The remnants of the ranging have made it back to Craster's place. Lot's of them are dying and Craster is being a bit stingy with the food, so it all kicks off. I'm a bit vague about what the Watch does for Craster apart from not kill him, but they strike me as a little entitled, to be honest. "Mind if I bring 30 of my friends, and can you feed us all for a few weeks, too?"
Mormont has it right but loses control of the men. In quick succession, Craster's wife/daughter/niece Gilly has a baby boy, significant because we think Craster will leave him to die in the woods as an offering, and a fight breaks out leaving Craster and Mormont, among others, dead.
Sam needs to leave, but Gilly and her sisters urge him to take Gilly and the baby because, drum roll... The Sons of Craster are coming! Not as dead in the woods as we thought, are they? Are they wights, or something else?
Saturday, 5 January 2019
ASoS 32: Tyrion 425
Tyrion has another busy day. Are all his days like this, or do we just happen to drop in on him when several major plot developments are going to happen in a single day?
He visits Shae's friend Simon Sevenstrings who is threatening to go public with a scandal, so Tyrion arranges for Sevenstrings to be killed by Bronn, which is so obvious you'd think Sevenstrings would have thought of that.
He has been put in charge of rebuilding the broken parts of the city, since Ser Kevan is too griefstricken from all his dead and injured sons. Tyrion doesn't know how he's going to pay for it since the treasury is empty and Tywin won't open the family coffers for that, or Joffrey's wedding. He seems to have no trouble buying expensive swords made from rare metal, though. The swords have red in them and the blacksmith doesn't know why but it's probably something to do with the Lord of Light or that comet.
Tywin is trying to get Tyrion to make sure Sansa bears him a son. Tyrion is still trying to avoid that.
News from the watch has arrived and it's not good. Tywin is trying to get them to put his man Janos Slynt in charge. Tyrion knows Slynt would be useless at it.
He visits Shae's friend Simon Sevenstrings who is threatening to go public with a scandal, so Tyrion arranges for Sevenstrings to be killed by Bronn, which is so obvious you'd think Sevenstrings would have thought of that.
He has been put in charge of rebuilding the broken parts of the city, since Ser Kevan is too griefstricken from all his dead and injured sons. Tyrion doesn't know how he's going to pay for it since the treasury is empty and Tywin won't open the family coffers for that, or Joffrey's wedding. He seems to have no trouble buying expensive swords made from rare metal, though. The swords have red in them and the blacksmith doesn't know why but it's probably something to do with the Lord of Light or that comet.
Tywin is trying to get Tyrion to make sure Sansa bears him a son. Tyrion is still trying to avoid that.
News from the watch has arrived and it's not good. Tywin is trying to get them to put his man Janos Slynt in charge. Tyrion knows Slynt would be useless at it.
Wednesday, 2 January 2019
ASoS 31: Jaime 413
It was his hand Vargo cut off, not his ear. I should have known. Ouch. GRRM is making me feel sorry for Jaime Lannister, who pushed Bran out of a window. To think he was planning on releasing Sansa as promised; in this chapter he risks himself and causes himself much pain stopping Brienne from being raped by Brave Companions. He does seem to have some good in him. Of course, we are inside his head, and no-one really thinks of themselves as the baddie. The Companions also laugh at him and he realises how Tyrion must feel when he is laughed at -- and we are reminded that Tyrion loves Jaime because of a lie, once again. I probably should know what that is about, but I don't.
Jaime and Brienne are taken to Harrenhal. The plan is to keep sending body parts to Tywin until he pays the ransom. Jaime and Brienne are brought up to date on recent events and Jaime gets his wounds fixed up by Qyburn, a disgraced maester who works for Vargo Hoat. Brienne is now under the protection of Roose Bolton, who I think is still loyal to Robb, but I'm not sure.
Jaime and Brienne are taken to Harrenhal. The plan is to keep sending body parts to Tywin until he pays the ransom. Jaime and Brienne are brought up to date on recent events and Jaime gets his wounds fixed up by Qyburn, a disgraced maester who works for Vargo Hoat. Brienne is now under the protection of Roose Bolton, who I think is still loyal to Robb, but I'm not sure.
Tuesday, 1 January 2019
ASoS 30: Jon 405
Jon and the wildlings ascend the wall. Only one team of climbers fall to their deaths. Once ladders are in place it's easier for everyone else. Ygritte reveals that the secret thing Mance Rayder was looking for was called the Horn of Winter, a.k.a the Horn of Jaramun, supposedly with the power to destroy the wall.
Oh, and digging up graves looking for this horn is what has made the Others reappear. This is not going to end well.
Oh, and digging up graves looking for this horn is what has made the Others reappear. This is not going to end well.
ASoS 29: Arya 395
Arya and company reach Stoney Sept, a decent sized town. She kills some prisoners dying in cages, because whatever their crimes, nobody deserves that. Also it's unnerving that they're Stark men. They stay at an inn called ??? that also happens to be a knocking shop run by one Tansy. Could she be the Tansy that Lord Hoster was muttering about in his delerium? If so then Catelyn has the wrong end of the stick.
One of the prostitutes jokes that her dad might be King Robert. She has his hair, but Arya dismisses this because Gendry also has his hair. But she doesn't know that that's because Gendry is Robert's son. And the hair presumably is very significant, after all that's how this whole saga started, with a dead hand who got too close to the truth after noticing Joffrey was too blonde.
Gendry fancies Arya and is annoyed because she is too highborn for him, so he goes off in a huff. Arya doesn't notice and doesn't know why he's in a huff. As a king's bastard he's higher than he realises, though. High enough to marry Arya? Don't know. But I now predict Arya ends up on the iron throne with Gendry as king regent.
The mad huntsman has of Stoney Sept has caught a Lannister but it's not Jaime, Arya can tell. Who is it?
One of the prostitutes jokes that her dad might be King Robert. She has his hair, but Arya dismisses this because Gendry also has his hair. But she doesn't know that that's because Gendry is Robert's son. And the hair presumably is very significant, after all that's how this whole saga started, with a dead hand who got too close to the truth after noticing Joffrey was too blonde.
Gendry fancies Arya and is annoyed because she is too highborn for him, so he goes off in a huff. Arya doesn't notice and doesn't know why he's in a huff. As a king's bastard he's higher than he realises, though. High enough to marry Arya? Don't know. But I now predict Arya ends up on the iron throne with Gendry as king regent.
The mad huntsman has of Stoney Sept has caught a Lannister but it's not Jaime, Arya can tell. Who is it?
Friday, 21 December 2018
ASoS 28: Sansa 382
Oh Sansa, Sansa, Sansa. Poor Sansa. She thinks she's being fitted for her lovely new frock, only for Cersei to whip out the wedding cloak at the last minute, and suddenly she is being whisked away to marry a dwarf.
It's the best wedding King's Landing has ever had! It's got a crying bride, a humiliated groom, and a family argument. The highlight of the evening is going to be stripping the bride and groom naked and listening outside the door while they have sex. Because Westeros is oh so civilised compared to those Dothraki or those wildlings...
Tyrion isn't having it, though. Sansa is only 13 and his heart's not in it. He probably is going to be a fairly decent husband. All Sansa has to do now is avoid Joffrey's attempts to use her to make bastards.
Lovely family, the Lannisters.
It's the best wedding King's Landing has ever had! It's got a crying bride, a humiliated groom, and a family argument. The highlight of the evening is going to be stripping the bride and groom naked and listening outside the door while they have sex. Because Westeros is oh so civilised compared to those Dothraki or those wildlings...
Tyrion isn't having it, though. Sansa is only 13 and his heart's not in it. He probably is going to be a fairly decent husband. All Sansa has to do now is avoid Joffrey's attempts to use her to make bastards.
Lovely family, the Lannisters.
ASoS 27: Daenerys 367
Dany sets off to buy her robot slave army. She takes a lot of cargo along from the ships, and a dragon.
It strikes me that barter is awfully inefficient. All those goods and a dragon buys 8600 unsullied plus extra boys. But is that the right price? Would it not have been better to exchange all the goods for gold coins, and then haggle over the price in gold coins? Because there might be people willing to pay more for dragons and other goods than those slavers were. That's why money was invented, after all. But clearly Astapor is not as sophisticated as that yet. Or Dany has been ripped off.
She gets her own back, though. Boy, does she get her own back. In what I can only imagine will be a very good scene in the TV series, having bought the unthinkingly obedient slave army, she crosses the figurative Trident (not the Rubicon) and proceeds to use it to...attack the slavers. Genius! It's the sort of plan only a self-righteous teenage girl would attempt, and it's beautiful. She gets to keep her dragon, too.
I'm still worried about logistics. Will Dany have enough people to command the robot slaves? And will she be able to find sufficient food and shelter for them? I'm a bit worried she has not thought this part through. Then again, she may well have new people on her side now that she is something of a power.
It strikes me that barter is awfully inefficient. All those goods and a dragon buys 8600 unsullied plus extra boys. But is that the right price? Would it not have been better to exchange all the goods for gold coins, and then haggle over the price in gold coins? Because there might be people willing to pay more for dragons and other goods than those slavers were. That's why money was invented, after all. But clearly Astapor is not as sophisticated as that yet. Or Dany has been ripped off.
She gets her own back, though. Boy, does she get her own back. In what I can only imagine will be a very good scene in the TV series, having bought the unthinkingly obedient slave army, she crosses the figurative Trident (not the Rubicon) and proceeds to use it to...attack the slavers. Genius! It's the sort of plan only a self-righteous teenage girl would attempt, and it's beautiful. She gets to keep her dragon, too.
I'm still worried about logistics. Will Dany have enough people to command the robot slaves? And will she be able to find sufficient food and shelter for them? I'm a bit worried she has not thought this part through. Then again, she may well have new people on her side now that she is something of a power.
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