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A Song of Ice and Fire -- **Unmarked Spoilers For All Books including ADWD**

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hemtae

Member
show day! a) foreign Jeyne Westerling continues to babe it up. A+. b) I was trying to explain about the Boltons to a friend who was confused about Harrenhal, and it occurred to me I don't quite have that timeline straight. Was Bolton still Robb's man (or at least playing so) when he held Harrenhal? Was his betrayal revealed at the Red Wedding? Because I remember he had a hand in it, so Robb must have trusted him there? also did Ramsay sack Winterfell on Roose's orders, or did Roose just roll with that once it happened?

Anyway I like Robb going to Frey for reinforcements to strike The Rock. Gunna make him getting iced an even bigger bummer for anyone not expecting the Red Wedding, cut down right on the eve of beginning a clever and righteous campaign against the Lannister home.

I think he told Theon that he turned once Theon took Winterfell.
 
I read 2 of the Dunk and Egg stories over the weekend. Good shit!

The first is a lot better than the second, but they are both very entertaining.

The second one ("The Sworn Sword") has me wanting to revist ADWD and re-read everything that mentions the Blackfyre Rebellion. The Golden Company was made up of people from that rebellion, right?
 

lingiii

Banned
I read 2 of the Dunk and Egg stories over the weekend. Good shit!

The first is a lot better than the second, but they are both very entertaining.

The second one ("The Sworn Sword") has me wanting to revist ADWD and re-read everything that mentions the Blackfyre Rebellion. The Golden Company was made up of people from that rebellion, right?

Yeah. "Beneath the gold, the bittter steel", one of their mottoes, is a play on Aegor Rivers, a Blackfyre known as "Bittersteel".
 

Bazza

Member
I read 2 of the Dunk and Egg stories over the weekend. Good shit!

The first is a lot better than the second, but they are both very entertaining.

The second one ("The Sworn Sword") has me wanting to revist ADWD and re-read everything that mentions the Blackfyre Rebellion. The Golden Company was made up of people from that rebellion, right?

I have the 3rd story here next to me but the book with the 2nd story in won't be delivered till Thursday :-(
 
Wait, so I can't get these books unless I pay 100 bucks for each one? That's rough. :(

Those are the graphic novels probably. Been out of print for a while I think. The actual novellas are in these:

Hedge Knight - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LVO6FS/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Sworn Sword - http://www.amazon.com/dp/034547578X/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Mystery Knight - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AEBUPSM/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Or alternatively you can get Dreamsongs vol. 2 for Hedge Knight if you see it on sale or something
 

Trasher

Member
Those are the graphic novels probably. Been out of print for a while I think. The actual novellas are in these:

Hedge Knight - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LVO6FS/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Sworn Sword - http://www.amazon.com/dp/034547578X/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Mystery Knight - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AEBUPSM/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Or alternatively you can get Dreamsongs vol. 2 for Hedge Knight if you see it on sale or something

Oh, okay. Cool.

Sorry if you posted that a second time. I only saw that other link where it was $95 or whatever. Those ones do look sweet though!
 
I read 2 of the Dunk and Egg stories over the weekend. Good shit!

The first is a lot better than the second, but they are both very entertaining.

The second one ("The Sworn Sword") has me wanting to revist ADWD and re-read everything that mentions the Blackfyre Rebellion. The Golden Company was made up of people from that rebellion, right?

The Dunk and Egg stories are so good.

They're just great with all of the little details they have and they make ADwD especially more enjoyable and interesting. Its just nice to see that era with all the various Targaryens. Just reading the main books, I had this impression of the Targaryens mostly just from Aerys and Viserys of them mostly being all nutty. Yet you read the Dunk and Egg novellas and you see how you had a wide range of Targaryens, personality wise. And its just cool to have some engaging stories that aren't necessarily somebody trying to wage some epic war or save the world but just smaller scale events that are no less interesting.

Really wish GRRM would get the next Dunk and Egg story out. Wasn't it supposed to be out by now?
 

lingiii

Banned
The Dunk and Egg stories are so good.

They're just great with all of the little details they have and they make ADwD especially more enjoyable and interesting. Its just nice to see that era with all the various Targaryens. Just reading the main books, I had this impression of the Targaryens mostly just from Aerys and Viserys of them mostly being all nutty. Yet you read the Dunk and Egg novellas and you see how you had a wide range of Targaryens, personality wise. And its just cool to have some engaging stories that aren't necessarily somebody trying to wage some epic war or save the world but just smaller scale events that are no less interesting.

Really wish GRRM would get the next Dunk and Egg story out. Wasn't it supposed to be out by now?

dog, guy needs to keep his eye on the prize.
 
Way back in A Game of Thrones Littlefinger told Cat that the Valyrian steel dagger used by Bran's assassin belonged to Tyrion. Did Tyrion ever confront Littlefinger about that?
 
Way back in A Game of Thrones Littlefinger told Cat that the Valyrian steel dagger used by Bran's assassin belonged to Tyrion. Did Tyrion ever confront Littlefinger about that?

I don't think Tyrion ever really found out why Catelyn believed he was the killer. He may have denied being guilty, but I don't believe he ever made the connection with Littlefinger.
 

hemtae

Member
I don't think Tyrion ever really found out why Catelyn believed he was the killer. He may have denied being guilty, but I don't believe he ever made the connection with Littlefinger.

I thought Cat explicitly told him what Littlefinger said. Or at least I remember him saying that he never bet against family.
 

Pollux

Member
I hope Bloodraven aka Brynden Rivers does not turn out to be an evil entity in the story. And if Jojen did get turned into paste (which I sincerly hope did not happen), then it must of been some sort of necessary sacrifice in order to unleash Bran 'The Treenet' Stark's dormant powers. Bran will effectively become a god in that cave, and like you said will never leave it.

Why does nobody listen to me when I say that Bran is going to turn out to be the Great Other who controls the Walkers or some crap like that.
 

lingiii

Banned
Howland Reed knows.

Howland Reed for President 2016

Why does nobody listen to me when I say that Bran is going to turn out to be the Great Other who controls the Walkers or some crap like that.

I don't know how the fuck I missed all this going on on the last page but I hadn't ever heard of Jojenpaste before. sweet Christ that's bonkers.

so how's this work then? Bran thought the paste looked like it was sauced in blood. He couldn't find Jojen/Meera after ascending to the trInternet. Jojen was real bummed/forsaw his impending death. Also, Brynden Rivers aka Bloodraven aka Three-eyed Crow practiced some dark magicks?

I guess I never really bothered to question why Bran was listening to three-eye. Rereading DWD now, that whole business is way undermotivated/examined once they meet the Children of the Forest. I've always figured the Old Gods were essentially Good, and didn't really truck with the Others. Right? Wouldn't the First Men like way not be down with the Others? Why would they worship the Old Gods if the jerks inflicted the walkers on them?

Edit: I guess Bran also had that vision from Way Back When of the Starks(?) executing a man in front of a weirwood in Winterfell. I figured that was supposed to be just right and proper: to execute a man in witness to the gods, but maybe it was something more sinister like a blood sacrifice? I'm not really onboard with all of this adding up though...
 

Trasher

Member
This whole cannibal Bran shit clearly went over my head because I never figured out any of that. I remember him eating the paste, but I don't remember it being glazed with blood or whatever. Going to have to reread that chapter.
 

lingiii

Banned
yeah I JUST read the scene where he eats the paste like last night and didn't pick up on any of that. I'll be pretty pissed if the children of the forest are Bad Guys. Maybe it's just a high price to pay to pull off the magic to do... whatever it is trInternet Bran is getting all prepared for.
 

ahoyhoy

Unconfirmed Member
Why does nobody listen to me when I say that Bran is going to turn out to be the Great Other who controls the Walkers or some crap like that.

That's been my working theory since undertaking my re-read. It seems to make sense in the "Ice v. Fire" context, as it wouldn't exactly make sense that the base of operations for the last bastion against The White Walkers would be deep within their territory.

The CotF seem to have no incentive to protect the world of men, seeing as they've been almost driven to extinction at the hands of humanity, along with most every other creature which might threaten their dominion. While they might have been allied with the First Men during the original Long Night (at which point time The Pact still held), the burning of the weirwoods and domination of the forests the Children once called home in the Southron lands, in addition to the slow expansion of wildlings into the Northern territories, might have motivated them to enlist the aid of The Other in culling humanity. In the process, they've begun exploiting the weirwood network, which itself is a neutral force to be used by either side.

The wights and White Walkers themselves are more of a tool for The Other and the CotF to exploit. They're like a biological weapon that they can deploy in a certain region but can't directly control, which is why the cave the Bloodraven is in is warded to keep them out.

It makes me wonder if there's another faction of the CotF currently residing on The God's Eye: one that might be more benevolent towards humanity.
 

Iksenpets

Banned
yeah I JUST read the scene where he eats the paste like last night and didn't pick up on any of that. I'll be pretty pissed if the children of the forest are Bad Guys. Maybe it's just a high price to pay to pull off the magic to do... whatever it is trInternet Bran is getting all prepared for.

The Children always felt off to me. Like they have agendas that Bran and crew don't know. And you would think that they must harbor some bitterness after basically being driven to extinction. What interest do they have in saving the world from the Others? They're going to die out anyway, and the world they're saving is run by the people who drove them out in the first place. Why wouldn't they just want to watch the world burn (freeze?) at this point? And Bloodraven is probably with them out of some lingering bitterness from all the Blackfyre stuff. Maybe he caught whiff through the tree Internet that Aegon is a Blackfyre and decided he'd rather destroy it all then risk Blackfyre butt touching the throne.
 

lingiii

Banned
children of the forest are dicks theory

oh man a lot of that comes together pretty well. what a bummer for Bran! the existence of The Other is still, I think, kind of a messy idea. if there really is some force/being bent on driving Westeros into foreverwinter, this makes a lot of sense.

does the continent experience winters? the story's in kind of a weird spot, stakes-wise. Should the Free Cities / Slaver's Bay / Meereen / Asshai give any shits about Westeros being overrun by Others from beyond the Wall? is there no demon-infested-North on the continent?
 

hemtae

Member
The Children always felt off to me. Like they have agendas that Bran and crew don't know. And you would think that they must harbor some bitterness after basically being driven to extinction. What interest do they have in saving the world from the Others? They're going to die out anyway, and the world they're saving is run by the people who drove them out in the first place. Why would they just want to watch the world burn (freeze?) at this point?

I think they aren't telling Bran and crew something but I don't think they would screw over Bran like that. We're constantly reminded that the Starks have the blood of the First Men in them and the Children of the Forest allied with them.
 

Pollux

Member
yeah I JUST read the scene where he eats the paste like last night and didn't pick up on any of that. I'll be pretty pissed if the children of the forest are Bad Guys. Maybe it's just a high price to pay to pull off the magic to do... whatever it is trInternet Bran is getting all prepared for.

I'll elaborate on my Bran theory later when I get home....

But, Melisandre did say that all magic comes with a price. Bran's price could be eating Jojen :jnc
 

Iksenpets

Banned
I think they aren't telling Bran and crew something but I don't think they would screw over Bran like that. We're constantly reminded that the Starks have the blood of the First Men in them and the Children of the Forest allied with them.

I think Bran is just a tool for them, and really when have old alliances meant much. The First Men didn't help the Children out much when other races came along who wanted to exterminate them.
 
oh man a lot of that comes together pretty well. what a bummer for Bran! the existence of The Other is still, I think, kind of a messy idea. if there really is some force/being bent on driving Westeros into foreverwinter, this makes a lot of sense.

does the continent experience winters? the story's in kind of a weird spot, stakes-wise. Should the Free Cities / Slaver's Bay / Meereen / Asshai give any shits about Westeros being overrun by Others from beyond the Wall? is there no demon-infested-North on the continent?

This is one of the reasons why I disliked how much Martin has focused on Essos. I preferred when it was an unknown, mysterious, foreign place. Now that we now pretty much everything about that continent, it lessened the importance of Westeros a ton. Like you said, we don't even know if Essos experiences harsh winters, and even if they do, they don't have a direct threat looming directly above them like Westeros does.

And since they're geographically separated continents, the whole "apocalyptic winter" scenario envisioned in the books looks like it'll be restricted to one relatively small landmass instead of the entire world.
 

tirminyl

Member
I think we have to see some major ends to a few of the big, lingering threads in the first half of the next book. I don't see how he can continue the story into it's larger conclusion if he doesn't get a move on in this regard. In that recent interview with Bryan Cogman on WiC.net about the show he said George has a clear vision for the rest of the story. That could be fluffy talk but I'd like to think it's the truth. Although, I'm not going to act surprised when he's on his AWOW press tour and starts dropping word of an 8th or 9th book.

I thought that was a decent interview and liked reading the response to some of the questions. Now I will have to hunt down D&B to get some of their motivations for stuff. Thanks for posting the link.
 

ahoyhoy

Unconfirmed Member
This is one of the reasons why I disliked how much Martin has focused on Essos. I preferred when it was an unknown, mysterious, foreign place. Now that we now pretty much everything about that continent, it lessened the importance of Westeros a ton. Like you said, we don't even know if Essos experiences harsh winters, and even if they do, they don't have a direct threat looming directly above them like Westeros does.

And since they're geographically separated continents, the whole "apocalyptic winter" scenario envisioned in the books looks like it'll be restricted to one relatively small landmass instead of the entire world.

I think Westeros experiences the harshest winters because, compared to Essos, more of its continent is represented by geographic north, while Essos is primarily based around (what I assume) to be the Equator. For Essos, places like Braavos (a place with a climate I'd consider akin to England) are the most settled northern points, while Westeros extends many leagues north of that (with climates ranging from somewhere around Boston at White Harbor all the way up to the Arctic North Pole).

The lack of "concern" for winter in Essos might also be explained by the absence of a cultural remembrance of "The Long Night" I don't think the original Long Night ever reached Essos, though refugees from Westeros certainly did spread across the oceans to form the order of R'holler. While many Westrosi might regard The Long Night as more myth than historical account, the very real presence of long, harsh, and deadly winters certainly helps the story propagate itself with every Summer/Winter cycle.
 

desh

Member
I just finished the three Dunk and Egg tales. The second one was by far the weakest, but I enjoyed them all immensely. I am almost anticipating a new Dunk and Egg tale more than Winds of Winter; most likely because they are short and sweet, and much easier reads. So, question about the name Blackfyre, was that a name given to bastards from Dragonstone, or where did that name come from?

Also, looking at bastard names, would Gendry's last name be Waters since he is from King's Landing? I don't think I've ever heard his last name mentioned.
 

Snake

Member
So, question about the name Blackfyre, was that a name given to bastards from Dragonstone, or where did that name come from?

Blackfyre was the name of the valyrian steel blade that Aegon the Conqueror wielded, which was passed down through the Targaryen line. Aegon IV gave the blade to his bastard son Daemon and legitimized him on his deathbed, but Daemon still couldn't be considered a Targaryen so he created his own noble house and called it Blackfyre.
 

diunxx

Member
I just finished the three Dunk and Egg tales. The second one was by far the weakest, but I enjoyed them all immensely. I am almost anticipating a new Dunk and Egg tale more than Winds of Winter; most likely because they are short and sweet, and much easier reads. So, question about the name Blackfyre, was that a name given to bastards from Dragonstone, or where did that name come from?

Also, looking at bastard names, would Gendry's last name be Waters since he is from King's Landing? I don't think I've ever heard his last name mentioned.

Only highborn bastards get the last names.
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I just finished the three Dunk and Egg tales. The second one was by far the weakest, but I enjoyed them all immensely. I am almost anticipating a new Dunk and Egg tale more than Winds of Winter; most likely because they are short and sweet, and much easier reads. So, question about the name Blackfyre, was that a name given to bastards from Dragonstone, or where did that name come from?

Also, looking at bastard names, would Gendry's last name be Waters since he is from King's Landing? I don't think I've ever heard his last name mentioned.

Gendry isn't aware of his father's identity. I think the only person who we know to be aware of it is Brienne.
 
Well, there is a theory I read somewhere I forgot where that says that Bran, by being able to warg into animals and trees, will eventually be able to warg into people as see things from their perspective, and since his visions can transcend time eventually he can see through the eyes of all the characters in the book. That in fact the entire POV structure of the series is really just Bran seeing all the events through the eyes of all the different characters, and that Bran being the first chapter in the book will also have the last chapter in the book.
 

Trasher

Member
Well, there is a theory I read somewhere I forgot where that says that Bran, by being able to warg into animals and trees, will eventually be able to warg into people as see things from their perspective, and since his visions can transcend time eventually he can see through the eyes of all the characters in the book. That in fact the entire POV structure of the series is really just Bran seeing all the events through the eyes of all the different characters, and that Bran being the first chapter in the book will also have the last chapter in the book.

Damn. I feel like there's an Xzibit joke in here.
 

Aiii

So not worth it
Well, there is a theory I read somewhere I forgot where that says that Bran, by being able to warg into animals and trees, will eventually be able to warg into people as see things from their perspective, and since his visions can transcend time eventually he can see through the eyes of all the characters in the book. That in fact the entire POV structure of the series is really just Bran seeing all the events through the eyes of all the different characters, and that Bran being the first chapter in the book will also have the last chapter in the book.

Seems like a very roundabout way to accomplish absolutely nothing.
 
Well, there is a theory I read somewhere I forgot where that says that Bran, by being able to warg into animals and trees, will eventually be able to warg into people as see things from their perspective, and since his visions can transcend time eventually he can see through the eyes of all the characters in the book. That in fact the entire POV structure of the series is really just Bran seeing all the events through the eyes of all the different characters, and that Bran being the first chapter in the book will also have the last chapter in the book.

ASOIAF the Uchikoshi version.
 
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