ablogoficeandfire

[ablogoficeandfire]

Bran 1

I remember my daughter picking up the book for the first time and flipping past the prologue to see who’s POV chapter was first. “Bran? Why Bran?” Why Bran, indeed. Bran the Broken. The first of his name. But I’m getting waaay ahead of myself.

Bran 1 is the cornerstone of the series. Before there were Targaryans and Lannisters, before Westeros and the Iron Throne, before ice or fire, there were the Starks and their Direwolves. GRRM describes this chapter just coming to him out of nowhere one day, fully formed in his head, and, as anyone who has even dabbled in writing knows, when that happens sometimes you just have to write it down. It could have been a short story. Or a draft that never saw the light of day. It could have become a novel that went in any number of other directions. But it became this, foundational.

Bran 1 is such a great intro to the Starks and their Northern ways. We learn so much of Ned and his honor from his conversation with Bran. We see Jon’s kindness and his wise-beyond-his-years intuition we’ll see more of at Castle Black. See Theon’s crassness, Robb’s carefree boyishness, Bran’s dreams of adventure. And we see a Direwolf, impaled by a Stag’s antler, which should give us an idea of what’s to come.

Sometimes I wonder if any of the wisdom Ned shares with Bran will come back at some point. 

Can a man still be brave if he is afraid? That is the only time a man can be brave.

If you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words.

Interested to see how and when these things resurface and become relevant to Bran throughout his journey.

Bran’s final thoughts of the chapter are of Ghost, the albino wolf pup, who’s red eyes are open wide while the others’ eyes are still closed, and I can’t help but wonder if someone other than Ghost is watching through those red eyes.

[ablogoficeandfire]

Prologue

There are things to be learned even from the dead.

Oh, prologue. What a wonderful introduction to the world of ice and fire. I heard a youtuber (I forget who, probably one of the direwolf city girls) say they thought the secret to defeating the Others is hidden in the prologue, and they’ve read it 1000 times. I haven’t read it that many times, but every time I pick up the book i flip through it a bit looking for clues. 

Stray parts that stick out to me- 

Gared’s description of the cold, and specifically, how it burns, but also how, once you’re close enough to succumbing to it, how warmth and comfort overtake you. As far as I know, that’s a pretty accurate description of freezing to death, makes me wonder who we will see in this predicament once winter comes. Davos, perhaps? They are both missing some finger parts...

The wind is howling until the Others arrive, then it stops (makes me think of what Old Nan will say, something like does the cold bring the Others, or do the Others bringing the cold)

Will’s description of the Others, their armour, their swords, etc. The show really failed us on the visual effects there.

The leading Other pausing a bit when Ser Waymar Royce lifted his sword, it’s eyeing the sword. Do they know that there’s a type of steel out there that can kill them? Can they recognize it on sight the way many of the other characters can? (just speculation of course, I don’t believe it’s even been confirmed that Valyrian steel can kill an Other, but I’d be pretty surprised if it didn’t turn out that way).

The Others laughing and “mocking” Ser Waymar while killing him. They aren’t not just mindless evil snow Mcguffins, they have personalities, they have a sense of humor, they shit-talk during a fight. 

The steel sword getting colder and colder and colder from coming into contact with the Other’s sword, until it shattered. 

So much eye imagery.

I love how much information the prologue gives us without it feeling like exposition. There’s a wall that separates society from “wildlings”. Criminals get sent there as punishment. There are also knights. There’s someone important called Robert, and something called a Maester. Does it hold the secret of defeating the Others? Only George knows, I suppose. Maybe you need to blind them?

[ablogoficeandfire]

Hi friends! I’ve decided to read the ASOIAF series for the third time.

I started reading the series in college, somewhere between ACOK and ASOS. When ADWD release date was announced, I decided to re-read the first 4 books as a refresher. Forever hopeful and yearning for that sweet day when we get an announcement on the release date for TWOW, I’ve decided to go through them again, chapter by chapter, and take some notes as I go. I’m going to chronicle my thoughts, musings, predictions, and favorite tinfoil hat conspiracy theories here.

This blog will not be spoiler free, so anyone who hasn’t completed all of the available books and shows may not want to follow along, but all are welcome.