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Game of Thrones Chapter a Day Read: All Readers*Mod Note Post#68*
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13-05-2013 9:39pm#1
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And Storm of Swords 2 as well, no?
The first thing I remember thinking when I picked up the first book and heard the title of the series - "A Song of Ice and Fire" - was that calling the whole thing "A Game of Thrones" would've been much better. I almost hesitate to call it ASoIaF to other people because it reeks so awfully of dungeons and dragons-level nerdistry. I'd say that'd nearly puts some people off.
I can actually remember the first time I was ever told about them, would have been 3 years ago now and a guy who I was coming home from college with who had already read the books was telling me that they were making the Game of Thrones books, clearly worried I'd think him a weirdo if he called it ASoIaF. I read the books in the last year as a personal crusade against watching the show, due to how crappily the books of my childhood were adapted. Guess I showed him who the real nerd was
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Just read it there :P Was a bit eager! Just on a sidenote, I assume that it's ok to spoil things that have happened up to date in the show?
As in we're allowed to talk aboutthe White Walkerseven though they haven't actually been mentioned yet.
Won't say much now as I'm pretty tired, not sure what to make of this so far, as I know exactly what is going on so there is no suspense. I guess it's more for the extra background etc.
But in saying that I still enjoyed it, I like the style of writing. I think I'll enjoy this read!
Thinking back, that 1st scene of Game of Thrones seems so long ago!
Poor Will, I was beginning to like him :pac:
Seems like the book will fill in on a lot that the tv series had to leave out, will enjoy all the extra info
Edit - Just read your post in the other thread which answers my question
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Every time I re-read this I'm reminded of how it gripped me the first time around, and of how quickly you can become invested in GRRM's characters.
The tension he creates from the outset serves as a neat precursor to everything that follows after the prologue, and establishes an undercurrent of unease that never truly dissipates even as the novel moves south of the wall afterwards. When we later learn how carelessly most people in the Seven Kingdoms dismiss stories of the Others, we remember that we've already seen this in microcosm: the sense of foreboding that builds as the experienced Rangers sense something different about this night, juxtaposed perfectly with Royce's careless arrogance.
The characterisation of Royce is excellent. You understand from the get-go that this is a young man with a frustrated sense of entitlement whose losses to the traditions of primogeniture he compensates for with swagger and bravado. (That, and the fact that he's an arsehōle.) GRRM undermines him from the outset, referring to him as a lordling and making great little throwaway remarks like, 'At least in so far as his wardrobe was concerned'. And yet he redeems himself, standing his ground to do battle against the Other. Whether that was initially through arrogance or ignorance or stupidity doesn't matter; what matters is that in the course of that battle he found honour, and we find that men are perhaps not so easily judged.
I'd really like to have seen more of Gared and heard more of his story. I found him intriguing, the way his speech patterns belied his grizzled appearance, and I wondered where his clear sense of self and his justifiable pride and confidence in his abilities came from. The tension between him and Royce beautifully mirrors the building tension of the prologue, and made me think that there was something about Gared that made him 'better' than a man-at-arms.
I love Will in the Prologue. He really is your Everyman character here, the one with whom you identify most, and his sense of fear and foreboding grips you. The fear that renders him speechless as he watches the Others approach and watches Royce's battle is palpable. You feel it in your gut, in your throat, and you almost hold your breath with him. That moment when you realise that he's not safe, when he faces the inevitability of his death, that's when the measure of Will becomes clear.
The introduction of the Others... oh, that simple line, 'The Others made no sound'. You have no idea at this stage who they are, but you still have that gut-wrenching, something-really-bad-is-going-to-happen, oh shīt moment when you read that line. The sheer menace of their silent approach is chilling, as chilling as the cold that heralds their presence. The effortlessness with which the Other wears down Royce is unnerving, as are his companions who bear implacable witness to the fight, awaiting the inevitable outcome before converging like raptors on the helpless Royce.
Fantastic introduction, great characterisation in just a few broad strokes, highly atmospheric and suitably menacing... what's not to like? 0 -
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So how many read ahead yesterday? Don't worry if you do, it's very hard to stay focused on a chapter a day if it's your first time reading. Just make sure you remember to come back & discuss the chapter for the day
http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/A_Game_of_Thrones-Chapter_1Chapter 1 – Bran 1
It is the ninth year of summer. Seven-year-old Bran is traveling with a total of twenty men, including his father Lord Eddard Stark to see the king's justice done. It is the first time that he is allowed to join. Bran's older brother Robb thinks he must be a wildling, sworn to Mance Rayder, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, which makes Bran think of the tales Old Nan has told him about wildlings.
They bring the man forth, an old man dressed in the ragged blacks of the Night’s Watch who has lost his ears and a finger to frostbite. Lord Eddard questions the man briefly. Two of Eddard’s guardsmen drag the man to the stump and then Theon Greyjoy, Eddard's ward/hostage, gives Eddard his Valyrian steel sword Ice. Eddard announces the sentence and raises the blade. Jon Snow, Bran's bastard brother, tells him to watch and not look away, and Bran watches as his father strikes off the man's head with a single stroke. The head lands by Theon, who laughs and kicks it away. Jon calls Theon an ass under his breath and compliments Bran on his poise during the execution.
On the way back to Winterfell, Robb and Jon argue about whether or not the deserter died bravely, before racing their horses to the bridge leaving Bran and his pony behind. Eddard rides up and asks if Bran knows why he executed the man himself. Bran replies that he was a Wildling. Eddard corrects him, telling Bran he was a deserter, and explains that the First Men, of whom the Starks are descendants, believe that the man who pronounces the verdict should do the execution himself, lest he become too comfortable in ordering deaths. The Starks still hold to that principle.
Jon calls from up ahead for them to come see what he and Robb have found. They find Robb holding something in his arms next to the corpse of a wolf larger than Bran's pony. Jon correctly identifies the corpse as that of a direwolf. Theon comments that direwolves have not been seen south of the Wall for two hundred years. Bran then notices that Robb is cradling a small pup, and gives it a stroke after Robb reassures him. Then Jon gives him another pup.
When they inspect the mother's corpse, they find a large piece of shattered antler lodged in her throat. The soldiers in the company feel this to be a bad omen. Theon offers to kill the pups but Bran protests. Eddard initially states killing them would be the best but changes his mind when Jon points out that there are five pups, one for each of Eddard's legitimate children; they are meant to have the wolves. Bran immediately realizes, along with everyone else, that the comparison only works out because Jon is not claiming one for himself.
Robb and Bran both state they are willing to nurse their pups themselves. Eddard stresses that the children must feed and raise the pups themselves, not pass them off to the servants, and must treat them well lest they become dangerous. Both Robb and Bran state they will not allow the pups to die. As they begin to ride away, Jon hears a noise and goes back to discover a sixth cub, an albino with red eyes, that has crawled away from its mother. Bran finds it curious that it is the only pup that has opened its eyes. Theon claims that the albino will die quicker than the others, but Jon disagrees, claiming it for himself.0 -
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I find with something like this it's easier to read after seeing the series, you have faces to put to the names and points of reference for places and such. There's are tons and tons of side characters in the series as well.
It's weird with GOT though when the ages of so many characters are different in the show. I only read about 100pgs of this a few years back but Danyreas was something like 12 in the novel, which was uncomfortable reading.
Might catch up in a few days when I've time.0 -
While told from Bran's point of view, I've always thought of this as Jon's chapter. Of all the characters therein, at this very early stage his is the one with the greatest strength and the most promise (and surely this can't just be a coincidence in terms of the whole arc of ASOIAF?
)
While Robb and Jon both flank Bran at the holdfast, it is Jon who is the more brotherly, the steadying influence who guides Bran through bearing witness to the beheading of Gared and who reassures him afterwards. He is also the more observant (he reads more in Gared's eyes than Robb, for example), and there is the suggestion that Bran is more like Jon than his trueborn brother. This link between them is reinforced later when Bran and Jon prove to be the most intuitive wargs of all the Stark children. It is Jon, also, who hears the runt pup's whimpering when the others cannot - whether through nature or necessity, his senses are more keenly honed than the others. The meaning he draws from the direwolf pups mark him as someone who sees more, connects more and understands more, while his omission of himself as a Stark child shows that he puts the greater good before himself... and yet he is clearly no pushover, as evidenced in his barely concealed contempt for Theon. I've been quite disappointed by Jon in the HBO series because he demonstrates much greater perception and fortitude in the books.
Jon is definitely right about one thing: Theon is an ass. Beyond observing that he has little respect for life we don't see much of Theon, but Jon's reactions to him can't help but colour the way we see him. You can't help but wonder just how much of that cocksure swagger would remain were he to lose the protection of his guardian.
Much is made of Eddard Stark's inscrutable honour and sense of duty throughout GoT, and we get our first introduction to both in this chapter. We get to see both sides of the man, though: the father and the lord. He talks to Bran of honour and duty, but takes the time to elicit the boy's own thoughts first. Although he has taken life, it is something that he respects. Responsibility is something he takes seriously, and something he expects his sons to take seriously also. I like the way Eddard's relationship with Jon is introduced. When Robb and Jon discover the direwolf, Eddard clearly identifies Jon as his own, inviting Bran to come and look at 'what mischief my sons have rooted out'. His reaction when Jon omits himself from the count of Stark children belies a tender concern, and Jon's words and actions give him pause for thought - much is implied in the short silence that follows before Robb 'rushed into the silence he left'.
Robb is pretty much what you'd expect from an eldest son, as yet unburdened by the responsibilities of rule but possessed of an assurance that no doubt comes with his position. You do tend to wish, however, that his character were somewhat tempered by some of Jon's qualities.
Of Bran there is little to say at this stage, and no indication of the events about to unfold in his young life. The strongest impressions we have are the awe with which he regards his father and the love he feels for Jon. The rest is typical of a young boy of his age, ready to be imprinted, shaped and influenced by the events and experiences that will make him a man. He is an open book at this stage, more a reflection of those around him than anything else.
Plenty of foreshadowing of later events here, most notably the antler that kills the direwolf. I also like how the Others are referred to in decreasing measure throughout the chapter, moving from a distant, imagined threat by a young boy to stories told by an old nurse to an offhand oath. Coming directly after the events of the Prologue, you quickly get the impression that those south of the wall haven't the first clue what the man they just executed might well have witnessed.
Also, I want a direwolf.0 -
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It's weird with GOT though when the ages of so many characters are different in the show. I only read about 100pgs of this a few years back but Danyreas was something like 12 in the novel, which was uncomfortable reading.
Might catch up in a few days when I've time.
Don't see how it should be uncomfortable? It's how things happened. History books will provide similar reading
The show kind of ruins the medieval feeling a bit where it went straight from childhood to adulthood with sexual maturity. The likes of Robb and Jon at the age they are in the show would be nowhere near as inexperienced as they would be. It makes the character arcs more complete in the book.
Anyway, I probably shouldn't be posting in this thread so I'll leave it at that while again encouraging you to keep modern ideals and laws out of your head while reading.0 -
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