The Greyjoys or the Martells?

[Young Gryff]

Gonna go with Greyjoy, only thing that sets them appart for me is Victarion, his POV's are hilarious.

[jmondrag]

Gonna go with Greyjoy, only thing that sets them appart for me is Victarion, his POV's are hilarious.

While I don't hate the guy, I don't understand all the hero worship that Victarion receives from some members on this forum. I think he's an okay character, but nothing special. To me, most of the Greyjoy's just seem like brutes that glorify rape and pillaging, and don't have any sense of an endgame.

[Pinkie Baelish]

The Greyjoys win simply due to Theon and Victarion for me. Oberyn is one of my favourites, but Theon is in my top 5 list of best characters in the series, so Greyjoys for me.

[Jon of the Dead]

Greyjoys, by far. Personally, the Martells are my least favorite house. I like Doran, Arianne and Oberyn, but they just stumble from epic fail to epic fail.

[Knight Of Winter]

In terms of likability - Martells, of course, purely because of fact neither of them is crazy/violent/stupid/treacherous brute. Really, Asha is the only likable character.

In terms of complexity - even, more or less. As for Greyjoys - pretty simple and straightforward characters (Euron, Victarions) are balanced by one very complex and multi-layered (Theon).

[Young Gryff]

While I don't hate the guy, I don't understand all the hero worship that Victarion receives from some members on this forum. I think he's an okay character, but nothing special. To me, most of the Greyjoy's just seem like brutes that glorify rape and pillaging, and don't have any sense of an endgame.

I wasn't praising him, much less making him a hero. It's just his brute way of thinking or reasoning things that is hilarious, and that got a + from me.

[tydides]

Well Theon is one of my top three characters, but as for the rest of the ironborn, I sort of hate them. The Martells are actually one of my favorite houses, contrary to many other people, I find them interesting. I think that the Greyjoys, however, are going to be the more important house, they are set up to conquer Westeros right now, and they have a lot going for them. The Martells only look like they are going to back Aegon, thats about it, but I hope George proves me wrong and they actually do something.

[Joyful Union]

Greyjoys all the way. Theon is my fave, Euron is mysterious, Victarian is hilarious, Asha is badass (don't give a fuck about Aeron though). There culture is also ridiculously simple and barbaric,and I love that. And I've always had a softspot for Vikings.

Added to that, they've actually done something so far. It may not have turned out so well, but there attack on the North made for good drama. Sending the Iron Fleet to Dany was also a pretty big move, which will have direct and considerable impact on the story. You couldn't cut the Greyjoys so far without losing a significant part of the story, unlike the Martells

Martell's on the other hand, just don't have character's that grab me. They also surround themselves with weak characters like Areo, who has all the charisma and character of a plank, or Darkstar. The Sandsnakes are barely developed at all, same goes for Trystane. Arianne, Doran and Oberyn are all fine characters, but they aren't enough to save the story for me.

They've also hardly done anything. Oberyn turned up, and died in a few hundred pages without having accomplished much at all. Doran's big "masterplan" was a joke. Quentyn did hardly anything at all, and wasted valuable pages doing it. Arianne did something, but that got nipped in the bud fairly quickly. So far, you could omit the Dorne plot completely and you hardly would have missed much.

Plus, Martell's have an annoying tendency to die in stupid ways, and they're just all so hotheaded (apart from Doran)

Martell's better get their shit together in tWoW.

[Lord Puff Fish]

Greyjoys- what's not to love about a dysfunctional pirate family?

[Pod The Impaler]

It's not an easy choice. I found it hard to get into a good portion of either, at first. The worst Martells are still better than the worst Greyjoys. The best Greyjoys better than the best Martells.

Asha currently stands at the top of this pecking comparison, which is surprising considering that in ACOK, I thought she was not much better than her father.

Theon / Reek / Theon has become a very interesting story, though it took a long roundabout way to get there.

Victarion Greyjoy is almost comedic to me (action-comedy). The guy's solution to problems always seem to lead to him going on some sort of rampage. Yet for all that, he's strangely uncomfortable with so many things, and way over his head when it comes to anything mystical or subtle. Yet he's so unsophisticated and direct, he may succeed despite himself. To hell with the careful, meandering way - Victarion just headed towards Slaver's Bay like a missile. That's his role, for both his brother Balon and his brother Euron - you don't give him a command so much as launch him at an objective.

Quentyn Martell - Gods, you feel so sorry for him. The weight of his house on his shoulders, trying to hold together the plot which his father and uncle were too cautious in advancing. Then he finally gives his life trying to do the impossible - partly because of his duty to Dorne, but - let's face it - partly because he feared being bullied as a failure at home by his resentful sister Arianne and the cruel Sand Snakes.

The Sand Snakes, well they are a mixed bag. Tyene and Sarella / Alleras are a bit intriguing. Nym and especially Obara I am less enthusiastic about.

Oberyn Martell made the most of his brief time in the story, but when you step back anfd look at the larger picture later on, you really have to wonder what he was thinking.

Euron Greyjoy - well, you have to admire his ambition, and be a bit entertained by his moody nature. Thus far as a villain he does not generate the sort of revulsion in me that I get from reading about people like Tywin or Ramsay Bolton.

Doran Martell is clever, but not much of a go-getter. He is too slow and cautious at everything. A good counterbalance to Oberyn being cocky and over-aggressive at everything. And I do feel sympathy because Doran seems a man who does not get the respect he's due, even from his own relatives. He suffers all the abuse quite patiently and wisely, but being too late was not his son Quentyn's problem half as much as it was his.

Arianne Martell - it is strange, but for all her sexiness, I seem to have a hard time sympathizing with her. She seems so self-absorbed.

Aeron Greyjoy is perhaps my least favourite POV. He seems to exist only to demonstrate that Euron Greyjoy is someone not to be trusted.

Balon Greyjoy is, in my opinion, the worst leader in the Westeros, aside from Joffrey.

[TalalOfDorne]

To me, that like telling a mother to pick favorites. Im going to have to say that I insanely love BOTH houses and their characters and cultures.

Basically:

What

is

Dead

May

Never

Die

But

Rises

Again

Unbowed

Unbent

Unbroken.

[jmondrag]

Doran Martell is clever, but not much of a go-getter. He is too slow and cautious at everything. A good counterbalance to Oberyn being cocky and over-aggressive at everything. And I do feel sympathy because Doran seems a man who does not get the respect he's due, even from his own relatives. He suffers all the abuse quite patiently and wisely, but being too late was not his son Quentyn's problem half as much as it was his.

Whenever I think of Doran, I think about that line from Gladiator when that Senator is talking about some kind of sea snake or something, that allows itself to get nibbled on, only to rape ass later. Doran's time will come. Bring on the hurt baby. Unbowed Unbent Unbroken.

[Jon's Queen Consort]

who said "This is Dorne. You are not wanted here, return at your peril." ?

Martell it is

[TalalOfDorne]

who said "This is Dorne. You are not wanted here, return at your peril." ?

Martell it is

Great line. Mariya Martell (And Elia as well) is probably my favorite Pre-ASOIAF character.

[Andrés Garcia]

House Martell is among my favorites. They have an attractive culture and a fascinating history. I also love their words and their general attitude towards any outside authority.

Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken

[V Targaryen]

I love both houses myself, but I'm probably going to go with the Martells. As much as I love the Greyjoys as a house, I really only like Theon and Victarion. Whereas with the Martells, I love Oberyn, Doran, Quentyn, Obara, Nym, and Tyene. I also love Hotah and I'd love to see a little bit of Trystane actually on the pages instead of Myrcella or Arys mentioning him. Plus, I'm much more curious and excited for the Dorne/Martell storylines in Winds.

[Fire Eater]

Martells, at least they don't follow the Old Way, and Doran considers his people when making decisions which is more than can be said for Balon. Then again, it doesn't take much to be smarter than Balon.

[ejhawman]

Greyjoys can die. Go Martells!

[Steve Moss II]

Doran Martell. He wants revenge on a personal level but is not willing to risk his small folk (one of the few lords to think of them, the other being Ned) to obtain it.

Which is why he's carefully maneuvering and attempting to form alliances.

The Greyjoys, by contrast, are just a bunch of thugs, Asha included.

[Djinn]

I like Doran and Oberyn, and Arienne is hot, but Theon, Victarion, Euron and Asha are just too much fun. Crazy buggers!