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A Song of Ice and Fire / A Song of Ice and Fire / I like it how

Next 20 Messages

Maeglin
User ID: 9259363 Oct 11th 9:09 PM
I thought it would be cool to have a topic that lets people say the little things that they thought made aSoIaF so great, for me it was the names, how GRRM changes the spelling of many common names like Robett-Robert, Walder-Walter, Lysa-Lisa, Melessa-Melissa, Martyn-Martin it just did something for me so if you have anything that made the story special for you please share it.

Min
User ID: 1446254 Oct 12th 4:15 AM
I loved the dry humour behind it, especially in the Tyrion scenes.

I loved the reality behind it, too. And, yes, the "graphic sex and violence" made the book mature and believeable in my eyes. The characters are alive and breathing.

Min
User ID: 1446254 Oct 12th 4:16 AM
but what I loved most was the fact that there is no clearly good and evil, no black and white, but shades of grey.

doctor doom
User ID: 1509104 Oct 12th 10:11 AM
That Min is what makes the books so great. The fact that Martin can take these "grey" characters and make them so wonderful. Half the time your rooting for people who you would normally depise in another novel, because the line between good and evil is so clear cut.

Kevin
User ID: 1766884 Oct 12th 12:22 PM
The fact that Martin surprised me. When the boy hero Bran who I thought would be the typical fantasy hero was thrown out the window, my jaw dropped. I put the book down stunned. It was then that I realized all bets were off. I was along for a ride that I didn't know how it would end. How refreshing.

Mike H.
User ID: 8290473 Oct 12th 4:42 PM
I'm with Min on this one. The shades of grey. The fact that the "good" guys aren't always so good, and the "bad" guys aren't always so bad is what makes this book so compelling.

Kevin - I had the same reaction when Ser Illyn Payne took to Ned Stark.

Carol
User ID: 9405543 Oct 12th 6:36 PM
The thing that surprised me most is the depth of such a great number of characters. Even very minor players have a personality and a story. Which I guess is just another way of saying what Min said.

Snake
User ID: 0018434 Oct 12th 6:40 PM
The relative lack of magic. I hate books where there is too much magic. Also it is very historical.

Ser Gary
User ID: 9279843 Oct 12th 6:42 PM
The fact that the story is so intelligent, so complex, so interesting and so intriguing that we regularly visit this site to discuss its various elements with other fascinated readers....who we have since come to regard as our friends.

This is a special community we have here, folks.

Min
User ID: 1446254 Oct 13th 3:54 AM
You are right. It is unique. I never found such acceptance and intelligence cumulated anywhere else on the net.

Ser Benjen
User ID: 1195644 Oct 13th 7:51 AM
Character development, which I guess includes the greyness of the characters, it just makes them all the more believable to me. I find myself getting attached to the characters. I was really upset about what happened to Eddard. I just didn't believe it. I had to read it again to let it sink in.

And the writing is superb. I can remember many chapters ending with me thinking "Holy sh&t!"

Claidhaim
User ID: 9544623 Oct 13th 8:54 AM
Just the fact that the first time I read AGOT, it made me angry, sad, and shout for joy. The characters are beleivable and the scenes are not overdrawn. I easily lost myself in this world and could actually picture not only the people, but the places.

doctor doom
User ID: 0449874 Oct 13th 11:00 AM
Benjen, I did the same thing. When Ned was killed I had to reread it like 4 times before I was certain. I just couldn't believe it. And the best part about that whole scene was the fact that Martin killed off a main, well-liked character and didn't even do it from his POV, it was done through Arya's.

Min
User ID: 1446254 Oct 13th 11:13 AM
I agree about Ned. Strangely, though: His death didn't make me cry. I cried when Lady was killed. I really did. It was just so unfair.

Ser Gary
User ID: 8068153 Oct 13th 12:22 PM
Ser Benjen is right about the "Holy Shit"s. I think I used the term "Wow!" instead, but it amounted to the same thing. I do remember thinking while I read AGOT that this was definitely going to become a classic fantasy series. I don't believe I ever looked at the page numbers because I never wanted the book to end. When it did, I found myself looking desperately for something to fill that emotional void in my life. Imagine?

KAH
User ID: 9209903 Oct 13th 12:40 PM
Well, I can only add my agreement on having the feeling of not wanting the book to end. I was captivated almost from page 1.

Ser Benjen
User ID: 1195644 Oct 13th 3:06 PM
I read my wife the Prologue to aGoT and she got mad at me, because it scared her.

The prologue was such a hook. It was mysterious and creepy.

Jeff
User ID: 0227464 Oct 14th 9:12 AM
I love its unpredictability. Bran being thrown out the window, Ned being killed. The normal rules are out so the possibities are endless. At the same time, the possibilities that do occur are reasonable based upon the motivations of the various characters.

The fact that the characters are not omniscient is another thing I really enjoy. As in RL, no character in the story has complete knowledge of what is occuring. Decisions necessarily are made on incomplete knowledge and guesswork that may or may not be correct. The result is that characters with the best of intentions actually may be causing more harm than good. Even the readers are not given absolute knowledge so we are often kept guessing as well. Which I suppose is a good thing because this Board wouldn't exist otherwise.

Moreta
User ID: 9565813 Oct 14th 4:12 PM
Character development's superb but it's also the mystery factor that has me sweating. What the heck is the true story behind Rhaegar and Lyanna? Jon's mother? Arthur and Ashara Dayne? What's going to happen to Jaime Lannister? Dany and her dragons. All of that. And of course, the incredible Tower of Joy scene had me coming back to read it over twenty times!!!

Shagga
User ID: 8743893 Oct 17th 3:06 AM
If you've ever noticed it in any other fantasy books too many of the charachters are doing what they are doing just becuase they are. Because good is good and evil is well....evil. GRRM has a terrific sense of charchter and he fleshes out all those little details that make you almost believe in the charachters. The charachters do what they do because of who they are and not who they're supposed to be.

Next 20 Messages

Maeglin User ID: 9259363	Oct 11th 9:09 PM I thought it would be cool to have a topic that lets people say the little things that they thought made aSoIaF so great, for me it was the names, how GRRM changes the spelling of many common names like Robett-Robert, Walder-Walter, Lysa-Lisa, Melessa-Melissa, Martyn-Martin it just did something for me so if you have anything that made the story special for you please share it.
Min User ID: 1446254	Oct 12th 4:15 AM I loved the dry humour behind it, especially in the Tyrion scenes. I loved the reality behind it, too. And, yes, the "graphic sex and violence" made the book mature and believeable in my eyes. The characters are alive and breathing.
Min User ID: 1446254	Oct 12th 4:16 AM but what I loved most was the fact that there is no clearly good and evil, no black and white, but shades of grey.
doctor doom User ID: 1509104	Oct 12th 10:11 AM That Min is what makes the books so great. The fact that Martin can take these "grey" characters and make them so wonderful. Half the time your rooting for people who you would normally depise in another novel, because the line between good and evil is so clear cut.
Kevin User ID: 1766884	Oct 12th 12:22 PM The fact that Martin surprised me. When the boy hero Bran who I thought would be the typical fantasy hero was thrown out the window, my jaw dropped. I put the book down stunned. It was then that I realized all bets were off. I was along for a ride that I didn't know how it would end. How refreshing.
Mike H. User ID: 8290473	Oct 12th 4:42 PM I'm with Min on this one. The shades of grey. The fact that the "good" guys aren't always so good, and the "bad" guys aren't always so bad is what makes this book so compelling. Kevin - I had the same reaction when Ser Illyn Payne took to Ned Stark.
Carol User ID: 9405543	Oct 12th 6:36 PM The thing that surprised me most is the depth of such a great number of characters. Even very minor players have a personality and a story. Which I guess is just another way of saying what Min said.
Snake User ID: 0018434	Oct 12th 6:40 PM The relative lack of magic. I hate books where there is too much magic. Also it is very historical.
Ser Gary User ID: 9279843	Oct 12th 6:42 PM The fact that the story is so intelligent, so complex, so interesting and so intriguing that we regularly visit this site to discuss its various elements with other fascinated readers....who we have since come to regard as our friends. This is a special community we have here, folks.
Min User ID: 1446254	Oct 13th 3:54 AM You are right. It is unique. I never found such acceptance and intelligence cumulated anywhere else on the net.
Ser Benjen User ID: 1195644	Oct 13th 7:51 AM Character development, which I guess includes the greyness of the characters, it just makes them all the more believable to me. I find myself getting attached to the characters. I was really upset about what happened to Eddard. I just didn't believe it. I had to read it again to let it sink in. And the writing is superb. I can remember many chapters ending with me thinking "Holy sh&t!"
Claidhaim User ID: 9544623	Oct 13th 8:54 AM Just the fact that the first time I read AGOT, it made me angry, sad, and shout for joy. The characters are beleivable and the scenes are not overdrawn. I easily lost myself in this world and could actually picture not only the people, but the places.
doctor doom User ID: 0449874	Oct 13th 11:00 AM Benjen, I did the same thing. When Ned was killed I had to reread it like 4 times before I was certain. I just couldn't believe it. And the best part about that whole scene was the fact that Martin killed off a main, well-liked character and didn't even do it from his POV, it was done through Arya's.
Min User ID: 1446254	Oct 13th 11:13 AM I agree about Ned. Strangely, though: His death didn't make me cry. I cried when Lady was killed. I really did. It was just so unfair.
Ser Gary User ID: 8068153	Oct 13th 12:22 PM Ser Benjen is right about the "Holy Shit"s. I think I used the term "Wow!" instead, but it amounted to the same thing. I do remember thinking while I read AGOT that this was definitely going to become a classic fantasy series. I don't believe I ever looked at the page numbers because I never wanted the book to end. When it did, I found myself looking desperately for something to fill that emotional void in my life. Imagine?
KAH User ID: 9209903	Oct 13th 12:40 PM Well, I can only add my agreement on having the feeling of not wanting the book to end. I was captivated almost from page 1.
Ser Benjen User ID: 1195644	Oct 13th 3:06 PM I read my wife the Prologue to aGoT and she got mad at me, because it scared her. The prologue was such a hook. It was mysterious and creepy.
Jeff User ID: 0227464	Oct 14th 9:12 AM I love its unpredictability. Bran being thrown out the window, Ned being killed. The normal rules are out so the possibities are endless. At the same time, the possibilities that do occur are reasonable based upon the motivations of the various characters. The fact that the characters are not omniscient is another thing I really enjoy. As in RL, no character in the story has complete knowledge of what is occuring. Decisions necessarily are made on incomplete knowledge and guesswork that may or may not be correct. The result is that characters with the best of intentions actually may be causing more harm than good. Even the readers are not given absolute knowledge so we are often kept guessing as well. Which I suppose is a good thing because this Board wouldn't exist otherwise.
Moreta User ID: 9565813	Oct 14th 4:12 PM Character development's superb but it's also the mystery factor that has me sweating. What the heck is the true story behind Rhaegar and Lyanna? Jon's mother? Arthur and Ashara Dayne? What's going to happen to Jaime Lannister? Dany and her dragons. All of that. And of course, the incredible Tower of Joy scene had me coming back to read it over twenty times!!!
Shagga User ID: 8743893	Oct 17th 3:06 AM If you've ever noticed it in any other fantasy books too many of the charachters are doing what they are doing just becuase they are. Because good is good and evil is well....evil. GRRM has a terrific sense of charchter and he fleshes out all those little details that make you almost believe in the charachters. The charachters do what they do because of who they are and not who they're supposed to be.