Best/Worst 5 POV characters?

[Rockroi]

Best/Favorite: (My standard: when a chapter ends, what name do I hope is at the top of the next page).

1. Jaime: Amazing POV, great scenes, great history, great conflict, and above all: Honesty: with himself and others.

2. Dany: Everyone forgets how conflicted she is and her struggles; her actions are all about freedom.

3. Tyrion: A very worthwhile perspective, witty dialog, incredible interaction. Losses points because he harps on his dwarfism.

4. Sansa: While she can be grating, her POV is well served by the non-POV characters, and her own insight is refreshing next to her unbelievable sister.

5. Samwell Tarly (SoS): Not only is it terrifying being North of the Wall, but its terrifying being terrified.

(Honorable Mentions: Cat Stark, Ned Stark, Arya in CoK)

Worst/Least Favorite: (Standard: When I finish a chapter, what name do I LEAST want to see on the top of the next page).

1. Anyone from the Iron Isles (save Theon): Its a cop-out but true, easily the worst collection of POVs, all covering the exact same events on a very, very small location, all basically from the same psychological POV. Added nothing and said even less.

2. Samwell Tarly (AFfC): What was so interesting just one book earlier is repetitive and uninteresting presently. Why the hell am I following Sam for these chapters? He gets to Oldtown, right?

3. Jon: No, wait, let me guess: you will take no action whatsoever but somehow things will work out in your favor through no act or will of your own? Nailed it, didn't I?

4. Cersei: A POV should give me some interesting insight into a character. Inane babbling about crappy, never-before heard prophecies and your incompetency in ruining of a realm? Just not doing it for me.

5. Bran: He's not that bad, really, but after a while, he does not actually add anything to the story.

(Dishonorable mention: Arya in SoS (at least the first half), Arienne Martel (who are you again and why would I care?), Davos (what he sees is great; him as a POV is kind of boring), Arys Oakheart).

And this thread should be "Exhibit A" in any argument around why people do not like AFfC that much: it would appear that most lists contain AT LEAST one POV that is exclusive to Feast or is only in one other book.

[Lucky Shield]

Best/Favorite: (My standard: when a chapter ends, what name do I hope is at the top of the next page).

1. Jaime: Amazing POV, great scenes, great history, great conflict, and above all: Honesty: with himself and others.

2. Dany: Everyone forgets how conflicted she is and her struggles; her actions are all about freedom.

3. Tyrion: A very worthwhile perspective, witty dialog, incredible interaction. Losses points because he harps on his dwarfism.

4. Sansa: While she can be grating, her POV is well served by the non-POV characters, and her own insight is refreshing next to her unbelievable sister.

5. Samwell Tarly (SoS): Not only is it terrifying being North of the Wall, but its terrifying being terrified.

(Honorable Mentions: Cat Stark, Ned Stark, Arya in CoK)

Worst/Least Favorite: (Standard: When I finish a chapter, what name do I LEAST want to see on the top of the next page).

1. Anyone from the Iron Isles (save Theon): Its a cop-out but true, easily the worst collection of POVs, all covering the exact same events on a very, very small location, all basically from the same psychological POV. Added nothing and said even less.

2. Samwell Tarly (AFfC): What was so interesting just one book earlier is repetitive and uninteresting presently. Why the hell am I following Sam for these chapters? He gets to Oldtown, right?

3. Jon: No, wait, let me guess: you will take no action whatsoever but somehow things will work out in your favor through no act or will of your own? Nailed it, didn't I?

4. Cersei: A POV should give me some interesting insight into a character. Inane babbling about crappy, never-before heard prophecies and your incompetency in ruining of a realm? Just not doing it for me.

5. Bran: He's not that bad, really, but after a while, he does not actually add anything to the story.

(Dishonorable mention: Arya in SoS (at least the first half), Arienne Martel (who are you again and why would I care?), Davos (what he sees is great; him as a POV is kind of boring), Arys Oakheart).

And this thread should be "Exhibit A" in any argument around why people do not like AFfC that much: it would appear that most lists contain AT LEAST one POV that is exclusive to Feast or is only in one other book.

We should take into account that because it is the last book, we have no answers yet so it seems much more frustrating :thumbsdown:

[Rockroi]

We should take into account that because it is the last book, we have no answers yet so it seems much more frustrating :thumbsdown:

I don't know what you mean by this, but it sounds like you are trying to say that the AFfC POVs are frusterating NOT because they are poor POVs, but because we "have no answered yet."

I disagree. If you look back at the comments people made about their least favorite POV, if they list a AFfC POV (and most people had at least one slot dedicated to AFfC character or specifically stated "Arya (AFfC)"; sometimes as many as 3 or 4 slots were dedicated to AFfC LEAST favorite POVs; in fact, you yourself had 2 slots dedicated to Brienne and Aeron Greyjoy- two exclusively FfC characters) they actually list reasons for their dislike. One of the reasons given is hardly EVER "because their POV left me hanging and wanting more" or "I was frustrated because the POV left so many unanswered questions." No. Usually it was because the POV was generally un-fulfilling in and of itself.

You yourself state:

1. Aeron Greyjoy - I hate the overly pious people, they just always make the wrong choice while thinking they rock the world.

3. Brienne - I mean what happens, except for... nothing? Go look for the starks why don't you? Walk past the hound, but let's not recognise him. His horse is right beside you and the head brother is heavily hinting that the "hound" is dead. I mean, jesus... Just die and give us Quentyn Martell

This is not just minor frustration at unanswered question: your quotes alone detail general disdain for the actual POVs. This was what I was driving it.

[wakiki]

Yeah, all POVs character excepting the dead ones have loads of unanswered questions. Arya, Sansa, Jaime, Tyrion, Davos, Jon, Dany...so that can't be the reason.

I like AFFC alot more the second time that I read it though, and even more than that the third time.

[Lucky Shield]

I don't know what you mean by this, but it sounds like you are trying to say that the AFfC POVs are frusterating NOT because they are poor POVs, but because we "have no answered yet."

I disagree. If you look back at the comments people made about their least favorite POV, if they list a AFfC POV (and most people had at least one slot dedicated to AFfC character or specifically stated "Arya (AFfC)"; sometimes as many as 3 or 4 slots were dedicated to AFfC LEAST favorite POVs; in fact, you yourself had 2 slots dedicated to Brienne and Aeron Greyjoy- two exclusively FfC characters) they actually list reasons for their dislike. One of the reasons given is hardly EVER "because their POV left me hanging and wanting more" or "I was frustrated because the POV left so many unanswered questions." No. Usually it was because the POV was generally un-fulfilling in and of itself.

You yourself state:

This is not just minor frustration at unanswered question: your quotes alone detail general disdain for the actual POVs. This was what I was driving it.

Right i do understand what your saying but I think that as we don't have the north's POV in this book a lot of questions that need answering aren't being answered. I didn't like Aeron for who he was not for the questions he didn't answer. Let's not forget that at first DOD was only about the north and Dany but now you also have Cersei and the Greyjoy's. I also heard GRRM mention very recently that he is giving Arianne a big POV in DOD which means both the Dornish and the Greyjoy situations might be answered.

All i'm saying is that DOD is happening at the same time as AFFC so questions that we were asking ourselves could "possibly" be answered by one of those other carachters. When Bran and Rickon died from everyone's POV, we needed his POV to confirm that they had, in fact, both lived?

[undertow]

Best

1. Arya - a grievously wronged child who seems destined to wreak bloody, unadulterated vengeance. Plus, her chapters are fun: she kills several people and teams up with Sandor. She has no moral compunctions against killing those that need killing. What's not to like?

2. Tyrion - the most entertaining POV.

3. Jaime - deadpan snarker, crippled badass, whats not to like

4. Victarion - the only POV whose modus operandi is MurderDeathKill. fun chapters to read.

5. Sansa - her early chapters are funny, and she's seen a lot of character development.

Worst

1. Sam - I hate this character. He has no character development. He's managed to stay a fat craven, despite serving two years as a soldier in an inhospitable climate, fighting for his life against all kinds of baddies. If his dad had left him in that pond, everyone would have been better for it.

2. Bran - mostly boring chapters. They seem to be getting a little more interesting, though.

3. Aeron - self-righteous, powerless, and boring.

4. Theon - his taking of Winterfell seemed pretty contrived

5. Cersei - I hate her almost as much as I do Sam, but her chapters are 10x as entertaining as his.

[Wras]

Favorites:

1. Arya - I really like Arya. She's probably my favorite character (still very undecided) and her whole journey has me on her side. A loner with a lot of help, but on her own adventure. What I like most about her story is how I want her to have some kind of happy ending (like being reunited with family) while at the same time I want to see her believably become some cool fighter, if not necessarily an assassin.

2. Ned - Eddard was the man, man. Little by little, when reading A Game of Thrones, I began to wonder 'why are there no more Eddard POV chapters...' and then the big twist had me gripped on the series as a whole. Probably correlative to why Arya grew on my so quickly, as it was from her POV that we saw Ned's execution.

3. The Princess in the Tower - Don't ask me why, 'cause I don't know. These Dornish have some kind of hold over me.

4. Tyrion - I'm not really a big fan of Tyrion, but at the same time, despite all my efforts to not like him, he keeps delivering. He gets a 4 spot and not higher, not because of him, but because all of his interactions and the characters he's involved with (Bronn, Oberyn, his family). He was the look at the Lannisters I liked the most not counting the twins.

5. Sansa - Yerp, I'm a Sansa fan. I like her as 'oh somebody save me I'm a damsel' but more than that I enjoyed seeing her grow. I think it's a testament to Martin's writing that he could have an interesting character be as far away from a lot of the fighting and big moves; Sansa wasn't necessarily a victim as Arya was but she was still impacted and important. I dunno, I just really enjoy all her chapters and I really, really like her FFC chapters.

Least Favorites:

1. Sam - Bah, Samwell. I only have room in my heart for one overweight Samw___ underdog character. "Sobbing, Sam took another step." really wore me out rather quickly. It felt like even Martin didn't feel like writing him. I don't hate or even dislike him that much, and I even see how he works as a POV character, but something about him just tires me out for the story.

2, 3, and 4 are tied more or less.

2. Jon - I liked him at first, or wanted to. He has some cool moments but when he became Lord Commander I was like 'huh?'. I write characters very similar to Jon, and Ghost is a total badass, but for me it feels like Jon's either trying too hard and not paying off the way I'd like him to, or he's not trying at all and this is paying off very much. Also, as mentioned it seems like he gets lucky a lot, but oh well.

3. Jaime - I like his character development, and his growth after losing his sword hand, but I actually think he developed too fast. I would have liked to see him from earlier on; more of the "I seldom throw children out of windows to improve their health" type Jaime instead of the Jaime that likes Brienne. Plus, Jaime and Cersei are a serving of Lannister that I think exceeds the recommended daily dose.

4. Bran - Much like Jaime, I like Bran. I root for Bran. But I don't find him interesting. I think his interactions are cute but he doesn't seem like a child his age, rather he seems very mature for his age. Sometimes I think he would be better portrayed from someone else's point of view observing him, but while I dislike him I think his chapters are well-written and I like what's happening to him, if that makes sense. So my opinion of him is kind of like Tyrion except Bran is less interesting.

5. Catelyn - I spent a book or three waiting for Catelyn to deliver. I really wanted to like Lady (Tully-)Stark, as I like three of her children a lot. Something about her character just seemed to fall flat for me, though, and Lady Stonehard? Meh.

Extra: People I wish had (or could have had, rather) POVs:

1. Robb (RIP)

2. The Mountain that Rides (Maybe we can get some UnGregor POV chapters :P)

3. Dolorous Edd

4. Bronn

5. One of the Direwolves!

[wolf's blood]

Most Liked:

1) Jaime - He is the most interesting character as far as the POV's go. His changes in character are great and so are his thoughts on the way he is perceived by his peers.

2) Jon - Generally the most action-packed chapters and I am have nothing wrong with archetypal characters which Jon is. Plus, Ghost is awesome!

3) Samwell - For the same reason as Jon as far as the amount of action but from a coward's point of view. I also enjoyed his chapters in AFFC with Maester Aemon.

4) Catelyn - Only because Robb as my favorite non-POV character.

5) Bran/Theon - Complete opposites in everything but both are immensely interesting to me.

Least Liked:

1) Dany - Meh.

2) Sansa - She complains to much and her naivety is annoying.

3) Cersei - She's too insane to make any sense of.

4) Davos - someone else already said it, good POV to have but boring chapters and character.

5) Tyrion - I love Tyrion the character and having a POV at KL was great but he mostly interacted with people I could not stand (Cersei, Joffrey, etc.)

[Lady Blackfish]

BEST (6 instead of 5; the first two are the inarguable keepers for me)

Catelyn - Martin wrote a character for adults. She's by far the most real character, and her inclusion makes me feel like Martin respects my intelligence as a reader. She's a woman in a man's world, without being denigrating of femininity, and she's thoroughly unimpressed by all the machismo of her society (which makes her violent impulses fascinating). She acts as a skeptical lens on a romantic dream, and I respect that. Drawback is that there are times her plotline feels a little plot device like, and Martin kinda uses her as his narrative punching bag.

Tyrion - Probably the most perfect of Martin's character/character arcs, and I say that anticipating that Tyrion is not going to return to Westeros as a hero but as a tragic villain. His chapters have all of Martin's calling cards: intrigue, iconoclasticism, romance, melancholy, idealism, depravity, so on. Drawback is that there are times that you can tell that he is Martin's favorite character -- it's fine if I can't see it, but if I can, that's indulgent. There are some days I question how good it is that many readers find him heroic, when he does some really really disturbing things.

Arya - There's one Arya chapter I hate, and that's her first one. Other than that, it's easy for me to relate to her earlier on despite not being much of a tomboy. Then she goes into child soldier mode and becomes just fascinating. Plus, my dark side enjoys cutting up a bitch. I just wish that Martin didn't start out with Arya being the cool-from-a-modern-standpoint girl and Sansa defined as her foil.

Sansa - She's smack dab in the middle of all the intrigue, and I lap that stuff up. I respect her development because it feels real thus far, and I feel very sorry for her as well.

Eddard - His storyline is the easiest to like because the whole first book is centered around him. No other character gets that luxury except possibly Tyrion in book two, and it translates to a pleasing narrative experience. He has interesting backstory too. Unlike many though, I liked the things that weren't so macho and "The Man" about him. He tried to be a good person.

Jaime - He's entertaining, also has intersting backstory, and I like his themes about the impossibilities of chivalry and the ideals of his society. I also like how Martin allows that cynical viewpoint to extend to less sympathetic aspects of the character too, makes him more compelling. Personally, I loved his AFFC chapters. Yes, he's badass and all, but he's also a clueless lost boy, without apology.

WORST (4 instead of 5; I'm too conflicted about Cersei's arc, and don't know yet what I feel about the Iron Islands)

Sam - I love Davos' Blackwater sequence and Brienne's thematic resonance, so Sam it is. I don't have a problem with him, and I respect that Martin deals with his insecurities realistically, his story just doesn't qualify as unforgettable at this point. I actually like him a bunch, just not sure who else to put.

Bran - I'm not always up for the green dreams. They're lovely and interesting and I like reading them as standalone passages, but the flow isn't always there. I anticipated his chapters all the time when he was in Winterfell, but once he left it was more difficult. His development is a little more straightforward than others, which I'm fine with because he brings out the protective older sister in me so I don't want bad things happening, but I can't give him points for originality.

Dany - I find her setting and side characters flat a lot of the time, though maybe there's an interesting reason for it, but that's difficult to access and a lot of the time while reading I just became uncomfortable with the portrayal of the east. Interesting stuff happens and all, of course, and I can appreciate the grandiose color of it all, but ... still ... let me say I can't wait for her to land in Westeros.

Jon - I like the Wall, but had a hard time with his journeys beyond it. It was difficult to get behind Jon in Harry Potter mode, and then all of a sudden he went from 16 to 35, which is good for his plot but maybe even worse from a character standpoint. I think his ADWD chapters will be awesome, but too much hand holding from the author for me. His flaws feel faux and I have some trouble with the handling of the reluctant heroism.

On Arianne - I have no idea where people get this notion that she's mad? Anyway, I thought her chapters had a terrific subtextual commentary on a variety of female tropes, the exotic seductress, the maiden in a tower, so on, until the very end when you find out she's just this overgrown kid with a glaring insecurity. She can be a little callous and plenty reckless, which makes her feel like a real person with real flaws and I look forward to seeing more of her. I hope she can fill the void I felt from the perspective of female characters after Catelyn died.

[Wras]

Dany - I find her setting and side characters flat a lot of the time, though maybe there's an interesting reason for it, but that's difficult to access and a lot of the time while reading I just became uncomfortable with the portrayal of the east. Interesting stuff happens and all, of course, and I can appreciate the grandiose color of it all, but ... still ... let me say I can't wait for her to land in Westeros.

Agreed here. At first, the only reason it seemed like Dany was in the plot was so that it wouldn't seem like she was coming entirely from left field when she came to Westeros with an army or whatever she'll truly have with her. Of course, I think she escalated, both in popularity and character since her introduction, but I agree that sometimes it feels like she's just being, I don't know, pushed by Martin?

On Arianne - I have no idea where people get this notion that she's mad? Anyway, I thought her chapters had a terrific subtextual commentary on a variety of female tropes, the exotic seductress, the maiden in a tower, so on, until the very end when you find out she's just this overgrown kid with a glaring insecurity. She can be a little callous and plenty reckless, which makes her feel like a real person with real flaws and I look forward to seeing more of her. I hope she can fill the void I felt from the perspective of female characters after Catelyn died.

No real followup, but yes. This. Agreed so much :laugh: She's sort of what I wanted Catelyn to be, if that makes any sense?

[Olenna]

I'll just do 3 of each:

Best:

1. Theon. He's so recognizable from real life: the privileged guy who has a chip on his shoulder and feels entitled to whatever he wants (women, money, power, etc.), is massively insecure, and, when the rug is pulled out from under him, is willing to stoop very low to achieve validation. Yet you empathize with him every step of the way as he paints himself into a corner. His downward spiral was one of the most fascinating arcs in the series and I can't wait to see how he'll turn out.

2. Sansa. I love the fact that she lives in her head and what's in her head (e.g., ideals and desires) doesn't line up perfectly with reality. Why restrict oneself to humdrum reality? Don't we all read fantasy novels because we're like Sansa--we feel that everyday life is sometimes banal or unpleasant and we want to imagine a more interesting and fulfilling life for ourselves? And who's to say that these fantasies and ideals don't wind up having a palpable impact on our lives? Sansa's idealism certainly had a positive impact on Sandor.

3. Cersei. Her chapters brilliantly document her decline, and they're hilarious. Like Sansa and Theon, she is a very believable character--the aging coquette who thinks she can still manipulate guys but ultimately just makes herself ridiculous. I hope we get more of her POV. Often, it is more fun to read the POV of a stupid or insane character than that of a supposedly "normal" character like Jon.

Worst:

1. Sam. His chapters will probably pick up once he's at Oldtown, but right now they're boring and don't seem to accomplish much.

2. Dany. She seems rather generic and two-dimensional in comparison with many of the other characters, and she's hard for me to relate to because I don't know anyone remotely like her in real life, which leads me to suspect that she's an artificial authorial construct. I also think that compared to the other characters she has received too much plot protection. Hopefully that will change in ADWD and she'll have more interesting obstacles than dumb slave traders.

3. Asha. Her chapter was one of the greatest disappointments for me. In Theon's POV, she was sexy, mean, and utterly cool--a female Jaime. But being inside her head was boring. What do we learn? That she had a childhood romance. That she thinks the Iron Isles fight too many wars. That she made a preposterous, stupid bid for the throne. All of this could have been interesting insofar as it reveals that her macho persona is largely a front, but the chapter seemed like more of a sketch than a real exploration of her character. In general, I found the Iron Isles chapters lackluster--not bad, just overly expository, insufficiently imaginative, and thin on character development.

[Lucky Shield]

Favorites:

1. Arya - I really like Arya. She's probably my favorite character (still very undecided) and her whole journey has me on her side. A loner with a lot of help, but on her own adventure. What I like most about her story is how I want her to have some kind of happy ending (like being reunited with family) while at the same time I want to see her believably become some cool fighter, if not necessarily an assassin.

2. Ned - Eddard was the man, man. Little by little, when reading A Game of Thrones, I began to wonder 'why are there no more Eddard POV chapters...' and then the big twist had me gripped on the series as a whole. Probably correlative to why Arya grew on my so quickly, as it was from her POV that we saw Ned's execution.

3. The Princess in the Tower - Don't ask me why, 'cause I don't know. These Dornish have some kind of hold over me.

4. Tyrion - I'm not really a big fan of Tyrion, but at the same time, despite all my efforts to not like him, he keeps delivering. He gets a 4 spot and not higher, not because of him, but because all of his interactions and the characters he's involved with (Bronn, Oberyn, his family). He was the look at the Lannisters I liked the most not counting the twins.

5. Sansa - Yerp, I'm a Sansa fan. I like her as 'oh somebody save me I'm a damsel' but more than that I enjoyed seeing her grow. I think it's a testament to Martin's writing that he could have an interesting character be as far away from a lot of the fighting and big moves; Sansa wasn't necessarily a victim as Arya was but she was still impacted and important. I dunno, I just really enjoy all her chapters and I really, really like her FFC chapters.

Least Favorites:

1. Sam - Bah, Samwell. I only have room in my heart for one overweight Samw___ underdog character. "Sobbing, Sam took another step." really wore me out rather quickly. It felt like even Martin didn't feel like writing him. I don't hate or even dislike him that much, and I even see how he works as a POV character, but something about him just tires me out for the story.

2, 3, and 4 are tied more or less.

2. Jon - I liked him at first, or wanted to. He has some cool moments but when he became Lord Commander I was like 'huh?'. I write characters very similar to Jon, and Ghost is a total badass, but for me it feels like Jon's either trying too hard and not paying off the way I'd like him to, or he's not trying at all and this is paying off very much. Also, as mentioned it seems like he gets lucky a lot, but oh well.

3. Jaime - I like his character development, and his growth after losing his sword hand, but I actually think he developed too fast. I would have liked to see him from earlier on; more of the "I seldom throw children out of windows to improve their health" type Jaime instead of the Jaime that likes Brienne. Plus, Jaime and Cersei are a serving of Lannister that I think exceeds the recommended daily dose.

4. Bran - Much like Jaime, I like Bran. I root for Bran. But I don't find him interesting. I think his interactions are cute but he doesn't seem like a child his age, rather he seems very mature for his age. Sometimes I think he would be better portrayed from someone else's point of view observing him, but while I dislike him I think his chapters are well-written and I like what's happening to him, if that makes sense. So my opinion of him is kind of like Tyrion except Bran is less interesting.

5. Catelyn - I spent a book or three waiting for Catelyn to deliver. I really wanted to like Lady (Tully-)Stark, as I like three of her children a lot. Something about her character just seemed to fall flat for me, though, and Lady Stonehard? Meh.

Extra: People I wish had (or could have had, rather) POVs:

1. Robb (RIP)

2. The Mountain that Rides (Maybe we can get some UnGregor POV chapters :P)

3. Dolorous Edd

4. Bronn

5. One of the Direwolves!

Bronn is gonna get a prologue and die in it! :D N one escapes the curse of the prologue :devil:

[Eddison Tollet]

Favorites:

1. Jon- Yeah, the angst can be too heavy at times, and he isn't the most original character, but I'm always happy to flip the page and see one of his chapters. I liked seeing him start off with fairytale ideas of what life in the Watch would be like, and then having the reality of it hit him over the head. I enjoyed watching him try to deal with the desire to be an honorable person, while playing the role of turncoat. The setting at the wall, the storyline with the wildlings and Others, and the great supporting characters, make it very easy for me to become immersed in the books during Jon's chapters.

2. Tyrion- His chapters always deliver.

3. Jamie- Surprised to put him this high, but getting his take on events is interesting, and his development has been fun to watch.

Jon, Tyrion, and Jaime really stand-out for me, after them there are a lot of POVs that I enjoy but they become harder for me to sort them into a list.

4. Arya- Seeing a kid become a killer has been a little disturbing, but very entertaining. I did get really tired of her traveling back and forth across the Riverlands though.

5. Sansa- Didn't care for her chapters early on, but as the series has progressed I've become a fan. In AFfC she and Jaime were my favorite POVs.

Least Favorite:

1. The Ironborn- I find Theon loathsome but not particularly interesting, and the rest are just dull. I liked Asha when we first met her from Theon's POV, but she's been disappointing since.

2. The POVs from Dorne- Hotah and Oakheart didn't stand-out, Arianne just seems like a spoiled child, and her story didn't go anywhere.

3. Brienne- Ugh, I guess she's not a completely awful character, but her storyline seems pointless so far, and I would have no difficulty dealing with Stoneheart killing her.

4. Daenerys- I've just never been able to get into her character arc.

5. Davos- The Onion Knight has potential, but his chapters haven't drawn me in.

[1000 days Anne]

1 - Sansa: She is a little girl in a mean world. I hated her naivity in AGOT, but I fell in love in ACOK. She is a child in a world of adults and needs her own dreams to survive. And I really love her relationship with Sandor (and I hope they will meet again someday).

2 - Catelyn - Although I hate the character, I love the female's vision of war, loss, family, duty, honor (:D)... She is reckless and the war only happens because she didn't think before act, but I really love her vision of the facts.

3 - Tyrion - Politics, love, sex, prejudice, angst, hate. I really love his storyline, the game of thrones and his vision of power, family and respect.

4 - Jaime - All the character development.

5 - Brienne - Because she is sooooooooooo like me... :(

Least favourites:

1 - Bran - Boring to death. He can stay beyond the wall forever, I really don't care.

2 - Davos (ACOK) - The only chapter I skipped in the whole series was his Battle of Blackwater's POV. B-O-R-I-N-G (but I really liked him on ASOS).

3 - Dany (ASOS) - All goes bad for the Lannisters, worse for the Starks, but for Dany all is magically solved. She has an army, she has advisors, she has dragons, she has a prophecy, she is the Conqueror Queen... I really really hope things start to go wrong soon.

4 - The Ironborn chapters (AFFC) - I loved Dorne, but hated the Iron Islands. Boring people.

5 - Eddard. How can a grown man be so naive? He dug his own grave. Almost literally.

[DetroitRob]

Favorite:

1. Tyrion

2. Jaime

3. Jon

4. Arya

5. Revolving door between Cersei, Eddard, and Dany

I would have liked a regular Bronn, Hound and The Mountain that Rides POV - I like my characters dark and flawed.

[Lucky Shield]

3 - Dany (ASOS) - All goes bad for the Lannisters, worse for the Starks, but for Dany all is magically solved. She has an army, she has advisors, she has dragons, she has a prophecy, she is the Conqueror Queen... I really really hope things start to go wrong soon.

Might not have to wait too long if u want you can read a spoiler chapter on GRRM's site or Amazon ;)

[Erendis]

Best (in no particular order)

Sansa/Alayne: I love her character development and her story. Her story, I think, is much more interesting than the others' *cough* Daenerys& Ironborn& most prologue *cough*. Even if you dislike her, you have to acknowledge that she has a lot of character development. I also really like her constant romanticizing. I don't think it's annoying. I like it a lot primarily because it gives us, the readers, a small window, into the songs and stories of old.

Jaime: He has changed my opinion of him, a lot. I think he always was the conflicted type, a little. It's only now though that all his inner conflict and true personality has appeared because of everything he has experienced and the people he has met. Plus, I like that he gives us a peek into what a Kingsguard should be and the latter half of the reign of Aerys II.

Tyrion: He is so witty and funny. I've liked him so far but now that I know that he's probably going to join up with Daenerys, I don't know. I just hope that he doesn't fall under her "enchantment"...

Catelyn: She's not one of my favorite characters but she does have understandable reasons for why she acts the way she does. Also, she, for the most part, is probably one of the only POV characters to think rationally about matters. Basically, her head is not up in the clouds or with honor, like most people.

Worst (In no particular order either)

Daenarys: I absolutely detest her. Not only is her story dull, she is trodding down the path to Mary Sue-dom. That last point is the primary reason I just skip her chapters for the most part. Good characterization is important, moreso in a book that, I believe, relies heavily on characters, the POVs.

All the Ironborn: I think their chapters are just boring too. It's all about stealing more land and thus causing even more chaos than there already is in the land. Just because others are causing chaos doesn't mean that you should join in.

Jon: He's like Daenarys. Perfect. A Gary Stu. Don't kill me people, but I really hope that he is not Lyanna and Rhaegar's child. If he is, he will have truly become the truly archetypal hero.

Arya: Her experiences are too unbelievable. I know this is a fantasy series, but still? I don't like how all she can think about is killing and using harsh methods to shorten her list. I cannot understand how people can like her, who wishes to kill, but dislike Sansa.

[Ms Lannister]

My favs/least favourites:

Jaime - I loved Jaime's character ever since the scene with Catelyn in Riverrun dungeon, when he was still generally considered to be A Bad Man. His complete and utter arrogance was pretty damn awesome! Once he became a POV character, and we got to learn more about his mindset, I liked him all the more. As far as character development goes, I think he's the most interesting person in the book.

Tyrion - Loved Tyrion from the start. I think it's because he has that underdog thing and I just can't help rooting for him. He's been disliked, mocked and unwanted all his life, yet he's not totally bitter. He's very, very smart, cynical and funny. What's not to like?

Cersei - OK, Cersei has the unique honour of making both the favourite and least favourite lists at the same time! She's goes from being merely annoying to downright batshit crazy and infuriating. And yet ... I just can't stop reading. It's like these people who slow down at accidents to gawp. You know you shouldn't look because you might see something that will give you nightmares, yet you just can't look away! (For the record, I'm a little squeamish and would NEVER look at stuff like that in case I lost my lunch). I love to hate her, but I love to read her too. Maybe I'm just schizo :ohwell:

Brienne - I didn't particularly enjoy Brienne's chapters, I found them slow and plodding, but I'm not writing her off yet, at least not until the next book is out. If she does in fact die at the end of AFfC, then she is the most pointless and time-wasting character in the history of literature. If, on the other hand, she gets to do some cool stuff in the next book (like try to kill Jaime), I will forgive GRRM everything.

Sansa - Early Sansa chapters where her head is full of romance and songs just make me want to slap her. How could anyone be so damn foolish. But, same as Brienne above, I'll refrain from final judgement as she is most certainly evolving into something better.

The Iron Islands cast of characters - I hate them all. I didn't enjoy these chapters one bit. They are the most unpleasant bunch in the whole series and I hope every one of them gets eaten by dragons.

Jon/Dany - Mixed feelings. Some parts are good, some not so good. I just want them to MEET UP and see what happens there!

Hodor - Why is there no love for Hodor? He's such a sweet gentle soul who always makes me smile! :love:

[Dark Knight]

I'm reading nowdays the books for the 3rd time(will be 2nd time for AFFC), hoping that by the time I finish ADWD will be released(fools' hope probably).

So, I'll start with my least favorite...there is probably one that wil shock people(or not):

*Brienne - the most boring chapters by far. Anytime I read a brienne chapter I just waiting for it to end. Every chapter that comes after a Brienne chapter is magnificent, no matter which POV it is.

*Sansa - her personality is too naive, even for a castle bred kid. I just cannot conect to her. Additionally, I din't see this whole 'transformation' thing about her. As the Hound will say, she's still a "little bird", and her mind seems uncapable of thinking that cruelty exists in the world, even after going through it time after time again(and maybe that's why the hound loves her - he got a cruel awakening too early in life).

*Catelyn - very annoying if truth be told. always thinks that she must take care of everything, and than whine about it(to herself, to be sure). Also, didn't like her unjustified attitude towards Jon who's my favorite character :P .

*Cersei - reminding me a lot the characterisitics of Catelyn chapters as written above, just in a more aggressive and macho way;) .

*Ned - what Jorah told Dany? "I was so lost to honor so I ran away" or something like that. well, the main characteristic of Ned's chapter is lost to sense. You know when you see a movie and someone is going to emberess himself big time so you have the urge to avert your eyes and don't watch it happen? well, I get this urge every time I read a Ned chapter.

my favorites:

*Jon - the most "human" character for me. Is basically a person who tries to make the best for himself while keeping his dignity and honor intact. Has a lot of thoughts and turns of conscience, as normal people have. well, usually. that's why he is my favorite character and that's why I like his chapters. Well, that and the wights, wildlings and giants:P .

*Arya - my second favorite character, her chapters never fail to keep me entranced in the reading. I agree that maybe her character is not really suitable of a 10-year old girl, but nonetheless. I also like that she is not "submissive" as sansa is. Being blunt, I like that she has 'Balls':P .

*Tyrion - not my favorite character, but one has to admit that his chapters are the most entertaining.

*Daenerys - love her chapters because they are and everything in them is so different from the other chapters.

*Jaime - liked his chapters better than others that are not one of the above, but not by a big margin. Love the changes he goes through from being the "golden boy who got all heavens' gifts" to...well, it isn't done yet, so we shall see;) .

[Spastic Plastic]

JON is the most human character to you? I'm suprised that you don't find him annoying. To me, he's too damn perfect and teenage angsty at the same time. Shut up, Jon, compared to your half-siblings you have nothing to whine about. I'd rather read a Catelyn or Sansa or Eddard chapter any day than a Jon chapter.