Ten Percent of Nuthin'

I am on page 23 and not yet hooked. Not loving it. Kind of dark a gloomy. Not a place i want to be. Catelyn is describing where she is from. Redwood trees are nice.

Question-Am I waiting for something to happen or someone to show up before I get hooked. I am guessing it gets better. Even the cashier told me it was a great book.

First chapter someone dies. Second chapter some is executed. Kind of afraid to read about more killing.

Quote from: Rosie on August 13, 2011, 10:14:25 AM
I am on page 23 and not yet hooked. Not loving it. Kind of dark a gloomy. Not a place i want to be. Catelyn is describing where she is from. Redwood trees are nice.

Question-Am I waiting for something to happen or someone to show up before I get hooked. I am guessing it gets better. Even the cashier told me it was a great book.

First chapter someone dies. Second chapter some is executed. Kind of afraid to read about more killing.

It's a fairly authentic take on a bleak , brutal medieval world . Loads of people die . Horribly .

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on August 13, 2011, 10:58:41 AM

Quote from: Rosie on August 13, 2011, 10:14:25 AM
I am on page 23 and not yet hooked. Not loving it. Kind of dark a gloomy. Not a place i want to be. Catelyn is describing where she is from. Redwood trees are nice.

Question-Am I waiting for something to happen or someone to show up before I get hooked. I am guessing it gets better. Even the cashier told me it was a great book.

First chapter someone dies. Second chapter some is executed. Kind of afraid to read about more killing.

It's a fairly authentic take on a bleak , brutal medieval world . Loads of people die . Horribly .

So why is everyone nuts about this book? They like looking at a bleak, brutal medieval world. What do people like about it? Does something happen soon? Does it get exciting? Is there any romance and humor?

Quote from: Rosie on August 13, 2011, 11:11:15 AM

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on August 13, 2011, 10:58:41 AM

Quote from: Rosie on August 13, 2011, 10:14:25 AM
I am on page 23 and not yet hooked. Not loving it. Kind of dark a gloomy. Not a place i want to be. Catelyn is describing where she is from. Redwood trees are nice.

Question-Am I waiting for something to happen or someone to show up before I get hooked. I am guessing it gets better. Even the cashier told me it was a great book.

First chapter someone dies. Second chapter some is executed. Kind of afraid to read about more killing.

It's a fairly authentic take on a bleak , brutal medieval world . Loads of people die . Horribly .

So why is everyone nuts about this book? They like looking at a bleak, brutal medieval world. What do people like about it? Does something happen soon? Does it get exciting? Is there any romance and humor?

I think the political "Game of Thrones" that heats up between all the houses as the story progresses is fascinating and as the characters were fleshed more, I found myself really liking a few of them and really loving to hate a few others.

Warning possibly stupid question:

the "Game of Thrones" is just a who's better contest right?

Quote from: Rosie on August 13, 2011, 12:45:51 PM
Warning possibly stupid question:

the "Game of Thrones" is just a who's better contest right?

I don't think "who's better" can cover it completely. It's a political game played by the various ruling houses (and the lesser lords play their parts as well) of Westeros and it's about who is smart enough, honorable enough, duplicitous enough, ruthless enough and strong enough to take the Iron Throne to rule all of Westeros. All the houses have a personality and that will obviously shape how they will rule if they get the throne. You've met the Starks by now and can see that they are honorable and the Lanisters are duplicitous (though they always pay their debts) and every other house seems to have a dominant personality as well. The "Game", as I see it,  is not a contest, but a war of strength and politics.

Quote from: Spooky on August 13, 2011, 01:14:50 PM

Quote from: Rosie on August 13, 2011, 12:45:51 PM
Warning possibly stupid question:

the "Game of Thrones" is just a who's better contest right?

I don't think "who's better" can cover it completely. It's a political game played by the various ruling houses (and the lesser lords play their parts as well) of Westeros and it's about who is smart enough, honorable enough, duplicitous enough, ruthless enough and strong enough to take the Iron Throne to rule all of Westeros. All the houses have a personality and that will obviously shape how they will rule if they get the throne. You've met the Starks by now and can see that they are honorable and the Lanisters are duplicitous (though they always pay their debts) and every other house seems to have a dominant personality as well. The "Game", as I see it,  is not a contest, but a war of strength and politics.

Martin takes his inspiration from England's Wars of the Roses .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_the_Roses (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_the_Roses)

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on August 13, 2011, 01:43:10 PM
Martin takes his inspiration from England's Wars of the Roses .

Not this one?

THE WAR OF THE ROSES - Trailer ( 1989 ) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ebv3i_9Ltc#)

Quote from: Eric on August 13, 2011, 02:10:30 PM

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on August 13, 2011, 01:43:10 PM
Martin takes his inspiration from England's Wars of the Roses .

Not this one?

THE WAR OF THE ROSES - Trailer ( 1989 ) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ebv3i_9Ltc#)

That was a dark movie .
Still love the ending .

So why is everyone nuts about this book? They like looking at a bleak, brutal medieval world. What do people like about it? Does something happen soon? Does it get exciting? Is there any romance and humor?

I've had trouble getting into it, but that's because I have ADD or something. I can read a few pages and then I'm done. Used to be a voracious reader. Anyway, not everything has to uplifting. Some people like drama that isn't in the real world. It is grim and gritty and dark and if that isn't for you, you might not like this. Some people juggle geese.

I tried to read Fellowship of the Ring and gave up a third the way through. I asked Ann if anything ever happened and she asked if meant anything bad happened to the hobbits and I said no, do any events ever occur? So far, all that had happened was they walked and sang and ate and sang about eating and sang about walking.

Quote from: TinkTanker on August 13, 2011, 02:30:02 PM
So why is everyone nuts about this book? They like looking at a bleak, brutal medieval world. What do people like about it? Does something happen soon? Does it get exciting? Is there any romance and humor?

It is grim and gritty and dark and if that isn't for you, you might not like this. Some people juggle geese.

I tried to read Fellowship of the Ring and gave up a third the way through. I asked Ann if anything ever happened and she asked if meant anything bad happened to the hobbits and I said no, do any events ever occur? So far, all that had happened was they walked and sang and ate and sang about eating and sang about walking.

Well I definitely juggle geese and I usually don't follow th crowd but it's been such a diverse group endorsign it I thought I should give it a try. I made a deal to read 200 pages. If I still don't like it then I will stop.

I love books that grab me and I have to pull away to do whatever I need to do. This is not that kind of book yet.

I agree with Fellowship of the Rings, I quit before they even got out of the shire, up this way down that way, lets sleep by this tree that swallows you? They almost made it out and then were sucked back in and that is when I gave up.

FYI- I am going to Dragon*con!!! What are you and Ann up to Labor Day weekend? There's a parade at 10am Saturday morning.

I just want to post this .

http://gameofthrones.net/faiths-of-westeros/56-the-seven.html (http://gameofthrones.net/faiths-of-westeros/56-the-seven.html)

It explains the seven gods of Westeros .

The Old Gods ( who have been supplanted by the seven )

http://gameofthrones.net/faiths-of-westeros/55-the-old-gods.html (http://gameofthrones.net/faiths-of-westeros/55-the-old-gods.html)

Next book due out in early 2013

[spoiler](http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn288/JakeMongoose/got.jpg)[/spoiler]

Quote from: TinkTanker on September 22, 2011, 05:57:10 PM
Next book due out in early 2013

[spoiler](http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn288/JakeMongoose/got.jpg)[/spoiler]

:haha:

And if RR Martin is ready by 2013 I'll eat my hat .
( which will be made of cheesecake )

;)

77% through book two and... Ahhhhhhh!

[spoiler]Bran and Rickon!  :-\ Greyjoy needs to be thrown off the Wall.  >:D

I've only read that far so don't tell me more.[/spoiler]

Done with book 2...

[spoiler]ai ya you Martin!!!! Making me think Bran and Rickon were dead! ai ya you!!! Thanks for killing Theon though. I'd had enough of that smug shithead ben tiansheng de yidui rou Chuckhole.[/spoiler]

Quote from: Spooky on October 06, 2011, 11:22:27 PM
Done with book 2...

[spoiler]ai ya you Martin!!!! Making me think Bran and Rickon were dead! ai ya you!!! Thanks for killing Theon though. I'd had enough of that smug shithead ben tiansheng de yidui rou Chuckhole.[/spoiler]

(http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lnboeruC9g1qltb20o1_500.jpg)


:D

I must finish this book today so I can read spoilerz.

I'm such a slow reader these days, though.  As a teen, I'd have devoured the whole series by now, if not perhaps a couple others.

32% of book 3 and all I can say is, "Oh know she didn't!"

[spoiler]I am 32% done with book three and read the best chapter in this series yet. Dany has certainly grown from that meek little girl her brother used to push around. I knew when she bought the Unsullied what she was going to do with them and, even knowing, reading about is was pretty exciting. How could those slavers be so stupid as to sell their entire defense force to her. I guess their lust for a fiery dragon got the best of them. Well they got their fiery dragon... well mostly the fire part. LOL  [/spoiler]

Quote from: Spooky on October 09, 2011, 10:39:33 PM
32% of book 3 and all I can say is, "Oh know she didn't!"

[spoiler]I am 32% done with book three and read the best chapter in this series yet. Dany has certainly grown from that meek little girl her brother used to push around. I knew when she bought the Unsullied what she was going to do with them and, even knowing, reading about is was pretty exciting. How could those slavers be so stupid as to sell their entire defense force to her. I guess their lust for a fiery dragon got the best of them. Well they got their fiery dragon... well mostly the fire part. LOL  [/spoiler]

;)

Was talking to a coworker who is reading the books and she accidentally gave me a HUGE spoiler.  :veryangry: 

I told her that last chapter I had read and she though it has latter in the book than it was and spilled some beans I wish hadn't been spilled.

For those who've read the books...

[spoiler]She told me about Rob and Cat's death.  :'([/spoiler]

Quote from: Spooky on October 10, 2011, 08:09:39 AM
Was talking to a coworker who is reading the books and she accidentally gave me a HUGE spoiler.  :veryangry: 

I told her that last chapter I had read and she though it has latter in the book than it was and spilled some beans I wish hadn't been spilled.

For those who've read the books...

[spoiler]She told me about Rob and Cat's death.  :'([/spoiler]

[spoiler]Not cool  >:( - co-worker I mean [/spoiler]

A reference for the monitary system of Westeros.

Coppers
Halfpenny
Penny = 2 halfpennies
Half Groat = 2 pennies
Groat = 4 pennies
Star = 8 pennies

Silvers
Stag = 7 stars or 56 pennies
Moon = 7 stags or 392 pennies

Gold
Gold Dragon = 210 stags or 30 moons or 11,760 pennies

http://www.reddit.com/r/gameofthrones/comments/hzux6/can_anyone_explain_the_monetary_system_in_game_of/ (http://www.reddit.com/r/gameofthrones/comments/hzux6/can_anyone_explain_the_monetary_system_in_game_of/)

Quote from: Spooky on October 10, 2011, 01:11:53 PM
A reference for the monitary system of Westeros.

Coppers
Halfpenny
Penny = 2 halfpennies
Half Groat = 2 pennies
Groat = 4 pennies
Star = 8 pennies

Silvers
Stag = 7 stars or 56 pennies
Moon = 7 stags or 392 pennies

Gold
Gold Dragon = 210 stags or 30 moons or 11,760 pennies

http://www.reddit.com/r/gameofthrones/comments/hzux6/can_anyone_explain_the_monetary_system_in_game_of/ (http://www.reddit.com/r/gameofthrones/comments/hzux6/can_anyone_explain_the_monetary_system_in_game_of/)

O0

Finally finished book two.  I may take a break and let Pearl read them, if she so desires.

Quote from: Eric on October 12, 2011, 05:37:12 PM
Finally finished book two.  I may take a break and let Pearl read them, if she so desires.

Storm of Swords is better than the first two .

;)

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on October 12, 2011, 06:03:05 PM

Quote from: Eric on October 12, 2011, 05:37:12 PM
Finally finished book two.  I may take a break and let Pearl read them, if she so desires.

Storm of Swords is better than the first two .

;)

67% through Storm of Swords and I have to agree. I don't like some of the things that have happened, but it's riveting.

Quote from: Spooky on October 12, 2011, 06:14:53 PM

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on October 12, 2011, 06:03:05 PM

Quote from: Eric on October 12, 2011, 05:37:12 PM
Finally finished book two.  I may take a break and let Pearl read them, if she so desires.

Storm of Swords is better than the first two .

;)

67% through Storm of Swords and I have to agree. I don't like some of the things that have happened, but it's riveting.

It's a page turner , that's for sure .

90% of book 3: Ha!

[spoiler]

QuoteLord Tywin Lannister did not, in the end, sh1t gold.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Now , wasn't that worth waiting almost three thousand pages ? Jamie and Tyrion are likeable Lannisters , eh ?  ;)[/spoiler]

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on October 14, 2011, 03:13:19 PM
[spoiler]Now , wasn't that worth waiting almost three thousand pages ? Jamie and Tyrion are likeable Lannisters , eh ?  ;)[/spoiler]

Indeed.  :D

It's come time for a Feast for Crows.

On book 3.

[spoiler]I thought Sansa was going flying for sure. Martin wrote that chapter very well and yet again I was fooled as to Littlefinger's motives and plans.[/spoiler]

Quote from: Spooky on October 14, 2011, 04:59:06 PM
On book 3.

[spoiler]I thought Sansa was going flying for sure. Martin wrote that chapter very well and yet again I was fooled as to Littlefinger's motives and plans.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Littlefinger is major player . The Wars of the Roses were waged by the Yorks and Lancasters . In the end a minor house ruled England . The Tudors . [/spoiler]

Wish that I could change all the nuncles to uncles. I don't know why, but that word bugs the crap out of me.

Quote from: Spooky on October 20, 2011, 01:15:52 PM
Wish that I could change all the nuncles to uncles. I don't know why, but that word bugs the gao se out of me.

16 nounces make a pound .

:D

I'll be all caught up way before then, Slacker!

George R.R. Martin won't start next Ice and Fire book 'til January

It took George R.R. Martin four years to deliver A Dance with Dragons, book five of his epic A Song of Ice and Fire, and it doesn't seem like he's off to a fast start with book six.

Speaking with Vulture, Martin said that he's got about 100 pages of the next book, The Winds of Winter, already written and that it's mostly material he originally wanted to put in A Dance with Dragons and decided to hang onto. That's the good news.

The bad news is that he's been so busy with the book tour for A Dance with Dragons, as well as other projects, that he won't start working on The Winds of Winter again until January.

We don't know how long The Winds of Winter will end up being, but if it's another 1000-pager like its predecessor, well, even 100 pages doesn't sound like he's made much of a dent yet.

But there is some other good news: Martin, as previously indicated, has written one of the pivotal episodes for season two of HBO's Game of Thrones, called "Blackwater," and the hit fantasy epic, itself, is now filming in Northern Ireland for airing early next year. Martin is also working on The World of Ice and Fire, which he describes as a "big, glossy coffee table book about the history and genealogy of Westeros."

There's more in the interview about the books, Martin's depiction of magic, and how he feels about the cast of Game of Thrones. You might as well read it all, since it doesn't look like you'll have The Winds of Winter in your eager little hands for quite some time.

http://blastr.com/2011/10/george-rr-martin-wont-sta.php (http://blastr.com/2011/10/george-rr-martin-wont-sta.php)

I'm happy he has 10% finished but Mr Martin seems to be purposefully ignoring the one thing that has made him wealthy .

I wonder if he's afraid of finishing his song .....

45% of book 4.

[spoiler]Littlefinger! He schooled the Lords of the Eyrie. I don't know if I should hate him or admire him. I don't know if it's good or bad, but he seems to have Sansa/Alayne under his spell.[/spoiler]

I'm still early into book three.  Such a slacker!

I don't like Cersei.

Quote from: Spooky on October 24, 2011, 01:22:50 PM
I don't like Cersei.

By this point in the story who does ?

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on October 25, 2011, 04:54:29 AM

Quote from: Spooky on October 24, 2011, 01:22:50 PM
I don't like Cersei.

By this point in the story who does ?

I'm thinking............. Still thinking........... How about... No... Maybe... Nope.... You win.

Tywin trusts her so much he's sending Tyrion to shepherd her in King's Landing .

and [spoiler]Lancel's soured on her post Blackwater Bay . Cersai is actually in danger of a little sympathy by the end of Feast ....[/spoiler]

;)

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on October 25, 2011, 11:29:30 AM
Tywin trusts her so much he's sending Tyrion to shepherd her in King's Landing .

and [spoiler]Lancel's soured on her post Blackwater Bay . Cersai is actually in danger of a little sympathy by the end of Feast ....[/spoiler]

;)

[spoiler]

Quote70% though and no sympathy from me, yet.

[/spoiler]

Quote from: Spooky on October 25, 2011, 11:37:36 AM

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on October 25, 2011, 11:29:30 AM
Tywin trusts her so much he's sending Tyrion to shepherd her in King's Landing .

and [spoiler]Lancel's soured on her post Blackwater Bay . Cersai is actually in danger of a little sympathy by the end of Feast ....[/spoiler]

;)

[spoiler]

Quote70% though and no sympathy from me, yet.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Me neither - it's just that things get so far out of control ......... and she's the one who's unwittingly set them down that path ...[/spoiler]

http://www.westeros.org/ASoWS/News/Entry/Subtext_Launches_Annotated_Game_of_Thrones/ (http://www.westeros.org/ASoWS/News/Entry/Subtext_Launches_Annotated_Game_of_Thrones/)

Three experts chosen to make over 1000 annotations to GoT via Subtext.  iPad2 only for now; web version in the works.

Subtext (http://vimeo.com/28368227)

Quote from: Eric on October 26, 2011, 09:38:58 AM
http://www.westeros.org/ASoWS/News/Entry/Subtext_Launches_Annotated_Game_of_Thrones/ (http://www.westeros.org/ASoWS/News/Entry/Subtext_Launches_Annotated_Game_of_Thrones/)

Three experts chosen to make over 1000 annotations to GoT via Subtext.  iPad2 only for now; web version in the works.

Subtext (http://vimeo.com/28368227)

That's cool .

"No, put this in the fire."

:clap:

Book 4 ended abruptly. I don't know if I want to start #5 and have to wait, who knows how long, for #6.

Quote from: Spooky on October 26, 2011, 04:57:34 PM
Book 4 ended abruptly. I don't know if I want to start #5 and have to wait, who knows how long, for #6.

I have #5 and am taking it really slow .

I started 5 last night. Good to see some characters that didn't get any love in #4.

Quote from: Spooky on October 27, 2011, 09:03:18 AM
I started 5 last night. Good to see some characters that didn't get any love in #4.

I missed the guts out of Tyrion .

QuoteA scale from the dragon that burned you

Or hair of the dog.

QuoteAll kneel for Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the Unburnt, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, of Meereen and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Shackles, and Mother of Dragons.

Now that is a title. I want a title too.

Quote from: Spooky on October 28, 2011, 01:24:10 PM

QuoteAll kneel for Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the Unburnt, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, of Meereen and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Shackles, and Mother of Dragons.

Now that is a title. I want a title too.

[spoiler]bones[/spoiler]

Reek... I would not wish that on anyone.

Quote from: Spooky on October 28, 2011, 04:32:03 PM
Reek... I would not wish that on anyone.

[spoiler]I think it's the only way he'll be redeemed [/spoiler]

It would seem this guy read the books and thought they were "How to Become a Lannister and love it" educational courses.

'Song of Ice and Fire' filled with lessons for a less fantastical world (http://www.bendbulletin.com/article/20111023/NEWS0107/110230309/)

Quote from: Spooky on October 09, 2011, 10:39:33 PM
32% of book 3 and all I can say is, "Oh know she didn't!"

[spoiler]I am 32% done with book three and read the best chapter in this series yet. Dany has certainly grown from that meek little girl her brother used to push around. I knew when she bought the Unsullied what she was going to do with them and, even knowing, reading about is was pretty exciting. How could those slavers be so stupid as to sell their entire defense force to her. I guess their lust for a fiery dragon got the best of them. Well they got their fiery dragon... well mostly the fire part. LOL  [/spoiler]

I'm past this part, but just now braving some of the spoilers.  Yeah, what happened is the only way I could see her getting out of it to save face at all.

I Am Fandom: Why 'Game Of Thrones' Is The Greatest Franchise Ever

Ology rounds out October as Fandom Month with four features written by some of the most powerful voices on the internet. Here, Phil Bicking, owner and operator of the largest Game Of Thrones fansite Winter Is Coming, tells you why the cult series will be the next big thing- if it isn't already.

A Song of Ice and Fire is the best fantasy book series of all-time.

Yes, better than The Wheel of Time. Better than Harry Potter or The Chronicles of Narnia or (yuck) Twilight. And better, even, than The Lord of the Rings. So it is no wonder it has spawned one fantastic television show in Game of Thrones.

If you haven't watched the show, or read the books, you're seriously missing out. This series seems real in a way that no other fantasy series is able to achieve. It's not just the fact that it is based on medieval England with magic that is seen as myth by most people in the story. The deep and flawed characters are what really set it apart.

There is no good and evil, no absolute right and wrong. The "good" characters all have shortcomings. The "bad" characters all have redeeming qualities (with a few notable exceptions). From the honorable but bumbling Ned Stark, to the cunning but good-hearted Tyrion Lannister, each character has a depth to them that you don't often find in contemporary fiction.

This unconventional approach continues into the storylines. In Westeros, the good guys don't always win in the end, and they don't have all the answers. It is refreshing to read something and watch something where you literally do not know what will happen next. The main character could triumph in one episode and then be killed off in the next. The character you despise in one book could turn out to be much more sympathetic in the next. And the whole focus of the series can shift from one character to another. Because of this, it feels more like history from an alternate reality than a story set in a fictional world.

Another way in which the show feels more real is the copious amounts of violence and sex. As David Benioff, one of the show's writers and producers likes to say: "the Hobbits never got horny." But Thrones characters sure do. There are several recurring characters who practice the world's oldest profession. And when it comes to violence and action, this show delivers. When someone gets killed in Thrones, they don't just get hit over the head with a sword and fall to the ground in a heap, no, they lose an arm or a head or a tongue. Now all of this violence and sex delivers a certain amount of visceral pleasure, but more than that, it adds to the realism of the show. Real life, especially in medieval times, is sexy and violent and dirty and bloody and unpredictable.

And it's ultimately this realism that sets this series apart and what makes it so addicting. However, this may not be for everyone. If you are someone who likes your stories to have happy endings, where the good guys win, the bad guys lose and the two lovers ride off into the sunset, well, Thrones may not be for you. But if you want a story that is rich and deep and exciting and emotional and unconventional and entertaining, than join us in the Game of Thrones.

--

Find more Game Of Thrones news at Winter Is Coming.

http://www.ology.com/tv/i-am-fandom-why-game-thrones-greatest-franchise-ever (http://www.ology.com/tv/i-am-fandom-why-game-thrones-greatest-franchise-ever)

Quote from: Spooky on November 03, 2011, 08:09:09 AM
I Am Fandom: Why 'Game Of Thrones' Is The Greatest Franchise Ever

Ology rounds out October as Fandom Month with four features written by some of the most powerful voices on the internet. Here, Phil Bicking, owner and operator of the largest Game Of Thrones fansite Winter Is Coming, tells you why the cult series will be the next big thing- if it isn't already.

A Song of Ice and Fire is the best fantasy book series of all-time.

Yes, better than The Wheel of Time. Better than Harry Potter or The Chronicles of Narnia or (yuck) Twilight. And better, even, than The Lord of the Rings. So it is no wonder it has spawned one fantastic television show in Game of Thrones.

If you haven't watched the show, or read the books, you're seriously missing out. This series seems real in a way that no other fantasy series is able to achieve. It's not just the fact that it is based on medieval England with magic that is seen as myth by most people in the story. The deep and flawed characters are what really set it apart.

There is no good and evil, no absolute right and wrong. The "good" characters all have shortcomings. The "bad" characters all have redeeming qualities (with a few notable exceptions). From the honorable but bumbling Ned Stark, to the cunning but good-hearted Tyrion Lannister, each character has a depth to them that you don't often find in contemporary fiction.

This unconventional approach continues into the storylines. In Westeros, the good guys don't always win in the end, and they don't have all the answers. It is refreshing to read something and watch something where you literally do not know what will happen next. The main character could triumph in one episode and then be killed off in the next. The character you despise in one book could turn out to be much more sympathetic in the next. And the whole focus of the series can shift from one character to another. Because of this, it feels more like history from an alternate reality than a story set in a fictional world.

And it's ultimately this realism that sets this series apart and what makes it so addicting. However, this may not be for everyone. If you are someone who likes your stories to have happy endings, where the good guys win, the bad guys lose and the two lovers ride off into the sunset, well, Thrones may not be for you. But if you want a story that is rich and deep and exciting and emotional and unconventional and entertaining, than join us in the Game of Thrones.

--

Yay, this is what I was looking for. This book IS NOT for me and I am glad I feel certain so I can just stop carrying it around. The unpredicatability is unnerving to me. The no clear Good and Evil is unnerving to me. Pretty much the whole premise is too much for me. There will be no reward because that goes against what this series does. No victory just an end. *Phew* Not going to waste my time any more. *bowing out of this series.*

I am free!  :happy:

I find myself reading Reek's dialogue in Smeagol's voice.  :beatsme:

Quote from: Spooky on November 06, 2011, 05:57:52 PM
I find myself reading Reek's dialogue in Smeagol's voice.  :beatsme:

:haha:

( now I might do that too )

:-\

Reek, Reek, it rhymes with... lots of stuff.

Quote from: Spooky on October 10, 2011, 08:09:39 AM
[spoiler]She told me about Rob and Cat's death.  :'([/spoiler]

Just got through that chapter and the next, myself.  I'm kind of considering my next book to read be something more uplifting and less ponderous -- perhaps Atlas Shrugged.

[spoiler=A Storm of Swords]Ah, so the Cat came back. She couldn't stay away ... (it would seem). Interesting.[/spoiler]

[spoiler](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ip1G1ojoCNg/TZVQPZfYdXI/AAAAAAAAASU/3rX688K6om8/s400/MiracleMax.jpg)[/spoiler]

70% of book 5.

[spoiler]Just read the chapter where Dany tames then rides Drogon. Chucking Awesome![/spoiler]

You've pulled ahead of me .
[spoiler]Jon just beheaded Janos Slynt[/spoiler]

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on November 27, 2011, 05:21:22 AM
You've pulled ahead of me .
[spoiler]Jon just beheaded Janos Slynt[/spoiler]

I will probably finish the book today. I tried to take it slow, but cant.

I hope you finished Book 5.  I finished it right after it came out and haven't been able to say anything about it yet!  Freaking awesome book.  But if we have to wait another six years for the next one, I may get a little cranky.

It'll be done before I go to bed.

Quote from: Tygie on November 27, 2011, 09:01:24 PMBut if we have to wait another six years for the next one, I may get a little cranky.

Since the show is so popular, I think he may have a little extra motivation to finishes sooner rather than latter... I hope.

I hate you, George!

Welcome to my world .

>:D

I now wish I wouldn't even had started A Dance With Dragons until the next book was announced. So much happens in the last few chapters and I don't want to wait!!!

Is Jon Snow really Ned's son? This thought isn't a spoiler, just a rumination.

Here I go thinking again... I Tywin really Tyrion's father?

Quote from: Spooky on November 28, 2011, 02:11:14 PM
Is Jon Snow really Ned's son? This thought isn't a spoiler, just a rumination.

[spoiler]My guess is that his true parentage is likely to be Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen[/spoiler]

I couldn't get into book four after a couple chapters so I'm taking a break, but your idea in the spoiler is very intriguing Mark.

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on November 29, 2011, 06:02:36 AM

Quote from: Spooky on November 28, 2011, 02:11:14 PM
Is Jon Snow really Ned's son? This thought isn't a spoiler, just a rumination.

[spoiler]My guess is that his true parentage is likely to be Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen[/spoiler]

My thoughts exactly.

More thoughts on Jon and Tyrion.

[spoiler]I think that Jon is indeed the son of Layanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, but I also think that Tyrion may be the son of Aerys Targaryen and Joanna Lannister‎. There isn't as much evidence pointing towards the latter as there is the former, but it would explain his fascination with dragons and his dreams of dragons (like other Targaryens) and the idea of Tyrion being Jon's uncle and Dany's sister is kind of cool. Also, but by no means proof on any sort, both Tyrion's and Dany's mothers died during childbirth.

Spoiler for book 4
[spoiler]I know there are supposed to be three heads of the dragon and obviously Dany is one for sure and then you have young Griff/Aegon in the mix as one and that would leave out Jon or Tyrion, but what if Griff/Aegon is a feint like Jeyen/Arya? Or what if GRRM kills him off and then needs a third head?[/spoiler]  [/spoiler]

Just another snip of why I think Tyrion may be a dragon. Again, probably nothing...

[spoiler]I mentioned before about his and Dany's mothers dying during childbirth. How about Jamie killing Aerys and Tyrion killing Tywin. Did they kill each others fathers?[/spoiler]

Seems like the Jon theory is pretty popular and has a name.  R+L=J

Just read the first Dunk and Egg story. Good stuff and gives a little insight into Westeros history.

Quote from: Spookrys on December 04, 2011, 12:13:35 AM
Just read the first Dunk and Egg story. Good stuff and gives a little insight into Westeros history.

Graphic novel ?

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on December 04, 2011, 06:09:33 AM

Quote from: Spookrys on December 04, 2011, 12:13:35 AM
Just read the first Dunk and Egg story. Good stuff and gives a little insight into Westeros history.

Graphic novel ?

Novella

GRRM understands the younger generation.

QuoteYou met [his assistant] Ty, he think it's generational. That people who are angry [about Book 5 taking six years] are younger people from what he calls The Entitlement Generation. They want instant gratification — something that they're used to from the Internet. I'm from the Baby Boomer generation, and we had to wait for s–t, man. If I heard about a book, it might never come to the spinner rack at the local drugstore. If I wanted to see a movie, we'd have to hope they'd show it on television at some time. It's Ty's theory, not mine, but maybe it's true.

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/07/12/george-martin-talks-a-dance-with-dragons/ (http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/07/12/george-martin-talks-a-dance-with-dragons/)

Do the Starks change their words to "Spring is Coming" when winter is in full force? "Winter is Coming' just doesn't cut it when it finally comes now does it you silly, dark haired, grey eyed, too honorable for your own damn good northern bumpkins.

I suspect it's "Winter is Coming" until it's Spring and then .....

;)

Maps

http://i.imgur.com/Z6qlw.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/Z6qlw.jpg)
http://awoiaf.westeros.org/images/e/e7/Map_of_westeros.jpg (http://awoiaf.westeros.org/images/e/e7/Map_of_westeros.jpg)

 :rofl: :haha: :loloeo:

(http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lok60zEtVs1qjuha7o1_500.png)
http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lok60zEtVs1qjuha7o1_500.png (http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lok60zEtVs1qjuha7o1_500.png)

(http://www.afrikislife.net/english/comics/2009-01-26-afl.gif)
http://www.afrikislife.net/english/comics/2009-01-26-afl.gif (http://www.afrikislife.net/english/comics/2009-01-26-afl.gif)

Quote from: Spookrys on December 06, 2011, 04:52:47 PM
:rofl: :haha: :loloeo:

(http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lok60zEtVs1qjuha7o1_500.png)
http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lok60zEtVs1qjuha7o1_500.png (http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lok60zEtVs1qjuha7o1_500.png)

:rofl:

I read an interesting theory that Lightbringer may not be a literal sword, but in fact could be the Nights Watch. Spoilers for Book 5 in my source so I won't post a link. The meat of the theory is some of the verbiage in the NW's oath.

QuoteNight gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all nights to come.

The theory goes into more detail, but it would ruin some HUGE revelations at the end of book 5 so I'll say no more.

Quote from: Spookrys on December 07, 2011, 01:48:54 PM
I read an interesting theory that Lightbringer may not be a literal sword, but in fact could be the Nights Watch. Spoilers for Book 5 in my source so I won't post a link. The meat of the theory is some of the verbiage in the NW's oath.

QuoteNight gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all nights to come.

The theory goes into more detail, but it would ruin some HUGE revelations at the end of book 5 so I'll say no more.

Tease .
;)

I'm at the part where Tyrion is on the boat with the hot septa .

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on December 07, 2011, 04:44:04 PM

Quote from: Spookrys on December 07, 2011, 01:48:54 PM
I read an interesting theory that Lightbringer may not be a literal sword, but in fact could be the Nights Watch. Spoilers for Book 5 in my source so I won't post a link. The meat of the theory is some of the verbiage in the NW's oath.

QuoteNight gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all nights to come.

The theory goes into more detail, but it would ruin some HUGE revelations at the end of book 5 so I'll say no more.

Tease .
;)

I'm at the part where Tyrion is on the boat with the hot septa .

I hope they are faithful to the book with that scene. ;)

Quote from: Spookrys on December 07, 2011, 04:51:06 PM

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on December 07, 2011, 04:44:04 PM

Quote from: Spookrys on December 07, 2011, 01:48:54 PM
I read an interesting theory that Lightbringer may not be a literal sword, but in fact could be the Nights Watch. Spoilers for Book 5 in my source so I won't post a link. The meat of the theory is some of the verbiage in the NW's oath.

QuoteNight gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all nights to come.

The theory goes into more detail, but it would ruin some HUGE revelations at the end of book 5 so I'll say no more.

Tease .
;)

I'm at the part where Tyrion is on the boat with the hot septa .

I hope they are faithful to the book with that scene. ;)

They'll just make her into Septa Roz .

( and I'm ok with that .... )

:D

(http://i.imgur.com/clfo4.png)
http://i.imgur.com/clfo4.png (http://i.imgur.com/clfo4.png)

Dany Cosplay.

QuoteThey dressed her in the wisps that Magister Illyrio had sent up, and then the gown, a deep plum silk to bring out the violet in her eyes. The girl slid the gilded sandals onto her feet, while the old woman fixed the tiara in her hair, and slid golden bracelets crusted with amethysts around her wrists. Last of all came the collar, a heavy golden torc emblazoned with ancient Valyrian glyphs.

http://imgur.com/a/4leR6 (http://imgur.com/a/4leR6)

Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought honorably. And Rhaegar died.

ASOIAF Rule # 81 - For any given character, a theory exists in which the character is a: (1) merling; (2) Targaryen; (3) Blackfyre; and (4) warg.

What are the first 80 ?

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on December 13, 2011, 04:52:39 PM
What are the first 80 ?

I don't know? I was just  copy/pasting from Reddit.

Rule #1
Winter is Coming

Just finished the third Dunk and Egg story. Good stuff. He plans on writing more, but who knows when. Hopefully after tWoW and AdoS.

Quote from: Spookrys on December 14, 2011, 09:37:33 PM
Just finished the third Dunk and Egg story. Good stuff. He plans on writing more, but who knows when. Hopefully after tWoW and AdoS.

Yeah , about that .....

:-\

http://www.scotcampus.com/2011/12/george-r-r-martin/ (http://www.scotcampus.com/2011/12/george-r-r-martin/)

Q&A George R.R Martin
By Chris Hammond

It's too easy to pigeon hole the 'Song of Ice and Fire' series by George R.R Martin. Set in the fictional kingdom of Westeros, Martin's books centre around the power struggles of the major noble families as they vie for both the Iron Throne and survival at a time of uncertainty and civil war. On the face of it the books are works of fantasy, but fans of the series will tell you that there's much, much more to these tomes than swords, castles and dragons. Martin's prose is lucid, his pacing excellent and the various plots involved in the storyline are woven together impeccably. More importantly though he has crafted a cast of characters so compelling and three dimensional even non-genre fans have taken to his work.

Earlier this year, SKY Atlantic aired the first television series of 'Game of Thrones' an adaptation of the first novel in Martin's 'Song of Fire and Ice' series. Fans loved it, as did the critics. The same went for Martin's latest instalment of the book series. Released in July, the massive 'Dance With Dragons' took the cast of characters into even darker territory. So with a New York Times bestseller and a hit HBO produced series under his belt, the tail-end of 2011 seemed like the perfect time to catch up with our favourite author of the last decade.

First things first, how's the second season of Game of Thrones coming along?

"We're excited about it; they're just wrapping the second season now. They're shooting in Belfast and Croatia and I think they've got another ten days in Iceland and then we'll be done."

You must be pretty pleased with the production though? Everything seems to be in pretty safe hands and true to the source material.

"David Benioff and Dan Weiss the show runners have done an incredible job, we have great writers and directors plus a wonderful cast so it's been a real thrill for me and I couldn't be in better hands. I wanted a faithful adaptation. Years ago when I first met David and Dan at a meeting in Los Angeles they made it very clear that they wanted to adapt my books for television and not simply take the title and shoot elements of the story which is what happens in a lot of cases. I was very impressed with everything they said and we started our great relationship there and it's still a very good one I think. "

You've written the episode which features the Battle of Blackwater, a pretty major event in the second book. How has that been?

"It was fun writing it, though in some ways it was a little painful. We have a good budget for a television series, an excellent budget for a television series, but it's still not the budget you'd have for a feature film. Of course when you write a book you can have as big a budget as you like, you can have these gigantic battle and set pieces and throw everything into them. They're as big as your imagination.

Translating that to screen is really difficult so when I sat down to write the battle scene I knew some elements of the battle would just be impossible to film as we don't have the money or the time to do it. It would have taken about a month just to shoot that battle with everything that was in the books and it would have taken the budget for the entire season so I had to eliminate certain elements of the battle and simplify it somehow. Even then when I turned it in I knew it was very expensive. They've done a terrific job with it I think, they've probably had to make some further cuts, I haven't been quite on top of that but I know they hired Neil Marshall ('Dog Soldiers', 'The Descent') so I'm very excited about that. He's never done television before. And he's particularly good at action. Many of his movies have been small budget but he's got some great action sequences for them so he was the perfect director for my episode and I can't wait to see what he's done."

Ok let's get back to the books, because that's what we're really keen to talk to you about. Did you ever envisage them being so successful when you first finished 'Game of Thrones'?

"No I had no idea. I had none. I had no idea and no expectations. We're talking 20 years ago now, I had been a writer for 20 years before that, I sold my first story in 1971. Before Ice and Fire I'd already published five novels and numerous short story collections as well as doing work on television and film so one of the lessons I learned early on was that it's a fool's game to think anything is going to be successful or to count on it. Every book, every movie is a crapshoot. You try to do your best work and make it as good as you can possibly can but it's up to the fans and the readers out there how well it does.

My readers have made the series as successful as it's been it's not as if we came out of the gate in 1996 and had this giant series. Every book has built on that. Primarily it's been spread by word of mouth with friends recommending it to other friends. So it's been a long strange trip as they say."

I think one of the reasons your books are so popular is that you have so many rich and interesting characters involved in the plotline. Even thinking back to the last book the addition of someone like Wyman Manderly springs to mind . . .

"Well it can be a challenge, this is one of the reasons the series takes so long to write. I'm sure you'll know that the last book took over five years to write which was a lot longer than I thought. But then I've thrown a lot of balls into the air and I'm juggling them madly. There are days when I wish I'd not thrown so many into the air as it's a complicated process and there were a lot of traps and missteps. That said, once I'd done it I was committed to service those characters and do the best I can with them. Hopefully the results bear out the effort which goes into it. I'm happy with the series as a whole so far and of course I have two more books to do. But uh, the characters are the heart of it. I love the characters, even the bad guys. I've spent so many years with them now, decades of my life, they're like the children I never had."

Dance with Dragons seemed to push together a lot of the stray plotlines though.

"Yes, hopefully the storylines have begun to converge. One of the things that have happened with the books is that the storyline has spread out further and further which is deliberately the structure I intended from the beginning. But perhaps I've spread a little further than I initially intended. Now comes the tricky part where I tie everything together as I move towards the ending, which I hope the majority of readers would like. But I realise how difficult endings are and in any work like this where people are reading it for years they have visions in their head of what the endings should be. Inevitably I'll disappoint some of them because whatever you deliver won't be what they wanted. I'm hopeful though that most will enjoy it, but hey that's still about 3000 pages away! I've got a lot of writing to do before I get there."

So I take it it'll be some point next year before you start working on the next book?

"I'm working on some other things right now but I have already started the next book and I hope to return to it mid-way through January."

Is one of the other projects another Hedge Knight story (a series of tales set in the same world as the Ice and Fire books)?

"I'm editing an anthology with my friend Gardner Dozois. We've worked on a number of these anthologies and I sometimes contribute a short story to them. We've got one coming out called 'Dangerous Women' which we're working on right now and yes I'm writing the fourth Hedge Knight novella which will be for that volume. I'll have that finished for Christmas hopefully."

Looking at the books there still seem to be a few characters such as Howland Reed who we've heard about but not yet met. Do you think readers are likely to see these characters and will you be revisiting say Ned Stark's past?

(Spoiler)

[spoiler]"Well there'll be a few characters you've not seen who'll show up in these final volumes yes, and certainly Ned despite being gone has a very large presence in this series. He still casts a long shadow as indeed do other dead people, some of whom have never appeared in the books like Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. The shadows of their past very much impinge on the present and the future in Westeros."[/spoiler]
----------------------------
----------------------------


I think the above confirms that...
[spoiler]R+L=J[/spoiler]

It'd be awesome for a Howland Reed POV regarding Ned and company at the Tower of Joy .

:squee:

Quoteyes I'm writing the fourth Hedge Knight novella which will be for that volume. I'll have that finished for Christmas hopefully.

This Christmas? That'd be sweet!

Book1

[spoiler][spoiler][spoiler][spoiler][spoiler]What was I talking about?[/spoiler][/spoiler][/spoiler][/spoiler][/spoiler]

(http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRTDereQNkd8UJOFXN1QBb_rV4HLdOKxjQMZUvJntZzqq6TINhcYtavdW7a)

For some reason hipster emo Jon cracks me up .

Ghost would take one look at that Jon and say, 'You ain't wargin' me know more."

I'm reading so slow that I've only gotten to Dany receiving her thirteen ships , and Dolorous Ed joking with about squeaky rats when stepped on .

:P

So you have read where Dany gets eaten by Drogon yet?

Quote from: Spookrys on December 15, 2011, 04:34:19 PM
So you have read where Dany gets eaten by Drogon yet?

Nope .
Looking forward to it though .

That and Aerys Targaryen juggling lemon pies .

It's good to be GRRM.

Random House's top selling eBooks for 2011

Science Fiction/Fantasy

1.A Game of Thrones
2.A Dance with Dragons
3.A Clash of Kings
4.A Storm of Swords
5.A Feast for Crows
6. George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones 4-Book Bundle

DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN"T FINISHED A DANCE WITH DRAGONS!!!

Link to a sample from The Winds of Winter.

http://www.georgerrmartin.com/if-sample.html (http://www.georgerrmartin.com/if-sample.html)

George R.R. Martin is our Author of the Year

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/story/2011-12-29/george-r-r-martin-is-author-of-the-year-2011/52256412/1 (http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/story/2011-12-29/george-r-r-martin-is-author-of-the-year-2011/52256412/1)

Quote"Ser Stupid, Lord Too-Fat, the b astard, let them come. We hold the ground, and that I mean to turn to our advantage."

Favorite quote from the sample chapter of tWoW.

I know I'm not supposed to - but I've always liked Theon .

Did you read the sample chapter?

Oh yeah .
I'm a spoiler whore

:-[

I guess it doesn't really spoil too much of the end of Dance, but it does add to some of the speculation surrounding a few of the end chapters. Even though he isn't directly involved, this sample has got me excited about what is happening to Bran.

Theon?

You lucky bastard (Dungeon Scene) Monty Python-Life of Brian (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EI7p2p1QJI#ws)

 Classic scene from my most favourite Python film .

:squee:

Stolen from reddit: Murder: The cause of, and solution to, all of Arya's problems.

Murder: The cause of, and solution to, all of Arya's problems.

:haha:

Martin releases a Book VI chapter on his website. (http://spoilers)

Spoilers, if you don't want to see that at least one character makes it to the next book.

I linked to that a few posts back. Good stuff!  :D

Quote from: Spookrys Blackfrye on January 02, 2012, 07:07:53 PM
I linked to that a few posts back. Good stuff!  :D

:doh:
:beercheer:

Reading fan forums can be frustrating. I don't understand the folks who think Dany and Arya's (and to a lesser extent Tyrion's) stories are the weak points of the series. Yes, they are far from the action in Westeros, but I find their individual journeys and character development to be just as fascinating as the "game" being played in the Seven Kingdoms.

Is GRRM done writing WoW yet?... How about now?... Done yet?

'These Last Two Are Gonna Be Real Turds,' George R.R. Martin Assures Fans

SANTA FE, NM—In the wake of last year's highly successful publication of the fifth installment in his A Song Of Ice And Fire series, author George R.R. Martin assured fans Tuesday the final two books in the fantasy saga would be "complete turds." "For starters, there'll be no mention of the dragons at all, because I'm pretty much sick of writing about dragons at this point," said Martin, who added he would also be introducing an entirely new storyline set on a completely different continent and featuring a cast of at least 50 new characters all vying for the same throne. "And I'm going to take even longer to write these last two, at least a decade each. Who knows if I'll even be alive to finish them? Who cares? My son knows how to spell most of the characters' names, so maybe I'll let him wrap the whole thing up." Martin said that while he didn't want to give too much away, he was certainly going to kill off Tyrion and never resurrect him, because "that Chucking dwarf" was annoying the gao se out of him.

http://tinyurl.com/839ts92 (http://tinyurl.com/839ts92)

Blastr got punk'd by the Christwire story:

As I also posted there, to be completely fair not even the Christwire people know if Billings is in on the game or is punking them: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/04/us/04beliefs.html?_r=3&hp (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/04/us/04beliefs.html?_r=3&hp)

OK, I didn't realize that Robert Baratheon and Rhaegar Targaryen were second cousins! I should pay more attention to the lineage charts.

Dunk and Egg spoilers.
[spoiler] Egg was both Robert's and Rhaegar's Great-Grandsire. [/spoiler]

[spoiler]That was the main reason he had the legitimate support of some houses and needed to kill all the rest of the Targaryans[/spoiler]

I am picking up a lot more on my second read though. I am also reading a lot slower and find myself rereading a lot of the dream sequences as there is a lot of clues in them.

[spoiler]Yeah, if all the trueborn Trags had died he would have been the rightful heir to the throne through his grandmother.

Speculation: If Dany dies and Stannis dies and Aegon is a Blackfye (as theory suggests) then House Martel has a rightful claim to the throne if  I follow the line of succession correctly. Could a Martel be on the throne at the end of it all? I don't think George would do that. [/spoiler]

[spoiler]Since the inspiration is the Wars of the Roses which saw the destruction of the two great houses , York and Lancaster with a minor house ( Tudor ) prevailing in the end , don't be surprised by late game-changer sitting on the Iron Throne [/spoiler]

Would you survive in the seven kingdoms?

http://peasandcougars.com/2011/06/16/game-of-thrones-flowchart/ (http://peasandcougars.com/2011/06/16/game-of-thrones-flowchart/)

[spoiler]Dany's flying Drogon ! :headbang: Strong Belwas poisoned ! :([/spoiler]

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on January 13, 2012, 12:11:56 PM
[spoiler]Dany's flying Drogon ! :headbang: Strong Belwas poisoned ! :([/spoiler]

:D

Remember, he is Strong.

Quote from: Spookrys Blackfrye on January 13, 2012, 12:18:16 PM

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on January 13, 2012, 12:11:56 PM
[spoiler]Dany's flying Drogon ! :headbang: Strong Belwas poisoned ! :([/spoiler]

:D

Remember, he is Strong.

I hope he makes it into the television series .

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on January 13, 2012, 12:58:09 PM

Quote from: Spookrys Blackfrye on January 13, 2012, 12:18:16 PM

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on January 13, 2012, 12:11:56 PM
[spoiler]Dany's flying Drogon ! :headbang: Strong Belwas poisoned ! :([/spoiler]

:D

Remember, he is Strong.

I hope he makes it into the television series .

If they don't introduce him this season, and I don't think that part was cast, I don't know any logical point to bring him in. He's is a great character, but not so important to the TV story would suffer a lot by not having him in the show. They can easily write around him. I hope they don't, but he may be a victim of the accountants.

ETA: Spoilers if you have read A Clash of Kings

I just did some checking and Selmy doesn't look to be in the show this season either. Hmmmm. Maybe they will have them both come in at some point next season? I dearly hope they don't write Selmy out. I'd like to have them both, but Selmy is the more important character as far as the story goes. He is Dany's Sword/right hand and link to the west after Jeor Jorah gets dismissed by her.

Ser Barristan is very much more important .

He'll be there .

Reads like it could be a description of The Long Night.

http://www.strickling.net/byron_darkness.htm (http://www.strickling.net/byron_darkness.htm)

http://www.omnivoracious.com/2012/01/george-r-r-martin-interviews-bernard-cornwell.html (http://www.omnivoracious.com/2012/01/george-r-r-martin-interviews-bernard-cornwell.html)

Quote from: Spookrys on January 19, 2012, 11:52:25 AM
http://www.omnivoracious.com/2012/01/george-r-r-martin-interviews-bernard-cornwell.html (http://www.omnivoracious.com/2012/01/george-r-r-martin-interviews-bernard-cornwell.html)

:squee: :squee: :squee:

RR Martin's questions are way longer than Cornwell's answers .

:D

I thought that would give you a nerdgasm.  :haha:

Gotta be my near top two .

Hell , now I think on it ..... Top Two !

:D

Vote Stannis!

GRRM needs to stop writing in his Not a Blog about the Giants and write tWoW. Every 20 minutes he wastes on his Not a Blog is another 20 minutes I have to wait.  :veryangry:

GRRM needs to stop writing in his Not a Blog about the Giants and write tWoW. Every 20 minutes he wastes on his Not a Blog is another 20 minutes two months I have to wait.

;)

You are wasting time George!!! No Blogging! No Autographs! Just Knights, swords, dragons, Ladies, Lords, Imps, Wolfs and breaking fasts!

QuoteSo my Giants defeated the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 to advance to the Super Bowl, in large part due to an incredible gutsy performance by Eli Manning, our number 10.

To celebrate, and share my joy some, I'm going to slash the prices on some of the signed books available through my website... from now through Super Bowl Sunday.

To get the discount, all you have to do is write GO GIANTS when you send your order.

Payments should be made via my PayPal address: direwolf@georgerrmartin.com

Questions and queries should go to my assistant Ty at grrmBooks@gmail.com

Happy reading... thanks to Eli, Victor Cruz, JPP, Osi, Jason, Hakeem, Tom Coughlin, and the rest of the stalwarts from Big Blue.

http://grrm.livejournal.com/261425.html (http://grrm.livejournal.com/261425.html)

(http://pics.livejournal.com/grrm/pic/0001sqc8)
http://pics.livejournal.com/grrm/pic/0001sqc8 (http://pics.livejournal.com/grrm/pic/0001sqc8)

Some more cool art.

http://www.johnpicacio.com/portfolio/2011/ (http://www.johnpicacio.com/portfolio/2011/)

:like:

A coworker just told me he read the RW chapter last night and he threw his book on the floor.

GRRM induced tears are tasty.  :loloeo: :loloeo:

[Spoilers All Books] George R.R. Martin responds to our top 10 questions!

You might remember that a few days ago, Mr. Martin agreed to try to respond to the top 10 highest voted questions on /r/ASOIAF. That thread can still be found here. Tonight, Mr. Martin sent back his responses to our questions! Enjoy!

1) Is there anything (or a lot of things) you put in the previous books that you expected readers to pick up on, but no one (or very few people) did?
I suspect that the fans have picked up on everything by this point. With so many people reading the books, and sharing their thoughts on blogs and bulletin boards, even the most obscure clues soon are found and pointed out.

2) Will we get to see Valyria?
As it was before the Doom? As it is today?
Maybe.

3) Can you give us three unanswered questions that you expect will be answered in Winds?
I could, but I won't.

4) Is Bronn's storyline arc done? He was one of my favorite characters in the early books and in the T.V show but it seems like he came to a peak in A Feast for Crows and received no mention in A Dance with Dragons. Please keep Bronn going!
Bronn still has a part to play. He will definitely be back.

5) Has there been a character that you have given a reprieve to, or maybe deviated from the >path you originally were going to send them on? If so, whom?
No, not really.
In some cases the chronologies have diverged from what I originally intended, but the overall character arcs remain the same.

6) Did writing about Reek disturb you as much as it did for us to read about him?
Those chapters were certainly challenging to write, but I would not say they disturbed me. The challenge was to find ways to disturb my readers, while still keeping the character psychologically true.

7) Do you feel like HBO is putting pressure on you to finish the last two books of the series? Does this have any effect on your creative output?
No and no.
It would not matter if they did. No one could more pressure on me than I put on myself.

8) Provided the Ironmen had not attacked the North and the Red Wedding had not taken place, would/could the North and Riverlands have survived as an independent kingdom?
The north, perhaps. The riverlands are more problematic. With no real natural boundaries, the riverlands are vulnerable to attack from all sides, which is why their history has been so full of blood and tumult.

9) What would you say is the biggest red herring that we the fans picked up that you did not intend to be a red herring?
That would be telling. But the fans have spun a few theories out of thin air. They email me about them from time to time.

10) In regard to the intricate, wonderful and probably very frustrating plot skein you've woven: do you think that you're "over the hump" so to speak, or will the books get progressively more complex to write each time?
I certainly hope I am over the hump, but I have given up making predictions. Whenever I do, I get burned. I am still juggling an awful lot of balls. Maybe too many, but having tossed them in the air, I feel obliged to juggle on.

best,
George R.R. Martin

http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/ox8vg/spoilers_all_books_george_rr_martin_responds_to/ (http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/ox8vg/spoilers_all_books_george_rr_martin_responds_to/)

Quote from: Spookrys on January 25, 2012, 01:31:50 PM
A coworker just told me he read the RW chapter last night and he threw his book on the floor.

GRRM induced tears are tasty.  :loloeo: :loloeo:

:rofl:

Quote"I have to get the next book, I ... I need it." Impressed with the rigor in which he started our quest, I quickly began to realize there was something more epic than I thought about this series – and even more so after the four-hour hike to find the faintest 3G signal. When we found it, Jason held his reader above his head like a magical, nerdy battle-standard. We watched the download bar like it was a hatching dragon egg. "This is for Ned," Jason cryptically joked about the main character. There were secrets I was missing out on. I had to read it.

http://www.everydayebook.com/2012/01/a-game-of-thrones-the-draw-of-george-r-r-martin/?utm_source=Reddit&utm_medium=Submission&utm_campaign=RedditPosts (http://www.everydayebook.com/2012/01/a-game-of-thrones-the-draw-of-george-r-r-martin/?utm_source=Reddit&utm_medium=Submission&utm_campaign=RedditPosts)

A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel: Volume One

http://www.amazon.com/Game-Thrones-Graphic-Novel-One/dp/044042321X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327962436&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Game-Thrones-Graphic-Novel-One/dp/044042321X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327962436&sr=8-1)

And NO! It is not available from Amazon.ca. Suck it Canuckistan!

Spoilers all books: About a theory I read on Reddit.

[spoiler]From Reddit:

Forgive me if this has been done.
I've only read the books the once, and by the end of them my head was spinning. But one thing has stuck with me. Euron's claim to have had a Dragon's egg, but that he throw it into the sea.
Victarion shuddered. "Show me this dragon's egg." "I threw it in the sea during one of my dark moods." Euron gave a shrug.
I want to just think he's bragging. That he's such a big man, even the value of a Dragons egg means nothing when compared to his whims... but it's been niggling at me.
I googled a bit and found a theory that he used it to pay the faceless men to assassinate Balon. It further went on to say that Arya will find it and hatch it and/or that it will hatch in the ocean and be a sea dragon... O_O
I don't have a theory myself, but have you guys any thoughts on Euron's egg? It just seems like one of those throw-away comments that so often ends up being important in ASOIAF.
http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/p60rv/eurons_egg_spoilers_adwd/ (http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/p60rv/eurons_egg_spoilers_adwd/)

It bugged me that Euron would throw a dragon egg away, but what if he did use it to hire the Faceless Men? That makes perfect sense to me. It is obvious that Balon was killed by a Faceless Man and then you have jaqen h'ghar/Pate in Oldtown doing who knows what, maybe he's looking info about hatching a dragon.

This theory intrigues me.

[/spoiler]

Quote from: Spookrys on February 01, 2012, 02:38:39 PM
Spoilers all books: About a theory I read on Reddit.

[spoiler]From Reddit:

Forgive me if this has been done.
I've only read the books the once, and by the end of them my head was spinning. But one thing has stuck with me. Euron's claim to have had a Dragon's egg, but that he throw it into the sea.
Victarion shuddered. "Show me this dragon's egg." "I threw it in the sea during one of my dark moods." Euron gave a shrug.
I want to just think he's bragging. That he's such a big man, even the value of a Dragons egg means nuthin' when compared to his whims... but it's been niggling at me.
I googled a bit and found a theory that he used it to pay the faceless men to assassinate Balon. It further went on to say that Arya will find it and hatch it and/or that it will hatch in the ocean and be a sea dragon... O_O
I don't have a theory myself, but have you guys any thoughts on Euron's egg? It just seems like one of those throw-away comments that so often ends up being important in ASOIAF.
http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/p60rv/eurons_egg_spoilers_adwd/ (http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/p60rv/eurons_egg_spoilers_adwd/)

It bugged me that Euron would throw a dragon egg away, but what if he did use it to hire the Faceless Men? That makes perfect sense to me. It is obvious that Balon was killed by a Faceless Man and then you have jaqen h'ghar/Pate in Oldtown doing who knows what, maybe he's looking info about hatching a dragon.

This theory intrigues me.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I really need to re-read ......[/spoiler]

GoT graphic novel preview.

http://www.darkcarnival.co.za/game-of-thrones-graphic-novel-preview/ (http://www.darkcarnival.co.za/game-of-thrones-graphic-novel-preview/)

I read the first couple comics - same style as the previous Dunk and Egg graphic novels .

:like:

From Reddit:

Mayhaps? (COK, SOS Spoilers)

[spoiler]Ok, so I am re-reading the books and ran into something I never noticed that seemed pretty cool and haven't seen it mentioned on here.
In the first Bran chapter in COK, Bran talks about the game that the Walders play called Lord of the Crossing where if someone says "mayhaps," then it gives them free reign to lie/deceive/break oaths.
Later, in aSOS before the Red Wedding, in Cat's chapter when they arrive at the Twins, Lord Walder references this game directly, and it seems plays it with them in a way. Chapter 49: "You wanted crossing and I gave it to you, and you never said mayhaps, heh." Later in the chapter: 'A loaf of bread, a bite of cheese, mayhaps a sausage."
The game in COK seems to be direct foreshadowing of Walder tricking Cat by giving her false ease that Walder gave her safe passage, when he in fact did not, since he said 'mayhaps.'
Just thought it was a cool reference that some people might not have noticed.[/spoiler]

http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/p6qwc/mayhaps_cok_sos_spoilers/ (http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/p6qwc/mayhaps_cok_sos_spoilers/)

Quote from: Spook e on February 03, 2012, 10:38:02 AM
From Reddit:

Mayhaps? (COK, SOS Spoilers)

[spoiler]Ok, so I am re-reading the books and ran into something I never noticed that seemed pretty cool and haven't seen it mentioned on here.
In the first Bran chapter in COK, Bran talks about the game that the Walders play called Lord of the Crossing where if someone says "mayhaps," then it gives them free reign to lie/deceive/break oaths.
Later, in aSOS before the Red Wedding, in Cat's chapter when they arrive at the Twins, Lord Walder references this game directly, and it seems plays it with them in a way. Chapter 49: "You wanted crossing and I gave it to you, and you never said mayhaps, heh." Later in the chapter: 'A loaf of bread, a bite of cheese, mayhaps a sausage."
The game in COK seems to be direct foreshadowing of Walder tricking Cat by giving her false ease that Walder gave her safe passage, when he in fact did not, since he said 'mayhaps.'
Just thought it was a cool reference that some people might not have noticed.[/spoiler]

http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/p6qwc/mayhaps_cok_sos_spoilers/ (http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/p6qwc/mayhaps_cok_sos_spoilers/)

[spoiler]Interesting *meow*  ;)[/spoiler]

W00tstock Founders Night - Paul & Storm perform a new song and Thanksgiving (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2jaabKdLRw#ws)

George RR Martin, please write, and write faster
you're not going to get any younger, you know
Winter is coming, I'm growing impatient
and you've still got two more damn books left to go.
So write, George, write like the wind.
I curse the day that my friend ever loaned me
An old dog-eared paperback called Game of Thrones
How could I know that this seed would grow into
an addication that (pains?) me right down to my bones
Now, five years later, I lurk with the masses indignant,
entitled and waiting for more
that the great bearded glacier has finally published
900 more pages of crack for the nerds.
But why's every new verse of your song
keep taking you so goddamn long?
George RR Martin, please write, and write faster
Please give us boiled leather and sigils and steel
we need our allotment of incest and intrigue
and six page descriptions of every last meal
So write, George, write like the Wind!
Lewis took 5 years to chronicle Narnia
Tolkien had 12 years and Rowling took 10
Lucas spent nearly 3 decades on Star Wars
and we all know how that one turned out in the end
you're not our bitch and you're not a machine
and we don't need to dictate how you spend your days
but please bear in mind, in the time that you had,
William Shakespeare churned out 35 frigging plays
and if you keep writing so slow
you'll hold up the HBO show
(MUSICAL INTERLUDE)
George RR Martin, please write and write faster
cause we won't stop whining until we're appeased
crank out the chapters, and, George, while you're at it,
stop killing our favorite characters, please
And write, George, write like the wind
George RR Martin, please write and write faster
before you are dead, George, please write like the wind.

Regarding Sansa...

Some dude on Reddit: "She is still just a pawn."

Some other Reddit dude: "But a pawn that survives all the way to the back of the board becomes a Queen"

I never looked at her like that.

Some other Reddit dude: "But a pawn that survives all the way to the back of the board becomes a Queen"

I'm really looking forward to Sansa opening up a can of whoopass .
( then she'll probably die of dysentery )

Quote from: Skoopy on February 13, 2012, 09:59:38 AM
Regarding Sansa...

Some dude on Reddit: "She is still just a pawn."

Some other Reddit dude: "But a pawn that survives all the way to the back of the board becomes a Queen"

I never looked at her like that.

*crosses off Sansa from the "characters who may die in book 4 or 5" list*

That's what you get for lollygagging and not reading.  :neener:

Quote from: Skoopy on February 13, 2012, 11:28:25 AM
That's what you get for lollygagging and not reading.  :neener:

:haha:

I wonder if I'd enjoy it better if I knew which ones were to survive?  :loloeo:

I just don't think it's my kind of book series.

Spoilers for all books.

A great piece on Theon. http://towerofthehand.com/blog/2012/02/22-prevented-stark/index.html (http://towerofthehand.com/blog/2012/02/22-prevented-stark/index.html) (text in spoiler below)

[spoiler]Theon Greyjoy is one of the most complex characters George R. R. Martin has written for A Song of Ice and Fire, passing through three major development arcs. Over the course of the books he conducts a journey through two of these character arcs, and we get numerous hints of the third in his distant past, rooting the character where he is - a man between all seats, loved by none, belonging nowhere and deeply tragic in his disposition. It is hard to find much compassion for Theon, who is not only a cocksure bastard, but also commits gruesome acts and shits on loyalty and honor for sake of his own vanity. But if you read A Dance with Dragons and are not moved by his plight, you are indeed heartless. No one deserves the fate that Theon suffers. But to understand him - a task that no character in the books ever undertakes - we have to start at his very childhood on Pyke, which is barely described in the books yet crucial for his character.

Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy (Photo by Helen Sloan)
Theon is the fourth child of Balon Greyjoy, the latecomer, the nestling. He has two older brothers, strong and loved by his father, and an older sister, who too is stronger than he is. His uncles are dark, stern and strange, with the only exception being the family fool and drunkard, the only Greyjoy with whom Theon has an at least partially pleasant relation. His father, of course, is hard and unforgiving; a man to whom smiling comes as naturally as it does to Tywin Lannister. With a boy who likes to smile, that's not bound to end well. Let's take a look at his father first.
Balon Greyjoy is a man of the past, brooding over the bad situation he is in and hoping to revive what he thinks are the good old days. He must have been sour company even before his first rebellion, always telling everyone how bad everything is. In fact, his wife can't take it anymore and flees to Harlaw. Being the only kind element in Theon's surroundings, Theon now has only his father's expectations to cope with. Knowing Balon isn't exactly the most lenient person, this must have been a similar childhood as for Tyrion Lannister in Casterly Rock, minus being a dwarf on top of it. A father's disappointment or at least flat disinterest however is hard enough to bear.
There are also his two brothers to consider. They are the defining element of Theon's psyche. Let's consider what we know about them. Rodrik and Maron are older and stronger than Theon, experienced warriors. Theon is terrorized by them, repeatedly abducted in the black of night and brutally beaten in a way that compares even to his later sufferings. Beatings that bad cannot possibly be hidden from their father, by the way, which reinforces the statements about Balon Greyjoy above. The only way Theon has to escape all this is to give a bit of it back to Asha (whom he insults for having pimples), and to develop an ironic world view (you know, the world is a secret jape only he knows). The alternative is to go mad, I assume, a fate he eventually meets at the Dreadfort.
For ten years of his life, Theon's childhood is bleak and dismal. Now, however, comes the first of his three character changes, and a profound one at that. The Greyjoy Rebellion fails, and Rodrik and Maron die in Seagard and Pyke, respectively. Balon kneels, and Theon is sent to Winterfell as a hostage. Eddard Stark, however, is a kind man and treats Theon more as a step-son and ward than hostage, allowing him to grow up with his own sons and being trained in being a lord - which is more than one could say about what he learned on Pyke until then. As the years go by, his heritage as an Ironborn fades away more and more, and his theoretical position as heir of Pyke becomes only a claim not seriously aspired. But what happens almost immediately when Theon arrives at Winterfell is something different.
Theon is suddenly the oldest of his cohort in Winterfell, since Robb and Jon Snow are four years younger than him. He instantly jumps from being the youngest brother to being the oldest. And he wholeheartedly embraces this new identity. He wants to be the older brother to Robb (not to Jon) that Rodrik and Maron never were for him. He wants to make it better. He trains with Robb, shares his conquests in women with him and connects with him on the basis of being a lord. That's a totally new feeling for him, and it is what he wanted all these years in Pyke. He can never have it totally, since he is a hostage, and a Greyjoy, but he tries hard to forget about it. When Robb stands before the decision to call the banners, it is Theon who pushes him towards war, and it is Theon to pledge his sword to Robb. He means it, then. The corny, overdramatic style of Theon's oath of allegiance is caught perfectly in the series.
And then, something happens. Robb transforms from Robb the Boy to Robb the Lord and then to Robb the King. Suddenly, he isn't Theon's younger brother anymore, but his lord and king. To allow Theon to maintain the inner image he has of himself, he desperately needs a status upgrade. Luckily, Robb offers him one: when he sends him to Pyke with an offer of alliance, Theon transforms from being Robb's loyal friend and mentor to a crucial ally, with power at his disposal, invaluable in perilous times as these and trusted. This image, however, is only that - an imagination. In truth, he reverts to a more insignificant position. Robb now needs and trusts the likes of Rickard Karstark and the Greatjon, but none of them trusts Theon, and they don't need him. In order to get the attention Theon craves for, he needs to become important. The brokering of a Stark-Greyjoy alliance seems to allow exactly that.
Tragically, the idea now manifesting in Theon's head just shows how dislocated he is. He is not, cannot be accepted as a Northman, for he is not. But he also is no Ironborn. He never really felt at home in Pyke, but now it's just a distant memory, clogged by the idea that he is somehow entitled to the Iron Islands and simultaneously despising them as a harsh, cruel and backwards place. He cannot feel different, given his experiences with both worlds, and under kinder circumstances and with a more mature, reflecting mind, he could have been the one man to bridge the differences and heal the wounds between the two people. Unfortunately, he is neither. His bad character traits, the vanity and arrogance, shine through, and the years in Winterfell as the older brother and lordling have only improved the notions in Theon's head.
When Theon arrives at Pyke, his notion is that his father will accept him as heir (why shouldn't he, he always knew back in his head that he is Robb's equal, and this equality rests solely on being the oldest living son) and accept his sensible proposition. Theon would then provide Robb with the forces he needed, proving his worth, showing the Iron Islands what he's made off and finally gaining the Rock as his own seat, thereby elevating himself to the same position as Robb. It's a ridiculous pipe dream, of course, but that's the world Theon lives in at the moment. It gets brutally shattered. His father doesn't even recognize him as his son anymore, his sister stole "his" place, and the plan he has made is burned to ash in an instant.
This marks the second big character transformation. Theon drops all his plans with Robb and pushes his feelings towards the Starks to the back of his head. What he wants is to be regarded as equal by Robb. He wants to be his older brother, the guy he trusts. He can't be that without an army and status. So, he needs to get the attention elsewhere. In this situation it shows that Theon instinctively knows that he can't be a Stark just by being obedient. The family is nice, but it's also a closed cosmos. He was with them for ten years, and he has seen the trusted vassals regarded with warmth and respect. He aspired to become that, bound with Robb like Eddard was with Robert Baratheon. Would he return to Robb empty handed and warn him of Balon's attack, he would forego this chance forever. He wants to be a Stark, desperately, but not at the price of being insignificant. So, radically, he decides to become the better Stark himself.
The decision to attack and capture Winterfell seems inspired by the same songs Sansa loves so much, and Theon really is a romantic at this point. He doesn't think it through. In his imagination, he'll take Winterfell and be a better, kinder lord than everyone else, but especially better than his father. He despises the whole Ironborn culture, but he can never free himself from it. He needs the Ironmen, and they despise him in turn, following him only on orders of Balon and the Damphair. When he captures Winterfell and stands in the Great Hall, looking at the sullen, resentful faces of the people he spent his youth with around him, the dream shatters. He has lost both worlds now, for good. The capturing of Winterfell makes it impossible for him ever to return to Robb, and he soon has to grasp that he can't rule as Prince of Winterfell. It was stupidity, from the beginning, and now he only can die. For a short moment, when Maester Luwin proposes to take the black, he convinces himself to see an escape and another goal to aim for - being Lord Commander - but in his final bad decision, he trusts Ramsay Snow, of all people.
And now he enters his third and, until now, final stage of character development. He becomes Reek. This transformation is the most horrifying. Theon is almost completely eradicated, and Martin does a hell of a job in transporting that. Ramsay takes everything that was Theon's identity away from him and makes him a creature, less than a man, just a beast, and the lowest of all. Theon is deprived of his identity in several ways. First, his name. He has to take the name of Reek, which is almost meaningless at that point (they already need to count the Reeks to be clear about who they talk). Second, his clothes and manner. They only give him rags and forbid that he behaves in any way that could be taken as a lord. The constant need for Theon to beg for everything repeatedly is also part of this, depriving him of his status not only as lord but as a human being. And third, pieces of his body are taken from him, as a physical manifestation of this deprivation. Being experienced in the matter, Ramsay would almost completely succeed in this, if not for Bran Stark.
Martin makes it perfectly clear by the headlines of the Theon chapters what is happening. Three of them are named "Reek", the first three to be precise, and in all three Theon really is Reek, utterly terrified even to think of anything else. Then we have "The Prince of Winterfell." It is a function, a role he plays, but he's not Reek alone anymore. Roose Bolton brings back his identity as the lord of Pyke, which Theon accepts only as a ruse and act, but it can't be erased, even though Ramsay tries. In the next chapter, Theon is "The Turncloak." This is a new identity already. He accepts his past now, whereas before, as Reek, he denied even having a past, and embraces the role of the pariah. This is still in line with the degradation Ramsay put him through, but he begins to find back. "The Ghost in Winterfell" is an obvious reference to Arya's days in Harrenhal, and a sign that Theon starts to think of himself as an individual, rather than a role that his surroundings put on him (the turncloak is an ascription, whereas the ghost of Winterfell isn't). In the last chapter, he is Theon again, finding back to his former self, although deeply changed. He is Theon now, not Reek or any other thing the Boltons wanted, but he is of course not the Theon we left in Winterfell back in A Clash of Kings.
Where Theon's journey will lead, or if it will find a quick end after his recovery, remains to be seen. Theon is at least partially demented, and his maiming makes any return to his former self totally impossible. He will not be able to ever sleep with a woman again, nor to woo one, he won't be able to fire a bow or fight with sword in hand, and his broken teeth and white hair let him appear like a ghost, which makes it rather unlikely that he will ever hold power over people. He is a poor creature, caught up in his own past, but he now deeply regrets what he's done. It is too late for him, personally, but not too late to make up for it, if only a bit and he knows it.
In the end, Theon wanted to be a good man. His character flaws got in the way more often than not, however. His vanity, arrogance and lack of self-reflection prevented him from truly understanding people, of expressing empathy and compassion, and let him instead go for empty gestures and great, dramatic moments. Lady Dustin has a sharp eye when she asks him, why he so desperately wanted to be a Stark, because that's what he really wanted all these years, without ever acknowledging it himself. Instead, he clung to the dream of being able to be Robb's big brother and the future lord of Pyke at the same time, a dance on the volcano that he couldn't possibly manage. Even a truly great man must fail at such a task, and Theon never was one. It's no wonder that both options slipped through his fingers and left him with nothing. It is the great drama of Theon Greyjoy, easily one of the most complex and intriguing characters Martin has written for the series.[/spoiler]

According to my Kindle Fire, I'm almost 20% through the first book. I had ADD or something. I can only read a chapter or two at a sitting.

Quote from: TinkTanker on February 22, 2012, 10:31:13 AM
According to my Kindle Fire, I'm almost 20% through the first book. I had ADD or something. I can only read a chapter or two at a sitting.

I usually read a couple chapters a night right before bed .

Every now and then I'll knock down a hundred pages or so .
I started GoT last week and am at the part where Ned kills Lady .

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on February 22, 2012, 10:41:49 AM

Quote from: TinkTanker on February 22, 2012, 10:31:13 AM
According to my Kindle Fire, I'm almost 20% through the first book. I had ADD or something. I can only read a chapter or two at a sitting.

I usually read a couple chapters a night right before bed .

Every now and then I'll knock down a hundred pages or so .
I started GoT last week and am at the part where Ned kills Lady .

I am about on my second read and about 35% through CoK. I just want to have it finished right before S2 starts and then start Swords right after the final ep.

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on February 22, 2012, 10:41:49 AM
I started GoT last week and am at the part where Ned kills Lady .

Coincidentally, so am I. But I've been reading it off and on (mostly off) for about three months. I keep forgetting where I left off, but I'm sticking with it. I really want to finish the book and and start the next one before the second season starts.

Quote from: TinkTanker on February 22, 2012, 10:45:57 AM

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on February 22, 2012, 10:41:49 AM
I started GoT last week and am at the part where Ned kills Lady .

Coincidentally, so am I. But I've been reading it off and on (mostly off) for about three months. I keep forgetting where I left off, but I'm sticking with it. I really want to finish the book and and start the next one before the second season starts.

Clash of Kings and Storm of Swords are "knocked out of the park" good .
I'm really looking forward to April .
I just wish HBO'd dedicate 12+ episodes instead of 10 .

:)

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on February 22, 2012, 11:37:27 AM

Quote from: TinkTanker on February 22, 2012, 10:45:57 AM

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on February 22, 2012, 10:41:49 AM
I started GoT last week and am at the part where Ned kills Lady .

Coincidentally, so am I. But I've been reading it off and on (mostly off) for about three months. I keep forgetting where I left off, but I'm sticking with it. I really want to finish the book and and start the next one before the second season starts.

Clash of Kings and Storm of Swords are "knocked out of the park" good .
I'm really looking forward to April .
I just wish HBO'd dedicate 12+ episodes instead of 10 .

:)

2 or three extra eps would give the writers a little breathing for sure.

Quote from: Poosky on February 22, 2012, 11:58:14 AM

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on February 22, 2012, 11:37:27 AM

Quote from: TinkTanker on February 22, 2012, 10:45:57 AM

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on February 22, 2012, 10:41:49 AM
I started GoT last week and am at the part where Ned kills Lady .

Coincidentally, so am I. But I've been reading it off and on (mostly off) for about three months. I keep forgetting where I left off, but I'm sticking with it. I really want to finish the book and and start the next one before the second season starts.

Clash of Kings and Storm of Swords are "knocked out of the park" good .
I'm really looking forward to April .
I just wish HBO'd dedicate 12+ episodes instead of 10 .

:)

2 or three extra eps would give the writers a little breathing for sure.

Indeed .
It'd also give us a few moar characters too ....

Bran talking to Summer? (stolen from Reddit)

(http://i.imgur.com/piEci.jpg)
http://i.imgur.com/piEci.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/piEci.jpg)

GRRM is overwhelmed.

------
http://grrm.livejournal.com/270215.html (http://grrm.livejournal.com/270215.html)

Sorry, but I need to vent.

I am being nibbled to death by mice.

And this morning a elephant landed on me.

*gurgle*

There are not enough hours in the day. There are not enough days in the week. There are not enough weeks in the year. Sometimes it feels as if I work all day every day, only to wind up further behind by the time the sun goes down, as more mice come swarming through the cracks and more elephants come lumbering through the doors.

I really really really need to learn to say No.

No, I will not come to your convention, thanks for asking.

No, I will not read your manuscript/ galley proof/ book, but good luck with that.

No, I will not write a story for your anthology, I am a year behind writing stories for my own anthologies.

No, I will not write a preface/ introduction/ foreword for your book.

No, I will not do an interview.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

Such a simple word. Such a short word. Why do I have such trouble uttering it?

Once I give my word to attend a con/ write a story/ do an interview, I feel honor bound to deliver, to follow through, to make good my promise. But I give my word too often and too easily, I need to realize that. I do, I do, I DO realize that... on an intellectual level, but maybe not in my gut. And so while my brain is saying, "you can't do that, you do not have the time," my lips are saying, "sure, love to, sounds great."

I need to remember my mantra. One page at a time. One word at a time. One chore at a time. You cannot do everything today. Put out the biggest fire, the rest will still be burning tomorrow. No. No. No.

*sigh*

Thank you for listening. This too will pass. Tomorrow it won't seem so overwhelming.

Excuse me, I need to go step on some mice.

End of venting.

Quote from: Skypoo on February 26, 2012, 01:13:50 PM
GRRM is overwhelmed.

(http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/141/644/7nTnr.png)

GRR is a bad monkey dancer .
I shout "Dance monkey dance!"

And he doesn't finish the next book but still kills someone .


Bummer

:veryangry:

And he doesn't finish the next book but still kills someone .

If he didn't kill so many characters, maybe he wouldn't have to invent so many new ones. :PSA:

If he didn't kill so many characters, maybe he wouldn't have to invent so many new ones


(http://cdn.head-fi.org/6/6e/6e31098e_mind-blown-11.jpeg)

Okay, so I'm a little slow on a few obvious connections GRRM made.
Just today learned [spoiler]that "Bran" means "raven".[/spoiler]
A little thing that doesn'tmean much, just gave me a Ah Ha moment.  But I did feel a little stupid for not catching it before

I actually didn't know that. :)

I learned that from researching from Celtic mythology.

Finally re-started reading Book 4, though didn't get too far.  Prologue + chapter 1, maybe. 
I just don't think they speak to me as well as they do for you.

These are not the easiest reads I've come across.

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on February 26, 2012, 05:33:31 PM


If he didn't kill so many characters, maybe he wouldn't have to invent so many new ones


(http://cdn.head-fi.org/6/6e/6e31098e_mind-blown-11.jpeg)

I'm going to allow this.

:headbang:

Quote from: TinkTanker on April 16, 2012, 09:09:04 AM
These are not the easiest reads I've come across.

RR Martin does suffer from a lack of pacing skills at times .
( perhaps an editor or something might be of help )

It's at it's worst in Feast .

Still - such a dense story and stuff .

I think they're just not my cuppa. 

Want to read the A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons chapters in chronological order? Here is your guide.

http://boiledleather.com/post/24543217702/a-proposed-a-feast-for-crows-a-dance-with-dragons (http://boiledleather.com/post/24543217702/a-proposed-a-feast-for-crows-a-dance-with-dragons)

[spoiler]The order:

Prologue (Varamyr): ADWD 1
Prologue (Pate): AFFC 1
The Prophet (Aeron I): AFFC 2
The Captain of Guards (Areo I): AFFC 3
Cersei I: AFFC 4
Brienne I: AFFC 5
Tyrion I: ADWD 2
Daenerys I: ADWD 3
Jon I: ADWD 4
Bran I: ADWD 5
Tyrion II: ADWD 6
The Merchant's Man (Quentyn I): ADWD 7
Samwell I: AFFC 6
Jon II: ADWD 8
Arya I: AFFC 7
Cersei II: AFFC 8
Jaime I: AFFC 9
Brienne II: AFFC 10
Sansa I: AFFC 11
The Kraken's Daughter (Asha I): AFFC 12
Tyrion III: ADWD 9
Davos I: ADWD 10
Jon III: ADWD 11
Daenerys II: ADWD 12
Reek I (Theon I): ADWD 13
Cersei III: AFFC 13
The Soiled Knight (Arys): AFFC 14
Bran II: ADWD 14
Tyrion IV: ADWD 15
Davos II: ADWD 16
Brienne III: AFFC 15
Samwell II: AFFC 16
Daenerys III: ADWD 17
Jon IV: ADWD 18
Tyrion V: ADWD 19
Davos III: ADWD 20
Jaime II: AFFC 17
Cersei IV: AFFC 18
The Iron Captain (Victarion I): AFFC 19
The Drowned Man (Aeron II): AFFC 20
Brienne IV: AFFC 21
The Queenmaker (Arianne I): AFFC 22
Arya II: AFFC 23
Reek II (Theon II): ADWD 21
Jon V: ADWD 22
Tyrion VI: ADWD 23
Daenerys IV: ADWD 24
Alayne I (Sansa II): AFFC 24
Cersei V: AFFC 25
The Lost Lord (Jon Connington I): ADWD 25
The Windblown (Quentyn II): ADWD 26
The Wayward Bride (Asha II): ADWD 27
Brienne V: AFFC 26
Samwell III: AFFC 27
Jaime III: AFFC 28
Tyrion VII: ADWD 28
Jon VI: ADWD 29
Davos IV: ADWD 30
Cersei VI: AFFC 29
The Reaver (Victarion II): AFFC 30
Daenerys V: ADWD 31
Melisandre I: ADWD 32
Jaime IV: AFFC 31
Brienne VI: AFFC 32
Reek III (Theon III): ADWD 33
Tyrion VIII: ADWD 34
Cersei VII: AFFC 33
Jaime V: AFFC 34
Cat of the Canals (Arya III): AFFC 35
Samwell IV: AFFC 36
Cersei VIII: AFFC 37
Brienne VII: AFFC 38
Jaime VI: AFFC 39
Cersei IX: AFFC 40
The Princess in the Tower (Arianne II): AFFC 41
Bran III: ADWD 35
Jon VII: ADWD 36
Daenerys VI: ADWD 37
The Prince of Winterfell (Theon IV): ADWD 38
The Watcher (Areo II): ADWD 39
Jon VIII: ADWD 40
Tyrion IX: ADWD 41
The Turncloak (Theon V): ADWD 42
The King's Prize (Asha III): ADWD 43
Daenerys VII: ADWD 44
Alayne II (Sansa III): AFFC 42
Jon IX: ADWD 45
The Blind Girl (Arya IV): ADWD 46
A Ghost in Winterfell (Theon VI): ADWD 47
Tyrion X: ADWD 48
Brienne VIII: AFFC 43
Cersei X: AFFC 44
Jaime VII: AFFC 45
Samwell V: AFFC 46
Jaime VIII: ADWD 49
Jon X: ADWD 50
Daenerys VIII: ADWD 51
Theon VII: ADWD 52
Daenerys IX: ADWD 53
Jon XI: ADWD 54
Cersei XI: ADWD 55
The Queensguard (Barristan I): ADWD 56
The Iron Suitor (Victarion III): ADWD 57
Tyrion XI: ADWD 58
Jon XII: ADWD 59
The Discarded Knight (Barristan II): ADWD 60
The Spurned Suitor (Quentyn III): ADWD 61
The Griffin Reborn (Jon Connington II): ADWD 62
The Sacrifice (Asha IV): ADWD 63
Victarion IV: ADWD 64
The Ugly Little Girl (Arya V): ADWD 65
Cersei XII: ADWD 66
Tyrion XII: ADWD 67
The Kingbreaker (Barristan III): ADWD 68
The Dragontamer (Quentyn IV): ADWD 69
Jon XIII: ADWD 70
The Queen's Hand (Barristan IV): ADWD 71
Daenerys X: ADWD 72
Epilogue (Kevan): ADWD 73[/spoiler]

I guess this would be the compelling reason to have an e-reader .

:)

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on June 07, 2012, 11:38:36 AM
I guess this would be the compelling reason to have an e-reader .

:)

Darn Martin and his lazy use of names for titles.  :haha:

Quote from: Eric on June 07, 2012, 12:47:46 PM

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on June 07, 2012, 11:38:36 AM
I guess this would be the compelling reason to have an e-reader .

:)

Darn Martin and his lazy use of names for titles.  :haha:

I'm going to try it , but man , each book weighs about ten pounds .

:o

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on June 07, 2012, 04:59:35 PM


I'm going to try it , but man , each book weighs about ten pounds .

:o

Not my versions.  8)

Quote from: TinkTanker on June 07, 2012, 05:08:01 PM

Quote from: AdmiralDigby on June 07, 2012, 04:59:35 PM


I'm going to try it , but man , each book weighs about ten pounds .

:o

Not my versions.  8)

:read:

I knew what this post was going to be about after reading the first word of the title. I love reading peoples reactions to the RW (don't look it up if you haven't read book three and don't want to be spoiled).

Chuck you George RR Martin. What the Chuck is WRONG with you? (AsoS Spoilers)
http://www.reddit.com/r/gameofthrones/comments/vp9i1/fuck_you_george_rr_martin_what_the_fuck_is_wrong/ (http://www.reddit.com/r/gameofthrones/comments/vp9i1/fuck_you_george_rr_martin_what_the_fuck_is_wrong/)

[spoiler]The Red Wedding will be a gao se losing event . Having moved on , I cannot wait for the response from  the unsullied [/spoiler]

Dany and her dragons. Spoiler if you haven't read book three. http://i.imgur.com/dT9wC.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/dT9wC.jpg)

Quote from: Spooky on July 02, 2012, 03:26:57 PM
Dany and her dragons. Spoiler if you haven't read book three. http://i.imgur.com/dT9wC.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/dT9wC.jpg)

[spoiler]I saw a pic a day or two ago that had Dany riding Drogon while escaping the gladiator pits[/spoiler]

This guy just finished A Storm of Swords.

http://imgur.com/qe2T8 (http://imgur.com/qe2T8)

I hate it when people, whom I admire creatively, say stupid/ingnorant things. I'll still read you books and whatch your show, but FUCKYOU, George!

http://grrm.livejournal.com/287215.html (http://grrm.livejournal.com/287215.html)

"Show Us Your Papers"

Aug. 11th, 2012 at 3:46 PM

I am way too busy these days for long political rants.

But I would be remiss if I do not at least make passing mention of how depressed, disgusted, and, yes, angry I've become as I watch the ongoing attempts at voter suppression in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Iowa, and other states where Republicans and their Teabagger allies control key seats of power.

It is one thing to attempt to win elections. But trying to do so by denying the most basic and important right of any American citizen to hundreds and thousands of people, on entirely spurious grounds... that goes beyond reprehensible. That is despicable.

It would really be nice if there were still some Republicans of conscience out there who would stand up and loudly denounce these efforts, a few men of honor and integrity for whom "win the election" does not "win the election at any cost." There were once many Republicans I admired, even I disagreed with them: men like Everett Dirksen, Clifford Case, Henry Cabot Lodge, William Scranton... yes, even Barry Goldwater, conservative as he is. I do not believe for a moment that Goldwater would have approved of this, any more than Robert A. Heinlein would have. They were conservatives, but they were not bigots, nor racists, nor corrupt. The Vote Suppressors have far more in common with Lester Maddox, George Wallace, John Stennis, and their ilk than they do with their distinguished GOP forebears.

The people behind these efforts at disenfranchising large groups of voters (the young, the old, the black, the brown) are not Republicans, since clearly they have scant regard for our republic or its values. They are oligarchs and racists clad in the skins of dead elephants.

And don't tell me they are libertarians either. No true libertarians would ever support a culture where citizens must "show their papers" to vote or travel. That's a hallmark of a police state, not a free country.

Quote from: Spooky on August 13, 2012, 04:17:57 PM
I hate it when people, whom I admire creatively, say stupid/ingnorant things. I'll still read you books and whatch your show, but FUCKYOU, George!

Well, I'd say I'm done with him but he already got me for a Blur-Ray and 1-4 book compilation.  Definitely won't be getting HBO next season.

Quote from: Eric on August 13, 2012, 04:28:42 PM

Quote from: Spooky on August 13, 2012, 04:17:57 PM
I hate it when people, whom I admire creatively, say stupid/ingnorant things. I'll still read you books and whatch your show, but FUCKYOU, George!

Well, I'd say I'm done with him but he already got me for a Blur-Ray and 1-4 book compilation.  Definitely won't be getting HBO next season.

I know you realise that about 85% of the people who entertain us think exactly like that .

I kinda don't care .

Just keep writing/acting/dancing ... whatever .

As far as this stuff goes - I love Peter Gabriel , Boomtown Rats , Pink Floyd , Neil Young , Bob Dylan , Joe Sweden , RR Martin .....

And I can assure you that I do not ever want to be involved in anything resembling a political discussion with any of them .

It's just entertainment, man; I can take or leave any of it.
If he would have left out the Nazi and "teabagger" references, I'd be more forgiving.
I was pretty disappointed with the book series and HBO's season two so it's not like it's some huge fete for me to step away from Martin's works.

Quote from: Eric on August 14, 2012, 02:30:27 AM
It's just entertainment, man; I can take or leave any of it.
If he would have left out the Nazi and "teabagger" references, I'd be more forgiving.
I was pretty disappointed with the book series and HBO's season two so it's not like it's some huge fete for me to step away from Martin's works.

Totally cool - I just think that in this day and age where we know almost everything about any person of note ( Obama notwithstanding ) we're going to hear some pretty retarded things about the people who bring us our pop culture .

And since I love the guts out of GoT I'll always make allowances in Martin's favour .
As I said about Peter Gabriel - I love his stuff , he's my #1 .
There is no way I'd be able to stomach him in person for more than two minutes though ....
( and "Nazi" is now shorthand for anything more authoritarian than the lunch-lady , the word has lost it's meaning . I do wish the second anyone utters it , the audience would immediately call the speaker on it . I know I try to )

And as you said "Just entertainment"

:)

My youngest brother just emailed me after finishing the last Jon chapter in book five.  >:D

Quote"I've already written 400 pages of my sixth book and I really look forward to publishing it in 2014, but I am really bad for predictions."

http://www.adriasnews.com/2012/10/george-r-r-martin-interview.html?spref=tw (http://www.adriasnews.com/2012/10/george-r-r-martin-interview.html?spref=tw)

Quote from: Spooky on October 07, 2012, 07:58:59 PM

Quote"I've already written 400 pages of my sixth book and I really look forward to publishing it in 2014, but I am really bad for predictions."

http://www.adriasnews.com/2012/10/george-r-r-martin-interview.html?spref=tw (http://www.adriasnews.com/2012/10/george-r-r-martin-interview.html?spref=tw)

(http://voicetalentproductions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/captain-obvious.jpg)

Why doesn't GRRM have a twitter account?

[spoiler]He afraid he'd kill all 140 characters.[/spoiler]

Quote from: Spooky on November 05, 2012, 02:21:26 PM
Why doesn't GRRM have a twitter account?

[spoiler]He afraid he'd kill all 140 characters.[/spoiler]

:haha:

Sending things to our office

Nov. 19th, 2012 at 11:33 AM

George has, in the past, been happy to sign books or memorabilia for fans who were willing to ship them to him. Unfortunately, in recent months, primarily due to the success of the HBO show, the volume of incoming items has gotten too high. This is primarily due to resellers who want to get George's signature on things they then sell on eBay or through other channels.

To put a stop to this so that it doesn't take up so much time, I'm implementing the following policy for signatures:

* Any package sent to this office that has not been pre-arranged with our office administrator at grrmbooks@gmail.com will be refused and returned unopened.

* Items unrelated to George's work will not be signed (yes, I'm talking to you guy who sent us a giant box of baseballs to be signed)

* All signature requests must include the name of the person for whom the item is being signed, and will be personalized at George's discretion. No sending us 20 books "just signatures please"

* If you are a book dealer looking for signatures for your store, contact the office administrator at the above email address and we'll see if we can help you.

If you're a legitimate fan that wants a book signed, please contact us and we'll help you arrange that. If you want George to sign a hundred book plates so you can sell them on eBay for grossly inflated prices, sorry, you're out of luck.

http://grrm.livejournal.com/299795.html (http://grrm.livejournal.com/299795.html)

New sample chapter!

http://georgerrmartin.com/if-sample.html (http://georgerrmartin.com/if-sample.html)

NSFW

What It's Like To Read the Game of Thrones Books (NSFW) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KocHhWTwMw#ws)

Sounds about right

:D

Interesting theory for book readers. It's concerns the forging of Lightbringer.

http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/1ds3j0/spoilers_all_brienne_and_the_forging_prophecy/ (http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/1ds3j0/spoilers_all_brienne_and_the_forging_prophecy/)

Digby, did you notice this pattern in the prologues of the ASOIAF?

QuoteBook one: Character is a NW member, location beyond the Wall, death by Others/wight
Book two: Character is a Maester, location Dragonstone (a place we've never seen before), death by poison
Book three: Character is a NW member, location beyond the Wall, death by Others/wight
Book four: Character is a novice Maester(a place we've never seen before), location Oldtown, death by poison
Book Five: Character is wildling, location beyond the Wall, death by Others/wight

Taken from: http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/1dt00t/spoilers_all_a_hope_for_a_quiet_prologue_for_twow/c9tknv5 (http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/1dt00t/spoilers_all_a_hope_for_a_quiet_prologue_for_twow/c9tknv5)

Seems to reason Book 6 with me will be from a Maester's POV.

Quote from: Spooky on May 06, 2013, 03:22:41 PM
Digby, did you notice this pattern in the prologues of the ASOIAF?

QuoteBook one: Character is a NW member, location beyond the Wall, death by Others/wight
Book two: Character is a Maester, location Dragonstone (a place we've never seen before), death by poison
Book three: Character is a NW member, location beyond the Wall, death by Others/wight
Book four: Character is a novice Maester(a place we've never seen before), location Oldtown, death by poison
Book Five: Character is wildling, location beyond the Wall, death by Others/wight

Taken from: http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/1dt00t/spoilers_all_a_hope_for_a_quiet_prologue_for_twow/c9tknv5 (http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/1dt00t/spoilers_all_a_hope_for_a_quiet_prologue_for_twow/c9tknv5)

Seems to reason Book 6 with me from a Maester's POV.

I hadn't noticed
Interesting
:doh:

So if Roose and Ramsey die, who takes the Dredfort?

Found this on Reddit and I like it.

QuoteLord Rickon Stark, Lord of the Dreadfort. First of the Dredstarks.

http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/1eykhb/spoilers_all_who_is_heir_to_the_dreadfort/ca536j8 (http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/1eykhb/spoilers_all_who_is_heir_to_the_dreadfort/ca536j8)

(http://25.media.tumblr.com/1c33a5c356588796ea99d9a9c2814bee/tumblr_mmgbyosvwR1qe1i57o5_r1_250.gif)

The Hedge Knight graphic novel is back in print and available for pre-order.

http://www.amazon.com/Hedge-Knight-Graphic-Novel-ebook/dp/B00DH07FAS/ (http://www.amazon.com/Hedge-Knight-Graphic-Novel-ebook/dp/B00DH07FAS/)

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2013/11/george-r-r-martin-the-winds-of-winter (http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2013/11/george-r-r-martin-the-winds-of-winter)

George R. R. Martin Needs Some Space from Game of Thrones Fans If They Ever Want to See The Winds of Winter

HBO is not the only entity pressuring grizzled sea captain George R. R. Martin to finish his planned seven-novel fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, the source material for Game of Thrones. Legions of bloodthirsty fans have been riding the G.O.T. creator to complete the remaining books—and now Martin is telling those hordes of insistent Game of Throne–ers, in the nicest way possible, to please back off for the time being.

In a new interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, the self-proclaimed slow writer begs fans to stop harassing him about finishing his sixth novel in the Song of Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter. "It is great that so many people are eager for the next book and certainly these are the people who are paying my bills and allowing me to have a house across the street from my other house," Martin begins, referring to his writing office, which is across the street from his home in Sante Fe, New Mexico. "But at the same time, sometimes I just wish they would stop pressuring me about it. It will be done when it's done. I'm working on it. I don't know what else I can say: I'm a slow writer, I've always been a slow writer, and these are gigantic books."

As the HBO series, which has already begun shooting Season Four, closes in on the books that have inspired it, the author says that he has tipped off Game of Thrones creators on "where I am going, so I think they know the ultimate destination, but I have to not allow them to catch me."

Apparently G.O.T. fan pressure and disruptions are relegated not just to message boards, though—some fans actually stop by the author's home, which Martin says "is a little annoying." "Mostly they are fans and lovely people, but some of them show up with six-packs of beer, and they just want to sit down and shoot the gao se with me—which is nice, but if I am kicking off work every day to have beer with the fans, that's not so good," he told the Herald.

So, fans, in the interest of a Winds of Winter release date this decade, let's please give Martin some space to get into the dark, murderous mindset necessary for killing off the rest of our beloved characters. (But if he wants to incorporate our idea of cuddly Dire Kittens, we support it.) In the meantime, we will patiently await the end of Martin's writing process by keeping our six-packs and G.O.T.-plot prodding to ourselves.

Quote from: Spooky on November 11, 2013, 03:13:54 PM
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2013/11/george-r-r-martin-the-winds-of-winter (http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2013/11/george-r-r-martin-the-winds-of-winter)

George R. R. Martin Needs Some Space from Game of Thrones Fans If They Ever Want to See The Winds of Winter

Not sure if this had been posted, from back in July:

W00tstock 5.0 - George RR Martin vs. Paul and Storm (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5vw9RTVky4#ws)

 :hodor:

I knew I'd heard that song before.  Spooky had posted a live version (http://tenpercentofnuthin.com/forum/index.php?topic=11338.msg75025#msg75025).

Studio version from 2012:
Write Like the Wind (George R. R. Martin) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7lp3RhzfgI#ws)

A paragraph from The Winds of Winter?

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2014/02/26/winds-of-winter-exclusive/ (http://shelf-life.ew.com/2014/02/26/winds-of-winter-exclusive/)

[spoiler]TYRION
Somewhere off in the far distance, a dying man was screaming for his mother. "To horse!" a man was yelling in Ghiscari, in the next camp to the north of the Second Sons. "To horse! To horse!" High and shrill, his voice carried a long way in the morning air, far beyond his own encampment. Tyrion knew just enough Ghiscari to understand the words, but the fear in his voice would have been plain in any tongue. I know how he feels.[/spoiler]

Quote from: Spooky on February 26, 2014, 11:48:27 AM
A paragraph from The Winds of Winter?

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2014/02/26/winds-of-winter-exclusive/ (http://shelf-life.ew.com/2014/02/26/winds-of-winter-exclusive/)

[spoiler]TYRION
Somewhere off in the far distance, a dying man was screaming for his mother. "To horse!" a man was yelling in Ghiscari, in the next camp to the north of the Second Sons. "To horse! To horse!" High and shrill, his voice carried a long way in the morning air, far beyond his own encampment. Tyrion knew just enough Ghiscari to understand the words, but the fear in his voice would have been plain in any tongue. I know how he feels.[/spoiler]

That ought to hold us for a year ...

:P

There is speculation that GRRM may announce that tWoW is finished this year.

http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/20awta/hes_trolling_us_hes_got_to_beno_spoilers/ (http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/20awta/hes_trolling_us_hes_got_to_beno_spoilers/)


or...

[spoiler](http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/6a/bc/c8/6abcc839cf452b83aaf6d53d46b506f2.jpg)[/spoiler]

A whole previously unreleased (http://grrm.livejournal.com/361577.html) Winds of Winter chapter for you ravenous fans:  Mercy (http://www.georgerrmartin.com/excerpt-from-the-winds-of-winter/).

In case the site is down, here it is (unformatted):

She woke with a gasp, not knowing who she was, or where.

The smell of blood was heavy in her nostrils... or was that her nightmare, lingering? She had dreamed of wolves again, of running through some dark pine forest with a great pack at her hells, hard on the scent of prey.

Half-light filled the room, grey and gloomy. Shivering, she sat up in bed and ran a hand across her scalp. Stubble bristled against her palm. I need to shave before Izembaro sees. Mercy, I'm Mercy, and tonight I'll be raped and murdered. Her true name was Mercedene, but Mercy was all anyone ever called her...

Except in dreams. She took a breath to quiet the howling in her heart, trying to remember more of what she'd dreamt, but most of it had gone already. There had been blood in it, though, and a full moon overhead, and a tree that watched her as she ran.

She had fastened the shutters back so the morning sun might wake her. But there was no sun outside the window of Mercy's little room, only a wall of shifting grey fog. The air had grown chilly... and a good thing, else she might have slept all day. It would be just like Mercy to sleep through her own rape.

Gooseprickles covered her legs. Her coverlet had twisted around her like a snake. She unwound it, threw the blanket to the bare plank floor and padded naked to the window. Braavos was lost in fog. She could see the green water of the little canal below, the cobbled stone street that ran beneath her building, two arches of the mossy bridge... but the far end of the bridge vanished in greyness, and of the buildings across the canal only a few vague lights remained. She heard a soft splash as a serpent boat emerged beneath the bridge's central arch. "What hour?" Mercy called down to the man who stood by the snake's uplifted tail, pushing her onward with his pole.

The waterman gazed up, searching for the voice. "Four, by the Titan's roar." His words echoed hollowly off the swirling green waters and the walls of unseen buildings.

She was not late, not yet, but she should not dawdle. Mercy was a happy soul and a hard worker, but seldom timely. That would not serve tonight. The envoy from Westeros was expected at the Gate this evening, and Izembaro would be in no mood to hear excuses, even if she served them up with a sweet smile.

She had filled her basin from the canal last night before she went to sleep, preferring the brackish water to the slimy green rainwater stewing in the cistern out back. Dipping a rough cloth, she washed herself head to heel, standing on one leg at a time to scrub her calloused feet. After that she found her razor. A bare scalp helped the wigs fit better, Izembaro claimed.

She shaved, donned her smallclothes, and slipped a shapeless brown wool dress down over her head. One of her stockings needed mending, she saw as she pulled it up. She would ask the Snapper for help; her own sewing was so wretched that the wardrobe mistress usually took pity on her. Else I could filtch a nicer pair from wardrobe. That was risky, though. Izembaro hated it when the mummers wore his costumes in the streets. Except for Wendeyne. Give Izembaro's cock a little suck and a girl can wear any costume that she wants. Mercy was not so foolish as all that. Daena had warned her. "Girls who start down that road wind up on the Ship, where every man in the pit knows he can have any pretty thing he might see up on the stage, if his purse is plump enough."

Her boots were lumps of old brown leather mottled with saltstains and cracked from long wear, her belt a length of hempen rope dyed blue. She knotted it about her waist, and hung a knife on her right hip and a coin pouch on her left. Last of all she threw her cloak across her shoulders. It was a real mummer's cloak, purple wool lined in red silk, with a hood to keep the rain off, and three secret pockets too. She'd hid some coins in one of those, an iron key in another, a blade in the last. A real blade, not a fruit knife like the one on her hip, but it did not belong to Mercy, no more than her other treasures did. The fruit knife belonged to Mercy. She was made for eating fruit, for smiling and joking, for working hard and doing as she was told.

"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," she sang as she descended the wooden stair to the street. The handrail was splintery, the steps steep, and there were five flights, but that was why she'd gotten the room so cheap. That, and Mercy's smile. She might be bald and skinny, but Mercy had a pretty smile, and a certain grace. Even Izembaro agreed that she was graceful. She was not far from the Gate as the crows flies, but for girls with feet instead of wings the way was longer. Braavos was a crooked city. The streets were crooked, the alleys were crookeder, and the canals were crookedest of all. Most days she preferred to go the long way, down the Ragman's Road along the Outer Harbor, where she had the sea before her and the sky above, and a clear view across the Great Lagoon to the Arsenal and the piney slopes of Sellagoro's Shield. Sailors would hail her as she passed the docks, calling down from the decks of tarry Ibbenese whalers and big-bellied Westerosi cogs. Mercy could not always understand their words, but she knew what they were saying. Sometimes she would smile back and tell them they could find her at the Gate if they had the coin.

The long way also took her across the Bridge of Eyes with its carved stone faces. From the top of its span, she could look through the arches and see all the city: the green copper domes of the Hall of Truth, the masts rising like a forest from the Purple Harbor, the tall towers of the mighty, the golden thunderbolt turning on its spire atop the Sealord's Palace... even the Titan's bronze shoulders, off across the dark green waters. But that was only when the sun was shining down on Braavos. If the fog was thick there was nothing to see but grey, so today Mercy chose the shorter route to save some wear on her poor cracked boots.

The mists seemed to part before her and close up again as she passed. The cobblestones were wet and slick under her feet. She heard a cat yowl plaintively. Braavos was a good city for cats, and they roamed everywhere, especially at night. In the fog all cats are grey, Mercy thought. In the fog all men are killers.

She had never seen a thicker fog than this one. On the larger canals, the watermen would be running their serpent boats into one another, unable to make out any more than dim lights from the buildings to either side of them.

Mercy passed an old man with a lantern walking the other way, and envied him his light. The street was so gloomy she could scarcely see where she was stepping. In the humbler parts of the city, the houses, shops, and warehouses crowded together, leaning on each other like drunken lovers, their upper stories so close that you could step from one balcony to the next. The streets below became dark tunnels where every footfall echoed. The small canals were even more hazardous, since many of the houses that lined them had privies jutting out over the water. Izembaro loved to give the Sealord's speech from The Merchant's Melancholy Daughter, about how "here the last Titan yet stands, astride the stony shoulders of his brothers," but Mercy preferred the scene where the fat merchant shat on the Sealord's head as he passed underneath in his gold-and-purple barge. Only in Braavos could something like that happen, it was said, and only in Braavos would Sealord and sailor alike howl with laughter to see it.

The Gate stood close by the edge of Drowned Town, between the Outer Harbor and the Purple Harbor. An old warehouse had burnt there and the ground was sinking a little more each year, so the land came cheap. Atop the flooded stone foundation of the warehouse, Izembaro raised his cavernous playhall. The Dome and the Blue Lantern might enjoy more fashionable environs, he told his mummers, but here between the harbors they would never lack for sailors and whores to fill their pit. The Ship was close by, still pulling handsome crowds to the quay where she had been moored for twenty years, he said, and the Gate would flourish too.

Time had proved him right. The Gate's stage had developed a tilt as the building settled, their costumes were prone to mildew, and water snakes nested in the flooded cellar, but none of that troubled the mummers so long as the house was full.

The last bridge was made of rope and raw planks, and seemed to dissolve into nothingness, but that was only the fog. Mercy scampered across, her heels ringing on the wood. The fog opened before her like a tattered grey curtain to reveal the playhouse. Buttery yellow light spilled from the doors, and Mercy could hear voices from within. Beside the entrance, Big Brusco had painted over the title of the last show, and written The Bloody Hand in its place in huge red letters. He was painting a bloody hand beneath the words, for those who could not read. Mercy stopped to have a look. "That's a nice hand," she told him.

"Thumb's crooked." Brusco dabbed at it with his brush. "King o' the Mummers been asking after you."

"It was so dark I slept and slept." When Izembaro had first dubbed himself the King of the Mummers, the company had taken a wicked pleasure in it, savoring the outrage of their rivals from the Dome and the Blue Lantern. Of late, though, Izembaro had begun to take his title too seriously. "He will only play kings now," Marro said, rolling his eyes, "and if the play has no king in it, he would sooner not stage it at all."

The Bloody Hand offered two kings, the fat one and the boy. Izembaro would play the fat one. It was not a large part, but he had a fine speech as he lay dying, and a splendid fight with a demonic boar before that. Phario Forel had written it, and he had the bloodiest quill of all of Braavos.

Mercy found the company assembled behind the stage, and slipped in between Daena and the Snapper at the back, hoping her late arrival would go unnoticed. Izembaro was telling everyone that he expected the Gate to be packed to the rafters this evening, despite the fog. "The King of Westeros is sending his envoy to do homage to the King of the Mummers tonight," he told his troupe. "We will not disappoint our fellow monarch."

"We?" said the Snapper, who did all the costumes for the mummers. "Is there more than one of him, now?"

"He's fat enough to count for two," whispered Bobono. Every mummer's troupe had to have a dwarf. He was theirs. When he saw Mercy, he gave her a leer. "Oho," he said, "there she is. Is the little girl all ready for her rape?" He smacked his lips.

The Snapper smacked him in the head. "Be quiet."

The King of the Mummers ignored the brief commotion. He was still talking, telling the mummers how magnificent they must be. Besides the Westerosi envoy, there would be keyholders in the crowd this evening, and famous courtesans as well. He did not intend for them to leave with a poor opinion of the Gate. "It shall go ill for any man who fails me," he promised, a threat he borrowed from the speech Prince Garin gives on the eve of battle in Wroth of the Dragonlords, Phario Forel's first play.

By the time Izembaro finally finished speaking, less than an hour remained before the show, and the mummers were all frantic and fretful by turns. The Gate rang to the sound of Mercy's name.

"Mercy," her friend Daena implored, "Lady Stork has stepped on the hem of her gown again. Come help me sew it up."

"Mercy," the Stranger called, "bring the bloody paste, my horn is coming loose."

"Mercy," boomed Izembaro the Great himself, "what have you done with my crown, girl? I cannot make my entrance without my crown. How shall they know that I'm a king?"

"Mercy," squeaked the dwarf Bobono, "Mercy, something's amiss with my laces, my cock keeps flopping out."

She fetched the sticky paste and fastened the Stranger's left horn back onto his forehead. She found Izembaro's crown in the privy where he always left it and helped him pin it to his wig, and then ran for needle and thread so the Snapper could sew the lace hem back onto the cloth-of-gold gown that the queen would wear in the wedding scene.

And Bobono's cock was indeed flopping out. It was made to flop out, for the rape. What a hideous thing, Mercy thought as she knelt before the dwarf to fix him. The cock was a foot long and as thick as her arm, big enough to be seen from the highest balcony. The dyer had done a poor job with the leather, though; the thing was a mottled pink and white, with a bulbous head the color of a plum. Mercy pushed it back into Bobono's breeches and laced him back up. "Mercy," he sang as she tied him tight, "Mercy, Mercy, come to my room tonight and make a man of me."

"I'll make a eunuch of you if you keep unlacing yourself just so I'll fiddle with your crotch."

"We were meant to be together, Mercy," Bobono insisted. "Look, we're just the same height."

"Only when I'm on my knees. Do you remember your first line?" It had only been a fortnight since the dwarf had lurched onto stage in his cups and opened The Anguish of the Archon with the grumpkin's speech from The Merchant's Lusty Lady. Izembaro would skin him alive if he made such a blunder again, and never mind how hard it was to find a good dwarf.

"What are we playing, Mercy?" Bobono asked innocently.

He is teasing me, Mercy thought. He's not drunk tonight, he knows the show perfectly well. "We are doing Phario's new Bloody Hand, in honor of the envoy from the Seven Kingdoms."

"Now I recall." Bobono lowered his voice to a sinister croak. "The seven-faced god has cheated me," he said. "My noble sire he made of purest gold, and gold he made my siblings, boy and girl. But I am formed of darker stuff, of bones and blood and clay, twisted into this rude shape you see before you." With that, he grabbed at her chest, fumbling for a nipple. "You have no titties. How can I rape a girl with no titties?"

She caught his nose between her thumb and forefinger and twisted. "You'll have no nose until you get your hands off me."

"Owwwww," the dwarf squealed, releasing her.

"I'll grow titties in a year or two." Mercy rose, to tower over the little man. "But you'll never grow another nose. You think of that, before you touch me there."

Bobono rubbed his tender nose. "There's no need to get so shy. I'll be raping you soon enough."

"Not until the second act."

"I always give Wendeyne's titties a nice squeeze when I rape her in The Anguish of the Archon," the dwarf complained. "She likes it, and the pit does too. You have to please the pit."

That was one of Izembaro's "wisdoms," as he liked to call them. You have to please the pit. "I bet it would please the pit if I ripped off the dwarf's cock and beat him about the head with it," Mercy replied. "That's something they won't have seen before." Always give them something they haven't seen before was another of Izembaro's "wisdoms," and one that Bobono had no easy answer for. "There, you're done," Mercy announced. "Now see if you can keep in your breeches till it's needed."

Izembaro was calling for her again. Now he could not find his boar spear. Mercy found it for him, helped Big Brusco don his boar suit, checked the trick daggers just to make certain no one had replaced one with a real blade (someone had done that at the Dome once, and a mummer had died), and poured Lady Stork the little nip of wine she liked to have before each play. When all the cries of "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" finally died away, she stole a moment for a quick peek out into the house.

The pit was as full as ever she'd seen it, and they were enjoying themselves already, joking and jostling, eating and drinking. She saw a peddler selling chunks of cheese, ripping them off the wheel with his fingers whenever he found a buyer. A woman had a bag of wrinkled apples. Skins of wine were being passed from hand to hand, some girls were selling kisses, and one sailor was playing the sea pipes. The sad-eyed little man called Quill stood in the back, come to see what he could steal for one of his own plays. Cossomo the Conjurer had come as well, and on his arm was Yna, the one-eyed whore from the Happy Port, but Mercy could not know those two, and they would not know Mercy. Daena recognized some Gate regulars in the crowd, and pointed them out for her; the dyer Dellono with his pinched white face and mottled purple hands, Galeo the sausage-maker in his greasy leather apron, tall Tomarro with his pet rat on his shoulder. "Tomarro best not let Galeo see that rat," Daena warned. "That's the only meat he puts in them sausages, I hear." Mercy covered her mouth and laughed.

The balconies were filling too. The first and third levels were for merchants and captains and other respectable folk. The bravos preferred the fourth and highest, where the seats were cheapest. It was a riot of bright color up there, while down below more somber shades held sway. The second balcony was cut up into private boxes where the mighty could comport themselves in comfort and privacy, safely apart from the vulgarity above and below. They had the best view of the stage, and servants to bring them food, wine, cushions, whatever they might desire. It was rare to find the second balcony more than half full at the Gate; such of the mighty who relished a night of mummery were more inclined to visit the Dome or the Blue Lantern, where the offerings were considered subtler and more poetic.

This night was different, though, no doubt on account of the Westerosi envoy. In one box sat three scions of Otharys, each accompanied by a famous courtesan; Prestayn sat alone, a man so ancient that you wondered how he ever reached his seat; Torone and Pranelis shared a box, as they shared an uncomfortable alliance; the Third Sword was hosting a half-dozen friends.

"I count five keyholders," said Daena.

"Bessaro is so fat you ought to count him twice," Mercy replied, giggling. Izembaro had a belly on him, but compared to Bessaro he was as lithe as a willow. The keyholder was so big he needed a special seat, thrice the size of a common chair.

"They're all fat, them Reyaans," Daena said. "Bellies as big as their ships. You should have seen the father. He made this one look small. One time he was summoned to the Hall of Truth to vote, but when he stepped onto his barge it sank." She clutched Mercy by the elbow. "Look, the Sealord's box." The Sealord had never visited the Gate, but Izembaro named a box for him anyway, the largest and most opulent in the house. "That must be the Westerosi envoy. Have you ever seen such clothes on an old man? And look, he's brought the Black Pearl!"

The envoy was slight and balding, with a funny grey wisp of a beard growing from his chin. His cloak was yellow velvet, and his breeches. His doublet was a blue so bright it almost made Mercy's eyes water. Upon his breast a shield had been embroidered in yellow thread, and on the shield was a proud blue rooster picked out in lapis lazuli. One of his guards helped him to his seat, while two others stood behind him in the back of the box.

The woman with him could not have been more than a third his age. She was so lovely that the lamps seemed to burn brighter when she passed. She had dressed in a low-cut gown of pale yellow silk, startling against the light brown of her skin. Her black hair was bound up in a net of spun gold, and a jet-and-gold necklace brushed against the top of her full breasts. As they watched, she leaned close to the envoy and whispered something in his ear that made him laugh. "They should call her the Brown Pearl," Mercy said to Daena. "She's more brown than black."

"The first Black Pearl was black as a pot of ink," said Daena. "She was a pirate queen, fathered by a Sealord's son on a princess from the Summer Isles. A dragon king from Westeros took her for his lover."

"I would like to see a dragon," Mercy said wistfully. "Why does the envoy have a chicken on his chest?"

Daena howled. "Mercy, don't you know anything? It's his siggle. In the Sunset Kingdoms all the lords have siggles. Some have flowers, some have fish, some have bears and elks and other things. See, the envoy's guards are wearing lions."

It was true. There were four guards; big, hard-looking men in ringmail, with heavy Westerosi longswords sheathed at their hips. Their crimson cloaks were bordered in whorls of gold, and golden lions with red garnet eyes clasped each cloak at the shoulder. When Mercy glanced at the faces beneath the gilded, lion-crested helm, her belly gave a quiver. The gods have given me a gift. Her fingers clutched hard at Daena's arm. "That guard. The one on the end, behind the Black Pearl."

"What of him? Do you know him?"

"No." Mercy had been born and bred in Braavos, how could she know some Westerosi? She had to think a moment. "It's only... well, he's fair to look on, don't you think?" He was, in a rough-hewn way, though his eyes were hard.

Daena shrugged. "He's very old. Not so old as the other ones, but... he could be thirty. And Westerosi. They're terrible savages, Mercy. Best stay well away from his sort."

"Stay away?" Mercy giggled. She was a giggly sort of girl, was Mercy. "No. I've got to get closer." She gave Daena a squeeze and said, "If the Snapper comes looking for me, tell her that I went off to read my lines again." She only had a few, and most were just, "Oh, no, no, no," and "Don't, oh don't, don't touch me," and "Please, m'lord, I am still a maiden," but this was the first time Izembaro had given her any lines at all, so it was only to be expected that poor Mercy would want to get them right.

The envoy from the Seven Kingdoms had taken two of his guards into his box to stand behind him and the Black Pearl, but the other two had been posted just outside the door to make certain he was not disturbed. They were talking quietly in the Common Tongue of Westeros as she slipped up silently behind them in the darkened passage. That was not a language Mercy knew.

"Seven hells, this place is damp," she heard her guard complain. "I'm chilled to the bones. Where are the bloody orange trees? I always heard there were orange trees in the Free Cities. Lemons and limes. Pomegranates. Hot peppers, warm nights, girls with bare bellies. Where are the bare-bellied girls, I ask you?"

"Down in Lys, and Myr, and Old Volantis," the other guard replied. He was an older man, big-bellied and grizzled. "I went to Lys with Lord Tywin once, when he was Hand to Aerys. Braavos is north of King's Landing, fool. Can't you read a bloody map?"

"How long do you think we'll be here?"

"Longer than you'd like," the old man replied. "If he goes back without the gold the queen will have his head. Besides, I seen that wife of his. There's steps in Casterly Rock she can't go down for fear she'd get stuck, that's how fat she is. Who'd go back to that, when he has his sooty queen?"

The handsome guardsman grinned. "Don't suppose he'll share her with us, afterward?"

"What, are you mad? You think he notices the likes of us? Bloody bugger don't even get our names right half the time. Maybe it was different with Clegane."

"Ser wasn't one for mummer shows and fancy whores. When Ser wanted a woman he took one, but sometimes he'd let us have her, after. I wouldn't mind having a taste of that Black Pearl. You think she's pink between her legs?"

Mercy wanted to hear more, but there was no time. The Bloody Hand was about to start, and the Snapper would be looking for her to help with costumes. Izembaro might be the King of the Mummers, but the Snapper was the one that they all feared. Time enough for her pretty guardsman later.

The Bloody Hand opened in a lichyard.

When the dwarf appeared suddenly from behind a wooden tombstone, the crowd began to hiss and curse. Bobono waddled to the front of the stage and leered at them. "The seven-faced god has cheated me," he began, snarling the words. "My noble sire he made of purest gold, and gold he made my siblings, boy and girl. But I am formed of darker stuff, of bones and blood and clay... "

By then Marro had appeared behind him, gaunt and terrible in the Stranger's long black robes. His face was black as well, his teeth red and shiny with blood, while ivory horns jutted upwards from his brow. Bobono could not see him, but the balconies could, and now the pit as well. The Gate grew deathly quiet. Marro moved forward silently.

So did Mercy. The costumes were all hung, and the Snapper was busy sewing Daena into her gown for the court scene, so Mercy's absence should not be noted. Quiet as a shadow, she slipped around the back again, up to where the guardsmen stood outside the envoy's box. Standing in a darkened alcove, still as stone, she had a good look at his face. She studied it carefully, to be sure. Am I too young for him? she wondered. Too plain? Too skinny? She hoped he wasn't the sort of man who liked big breasts on a girl. Bobono had been right about her chest. It would be best if I could take him back to my place, have him all to myself. But will he come with me?

"You think it might be him?" the pretty one was saying.

"What, did the Others take your wits?"

"Why not? He's a dwarf, ain't he?"

"The Imp weren't the only dwarf in the world."

"Maybe not, but look here, everyone says how clever he was, true? So maybe he figures the last place his sister would ever look for him would be in some mummer show, making fun of himself. So he does just that, to tweak her nose."

"Ah, you're mad."

"Well, maybe I'll follow him after the mummery. Find out for myself." The guardsman put a hand on the hilt of his sword. "If I'm right, I'll be a ma lord, and if I'm wrong, well, bleed it, it's just some dwarf." He gave a bark of laughter.

On stage, Bobono was bargaining with Marro's sinister Stranger. He had a big voice for such a little man, and he made it ring off the highest rafters now. "Give me the cup," he told the Stranger, "for I shall drink deep. And if it tastes of gold and lion's blood, so much the better. As I cannot be the hero, let me be the monster, and lesson them in fear in place of love."

Mercy mouthed the last lines along with him. They were better lines than hers, and apt besides. He'll want me or he won't, she thought, so let the play begin. She said a silent prayer to the god of many faces, slipped out of her alcove, and flounced up to the guardsmen. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy. "My lords," she said, "do you speak Braavosi? Oh, please, tell me you do."

The two guardsmen exchanged a look. "What's this thing going on about?" the older one asked. "Who is she?"

"One of the mummers," said the pretty one. He pushed his fair hair back off his brow and smiled at her. "Sorry, sweetling, we don't speak your gibble-gabble."

Fuss and feathers, Mercy thought, they only know the Common Tongue. That was no good. Give it up or go ahead. She could not give it up. She wanted him so bad. "I know your tongue, a little," she lied, with Mercy's sweetest smile. "You are lords of Westeros, my friend said."

The old one laughed. "Lords? Aye, that's us."

Mercy looked down at her feet, so shy. "Izembaro said to please the lords," she whispered. "If there is anything you want, anything at all... "

The two guardsmen exchanged a look. Then the handsome one reached out and touched her breast. "Anything?"

"You're disgusting," said the older man.

"Why? If this Izembaro wants to be hospitable, it would be rude to refuse." He gave her nipple a tweak through the fabric of her dress, just the way the dwarf had done when she was fixing his cock for him. "Mummers are the next best thing to whores."

"Might be, but this one is a child."

"I am not," lied Mercy. "I'm a maiden now."

"Not for long," said the comely one. "I'm Lord Rafford, sweetling, and I know just what I want. Hike up those skirts now, and lean back against that wall."

"Not here," Mercy said, brushing his hands away. "Not where the play is on. I might cry out, and Izembaro would be mad."

"Where, then?"

"I know a place."

The older guard was scowling. "What, you think can just scamper off? What if his knightliness comes looking for you?"

"Why would he? He's got a show to watch. And he's got his own whore, why shouldn't I have mine? This won't take long."

No, she thought, it won't. Mercy took him by the hand, led him through the back and down the steps and out into the foggy night. "You could be a mummer, if you wanted," she told him, as he pressed her up against the wall of the playhouse.

"Me?" The guardsman snorted. "Not me, girl. All that bloody talking, I wouldn't remember half of it."

"It's hard at first," she admitted. "But after a time it comes easier. I could teach you to say a line. I could."

He grabbed her wrist. "I'll do the teaching. Time for your first lesson." He pulled her hard against him and kissed her on the lips, forcing his tongue into her mouth. It was all wet and slimy, like an eel. Mercy licked it with her own tongue, then broke away from him, breathless. "Not here. Someone might see. My room's not far, but hurry. I have to be back before the second act, or I'll miss my rape."

He grinned. "No fear o' that, girl." But he let her pull him after her. Hand in hand, they went racing through the fog, over bridges and through alleys and up five flights of splintery wooden stairs. The guardsman was panting by the time they burst through the door of her little room. Mercy lit a tallow candle, then danced around at him, giggling. "Oh, now you're all tired out. I forgot how old you were, m'lord. Do you want to take a little nap? Just lie down and close your eyes, and I'll come back after the Imp's done raping me."

"You're not going anywhere." He pulled her roughly to him. "Get those rags off, and I'll show you how old I am, girl."

"Mercy," she said. "My name is Mercy. Can you say it?"

"Mercy," he said. "My name is Raff."

"I know." She slipped her hand between his legs, and felt how hard he was through the wool of his breeches.

"The laces," he urged her. "Be a sweet girl and undo them." Instead she slid her finger down along the inside of his thigh. He gave a grunt. "Damn, be careful there, you — "

Mercy gave a gasp and stepped away, her face confused and frightened. "You're bleeding."

"Wha — " He looked down at himself. "Gods be good. What did you do to me, you little cunt?" The red stain spread across his thigh, soaking the heavy fabric.

"Nothing," Mercy squeaked. "I never... oh, oh, there's so much blood. Stop it, stop it, you're scaring me."

He shook his head, a dazed look on his face. When he pressed his hand to his thigh, blood squirted through his fingers. It was running down his leg, into his boot. He doesn't look so comely now, she thought. He just looks white and frightened.

"A towel," the guardsman gasped. "Bring me a towel, a rag, press down on it. Gods. I feel dizzy." His leg was drenched with blood from the thigh down. When he tried to put his weight on it, his knee buckled and he fell. "Help me," he pleaded, as the crotch of his breeches reddened. "Mother have mercy, girl. A healer... run and find a healer, quick now."

"There's one on the next canal, but he won't come. You have to go to him. Can't you walk?"

"Walk?" His fingers were slick with blood. "Are you blind, girl? I'm bleeding like a stuck pig. I can't walk on this."

"Well," she said, "I don't know how you'll get there, then."

"You'll need to carry me."

See? thought Mercy. You know your line, and so do I.

"Think so?" asked Arya, sweetly.

Raff the Sweetling looked up sharply as the long thin blade came sliding from her sleeve. She slipped it through his throat beneath the chin, twisted, and ripped it back out sideways with a single smooth slash. A fine red rain followed, and in his eyes the light went out.

"Valar morghulis," Arya whispered, but Raff was dead and did not hear. She sniffed. I should have helped him down the steps before I killed him. Now I'll need to drag him all the way to the canal and roll him in. The eels would do the rest.

"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," she sang sadly. A foolish, giddy girl she'd been, but good hearted. She would miss her, and she would miss Daena and the Snapper and the rest, even Izembaro and Bobono. This would make trouble for the Sealord and the envoy with the chicken on his chest, she did not doubt.

She would think about that later, though. Just now, there was no time. I had best run. Mercy still had some lines to say, her first lines and her last, and Izembaro would have her pretty little empty head if she were late for her own rape.

Quote from: Eric on March 27, 2014, 05:23:30 PM
A whole previously unreleased (http://grrm.livejournal.com/361577.html) Winds of Winter chapter for you ravenous fans:  Mercy (http://www.georgerrmartin.com/excerpt-from-the-winds-of-winter/).

:clap:

[spoiler]Arya is going to reek havoc when she gets to Westeros![/spoiler]

Author of the popular franchise A Song of Ice and Fire George RR Martin has signed a contract with his publisher that forbids him from dying before he finishes his saga, The Global Edition finds out. The fans of the saga are relieved, after constantly worrying about Martin dying before being able to finish the book series and let them know how the story ends.

"This is great news for all of us who were afraid that George will die and that we will never find out who's going to take the Iron Throne in the end. In my opinion, the contract forcing him to stay alive should have been made a long time ago," said one of the fans.

Book critics agree that the penalties George RR Martin would have to pay if he died before finishing the story are "just too expensive for him to try and break the contract."

"If he was even thinking of dying before finishing the last two books, I bet that he gave up on that idea now," says literary critic John Babledrop. "I've seen the contract and you wouldn't want to be in his shoes if he breaks it," he added.

Unconfirmed sources reported that the famous writer has started a rigorous diet in order to improve his deteriorating health and finish the novels before breaking the contract.

http://www.theglobaledition.com/george-r-r-martin-signs-contract-that-prevents-him-from-dying-before-finishing-his-book-series/ (http://www.theglobaledition.com/george-r-r-martin-signs-contract-that-prevents-him-from-dying-before-finishing-his-book-series/)

 :haha:

Your boy Martin is doing everything but writing the next book in the series. 
An excerpt from his new companion book, A World of Ice And Fire can be found at his website:  http://www.georgerrmartin.com/world-of-ice-and-fire-sample/ (http://www.georgerrmartin.com/world-of-ice-and-fire-sample/)

Then again, there be dragons.

Quote from: Eric on April 21, 2014, 07:33:52 PM
Your boy Martin is doing everything but writing the next book in the series. 
An excerpt from his new companion book, A World of Ice And Fire can be found at his website:  http://www.georgerrmartin.com/world-of-ice-and-fire-sample/ (http://www.georgerrmartin.com/world-of-ice-and-fire-sample/)

Then again, there be dragons.

Were he a character in his book, he would be evil and hated. LOL!

Who said newer always means better?

http://youtu.be/X5REM-3nWHg (http://youtu.be/X5REM-3nWHg)

A parody of a Taylor Swift song:

A possible spoiler for the up coming season.

[spoiler]He knows nothing.


Though GRRM has hinted that the scene in the may be a fake out.[/spoiler]

6700 words from the next book in the series:  The Winds of Winter

http://www.georgerrmartin.com/excerpt-from-the-winds-of-winter/ (http://www.georgerrmartin.com/excerpt-from-the-winds-of-winter/)

Gonna wait for the book. Reading all these sample chapters is just depressing.

You guys are worried about Martin passing away before finishing his "song".  But what about the estimated 40,000 readers (http://www.neatorama.com/2015/04/13/How-Many-Game-of-Thrones-Readers-Have-Died/) who have died since A Game of Thrones was first published in 1996? 

I can't believe someone actually figured that out.