[Book Spoilers] Nitpick without repercussion!

[Storms End]

I think they'd waste their time trying to make any actor look like cleftjaw, "A longaxe blow had nearly killed him as a child, splintering his jaw, smashing his front teeth and left him four lips instead of two" If they tried it would probably of looked ridiculous, it seemed it when I was reading through the books.

The only change in the series so far which I personally found annoying was apparently the Greyjoys operate out of GALLEONS now.

[Buckwheat]

During one stop, he used the time to have a closer look at the road. Tyrion knew what he would find: not packed earth, nor bricks, nor cobbles, but a ribbon of fused stone raised a half foot above the ground to allow rainfall and snowmelt to run off its shoulders. Unlike the muddy tracks that passed for roads in the Seven Kingdoms, the Valyrian roads were wide enough for three wagons to pass abreast, and neither time nor traffic marred them. They still endured, unchanging, four centuries after Valyria itself had met its Doom.

Tyrion from Dance.

But there is no mention of "Valyrian stone". There are only Valyrian roads, the roads through the ancient empire of Valyria. They were covered in stone, yes, but the meaning here is that the roads were built in a Valyrian manner, not that some special kind of stone was used building them.

At least that is how I understand it.

[Victaerys Ironfist]

Of course a lot of people have already mentioned the most egregious changes -- Tickler dying too early, Arya mouthing off to Tywin, no Reeds or Ramsay on the horizon -- but was anyone else seriously bothered by the 17th-century-lookin' Sea Bitch? The Ironmen sail longships, not merchant galleons! Vikings, not Spanish armada sailors!

N.B.: Here's the Sea Bitch from the show. And here's a longship (remember how often the Ironmen's ships are referred to as longships - ALWAYS). I really don't know what they're thinking.

Well, I thought that the lesser ships of the Greyjoy fleet (assuming Sea Bitch is one) are probably not longships or war galleys. They are probably going to be merchant ships that they have paid the "iron price" for however long ago.

[boojam]

But there is no mention of "Valyrian stone". There are only Valyrian roads, the roads through the ancient empire of Valyria. They were covered in stone, yes, but the meaning here is that the roads were built in a Valyrian manner, not that some special kind of stone was used building them.

At least that is how I understand it.

The books also mention, and as if I remember correctly, Valyrian buildings , actually much is Dragonstone is built out of something from Valyria... I always assumed it was 'Valyrian Stone' without George actually giving it a name.

[SerMixalot]

where is stanni's beard?

[boojam]

Really? Where is “Valyrian stone” mentioned in the books?

The words that occur after “Valyrian” are these, ranked by the number of instances:

• 60 steel
  
• 6 of
  
• 5 glyphs
  
• 5 roads
  
• 4 and
  
• 4 road
  
• 3 as
  
• 3 sphinxes
  
• 2 blades
  
• 2 longswords
  
• 2 scrolls
  
• 2 word
  
• 1 again
  
• 1 amongst
  
• 1 arakh
  
• 1 arakhs
  
• 1 army
  
• 1 at
  
• 1 dagger
  
• 1 dragonlord
  
• 1 heavily
  
• 1 moored
  
• 1 once
  
• 1 sorcerer
  
• 1 sorcery
  
• 1 sphinx
  
• 1 stock
  
• 1 sword
  
• 1 that
  
• 1 tree
  
• 1 was
  

I see no “stone”.

Why does it have to be Valyrian followed by 'stone'?

George does mention Valyrian cities and there is Dragonstone, that castle was built by Valyrians, what did they build it out of?

It's implied in what George writes, he does not have to be specific about it?

[boojam]

I'm pretty sure he was at Balon's feast in Theon's second chapter.

Yes he was , as well as all the Iron Fleet commanders , they condensed that 'war council' down so much that it's only Balon, Theon and Asha/Yara.

Yara's 30 ships only constitute a fraction of the Iron Fleet.

I guess they are going to explain this all later...next year..?

[bloodymime]

But there is no mention of "Valyrian stone". There are only Valyrian roads, the roads through the ancient empire of Valyria. They were covered in stone, yes, but the meaning here is that the roads were built in a Valyrian manner, not that some special kind of stone was used building them.

At least that is how I understand it.

Fused stone that isn't marred in the slightest after centuries of travel upon it is most definitely special. We certainly don't have anything like it. The Valyrians are the ones with the secret of making it so it is obviously Valyrian stone and the only reason they wouldn't use this incredibly resistant material in other things is if they had something even better.

[protar]

Well, I thought that the lesser ships of the Greyjoy fleet (assuming Sea Bitch is one) are probably not longships or war galleys. They are probably going to be merchant ships that they have paid the "iron price" for however long ago.

Which is a bit of fridge brilliance (pardon my tropese :P ) when you consider how pleased Theon looked with it. Shouldn't a true ironborn know he was being dishonoured by being giving a galleon?

This is all probably entirely accidental on the show's part but I like to think that D+D are actually being subtly clever about things were I can instead of being cynical and seeing them as drooling idiots who don't care about the source material.

[Le Cygne]

So Loras doesn't think Brienne did killed Renly, and Brienne is the one who killed a fellow Rainbow Guard, not Loras.

[Just so.]

Loras not even suspecting Brienne of killing Renly, when he is convinced she did it in the books and they even did his casting based on the confrontation from Feast. Loras also killed two of his sworn Rainbow Guard brothers in rage who were guarding outside the tent, where here is talked down from hurting an unarmed Littlefinger who is starting wedding negotiations with Margeary over Renly's corpse.

Brienne's first slaying of a man wasn't until Feast, where she slayed several of the guards here.

Davos is made admiral of Stannis's fleet, where Imry Florent, the queen's brother who has no experience as an admiral, leads the attack on Blackwater Bay. While Davos will no doubt be made to make the same mistakes in the show, in the book Davos is the one pointing out the mistakes Ser Imry is making in being over confident and not sending out any scouts or noticing the tower which holds the chain. Also Ser Imry keeps Salador's ships back because he does not trust them, when Davos feels this was a waste as these were some of the most experienced war time sailors.

Asha hasn't fit her book character so far. The Cleftjaw is the one suggesting they alter their raiding target, where in the books Theon is the one convincing him.

The cliff side approaches of the TV fist of the first men will make escaping from it when it is attacked problematic, as there appeared to be only one way in and out.

Qarth is almost completely original content. Xaro is not gay, and they didn't bring up how if they were married the bride and groom could ask for one gift of one another which could not be refused, with Xaro's being one of her dragons. One has to wonder if Dany might not have considered Xaro more seriously for marriage, if she thought he had any interest in her what so ever. Especially when he makes it seem much more so than the books that he would support her war effort. They also made Jorah Mormont seem like he was against bringing any foreign aid to conquer Westeros, when it was his idea to get the Unsullied.

With Arya as cupbearer to Tywin, it is pretty unlikely that he would have a percieved commoner speaking freely to his council, and even less likely that she could say something as pointed as the thinly veiled threat of "anyone can die" directed at him.

Likewise it seems pretty unlikely that Jaqen would offer her 3 deaths and Tywin wouldn't be the first name on her mind after having made that threat. In the books it is more plauseable because she has no contact at all with Tywin and only sees him from a distance, and then realizes she should have named him as he is leaving. Cheswick was her first death in the books, and the Tickler taking his place robs Arya of the moment when she does it herself in Storm of Swords, the whole "Is there gold in the village?" as she stabs him over and over. I understand that not even having named him as the Tickler until this episode and having his torture scenes so brief and non-graphic in nature he probably would not even be remembered by next season or two seasons from now. But it still is a bit disappointing. Perhaps Polliver will take his place in that scene.

Harrenhal is not nearly the hell it was for Arya, where she was constantly in danger, and stuck on manual labor duties scrubbing floors and what not. As the surprisingly friendly Tywin's cupbearer she argueably has it better than most of the commoners in the kingdom at this point. No Vargo Hoat and the Bloody Mummers certainly plays a role there, though I understand the casting costs for delaying their entrance to the story. Of course if they do cast them next season and if weasel soup still happens this season, then Vargo won't be changing sides in nearly the same manner.

No Reeds, Bran has the Green Dreams instead and Osha apparently is going to be the one interpretting them. Howland Reed was the only survivor of the Tower of Joy, and it appears that story line may be cut completely. No mention of Ramsay Snow yet, but it is still early. Still this would have seemed to be the perfect time to bring him up story line wise.

No Edric Storm. An understandable cut, but still this is one of the major tension points between Davos and Stannis in Storm, and the first time we learn of Melisandre's desire to sacrifice someone who has king's blood.

everything you say is true,,,its been a long while since ive read the books and i have just finished watching the season 2 and i was lost for any accuracy towards the books...jon snow and quaron halfhand, arya "girl" thought she was only know as girl by gendry?

Was Renly the biggest poof as is made out in the show? seems very loosely based on the books season 2