The Start of War

The first thing I have to comment on is the style in which Martin wrote this. It is very easy to follow. I don't feel overwhelmed by an overabundance of detail. Now the abundance of characters on the other hand, wow. If I thought I had a lot of characters on my own works, or the ones with Katie and Mandy, I clearly had yet to read Game of Thrones (and let's face it, we all know the likeliness of me reading Tolkein is pretty slim).

Despite the number of characters I was most interested in three of them. Dany, Jon, and Arya. To me their stories have a lot to offer. Dany had my attention because you really see a growth in her. She starts out meek and subservient to her brother, who is a total tool, and grows into a strong woman. Even after the tragedy she is put through, she gains even more strength when she gets her dragons.

Now, Jon and Arya. I really loved the dynamic between the two of them at the start of the book. it was very obvious that Arya looked at Jon as her brother and not the bastard her mother saw. Due to that connection it was sad when they were separated to go their own ways. Ned did a great job with the two of them. They are both warriors, though Arya has being female against her in that retrospect. Based on what I have seen Jon go through at the Wall, I'm predicting he will be a great leader. The only way to find out is to keep reading the series. And for Martin to finish writing it, haha.

I enjoyed the set up to the series a lot. It is definitely going to be dramatic. The character that I think bothers me the most right now is Lysa (is anyone else pronouncing it Lisa in their heads?) She's just a couple knocks shy of sanity I think. Plus the fact that she is breastfeeding her 4 yr old just bothers me. It seemed to me Caetlyn was in for a rude awakening when she saw her sister.

What did everyone else think of the book?