I think my favorite book is proably a feast for crows, just because it deals with so many of the key issues in the setries from the other side. One of the things I like best about the series is martin’s ability to make you love characters by seeing things from their point of view, and then twist that around on you in later books.
The biggest example of this would be Jamie. For the first 2 books, I loathed Jamie, couldn’t stand him. Then, in book 3, you get chapters from jamie’s perspective, and you start to realize “huh, he’s still a jackoff, but I can see where he’s coming from” add that to the character revelation we’ve seen him go through lately, and martin completely turned my perception of a key character on its head.
On that note, Are you as psyched as I am that cersi gets chapters next book? Those ought to be a mind trip, nothing like seeing the world of westros from a complete and utter manic’s twisted point of view.
For favorite character, I had to pick 3, can’t stick to one.
1. Deanerys- Favorite character by far, her development from subservient puppet to leader of an entire nation has been stunning, some of martin’s best work. Absolutely love her chapters, and look forward to them with great anticipation next book. The way she’s written is fantastic, and I love how she keeps her idealism in tact despite the much harsher world she has to live in across the ocean. Plus, she controls the last 3 dragons in existence, whats not to love?
Also, she’s part of my unbeatable targ/lannister deck in the CCG, stormborne is a ridiculous card
2. Arya- I flat out love the character development we’ve seen with her. The last book on her was utterly fantastic, and the next one should be more so. I love how she’s gone from annoying rich girl to assassin in training, and her take on things is very insightful, since she pretty much plays the role of the stark’s thirst for revenge, but its tempered by being a teenager on her own.
Best quote- “What are these?”
Arya- “Good boots.”
“good boots are hard to find”
Arya: “just so.”
(song readers will get why that was so cold and awesome
)
3. Tyroin- the dwarf rocks. Funniest chapters around, and he embodies the lannister way of rule without being all BSC like cersi. Now that his father is gone and he’s on the run, his chapters should be even better. Add to that his place (I believe) as one of the 3 dragon riders in the finaly, and you’ve got yourself an awesome character.
Onto best scenes, again, couldn’t pick just one.
1. cersi and eddard before all hell breaks loose
The scene that made me love martins storytelling, and how he plays both sides when eddard is playing up the high and mighty “your children are abominations, and you crippled mine” speech and cersi brings him up short with;
Cersi: do you love your children stark?
Eddard: of course
Cersi: no less than I love mine.
And eddard contemplates what he would have done faced with his children going to the headsman for being products of incest, and if it was the life of one child he didn’t know was all it would cost to keep them safe, and wheather cersi is really evil as he thinks. I miss eddard.
2. Sansa and littlefinger in the aerie.
Stunning scene where sansa is being threatened with being thrown out of the aerie by her crazy aunt, only to be saved by little finger talking her down and convincing her he’s only ever loved one person. One of the most shocking moments ever when he whispers “only cat” and shoves her out the door. Amazing chapter.
3.the bar scene with arya and the hound-
I just love how arya comes full circle here, when her and the hound catch up to the mountains men. Between the awesome way the hound goes out, besting 3 people while flat drunk, one of the most chilling moments in the whole book is where arya REALLY lets go of any innocence she had left after her familys destruction when she flat out eviscerates the tickler while screaming “is there gold in the village?!? Jewels?!?” add in the understanding her and the hound come to of their nature’s as the hound dies, and this is a charcter making scene for the she-pup.
Theory on deanerys: my three riders are jon, danny, and tyroin. Tyroin just makes to much sense. His father implied multiple times that he wasen’t his mothers child and that he was a product of “my weakness” which I think would involve sleeping around as the kings hand. Add this to the always implied tension between him and eddard (because they both lusted after the targeryn princess) and you have a pretty good reason, beyond just sneaky vs honesty on the part of their houses, for them to hate each other.
I’d write more, but im at work hehe. intersted to hear peoples interprtations of the above scenes, great topic robb, mucho TP's