It's the final round up for the A Song of Ice and Fire Book Club, A Game of Thrones edition.
I have travelled this book with fellow Book Clubbers mithrilwisdom, the host and brain behind the club, Allison at Geek Banter and Ria at Bibliotropic.
Each of us has posed a question for the others, so make sure to check out what the others had to say about this weeks topics.
From Jamie:
Do you think there's any room for growth with Sansa? Will she ever find a backbone or do you think she'll remain a frightened, weak willed pup?
In her final chapters Sansa has come to realise just what her 'beloved' King and his mother are actually like. That doesn't necessarily mean that she will find her backbone though. She is in a tough situation, surrounded on all sides by the enemy, and the only sympathetic ear is the Hound. His advice is to give her king what he wants, as much as the thought repels her. If she's going to grow she will need to do it on her own and find the strength by herself from within. If she can manage it she will make for an excellent character, and I can't wait to find out which way she goes.
From Allison:
Do you think Jaime and Cersei have developed as characters at all throughout the story?
Jamie has been heard about more than he has been seen, his activities being conveyed by other characters along the way. We haven't had enough of him firsthand and so his character hasn't moved forward very much throughout the book.
As for Cersei, we've seen glimpses of her true character but she is always standing behind the King, whether he is her husband or her son. I think she expected to have more say in things once Joffrey took the throne but he has taken charge himself straight off the bat. She is once again having to remain in the background, but I wonder how long she'll tolerate that.
From Ria:
Mirri's about-face: expected and in-character, or did it feel to you like it came out of left field?
Mirri's deception was fitting of her character. She had suffered so much at the hands of the Dothraki, and when an opportunity for revenge came she took it. Daenarys' son would only have caused more suffering and pain for her people than his father before him, and so she truly believed she was saving the world from a future tyrant.
From me:
All the chapters have been told from the point of view of particular characters, and the story has gone back and forth along their journeys. Why do you think only these characters have been chosen? What does it say about them over the others?
Each character tells their story from a different region within the Seven Kingdoms (and without). I like this method of shifting the focus across the realm. The choice of characters seems to be with those most likely to be considered to be on the 'good' side, if indeed there is a good vs evil thing going on here.
The exception to this is Tyrion who, being a Lannister, would initially be seen as part of the enemy. I wonder if this focus on him signifies that he will eventually turn away from the dark side.
This round up brings us to the end of the first installment of the A Song of Ice and Fire adventure. It has been brilliant to talk with the others about what's going on in the story, and I'm looking forward to A Clash of Kings.
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| www.amazon.co.uk |
I'd like to say a huge thanks to Jamie at mithrilwisdom for starting this up. Long may it continue ...
If you're interested on joining us for the second part of the Book Club, head over to Jamie's for more details. It will be great to have you on board.
I will be posting something that looks at my thoughts on A Game of Thrones overall later on, but until then remember:
Winter is coming!
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