Game of Thrones 4/2

Finishing the book we are finished with a lot of cliffhangers. First of all Ned Stark is executed from the orders of Joeffry. This was a poor decision by the King because now he will have a rebellion from the North. Winterfell has called Robb the King of the North and now there will be a war between Kings Landing and Winterfell. The other major cliffhanger is that Danny finally gets her dragons to hatch. This now makes her far more dangerous. Though she has lost her son and her husband she now has some of the most powerful creatures in the Game of Thrones world. The book ended with no resolution. I understand why, this is a series of books so one should not expect everything to be solved at the end of book one. I did not like that Ned Stark was killed. I felt as though he was the central character and killing him off so early in the series is not a good idea. However, I think that Martin is setting a tone for the rest of the series by killing off Ned Stark. This is a brutal world and there is no room for morality. I like how he ended giving Dany dragons. I felt as though her storyline was getting a little boring. If she did not have dragons, Khal Drogo, and most of the Dhothraki she would just be hopeless and I don’t want to read about that. I have to say she still was one of my two least favorite storylines. For some reason each time I read her chapters I was bored and was waiting for a Ned or Tyrion chapter. Jon was the other storyline I was not interested in. I know that his story gets more interesting as the books progress because I watch the show, however the first book was not very exciting. I enjoyed Ned’s chapters the best. I enjoyed them so much because it usually had action or political implications. I liked the first season of the television show better because it had Ned Stark. I will be reading the second book and outside of the Blackwater battle I’m sure I will not like the second book as much. One thing I especially liked about this book is how it is written. I enjoy the first person perspective. I also like how everything has a purpose. Every little thing that Martin does has a meaning. I didn’t notice in the show, but when it was pointed out how the sexual scenes are written I found that very interesting. By making the reader uncomfortable you are in a sense connecting to the character. One other thing that stood out to me was the character of Varys. Him being a eunuch he is not going to be convinced by women. A common weakness with men in this book is how women can manipulate them. Varys being a eunuch he will not be persuaded by a woman, which makes him all the more threatening. That was just one thing that stood out to me ever since he was introduced. I found that to be a very interesting style and something I’ve never seen before in a novel. I would say this was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I wish it was shorter but then I think about what I would have wanted to be cut and couldn’t think of anything. Overall I am very happy we read this book, it was a nice change from all of the classics students have to read.