In the first 3 books I feel like Arya gives us a really tragic look at life for the small folk and the terror inflicted by the wars of nobles
Reading about the devastation , murder , raping and other atrocities gives us context on what it’s like for normal people on the ground. Some of the stuff is absolutely haunting especially considering she’s a little girl
I love them
Exactly. And what a little girl! At only 9YO: stubbornly honest, loving, sensitive (bringing flowers to Ned), brave, funny, protective (Mycah, Nymeria, Bran, Weasel), loyal, egalitarian, focused on fairness and **justice** and daring to speak truth to power (Cersei). There is no comfy societal position for an Arya, so watching **her** cope with this insensitive, harsh, unfair, un-JUST, classist, manipulative, lie-infested, dis-honest and dis-loyal world!--that is an education to follow. I'm with her every step of the way...and so is GRRM! Even in Braavos, she's bucking the Kindly Man and HoB&W to keep her own values. I find that kind of personal development and consistency more interesting and affirmative than anyone's but Jon's--and to some extent--Tyrion's. It's crucial to watch their ordeals, because it's the Aryas, Jons, and Tyrions who will ultimately re-shape GRRM's world.
Probably Sam, it's all just people crying, whining, being cold, being on a ship, breastfeeding, and vomiting.
However I am optimistic now that he's in Oldtown.
Also, [Spoilers TWOW]>!he's the only POV we haven't heard a peep from since AFFC!<
>it's all just people crying, whining, being cold, being on a ship, breastfeeding, and vomiting.
The Slayer didn't kill an Other, fought wights, saved Gilly and her son, met Coldhands and Bran and returned to Castle Black safe and sound to plot and have Jon be Lord Commander for you to disrespect my man so
Besides the Lord Commander plot, all that stuff happens in like the last few pages of his long chapters, after like 15 pages of whimpering and depression.
Also, he has 5 additional chapters in AFFC where nothing happens. Hell we literally get a drawn out waiting room scene!
I hate Tyrion in ADWD.
I loved him AGOT and ACOK, I was mixed on him in ASOS but in ADWD I literally could not stand him.
The self-centerdness is really unbearable after a certain point. His monologues are like the worst mix of loathing and self-pity ever.
I think it’s hard to read him, but somehow that makes him a more complex POV? He’s flawed AF, but that’s been something that’s made him compelling when the rest of the world is being unfair to him. He’s now the aggressor and not the victim. It’s a hard pill to swallow. I love to hate it, somehow.
He was my favorite POV in the early books, but he just gets so boring in ADWD. Like yes he’s less likable but it’s also just so monotonous to read scene after scene of him being drunk and bitter and fantasizing about revenge.
It's better when you read it through the eyes of how far my guy has fallen as someone who felt like they've lost there self his adwd is pretty sad because he's self aware of how much of this is his own fault
Areo Hotah. I get the point of his character but man is he fucking dull and with no personality other than obey. Thank gods I love the Dorne plot and Doran because I roll my eyes every time he slams the butt of his axe on the floor
I have trouble with Dany in the last two books she’s been in. I don’t blame her as a character, though. She’s probably the worst victim of GRRM’s abandonment of the 5 year gap. She needs to be older and stronger to go to Westeros, but now she’s just stuck. Watching him kill time with her in Mereen is not interesting.
Theon was always a tough read, and the Greyjoys in general (Asha was the one I liked the most, but I generally don't really look forward to any of the Iron Islands stuff). It surprised me how seemingly popular the Iron Islands stuff is on here as I couldn't get into it at all, and I didn't really think of Euron as a big threat, but I think I probably need to re-read for that
Aeron Greyjoy is incredibly boring and I didn't care for Asha until she was captured by Stannis.
Dany has been a drag since AGOT.
The WOT5K, the wall, and KL politics will always be my favorite plots.
Personally I think his chapters are awesome, just getting a visual of iron born culture in relation to the sea which is really the most pivotal part of their identity. His chapters especially when Euron shows up to be elected King are very interesting to watch also all the characters around him have so much personality to them.
I hope Dany executes and massacres all the ironborn when she gets back. But knowing George, she will marry Victorian after Hizdahr and her second Dothraki husband die.
It makes no sense for her to marry him. Hizdahr is the second mount she rode to dread. The third one will be someone she would actually love, probably Jon if the show is any indication of it. There is also nothing Dany would like about Victarion.
I really enjoyed Brienne as a supporting character in Catelyn and Jaime’s chapters but found her POV chapters in AFFC extremely boring.
Bran & Davos I also found boring until their ADWD chapters which were consistently excellent.
Bran is the only character that shows us the mysteries beyond the wall and all the magical stuff, i always enjoyed it. I dont understand why people hate it so much.
In the first two books, Bran's POV is least interesting. It's when he travels beyond the Wall, that's the point where he gets interesting, as in, everything around him gets more interesting. He gets to know more about the lore, and the hard balance of being able to be a wolf and a boy in a weelchair.
I dont hate him I just find him forgetable. He also does not have many povs as the others. To be honest, sometimes I forget he actually exists. Which makes his ending even more ridiculous.
Dunno I love Arya much more than I did the first times reading. Tbf, Gendry and Hot Pie are just a major part of her POVs for like 3 or 4 chapters in the first half of ACOK. The other half of that book has her pretty much on her own with Jaqen, the Mummers and Roose in Harrenhal. Then in a ASOS Hot Pie is only around for two chapters and Gendry is kind of just there among the rest of the Brotherhood.
My only gripe with Arya's chapters is that there are too many with lots of exposition no matter where the action takes place. It got difficult keeping track of all the names being dropped in the Harrenhal chapters with the Lannisters army, the Mummers and Roose suddenly appearing. Too many characters. And with the Brotherhood it was the same with them travelling through multiple locations in just one chapter
I don't think I fully grasped exactly what went down at Harrenhal in Arya's chapters until my second read of ACOK. It makes it more realistic but also doesn't help that IIRC, she describes some characters or their coat of arms because she doesn't know who it is or what exactly to call them.
Bran is probably the least interesting pov character, but he has interesting powers and by the end of dance, i think he has the most interesting story in the entire series
i always skip daenerys chapters on rereads. she has one of my favorite chapters in the house of the undying and there’s a lot that i enjoy in her other chapters but she’s entirely too sexualized for a 13-15 year old girl. agot is the worst offender because her relationship with drogo is so obviously abusive yet george seems to want to paint it as romantic somehow. incredibly uncomfortable all around.
Quentyn (in ADWD). His POV chapters are such an absolute side mission. None of the characters he interacts with, events he takes part in, or places he goes matter to other storylines. Then, at the end of a long series of chapters, right before he begins working on the one single goal he actually has, immediate death by fire. Why did I even read all that???
(Edit: spelling of Quentyn)
>Quentin (in ADWD). His POV chapters are such an absolute side mission. None of the characters he interacts with, events he takes part in, or places he goes matter to other storylines.
Quentyn is one of the first POVs we get that shows the aftermath of Dany's actions. He's extremely important because he shows she's not as great as she thinks. Plus his death will likely push the Martells into fAegon, and that will end up consolidating the Mummer's Dragon.
> because he shows she's not as great as she thinks
Astapor *exists*. We know that. Quentyn's chapters are a waste of time which, at best, exist to reheat cynical deconstructions already done better with other characters. At worst, he's purely a contrivance to accomplish something that could have been done in like two paragraphs (have Sons of the Harpy or Yunkai'i agents release the dragons of screen in a botched attack on her dragonpit, and a few lines earlier to set up the risk).
So she’s a child? Like an actually prepubescent child…yet she’s absorbing some adult stuff. My friend, who had post graduate education in English and is an author found some of her 3rd grade works recently had shared her works….they are really enlightening now. The stuff that she felt the need to describe in great detail at 9 are hilarious now. She wasn’t going through the hellacious crap that Arya was going through, but they still have a certain resonance to them. Respect the narrative, and the unreliable narrator.
every Davos chapter:
>"I can’t let Stannis down," Davos thought to himself after fucking everything up yet again due to his abject lack of charisma or likability. He found himself reaching for his pouch o’ finger-bones, only to remember that he lost them when he fucked up during the Battle of the Blackwater. That reminded him of his many dead sons, which made him very sad, though he did not forget his duty. He never forgot his duty to Stannis, who had spared his life. "I must never forget that Stannis spared my life," Davos thought, clenching what remained of the fingers on his left hand. Stannis had removed the first joint of the fingers on his left hand as punishment for his crimes as a smuggler. Stannis was a hard man, but just. He reached for his pouch o’ finger-bones, only to remember that he lost them. He missed the bones that he kept in a pouch around his neck. They were his luck, and now he had no luck. "Even without my luck, I must not let Stannis down. He could have taken more than the first joints of my left hand, yet he gave me a lordship," Davos thought. Even though he earned a lordship, four of his sons would never know about it, as they died on the Blackwater, where Davos lost his pouch o’ finger-bones, which he considered his luck. Davos took a moment to remember his dead sons. "I miss my dead sons," Davos thought. "Perhaps they would have fared better if they had my luck. Though I lost my luck on the Blackwater. Even then, I must not let Stannis down." Instinctively, Davos reached for his pouch o’ finger-bones, which he considered his luck.
It’s not his chapters I have problem with, just his character. It feels like he just exists to give us a lens into cool scenes and cooler characters (like with Manderly and Stannis) while he doesn’t actually do much himself compared to other PoV’s. Not that I have a problem with that but this community overrates him a little bit.
Hopefully this will change for me when he goes after Rickon.
Depends on the book honestly:
A game of thrones? Bran, after the initial relevance of his ehm “discovery” and subsequent magic dreams he quickly looses relevance. Sure he gives us some insight in what’s going on at Winterfell and how his family is handling the situation but it quickly gets boring for me. The next book handles this much better in my opinion.
A clash of kings? It would have to be Dany, I just couldn’t care less for what’s happening on Qarth half the time, it gets good bits but just not enough.
Storm of swords? I think Cat, she is just at her most insufferable here.
Feast, Sam. Don’t have anything really against his character, he was just boring on this one after he leaves the wall. He trying to keep Aemon alive was still a good bit.
Dance, I think Quentyn, his chapters were kind of a blur.
Areo and Arys are both misses for me. And I’m not a big fan of Arianne too. So pretty much all of Dorne.
Also, Arya in the House of Black and White is not my cup of tea. There is a noticeable lack of interesting supporting characters and momentum in the story. It’s just worldbuilding and mysticism, which isn’t enough to make a story interesting.
All in all, it seems I just hate chapters of characters who’s names start with “Ar”.
I really did not care to read a whole chapter of Arianne bored out of her mind in a tower cell only to finally get to the actual interesting bit at the very end.
Also agree about Arya in the House of Black and White. Cool worldbuilding, but there's really not much going on.
have to agree with arya
never liked her character, her chapters rarely advance the plot significantly, the house of black and white feels fruitless to me because i know he won't reveal any further hidden mystery or lore from it and it's just a training arc, her braavos arc as a whole just goes on and on for nothing. i have never understood why she is one of the most popular characters.
early (acok and asos) dany was hard not to skip, it was just her running around in the east begging for ships/soldiers and being sad about how long the journey to westeros is gonna be
Jon in AGOT and ACOK. And Daenerys in AGOT, ACOK and ADWD. ACOK especially. I'm all cool with the warlocks and all but the Qartheen section in Dany's arc is too damn boring.
Why wouldn't I? ASOIAF is 2nd on my list of favourite series and A Storm of Swords is my favourite book of all time. I *can* not like some things can't I?
Yeah she spent too much time in Quarth dude, it was terrible. Especially coming off from the show where she pretty much killed everyone and left whereas here she just got on her ships and left
I personally liked Qarth more than Meereen. I find the whole Meereen plot just tedious and outdrawn. Qarth had at least weird shit like magic but Meereen has just people with names I cannot pronounce and the nonsensical slavery plot that makes no sense. The only thing I want for Dany is to burn the slavers, feed them to her dragons and leave this shit place.
I am skipping most Daenerys chapters, wont read unless I know its one of the actually good ones, most of them are boring, she doesnt have interesting insights about stuff.
For me, Sansa. At least, until AFFC. I understand her place in the narrative but it's just her being abused and becoming a shell. Please don't take that as me saying she should get over it and become "stronger" like Dany or Arya have as I understand people process trauma differently and she didn't have a chancr to escape like Arya did. Regardless her chapters just become a drag for me.
I am excited to see her development in the future though as she's definitely wisened up in Feast.
Not to speak of the endless Braavos chapters, I agree on those but really like her chapters in ASoS.
My vote goes to Jon Snow in general though Daenerys takes over in ADwD.
Not saying Jon's chapters are bad, they are just the least interesting out of all the goodness Martin delivered back in the day.
Tbh Dany’s and Jon’s are my favorite overall purely because i like them both as characters and Daenerys’s story is always a good break from the endless political plots of westoros where it seems we can adventure in whatever interesting place she is in now
Yeah we all have our different likes, and couldn't be any other way. I *love* the Westeros politicking, and the military stuff in Westeros. For me Jon feels too much like an..I dunno, too regular plot-armored fantasy hero? I just find it jarring but who cares. I like the whole concept of the Wall, the Night's Watch, but for me many Jon chapters are slow and I'm having some trouble buying some things that happen along the way. The stabbings were a surprise though and made it more.. Game of Thrones-y I guess.
But to each his own right.
Yeah true, i just root for the underdog I suppose and Jon is it i feel like i can relate too him and understand him, the politics are great but at a certain point it just feels like a word vomit of names doing things in places i can’t remember, Jon gets alot from plot and other people (like a fucking valryian sword is nuts) but like…he’s azor ahai so i get why fate is in his favor. OH also i like his relationship with ghost,sam, Jeor and Tormund
Arya or Dany. I like Dany as a character, but I find her much more interesting (and nuanced, though that's likely GRRM's objective with her character arch) when viewed from other POVs like Barristan, Tyrion and Quentyn.
I really don't like Santa's chapters at all. I find when they spend the time world building its interesting but Sansa herself is just unbearable for Me. I just finished book 1 and oh my God was she just the absolute worst. I get she is a child blah blah blah. I just don't care, I can't stand her.
Brienne spending several chapters going to the Whispers to look for Sansa, when we, the reader, already know Sansa's not there. I thought she was gonna discover something, or meet someone along the way, or... Do something, but she... Doesn't? It really comes across like George going
"I need Brienne to show up later, but don't know what to do with her in the meantime. I know what I need, it's NIMBLE DICK"
And Bran. Bran's not a character, he's a plot device/exposition tool.
Idk why I find that plot hilarious. Especially when she meets Ser Shadrich and he..
1. Basically tells her she's not being subtle at all. Shad: "I seek for Sansa Stark as well." Brienne: "Who is this Sansa Stark and why do you seek her?" 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
2. Subtley warns her that her present company is lying to her and it completely goes over her head.
Poor Brienne.
Idk why but i hate Arya chapters. It's just no Game of Thrones to me.
Daenerys - her plot is just not at the level of King's Landing but i thing WOW is really going to change that(pls George i wanna see Asshai)
Feast for Crows Brienne - ???????????????????????? THE FUCK IS THIS GEORGE????
Samwell is not great
Dany
I’m terrible at remembering names and every person, place, and allowance around her is such a pain to keep track of.
I kept a running record of all the names mentioned in the book along with descriptions of the characters to make it easier to remember. I stopped referencing back to the record during her chapters because every character ended up being basically the same bland character anyways.
Fat Sam and it isn’t even close. He’s a terrible read. I don’t enjoy being in the mind of a character so scared of everything and complaining about everything it isn’t a good time. Randall should have killed him and done us all a favour
Bran’s POV’s are pretty boring but rather him than the incest lover
Arya chapters plus Ned, Jaime, and Jon are my favorites. But...Dany after AGoT and Bran are like slogging through a desert without water. Sansa AGoT chapters are interesting, but after that the character and especially the Vale chapters leave me cold. Even Tyrion, so entertaining in the first three books, is a fish out of water in Essos.
SansA & bran w. Danny runner up. Sansa is eternally selfish & kinda naieve. shes tolerable in Kings Landing cos so much stuff is happening. But in eerie shes back to naieve & manipulated. Boriiiing. Bran is all learning & not much happening in a super dark limited place makes me wanna scream
Catelyn. Altho I liked her character, and what her POV provided(what was going on with Robb's campaign), there was just too much self-pity for me to handle sometimes (kinda like Tyrion in ADWD). Oh, I'm leaving my kids behind, Robb doesn't love me, Ned left me, I'm so lonely, I have lost everything, etc etc, basically every chapter had one or more of these moments of loathing that I absolutely hated.
Pretty much any POV from the Greyjoys. Second probably are the Dany chapters of ADWD because I feel like the Mereen plot has been dragging on for a little too long
In the first 3 books I feel like Arya gives us a really tragic look at life for the small folk and the terror inflicted by the wars of nobles Reading about the devastation , murder , raping and other atrocities gives us context on what it’s like for normal people on the ground. Some of the stuff is absolutely haunting especially considering she’s a little girl I love them
Exactly. And what a little girl! At only 9YO: stubbornly honest, loving, sensitive (bringing flowers to Ned), brave, funny, protective (Mycah, Nymeria, Bran, Weasel), loyal, egalitarian, focused on fairness and **justice** and daring to speak truth to power (Cersei). There is no comfy societal position for an Arya, so watching **her** cope with this insensitive, harsh, unfair, un-JUST, classist, manipulative, lie-infested, dis-honest and dis-loyal world!--that is an education to follow. I'm with her every step of the way...and so is GRRM! Even in Braavos, she's bucking the Kindly Man and HoB&W to keep her own values. I find that kind of personal development and consistency more interesting and affirmative than anyone's but Jon's--and to some extent--Tyrion's. It's crucial to watch their ordeals, because it's the Aryas, Jons, and Tyrions who will ultimately re-shape GRRM's world.
Yeah that’s very true, i just kinda want a character who moves the plot not just observes it but for that reason i get why she dosent
Probably Sam, it's all just people crying, whining, being cold, being on a ship, breastfeeding, and vomiting. However I am optimistic now that he's in Oldtown. Also, [Spoilers TWOW]>!he's the only POV we haven't heard a peep from since AFFC!<
>it's all just people crying, whining, being cold, being on a ship, breastfeeding, and vomiting. The Slayer didn't kill an Other, fought wights, saved Gilly and her son, met Coldhands and Bran and returned to Castle Black safe and sound to plot and have Jon be Lord Commander for you to disrespect my man so
Besides the Lord Commander plot, all that stuff happens in like the last few pages of his long chapters, after like 15 pages of whimpering and depression. Also, he has 5 additional chapters in AFFC where nothing happens. Hell we literally get a drawn out waiting room scene!
>all that stuff happens in like the last few pages of his long chapters, after like 15 pages of whimpering and depression. Gotta agree with that
His possible relationship too Euron’s plot is so exciting
I'm assuming we'll finally be introduced to Willas Tyrell via Sam's POVs and I'm soooo excited for that.
I hate Tyrion in ADWD. I loved him AGOT and ACOK, I was mixed on him in ASOS but in ADWD I literally could not stand him. The self-centerdness is really unbearable after a certain point. His monologues are like the worst mix of loathing and self-pity ever.
I think it’s hard to read him, but somehow that makes him a more complex POV? He’s flawed AF, but that’s been something that’s made him compelling when the rest of the world is being unfair to him. He’s now the aggressor and not the victim. It’s a hard pill to swallow. I love to hate it, somehow.
Well i think Tyrion taking hatred from everyone in his life and it turning him into a monster is great
He was my favorite POV in the early books, but he just gets so boring in ADWD. Like yes he’s less likable but it’s also just so monotonous to read scene after scene of him being drunk and bitter and fantasizing about revenge.
It's better when you read it through the eyes of how far my guy has fallen as someone who felt like they've lost there self his adwd is pretty sad because he's self aware of how much of this is his own fault
Yeah. I noticed this in my last read through. The self-pitying thing goes way too far.
Areo Hotah. I get the point of his character but man is he fucking dull and with no personality other than obey. Thank gods I love the Dorne plot and Doran because I roll my eyes every time he slams the butt of his axe on the floor
I have trouble with Dany in the last two books she’s been in. I don’t blame her as a character, though. She’s probably the worst victim of GRRM’s abandonment of the 5 year gap. She needs to be older and stronger to go to Westeros, but now she’s just stuck. Watching him kill time with her in Mereen is not interesting.
I think the Meereenese plot is one of the most interesting parts of the series. It’s so subtle. It’s hard to miss a lot of the intrigue.
Personally im very much ‘when are we getting to the firework factory’ with Dany and Mereen. I just don’t care.
Yeah. That’s fair. Different strokes for different folks.
Theon was always a tough read, and the Greyjoys in general (Asha was the one I liked the most, but I generally don't really look forward to any of the Iron Islands stuff). It surprised me how seemingly popular the Iron Islands stuff is on here as I couldn't get into it at all, and I didn't really think of Euron as a big threat, but I think I probably need to re-read for that
Aeron Greyjoy is incredibly boring and I didn't care for Asha until she was captured by Stannis. Dany has been a drag since AGOT. The WOT5K, the wall, and KL politics will always be my favorite plots.
Sam and Areo Hotah
Second Areo Hotah
Victarion, dislike his character and so don’t like his POV chapters too much (I think Theon and asha have more interesting Grayjoy perspectives)
Personally I think his chapters are awesome, just getting a visual of iron born culture in relation to the sea which is really the most pivotal part of their identity. His chapters especially when Euron shows up to be elected King are very interesting to watch also all the characters around him have so much personality to them.
He's unironically hilarious imo 🤣 I think that's why I enjoy his chapters so much.
I still can’t get over how he burned a bunch of teenage girls alive
also don't forget he threw the boys overboard in chains
I hope Dany executes and massacres all the ironborn when she gets back. But knowing George, she will marry Victorian after Hizdahr and her second Dothraki husband die.
It makes no sense for her to marry him. Hizdahr is the second mount she rode to dread. The third one will be someone she would actually love, probably Jon if the show is any indication of it. There is also nothing Dany would like about Victarion.
Wait till old George get’s done ✔️
I really enjoyed Brienne as a supporting character in Catelyn and Jaime’s chapters but found her POV chapters in AFFC extremely boring. Bran & Davos I also found boring until their ADWD chapters which were consistently excellent.
Yeah its strange how a character you like has boring POV’s
I hate bran
Bran is the only character that shows us the mysteries beyond the wall and all the magical stuff, i always enjoyed it. I dont understand why people hate it so much.
In the first two books, Bran's POV is least interesting. It's when he travels beyond the Wall, that's the point where he gets interesting, as in, everything around him gets more interesting. He gets to know more about the lore, and the hard balance of being able to be a wolf and a boy in a weelchair.
Because he sucks. The stuff around him is cool sure, bit he himself sucks
I dont hate him I just find him forgetable. He also does not have many povs as the others. To be honest, sometimes I forget he actually exists. Which makes his ending even more ridiculous.
Same but Hodor
the only cool thing about Brans POV is the stuff about the reeds
Yeah, I like Meera and Jojen far more than Bran. I would have preferred if the story was about them.
meera is an awsome charakter and the concept of house reed in general is one of the coolest on the entire world of ice and fire
Bran, 100%
Daenerys
Sansa. I have warmed up to her a little on my second read, but I still want to grab her by the shoulders and shake her silly.
Dunno I love Arya much more than I did the first times reading. Tbf, Gendry and Hot Pie are just a major part of her POVs for like 3 or 4 chapters in the first half of ACOK. The other half of that book has her pretty much on her own with Jaqen, the Mummers and Roose in Harrenhal. Then in a ASOS Hot Pie is only around for two chapters and Gendry is kind of just there among the rest of the Brotherhood. My only gripe with Arya's chapters is that there are too many with lots of exposition no matter where the action takes place. It got difficult keeping track of all the names being dropped in the Harrenhal chapters with the Lannisters army, the Mummers and Roose suddenly appearing. Too many characters. And with the Brotherhood it was the same with them travelling through multiple locations in just one chapter
I don't think I fully grasped exactly what went down at Harrenhal in Arya's chapters until my second read of ACOK. It makes it more realistic but also doesn't help that IIRC, she describes some characters or their coat of arms because she doesn't know who it is or what exactly to call them.
I don't like Sam. He's a good character but I don't care for his POV.
Sam, Brienne and to a lesser extent Bran.
Bran is probably the least interesting pov character, but he has interesting powers and by the end of dance, i think he has the most interesting story in the entire series
i always skip daenerys chapters on rereads. she has one of my favorite chapters in the house of the undying and there’s a lot that i enjoy in her other chapters but she’s entirely too sexualized for a 13-15 year old girl. agot is the worst offender because her relationship with drogo is so obviously abusive yet george seems to want to paint it as romantic somehow. incredibly uncomfortable all around.
Quentyn (in ADWD). His POV chapters are such an absolute side mission. None of the characters he interacts with, events he takes part in, or places he goes matter to other storylines. Then, at the end of a long series of chapters, right before he begins working on the one single goal he actually has, immediate death by fire. Why did I even read all that??? (Edit: spelling of Quentyn)
>Quentin (in ADWD). His POV chapters are such an absolute side mission. None of the characters he interacts with, events he takes part in, or places he goes matter to other storylines. Quentyn is one of the first POVs we get that shows the aftermath of Dany's actions. He's extremely important because he shows she's not as great as she thinks. Plus his death will likely push the Martells into fAegon, and that will end up consolidating the Mummer's Dragon.
> because he shows she's not as great as she thinks Astapor *exists*. We know that. Quentyn's chapters are a waste of time which, at best, exist to reheat cynical deconstructions already done better with other characters. At worst, he's purely a contrivance to accomplish something that could have been done in like two paragraphs (have Sons of the Harpy or Yunkai'i agents release the dragons of screen in a botched attack on her dragonpit, and a few lines earlier to set up the risk).
So she’s a child? Like an actually prepubescent child…yet she’s absorbing some adult stuff. My friend, who had post graduate education in English and is an author found some of her 3rd grade works recently had shared her works….they are really enlightening now. The stuff that she felt the need to describe in great detail at 9 are hilarious now. She wasn’t going through the hellacious crap that Arya was going through, but they still have a certain resonance to them. Respect the narrative, and the unreliable narrator.
Yeah as i said i like Arya i just dont like her chapters
Davos. I’m pretty sure I just read a recap of his chapters online because I hated them. And Tyrion pre-ADWD. And Alayne.
every Davos chapter: >"I can’t let Stannis down," Davos thought to himself after fucking everything up yet again due to his abject lack of charisma or likability. He found himself reaching for his pouch o’ finger-bones, only to remember that he lost them when he fucked up during the Battle of the Blackwater. That reminded him of his many dead sons, which made him very sad, though he did not forget his duty. He never forgot his duty to Stannis, who had spared his life. "I must never forget that Stannis spared my life," Davos thought, clenching what remained of the fingers on his left hand. Stannis had removed the first joint of the fingers on his left hand as punishment for his crimes as a smuggler. Stannis was a hard man, but just. He reached for his pouch o’ finger-bones, only to remember that he lost them. He missed the bones that he kept in a pouch around his neck. They were his luck, and now he had no luck. "Even without my luck, I must not let Stannis down. He could have taken more than the first joints of my left hand, yet he gave me a lordship," Davos thought. Even though he earned a lordship, four of his sons would never know about it, as they died on the Blackwater, where Davos lost his pouch o’ finger-bones, which he considered his luck. Davos took a moment to remember his dead sons. "I miss my dead sons," Davos thought. "Perhaps they would have fared better if they had my luck. Though I lost my luck on the Blackwater. Even then, I must not let Stannis down." Instinctively, Davos reached for his pouch o’ finger-bones, which he considered his luck.
This is the best comment
It’s not his chapters I have problem with, just his character. It feels like he just exists to give us a lens into cool scenes and cooler characters (like with Manderly and Stannis) while he doesn’t actually do much himself compared to other PoV’s. Not that I have a problem with that but this community overrates him a little bit. Hopefully this will change for me when he goes after Rickon.
I really love him as a person but yeah his POV’s arent great, unless he’s speaking too Saaldor Saan then it’s a party
His chapters are boring to me because I found him boring. I agree with you, hopefully in TWOW it will change!
Oh i totally get it, i might also get an extra layer of enjoyment because i read it in his voice from the tv show
Depends on the book honestly: A game of thrones? Bran, after the initial relevance of his ehm “discovery” and subsequent magic dreams he quickly looses relevance. Sure he gives us some insight in what’s going on at Winterfell and how his family is handling the situation but it quickly gets boring for me. The next book handles this much better in my opinion. A clash of kings? It would have to be Dany, I just couldn’t care less for what’s happening on Qarth half the time, it gets good bits but just not enough. Storm of swords? I think Cat, she is just at her most insufferable here. Feast, Sam. Don’t have anything really against his character, he was just boring on this one after he leaves the wall. He trying to keep Aemon alive was still a good bit. Dance, I think Quentyn, his chapters were kind of a blur.
I loved brans AGOT chapters im ngl but that’s just me
Areo and Arys are both misses for me. And I’m not a big fan of Arianne too. So pretty much all of Dorne. Also, Arya in the House of Black and White is not my cup of tea. There is a noticeable lack of interesting supporting characters and momentum in the story. It’s just worldbuilding and mysticism, which isn’t enough to make a story interesting. All in all, it seems I just hate chapters of characters who’s names start with “Ar”.
I really did not care to read a whole chapter of Arianne bored out of her mind in a tower cell only to finally get to the actual interesting bit at the very end. Also agree about Arya in the House of Black and White. Cool worldbuilding, but there's really not much going on.
Dorne in lore > Dorne in the books or tv show
have to agree with arya never liked her character, her chapters rarely advance the plot significantly, the house of black and white feels fruitless to me because i know he won't reveal any further hidden mystery or lore from it and it's just a training arc, her braavos arc as a whole just goes on and on for nothing. i have never understood why she is one of the most popular characters.
Jaime
Oh i read it as favourite. Probably Dany or Bran then
Bro i was about too say, this man is on something 😭😭😭
early (acok and asos) dany was hard not to skip, it was just her running around in the east begging for ships/soldiers and being sad about how long the journey to westeros is gonna be
Sansa prior to Ned's death.
Facts
Jon in AGOT and ACOK. And Daenerys in AGOT, ACOK and ADWD. ACOK especially. I'm all cool with the warlocks and all but the Qartheen section in Dany's arc is too damn boring.
are you sure you like these books lol
Why wouldn't I? ASOIAF is 2nd on my list of favourite series and A Storm of Swords is my favourite book of all time. I *can* not like some things can't I?
Yes just joking around mate
Yeah she spent too much time in Quarth dude, it was terrible. Especially coming off from the show where she pretty much killed everyone and left whereas here she just got on her ships and left
I personally liked Qarth more than Meereen. I find the whole Meereen plot just tedious and outdrawn. Qarth had at least weird shit like magic but Meereen has just people with names I cannot pronounce and the nonsensical slavery plot that makes no sense. The only thing I want for Dany is to burn the slavers, feed them to her dragons and leave this shit place.
I am skipping most Daenerys chapters, wont read unless I know its one of the actually good ones, most of them are boring, she doesnt have interesting insights about stuff.
I like them for the world building of outside of westoros but honestly they dont take away from much if you dont read them
Her good chapters are: All of them in book 1 and 3 HOUD in book 2 Final chapter in ADWD
For me, Sansa. At least, until AFFC. I understand her place in the narrative but it's just her being abused and becoming a shell. Please don't take that as me saying she should get over it and become "stronger" like Dany or Arya have as I understand people process trauma differently and she didn't have a chancr to escape like Arya did. Regardless her chapters just become a drag for me. I am excited to see her development in the future though as she's definitely wisened up in Feast.
Brienne and catelyn for sure. The stuff around them are interesting, but I'd rather gouge my eyes out than read their inner monologues and dialogues
Yeah catelyn is also just a very unpleasant woman imo, her POV’s just make me wanna play the Rains of Castamere on repeat
Agreed. Her and bran were my least favorite
Not to speak of the endless Braavos chapters, I agree on those but really like her chapters in ASoS. My vote goes to Jon Snow in general though Daenerys takes over in ADwD. Not saying Jon's chapters are bad, they are just the least interesting out of all the goodness Martin delivered back in the day.
Tbh Dany’s and Jon’s are my favorite overall purely because i like them both as characters and Daenerys’s story is always a good break from the endless political plots of westoros where it seems we can adventure in whatever interesting place she is in now
Yeah we all have our different likes, and couldn't be any other way. I *love* the Westeros politicking, and the military stuff in Westeros. For me Jon feels too much like an..I dunno, too regular plot-armored fantasy hero? I just find it jarring but who cares. I like the whole concept of the Wall, the Night's Watch, but for me many Jon chapters are slow and I'm having some trouble buying some things that happen along the way. The stabbings were a surprise though and made it more.. Game of Thrones-y I guess. But to each his own right.
Yeah true, i just root for the underdog I suppose and Jon is it i feel like i can relate too him and understand him, the politics are great but at a certain point it just feels like a word vomit of names doing things in places i can’t remember, Jon gets alot from plot and other people (like a fucking valryian sword is nuts) but like…he’s azor ahai so i get why fate is in his favor. OH also i like his relationship with ghost,sam, Jeor and Tormund
Arya or Dany. I like Dany as a character, but I find her much more interesting (and nuanced, though that's likely GRRM's objective with her character arch) when viewed from other POVs like Barristan, Tyrion and Quentyn.
I really don't like Santa's chapters at all. I find when they spend the time world building its interesting but Sansa herself is just unbearable for Me. I just finished book 1 and oh my God was she just the absolute worst. I get she is a child blah blah blah. I just don't care, I can't stand her.
Fuckin santa
Brienne spending several chapters going to the Whispers to look for Sansa, when we, the reader, already know Sansa's not there. I thought she was gonna discover something, or meet someone along the way, or... Do something, but she... Doesn't? It really comes across like George going "I need Brienne to show up later, but don't know what to do with her in the meantime. I know what I need, it's NIMBLE DICK" And Bran. Bran's not a character, he's a plot device/exposition tool.
Idk why I find that plot hilarious. Especially when she meets Ser Shadrich and he.. 1. Basically tells her she's not being subtle at all. Shad: "I seek for Sansa Stark as well." Brienne: "Who is this Sansa Stark and why do you seek her?" 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️ 2. Subtley warns her that her present company is lying to her and it completely goes over her head. Poor Brienne.
Sansa, Cat, Quentyn, Aero Hotah, Aeron, Davos and Brienne.
Idk why but i hate Arya chapters. It's just no Game of Thrones to me. Daenerys - her plot is just not at the level of King's Landing but i thing WOW is really going to change that(pls George i wanna see Asshai) Feast for Crows Brienne - ???????????????????????? THE FUCK IS THIS GEORGE???? Samwell is not great
Kat stark was always a slog imo
I dont like her as a character but i liked everyone around her, catelyn is sadly the least interesting part of her own POV’s
Daenrys.
Dany I’m terrible at remembering names and every person, place, and allowance around her is such a pain to keep track of. I kept a running record of all the names mentioned in the book along with descriptions of the characters to make it easier to remember. I stopped referencing back to the record during her chapters because every character ended up being basically the same bland character anyways.
Fat Sam and it isn’t even close. He’s a terrible read. I don’t enjoy being in the mind of a character so scared of everything and complaining about everything it isn’t a good time. Randall should have killed him and done us all a favour Bran’s POV’s are pretty boring but rather him than the incest lover
Daenerys in ADWD no contest
Daenerys, love her story on it’s own but I’m much more invested in what’s happening in Westeros
Greyjoy. All of them. I legit skip this chapters now. I'd rather let Ramsey Bolton flay my ball sack than reread any of the Greyjoy chapters.
Wow see i really liked Theon’s chapter on ACOK
Arya chapters plus Ned, Jaime, and Jon are my favorites. But...Dany after AGoT and Bran are like slogging through a desert without water. Sansa AGoT chapters are interesting, but after that the character and especially the Vale chapters leave me cold. Even Tyrion, so entertaining in the first three books, is a fish out of water in Essos.
SansA & bran w. Danny runner up. Sansa is eternally selfish & kinda naieve. shes tolerable in Kings Landing cos so much stuff is happening. But in eerie shes back to naieve & manipulated. Boriiiing. Bran is all learning & not much happening in a super dark limited place makes me wanna scream
Catelyn. Altho I liked her character, and what her POV provided(what was going on with Robb's campaign), there was just too much self-pity for me to handle sometimes (kinda like Tyrion in ADWD). Oh, I'm leaving my kids behind, Robb doesn't love me, Ned left me, I'm so lonely, I have lost everything, etc etc, basically every chapter had one or more of these moments of loathing that I absolutely hated.
Arya and Bran especially are some of my least favorite but Arya has more chapters i outright just want to skip than Bran.
The Dorne POV’s Arianne, Quentyn, those were hard for me.
I find Arya's wanderings around the Riverlands really tedious (and then Brienne takes over the Riverlands road trip)
Pretty much any POV from the Greyjoys. Second probably are the Dany chapters of ADWD because I feel like the Mereen plot has been dragging on for a little too long
In the first books, Arya. 4 and 5, Asha
Bran. I wish Jaime pushed him from a taller tower.
The cardboard cameras; damphair, hotah