Thoughts: A Song of Ice and Fire Book One

[museme87]

I finally broke down and picked up a copy of A Song of Ice and Fire: Game of Thrones. I read it in just over a week, which pretty much sums up my reaction to the first book in the series. I was cautious at first because I'm not a fan of Tolkien and worried that GRRM might channel some of that style, but he totally didn't as far as pacing and descriptions go. So I would recommend the series to those who may not like high fantasy/Tolkien.

Suffice to say I think it's brilliant.


Likes

1. ARYA STARK. Reigning queen of my heart and tiny, resident bad ass of the seven kingdoms.
2. Arya Stark. I can't even stress this enough.


3. Shaggydog is the best name for a monster-sized wolf ever, not gonna lie.


4. Princess Rhaenys kitten was the one eared cat that Arya was chasing!!!!! (I don't know why I loved that part so much, but I did.)
5. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about Jon and his story, but I'm really down with it. He's easily one of my top five favorite characters, if not my top three.
6. I have a few issues with Catelyn, but I really admire her ability to lead, especially in the face of her family's deaths.
7. I loved the whole part that deals with why Jon Arryn was killed. I was glued to the page for hours while that part was happening.
8. So Ned is the standard honorable good guy, but not in the annoying way that seemed unrealistic.
9. I enjoyed learning about Ned the Warrior through seeing Robb in battle. It makes me admire Ned as both a military man and a father.
10. Tyrion is pretty cool. It makes me nervous that he may stay true to his Family of Assmunches, and that may impact my feelings on him a bit, but he's definitely a rich character.
11. Direwolves.
12. I was also worried about the Bran/Luwin/Osha/Hodor bits of the story, but I like those parts as well.
13. Lord Varys intrigues me. I don't know if I can trust him, but his job and his personality make me want to trust him.
14. I have complicated feelings about Dany. I don't dislike her, but she's changed a lot over one book and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the person she becomes after Drogo's death. Which may be the point, but still. So I'm reserving any strong judgment and leaving it at that.

Dislikes

1. Killing Lady. I swear to god that I will never forgive Cersei for that.
2. Joffrey Lannister. Ugh. (I don't mean that he's not a well written character, but I just really dislike him as a human being.)
3. Viserys. I tipped my hat to the Dothraki when they crowned him.
4. I was majorly disappointed in Petyr when he betrayed Ned. He's another character that I liked and sort of trusted, only to be disappointed by their actions. So I don't dislike him, but he's definitely on my shit list.
5. I liked the Dothraki up until they started raping everyone. And then they became exponentially less cool.
6. Lysa Arryn is due for a date with a mental health professional. That woman...I feel terrible because she obviously is suffering from something (ptsd?), but she also does shitty things?
7. Something has seemed to have snapped inside Dany, and again, that worries me. She was kind and saving women from sexual assault one minute and then burning one in a funeral pyre the next? Yeah.
8. I also have very complicated feelings about Sansa. She's made some major mistakes that have cost a lot of people, but in the same respect she's just a girl and pretty naive compared to her siblings. So I don't know whether to hold her accountable for her actions or to be understanding that she was largely uninformed and naive.

Things I need/want in Book Two

1. ARYA STARK. Just...a whole book about Arya. I don't even care what she's doing. Chasing cats. Getting dance lessons from a new instructor. Picking berries in the forest. I just need more Arya.
2. I need to know what Hodor means and why Hodor keeps saying it.
3. A reunion between Nymeria and Arya.
4. Zombie Lady rising from the dead to eat off Cersei and Joffrey's faces. (Not even sorry.)
5. The Lannisters spiraling into ruin to unseat them from their fucking high horses.
6. Sansa to channel her inner Stark/Tully to gain some ground in King's Landing.
7. Or even Sansa just out of King's Landing would be good.
8. Maybe Robb can get a girl? Or someone else? I might need a spot of romance that isn't Joff/Sansa.
9. I would really appreciate a gay character.

I think that's that. I'm happy to discuss with anyone so long as we keep the discussion within book one. Please no spoilers. I already fear that reading this series is going to be like riding on a merry-go-round of knives, so I don't really want to dread anything else.

Also, I have plans to watch the first season of the series. I hope it's faithful to the book.