A Storm of Swords * 83. Appendix *Discuss the Appendix and the entire book

[Roseanne, RRRM]

A Storm of Swords * 83. Appendix *Discuss the Appendix and the entire book

[Not_Your_Typical_Lannister (Leslie), Not_Your_Typical_Lannister]

Discussion Questions - Answer any you choose to.

Did any of your opinions on the characters change or change again after this book?

In A Clash of Kings, Catelyn's chapters end with a cliffhanger on the fate of Jaime Lannister. Did you think that she would free him? Did she make the right/best choice?

Sansa seems to get the short end of the stick all the time. Do you think there's anything she can do to change her situation or is she too weak to do so?

Do you think that Jon was/is/could be a turncloak and join the wildlings for real?

Why do you think GRRM made Jaime Lannister a narrator in this book and not the ones before it?

Why do you think Stannis is wrapped up in Melisandre? He doesn't seem the type to get lured in, even by a pretty face.

This book deals with the other side of politics- marriage. Do you think GRRM did a good job of showing just how important this facet can be in the political realm?

What did you think of Mance Rayder? Is he a hero or a villian (or a little of both)?

The White Walkers make a much bigger appearance in this book. What do you think of them?

The Red Wedding- Why GRRM? Why?!?

[Roseanne, RRRM]

I shouldn't start with the red wedding. I knew it was coming. I read it after it happened in the show. I dont watch the show. People talked. I stopped them. I knew but I didn't know enough. I was floored. I thought it was going to be a different wedding.

How awesome would it be to have GRRM as a wedding guest?

[Not_Your_Typical_Lannister (Leslie), Not_Your_Typical_Lannister]

Did any of your opinions on the characters change or change again after this book?

-I already liked Jaime but now I love him mainly because of his reason for killing the King
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In A Clash of Kings, Catelyn's chapters end with a cliffhanger on the fate of Jaime Lannister. Did you think that she would free him? Did she make the right/best choice?

-I don't think she made the right choice but only because it caused problems between her and her son Robb. She did not really have the right to make those types of decisions.
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Sansa seems to get the short end of the stick all the time. Do you think there's anything she can do to change her situation or is she too weak to do so?

-The shit she has been and is going through helps harden her and turn her into the strong person she needs to become. There is hope for her.
__________________
Do you think that Jon was/is/could be a turncloak and join the wildlings for real?

-I have seen the tv show so I won't answer this.
_________________
Why do you think GRRM made Jaime Lannister a narrator in this book and not the ones before it?

-Before, he never had as much going on and there were several other characters with interesting story lines for us to follow. Now he has a lot more going on in his travels with Brienne. Also his background regarding the Kingslaying needed to be brought to the surface. The reader is also shown the love for Tyrion that he has.

[Not_Your_Typical_Lannister (Leslie), Not_Your_Typical_Lannister]

Why do you think Stannis is wrapped up in Melisandre? He doesn't seem the type to get lured in, even by a pretty face.

- I really don't know. Maybe he knows deep down that his chances to get the throne are slim to none and is grasping at anything that may help him in his quest.
____________________

This book deals with the other side of politics- marriage. Do you think GRRM did a good job of showing just how important this facet can be in the political realm?

Absolutely! In Westeros marriage is definitely not about love.
____________________

What did you think of Mance Rayder? Is he a hero or a villian (or a little of both)?

-I have seen the tv show so I won't answer this.
___________________

The White Walkers make a much bigger appearance in this book. What do you think of them?

-They are scary and dangerous. But they make the story very interesting.
___________________

The Red Wedding- Why GRRM? Why?!?

This was so much fun to read!

[Ria]

It is done. Finally. To be honest, I found the last half of the second part (aka the last quarter of the entire book, aka somewhere after the Red Wedding) to be quite boring. The political side of it is fascinating, but I like the battles and the North more and I wish there was a bit less of the first and a bit more of the latter two. Based on this, the fourth book will be hell for me. Good thing I'm almost caught up now with a lot of free time on my hands and won't have to binge-read.

Now for those questions...
Did any of your opinions on the characters change or change again after this book?
I disliked Jaime in his first two chapters, but he turned out to be decent afterwards. Weirdly, Stannis and Tyrion started to annoy me towards the end, but I hope that was just temporary.

In A Clash of Kings, Catelyn's chapters end with a cliffhanger on the fate of Jaime Lannister. Did you think that she would free him? Did she make the right/best choice?
I knew she would free him, but when I read it for the first time I remember thinking she'd kill him. She was blinded by her grief, I think. She cost Robb the Karstarks and more. There was no way to know he would really give her Arya and Sansa back, it was blind faith and the risk was too big. Obviously, she thought it was worth it, but now that I think about it, I'm not sure it was. And, as Leslie pointed out, she had no right to make that decision behind Robb's back. Had she not been his mother, he would've named her traitor.

Sansa seems to get the short end of the stick all the time. Do you think there's anything she can do to change her situation or is she too weak to do so?
To be honest, I'm not sure she has it in her. She's more Tully than Stark, more fish than lion.

Do you think that Jon was/is/could be a turncloak and join the wildlings for real?
I don't think so.

Why do you think GRRM made Jaime Lannister a narrator in this book and not the ones before it?
Well, he was a prisoner for most of the second book and I think Martin's goal was to paint him as a villain in the first two books and than show him as a hero in the third. It was a plot-twist of a sort and I'd say it worked quite well.

Why do you think Stannis is wrapped up in Melisandre? He doesn't seem the type to get lured in, even by a pretty face.
Honestly, I don't know. He's said before that she's simply a tool against the much greater current power of his enemies, but I think her claims that he's Azor Ahai reborn boost his ego and he really likes feeling special, even though he'd never admit it. He's been neglected and ignored all his life, so it must feel great to finally be considered great and important.

This book deals with the other side of politics- marriage. Do you think GRRM did a good job of showing just how important this facet can be in the political realm?
Oh, absolutely. He's shown all facets of marriage, actually. Marriage for love (Tyrion and Tysha), political marriage gone really bad (Cersei and Robert, Lysa and Arryn) and political marriage gone perfectly well (Ned and Cat).

What did you think of Mance Rayder? Is he a hero or a villian (or a little of both)?
He's a hero of a sort, with a wildling sense of honour. So far his only sin is that he broke his vows.

The White Walkers make a much bigger appearance in this book. What do you think of them?
I think they're absolutely fascinating and would love to know more about them - where they came from and most of all, why they are marching south so suddenly.

The Red Wedding- Why GRRM? Why?!?
Because Robb is an idiot. I had such high expectations, Young Wolf...

[Brianna]

Agh!!! I finally finished! I love this book. It is my favorite of three I've read so far, but this time around it took longer to get through than I hoped. I can't wait to start the fourth since I've never finished it. I started it last year, but put it down and never picked it up again.
Onto the questions!


Did any of your opinions on the characters change or change again after this book?
Definitely! My opinion definitely changed about Jaime. It was great learning more about him and we definitely start to see a more human side of him instead of what he projects.

Do you think that Jon was/is/could be a turncloak and join the wildlings for real?
I don't think so. He seems to regret breaking what vows he did and I really don't think he would go further (especially now that he's Lord Commander).