Top 10 Best Written Characters?

[Juli]

1. Sandor - So Complex turns out to not be what you were expecting him to be.

2. Arya - So much tragedy and just keeps going, never forgets who she is even when people want her to

3. Jamie - Did not realize he was complex at first

4. Tryrion - Sad and funny at the same time

5. Ned - Short but so so sweet

6. Jon - Started slow but coming on strong

7. Davvos - So honest even when he knows what it will cost

8. Stannis - Complicated

9. Varys - 5 books and we still don't know what he's up to

10. Sansa - She was SO a sleeper

Honorable mention due to not enough information

Oberyn - He would have been GREAT

Jaqen - He still may be great

Syrio - He was just a wonderful teacher he taught Arya more than she had in her whole life

[Faydra]

In my opinion the best written characters are Arya, Sansa, Theon and Dany.

[lakin1013]

Having now read this entire forum, I am surprised at how many lists do not even include Jon Snow or have him listed at the bottom. Perhaps it is predictable or uncool to choose him as one of the best written but Jon acts as one of the moral centers of the book, along with Sansa and Davos. A moral character can be boring but without it, the center does not hold. And I do not get the love for Theon, who is a jerk. If I can only cheer for one damaged man, it is going to be Jaime.

1. Jon

2. Sansa

3. Tyrion

4. Ned

5. Catelyn

6. Stannis

7. Davos

8. Jaime

9. Arya

10. Sandor

[Stormheart]

Sansa- I know that a lot of people don't really like her, but I think that she's an incredibly realistic character, and that most people would make the same decisions in her place. The same goes for Catelyn and maybe Theon.

Davos- I've never thought his chapters were boring, and he just seems like a genuinely good person

Oberyn- One of the most badass and entertaining characters in the series, but of course he had a back story and was very three dimensional as well. It's disappointing that he died so soon.

Beric- Totally fascinating, and he had so much potential. Like Oberyn, I wish he had had more scenes in the novels.

Jaime- His whole story line was captivating. Out of all the characters, I feel like he had the most growth and development.

[Tolsimir]

Theon and Jaime are standing out for me, cant really decide on the order of others.

[Beergod1979]

1. Tyrion

2. Bronn

3. Ned

4. Tywin

5. King Robert

6. LC Mormont

7. Jamie

8. Varys

9. Littlefinger

10. Pycell

[tydides]

I think that martin really does have a gift for writing beautiful characters. I would have to say that theon or jamie is the best written if I really had to choose

[jaimereborn]

1. Jaime - most intriguing character arc for me

2. Sansa - similarly amazing arc, how she adapts to survive

3. Ned - complex, flawed, and mysterious - deeply interesting characterisation

4. Arya - love the darkness that is explored in her storyline, the way she becomes obsessed with death

5. Tyrion - brilliant lines, comedy, often most intelligently written. feel like his story suffered in ADWD though

6. Cersei - love how complex she is, how her chapters pull you into her paranoia and mistrust, yet still make you empathise

7. Cat - became such a resonant mother figure of the series, loved what she represented and the destructive decisions she made with best intentions

8. Varys - consistently fascinating as to his motives, his lines are great, and so fully realised.

9. Davos - his arc becomes brilliant as the story progresses, and his moral integrity is refreshing amid all the darkness

10. Brienne - i feel she is a misunderstood character, loved her chapters in AFFC, her relationship with Jaime and her definition of honour

Jon Snow leaves me feeling luke-warm - I've never really found myself rooting for him, he's very emotionally unengaging. Also I find Dany slightly one-dimensional a lot of the time - never really understood the fascination except for the 'yay dragons' aspect.

[coil]

Catelyn is really emotional to read about.

Arya and Sansa manage to be really emotional and also really interesting.

Daenerys is super interesting, it's a character that I'm loving more, the more I reread the books.

Tyrion for his being extremely grey. Somehow, the more I reread about him and the more I grew up to despise him and like him at the same time.

Tywin, because of his being multi-sided. Strong and weak at the same time, a walking paradox. Plus, GRRM made the genius choice not only to never give him a POV, but also to make us look at him onlt through Tyrion's eyes.

Stannis, especially whenever Davos and Melisandre are involved in the scene.

Varys gets so few screentime, yet whenever you read about him you have to completely focus and look solely at his actions and see through his veil of lies.

Having to pick the last one, I'd say Theon.

But Cersei wins it hands down. When you get to hate a fictional villain, you know the writer is doing a good job.

To top it all, her personality is deeply complex and interesting to read about.

[Night'sQueen]

Not in any particular order:

1. Jaime - I can't believe the flip GRRM was able to do with this character. He went from seeming like an arrogant soulless prick to a sympathetic character whose fate I actually care about. His POV chapters are so compelling and he is wickedly funny
   
2. Arya - She tugs at my heart and fascinates me. I feel like I've spent years on the road with her wanting her to get home. I think she was the most heartbreaking part of the RW, more so than Robb and Catelyn. She was so close...
   
3. Tyrion - from the standpoint of dialogue he may be the best
   
4. Jon - the eternal outsider. Bastard of his family, mocked as "Lord Snow" at the Wall, kneeler among the wildlings, misunderstood among readers!
   
5. Samwell - he is just pure goodness
   
6. Varys - also awesome in terms of dialog
   
7. Danaerys - I went from really rooting for her to feeling disappointed and wanting more from her, but either way I care about her which is the point of a good character. I'm invested.
   
8. Cersei - only pre-POV. I thought she was more interesting and menacing viewed through the other characters. When she got her own POVs I feel like she crossed into Cruella DeVille territory, comically over-the-top evil.
   
9. Sandor - another 180 in terms of how I perceived this character. The fact that GRRM could make people care about him with so little page time shows how skillful he is. I really hope we get a little more Sandor before the series ends.
   
10. Bran - his journey is the most interesting, IMO, and he is a bit of an enigma right now. He's on the cusp of having immense power but how he will wield it is a huge unknown
    
11. Eddard - I'm cheating, but even though he was only in one book, he was so solid that he casts a shadow over the entire series
    

Honorable mention to Tywin, Barristan, Osha, Brienne, Maester Aemon (wish there had been more of him)

[WhatIsDeadMayNeverLive]

1. Catelyn

2. Jaime

3. Tyrion

4. Theon

5. Davos

6. Sansa

7. Bran

8. Littlefinger (would've been 1. if he were a POV)

9. Cersei

10. Arya

[Toxspecific]

1. Theon. Theon fucking Greyjoy. I can't even describe how well written he is.

[Opa Tywin]

I cand decide on a top 10, but I definitly have a number one: Cersei. On the one hand, I feel kinda satisfied when she fails, because, well, she does "evil" things, but on the other hand her story arc is utterly sad and dramatic.

[Toxspecific]

I cand decide on a top 10, but I definitly have a number one: Cersei. On the one hand, I feel kinda satisfied when she fails, because, well, she does "evil" things, but on the other hand her story arc is utterly sad and dramatic.

IMO she becomes too stupid too fast. She's well written but not close to the best.

[Opa Tywin]

IMO the prophecy occupying her mind (particulary Tyrion = Valonqar) triggered by Joffrey's death, leads her to constantly being terrified of what's to come, leaving no space for reasonable thoughts about the present.

[FuriousGeorge]

IMO she becomes too stupid too fast. She's well written but not close to the best.

Isn't the idea that she was always stupid but that having Tywin, Varys and Littlefinger supporting her (even though the latter two might have a seriously different endgame the were running the realm efficiently and in the interests of the Lannisters) disguised how incompetent she actually was?

[Opa Tywin]

Compared to Tywin, Varys or Littlefinger she isn't very smart. I think she is of average intelligence, but hot headed and vengeful, plus gradually paranoid, which leads her to acting stupid. She's fucking fascinating.

[Kyoshi]

1. Jon

2. Jaime

3. Bran

4. Arya

5. Sansa

6. Davos

7. Asha

8. Daenerys

9. Cersei

10. Missandei ...even though I don't really know much about her. she's very intriguing.

[Kyoshi]

I can see I came a little late to the party.

[The Wolf Lord's Daughter]

In this order

1.Arya-Her story is amazing. It is the realistic portrayal of a child, brought up believing in justice and protection of the weak, whose life steadily becomes worse and worse without any of it being her fault and the price she pays for surviving things most would not.

2.Theon-Not one of my favorites, but extremely well written

3.Catleyn-Another extremely well-written character

4.Jon

5.Jaime

6.Brienne

7.Bran

8.Ned

9.Davos

10.Tyrion