” and “laughter sharp as icicles.”

A Game of Thrones is brutal and George R. R. Martin does not hold back.  Scenes of people getting killed and beheaded are told in detail.  That and he has quite an interesting cast of characters in his book.

My favorite of all would have to be Tyrion Lannister.  He just has the best lines and he is a rather sneaky fellow who loves to observe and is rather intelligent as well.  Almost all his interactions with Jon Snow are my favorite.  My ultimate favorite for the pages I have read would be when he gave Joffrey a piece of his mind (more like showed).

I really liked when he somewhat sympathized with Jon Snow at Winterfell but still had the audacity to insult him:

“You’re Ned Stark’s bastard, aren’t you?”

Jon felt a coldness pass right through him. He pressed his lips together and said nothing.

“Did I offend you?” Lannister said. “Sorry. Dwarfs don’ have to be tactful. Generations pf capering fools in motley have won me the right to dress badly and say any damn thing that comes into my head.” He grinned. “You are the bastard though.”

“Lord Eddard Stark is my father,” Jon admitted stiffly.

…

“Let me give you some counsel, bastard,” Lannister said. “Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.”

Jon was in no mood for anyone’s counsel. “What do you know about being a bastard?”

“All dwarfs are bastards in their father’s eyes.”

And since we are on the subject of characters, my head was a buzz with the number of characters that I had to keep up with (and this is just 189 pages in).  Thankfully, George R. R. Martin also comes up with interesting descriptions for his characters (much like Charles Dickens used odd names for his characters, e.g. Scrooge).  One example would be the description of Varys, the king’s master of coin.  Varys was described as “plump, perfumed, powdered, and as hairless as an egg” and that he was “the lord of nothing but the spiderweb, the master of none but his whispers.”

And since I mentioned a character that I loved, I also ought to mention a character that I don’t really despise but just somewhat despise at the moment. And that character’s name is Sansa.  She is the eldest daughter of Eddard (Ned) Stark and I really wanted to smack her for this: “Sansa did not really know Joffrey yet, but she was already in love with him.” That and she can rather be self-centered BUT she did show signs that she can be smart when she was asked to guess the name of one knight.

Catelyn is another character whom I have a love/hate relationship with.  I admire her strength when she had to defend her child but absolutely abhor her treatment of Jon Snow.  Viserys Targaryen is absolutely horrid from the beginning and I couldn’t help but feel pity for his sister Daenerys who has to suffer for his ambitions and rather vengeful nature.  Cersei Lannister is just plain cold and cruel.

Another character I feel pity for is Jon Snow, the bastard son of Ned Stark.  I love that he still feels love for his “family” despite the way some of them treat him.  My heart absolutely broke when he was so determined to go to the Wall and serve there.  Bran, son of Ned Stark, is also one sorry character as his “accident” that leaves him a cripple becomes one of the events that trigger this story.

I love how Ned Stark is portrayed as a tough guy but at the same time also a man who loves his family very much.  Robert Barratheon, the king, is also ranked second in the list of characters with rather interesting dialogue.  I loved his really angry response for a present for Daenerys Targaryen for her marriage to Khal Drogo: “A knife, perhaps.  A good sharp one, and a bold man to wield it.”

I’d rather not say anything about Khal Drogo because all that he has ever said is “No.”

Since this post is becoming rather long, let me just say again that I have enjoyed rereading this one and I’m definitely looking forward to reading the next part and posting about it.

[January] Game of Thrones Read A Long

Tags

A Game of Thrones, A Song of Ice and Fire, Reading Challenge

I’ve thought long and hard on whether or not I’ll be joining this challenge hosted over at BaffledBooks since I already joined the Game of Thrones (Song of Ice and Fire Series) Reading Challenge. However, I thought that maybe joining this challenge would keep me more motivated to closely read Game of Thrones. I also thought that I could read the entire series at my own pace since the challenge lasts for the entire year but I thought that I’d try and give this scheduled reading a chance to keep me more challenged. So yes, I’m jumping in.