Great series. Deep, complex, uncompromising, unpredictable and fun. I’ve read 'em all and love 'em all, but am resigned to a long wait for the next.
I like Jaime for his knightly prowess, self-loathing, world-weariness and his redeeming struggle to be good, even though it goes against his innermost nature.
I like Tyrion for his impishness, cunning and barely-concealed fury at the world. One of my favorite lines was when he was talking to his jerk of a father, who wanted him to go to a city (King’s Landing?) to rule it. Tyrion - resignedly - said something like, “I know, I know. Walls. Pikes. Heads.” :eek:
I like Brienne because of her hard-dying illusions about chivalry and because she’s tough as nails and a good fighter to boot.
Little Plastic Ninja, if you liked Fevre Dream (one of my all-time favorite vampire books), you should also check out Martin’s Tuf Voyaging, a great scifi novel about war, environmentalism, overpopulation and absolute power, and Sandkings, a wonderful collection of short stories (the title story and “The Way of Cross and Dragon” are particularly good). Dying of the Light is another excellent novel of his, about a world drifting away from its star.
Speaking of Cersei, I think I must be a bit thick… I was re-reading some of her stuff a few days ago, and the more I read it, the more a little voice is saying, “She’s paranoid. As in, clinically-so.”
Anyone else get this impression, just from her own POV’s?
(And wow… Hoist by her own petard, much?)
Delusional paranoia, for that matter. And megalomania. And narcissism. And bitterness over a woman’s role in Westeros (not that I can blame her on that one). I got that on a first-read. Examining Cersei in detail explains Joffrey completely.
Honestly, I think its hard being unjustifiably paranoid in her position. Numerous armed factions are out to depose (and presumably kill) her son throughout most of the books, and even the people on her side are using him as a pawn to increase their own power. Like most of the other characters, her actions became more understandable as the series went on.
Exactly. Thoros made Berric Dondarrion’s sword burst into flame for his duel with Sandor, and it specifically states that the Hound flinched from its heat. None of Mellisandre’s powers had anything to do with fire. In fact, Renly’s last word before his brother’s shadow slit his throat was “Cold…”
And Little Plastic Ninja, if you really want the full Martin experience, buy Dreamsongs, a two-volume anthology of his best short fiction that also doubles as an autobiography. There’s some terrific stuff there.
Wasn’t iron protection against the undead (can’t remember what they were called)? Or am I making that up?
I agree with Alessan that Coldhands is Brenden. I think that he’s undead, but somehow managed to retain his personality instead of becoming a mindless zombie. There may be other like him, and they may be the key to the troubles in the North. Whoever he turns out to be, I can’t wait for the next installment. Bran is possibly my favorite character.
Hm. I’ll buy Megalomania, but I’m not sure about the Narcisism.
I’m intrigued by how it explains Joffrey. Can you elaborate?
(And as for Simplicio, I didn’t mean to belittle that she has enemies. Its just that, reading from her PoV, she sees -everyone- as out to get her, and every little chance thing must definately be a set-up to murder her or her son.)
Maybe narcissism about her family, rather than she herself? Cersei seems like a person who’s trapped in a society that devalues her because she’s a woman, but she’s determined to do what she wants regardless, and the only way to do that is to be the power behind the throne. That’s the whole REASON for killing Robert. She has to get Joffrey on the throne, someone she can control. But once that happens, not only is Joffrey not as amenable to her control as she thought he would be, but her father first puts her ugly, crippled brother in charge over her, then he himself.
How it explains Joffrey is just that he’s pretty much what I’d expect from a mother who probably constantly holds his privileges up in front of the child’s face and constantly tells him how special those privileges make him. She didn’t realize she was creating a monster…she just thought she was creating a Lannister.
Well, she kills Robert because Eddard Stark is about to tell him that Joffrey isn’t Robert’s son. She has to get Joffrey on the throne because both she and her son are in danger from Robert if she doesn’t. I’m not denying she wants power, but there’s more at stake in that situation than just power.
Yes, let’s keep in mind that the one unforgivable crime on Westeros is incest, and the children that result from it are pretty much headsman-bait as far as we’ve seen.
Apparently I am too. I read ‘Joffrey’ and somehow thought ‘Jamie’. Wasn’t sure where narcisim came in there… Although there can be arguments for it as their relationship is often looked at (by them) as being ‘halves of a whole’.
I wouldn’t say incest was some unforgivable crime, the Targs did it constantly. I’m sure it was taboo and looked down on as it is now but the reason for the headsman is cuckolding the King, not who she did it with.
I seem to remember that Cersei and Jaime were totally convinced (even after Robert was dead) that the wider world learning about their incest would lead to the death of their kids.
