Right now, if I want to go to Chapter 40, I have to click on each and every “next” button between chapter 1 and chapter 40, 30something times.  Just sayin’…

ok, so omg! the quote you posted:

He was of an age with Robb, but they did not look alike. Jon was slender where Robb was muscular, dark where Robb was fair, graceful and quick where his half brother was strong and fast.

i am a big supporter of r+d=j and this quote so neatly supports that in the auhor’s style of foreshadowing. it fits so neatly with how ned discovers the truth about joffrey.

so now i think you’re brilliant and am moving on to read your next entry.

well done.

Thanks so much, never to late, though Winter is Coming!

Great job so far. I love getting the different reactions from both of you.

Jay: I totally feel you. That was a great analysis of the first real POV chapter. Coming from a long-time fan I think you were able to express exactly what a lot of us have felt in respect to the characters and the story.

So I’m sorry if I spoiled this bit of surprise for you by asking the question too early. I’ll shut up next time and let you enjoy the surprises.

Anyway, this gives you a good idea of how cleverly GRRM writes his POVs as truly blinkered and it’s up to the reader to make the connections. It tells you what kind of things you want to keep your eyes open for as you read. Although, in this instance, he does end up laying it out for you. But he won’t always.

As for the Ned info, thanks for adding that (I hope it becomes tradition here that readers will add what they feel is vital in each chapter). Personally, I’m kind of view it as simply a standard duty issue with Ned, who if anything is practical. I think if a person that your predisposed to think is deserter comes in talking (and looking the part) of a loon, you (or Ned) doesn’t jump to believe the fantastic. Now that you mention it, however, it does make me consider how sure he was, especially with the speech he gave to Bran about death sentences in general. I don’t know, I didn’t sense a wavering or blind Ned as much as I sensed a guy who was simply wrong, but in a situation that isn’t real obvious. He mentions to Catelyn that he thinks it’s a Mance issue , which is probably, again, the practical line of thinking. We generally don’t give too much credence to who we think are oath breakers and crazy.

So I agree with the efficiency of the writer in showing us what we can expect with the POVS (answers privy to us and them dying), but I’m not so sure if Ned is stubborn here (or, more stubborn than usual). Came off as logical to me when you consider that Ned seems to believe the supernatural to be ancient history at best, and stories at worst.

Thanks so much for the comments!

So I’m sorry if I spoiled this bit of surprise for you by asking the question too early. I’ll shut up next time and let you enjoy the surprises.

Anyway, this gives you a good idea of how cleverly GRRM writes his POVs as truly blinkered and it’s up to the reader to make the connections. It tells you what kind of things you want to keep your eyes open for as you read. Although, in this instance, he does end up laying it out for you. But he won’t always.

@Elena
Did you make the connection that the beheaded man is Gared from the Prologue? Some people miss it on first read. What did you make of it?

@Jay
What I’d also add, is how this chapter first introduces us to Ned’s stubbornness and how his decision to do the right thing (in this case, the King’s justice) blinds him and leads him continuously on the wrong path to survive, protect his family and find the truth.
Beheading Gared is the right thing to do as regards his duties to his king. But Gared alive could have helped the realm realize what’s happening beyond the wall, what’s coming and prepare for it . I’m sure Maester Aemon and the Old Bear would have liked to interrogate him, despite his craziness, and try to figure out what happened, what he saw.
So this sends the mesage that this is not a normal good vs bad tale. The beheaded guy wasn’t really a bad guy. And those who are good and do the right thing turn out to suffer some loss for it.

Already in the first chapter the reader gets frustrated at the protagonists for not seeing what he/she sees, for ignoring the truth that’s right before their eyes. Like you said, the POV approach means the reader is the sole carrier of some knowledge and already it bears fruit as an incentive to keep reading.

@ Winter – ha!!! yes. even having been warned to “expect the unexpected” it’s still easy to assume. am wondering now how much i’ll make myself blush by the end of it, to go back and look at all my guesses from earlier 🙂

Careful there, your “preconceptions of the fantasy genre” are showing. 😉

Jay: “Is this Jon’s story?”

I think so.

“He has a song,” the man replied. “He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire.”

I think it’s that feeling that really separates Martin from most of what I read.

****SPOILER****

After the party leaves the corpse of the direwolf, and presumably out of earshot of any whining direwolf puppies, Jon “hears” something that none of the other party hear, even when he has them stop and listen for it.

What he hears is Ghost, the albino direwolf pup that was left behind. This is important for a number of reasons, the first, which is potentially noticeable to a new reader is that they should be out of earshot. The second is that throughout the rest of the series Ghost -never makes a sound-. Not a howl, not a growl, not a whimper or whine. This foreshadows the psychic connection between the wolves and the children, and suggests that, as is noted later in the series, the individual wolves are meant for a certain child specifically.

That would be true if you’re on board with that theory. I use to be 100% in that camp, but not entirely sold now (unless GRRM has said something and I just haven’t noticed!). Iconic quote from (oddly) one of my favorite characters ever. I can’t wait to get to him.

I need to see if there is a comment system that has spoilers blocks!

But Jay … my man, that was hands-down the best single-chapter review of any portion of A Song of Ice and Fire I’ve ever read. Gave me chills.

I love this series, and somehow you just made me love it more. I’m dying to see even a portion of this stuff on my television screen.

More. More!

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