Pinkie Baelish Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 What are the series' top ten best written characters in your opinion? NOTE: This is not a list of characters who are the best people in ASOIAF, this is a list for the best characters from a literary perspective.My top 10:Tyrion LannisterJaime LannisterCatelyn TullyArya StarkTheon GreyjoyStannis BaratheonEddard StarkVarysCersei LannisterRoose Bolton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 1. Dolorous Edd2. Varys3. Littlefinger4. Jorah Mormont5. Davos Seaworth6. Eddard Stark7. Stannis Baratheon8. Arya Stark9. Theon Greyjoy10. Jeor Mormont Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nictarion Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Not 10, but for me the best written characters are Daenerys, Theon, Jaime, Sandor, Arya, Tyrion, and Catelyn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alistair's Pantaloons Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 1. HodorEhh, they're all pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridgeburners Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Well this is a rushed list, so I doubt it's actually reflective of how I feel but:1. Jamie Lannister2. Sandor Clegane3. Brienne4. Samwell Tarly5. Davos Seaworth6. Theon Greyjoy7. Sansa Stark8. Victarion Greyjoy9. Arstan Whitebeard (can you believe I'm actually blanking on his real name?)10. Robert Baratheon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Areo Mace Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Well this is a rushed list, so I doubt it's actually reflective of how I feel but:1. Jamie Lannister2. Sandor Clegane3. Brienne4. Samwell Tarly5. Davos Seaworth6. Theon Greyjoy7. Sansa Stark8. Victarion Greyjoy9. Arstan Whitebeard (can you believe I'm actually blanking on his real name?)10. Robert BaratheonSer Barristan Selmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nictarion Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Well this is a rushed list, so I doubt it's actually reflective of how I feel but:9. Arstan Whitebeard (can you believe I'm actually blanking on his real name?)Barristan Selmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealbando Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Id say the best written is Theon Greyjoy. After him, in no particular order: Tyrion, Jon, Dany, Jaime, Catelyn, Arya, Sansa, Jaime Davos, Stannis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukle Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 1. Davos, for his depth of character, constant internal struggles and emotional attachment to readers. Especially since it's easy to write an evil character everyone hates but not easy to write a good character people will like.2. Cersei as she is pretty much a Godsend to any author for her frustrating personality and you cannot help but read on when she is about.3. Jon as he is developing in a manner that people can relate to, which many other characters don't have. He's the most "real" character other than Davos.4. Varys, for his brilliantly intriguing role as a subtle, behind-the-scenes character.5. Littlefinger, for the same reasons as Varys.6. Robert, as he was actually a brilliantly engaging character and a suitably tragic almost-hero who creates his own demise.7. Jaime, whose monologue in the bath completely changed his character and how the audience views him within minutes.8. Stannis, whose steady rise to power has been balanced by his internal torment, especially following Renly's death.9. Ned, who manages to be the perfect & frustrating protagonist who does the opposite of what the audience would.10. Ghost, who manages to have character without saying a word.ETA: Tyrion would've made the list before A Dance with Dragons, but his annoyingly repetitive recollection about his father's death got irritating the second time it was mentioned and infuriating by the twentieth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridgeburners Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Heh, thanks guys. But I got it a second after I hit post. All I have to do is think of "the bold", and then I get "Barristan the Bold". Then I immediately get "Barristan Selmy".7. Jaime, whose monologue in the bath completely changed his character and how the audience views him within minutes.For me, it happened during his dungeon conversation with Catelyn at the end of CoK, despite how vulgar he was. Although the tub scene was also a big leap for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinkie Baelish Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share Posted June 7, 2013 Id say the best written is Theon Greyjoy. After him, in no particular order: Tyrion, Jon, Dany, Jaime, Catelyn, Arya, Sansa, Jaime, Stannis.Theon pre-ADWD was well-written, but Theon in ADWD was fucking amazing. Quite possibly the most consistently well-written single-book arc in the entire series.EDIT: Also, you listed Jaime twice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Theon's arc in ADWD alone puts him in the top spot for me.I think Jaime, Davos, Arya, Jon, Tyrion and Catelyn are also written well.I guess my loose top 10 would be:1. Theon (solid #1, everything else is in no real order)2. Jaime3. Arya4. Catelyn5. Tyrion6. Jon7. Davos8. Stannis9. Sandor10. Sansa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redviper9 Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 1) Jaime Lannister2) Theon Greyjoy3) Catelyn Stark4) Jon Snow5) Ned Stark6) Varys7) Sansa Stark8) Roose Bolton9) Asha Greyjoy10) Stannis Baratheon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogLover Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 This is tough, but I'll give it a go. In no particular order and absolutely not reflective of my favorites, my top ten are: CatelynAryaSansaSandorTheon as ReekJoffreyJaimeCerseiRoose Tyrion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlefingers In The Air Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 This isn't easy but let's see:1. Littlefinger/Theon Greyjoy 2. Barristan Selmy3. Catelyn Stark4. Arya Stark5. Stannis Baratheon6. Davos Seaworth7. The Lannister Siblings8. Sansa Stark9. Samwell Tarly 10. Jon Snow/Targaryen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeWareOfMyHouse Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 1. Tyrion Lannister2. Petyr Baelish3. Sandor Clegane4. Arya Stark5. Davos Seaworth6. Sansa Stark7. Catelyn Tully8. Stannis Baratheon9. Jon Targaryen10. Theon GreyjoyI'm really surprised most people have overlooked The Hound. In my mind, he's one of the only people in the series that reveals war for what it really is. His "Knights are for killing" speech to Sansa is probably one of my favorite monologues from the books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bastard of Summer Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 1. Jaime2. Theon3. Littlefingef4. Cersei5. Ned6. Tyrion7. Jon8. Arya9. Bran10Tywin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khal Pono Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 I've been wanting to make this point for a long time, but I think the quality of the prologues (and book 3 epilogue), which all feature a doomed, usually unimportant or unimpressive character are of exceptional literary quality. Each of them is like a brilliant, pessimistic short story of a person struggling vainly against a bleak, hostile universe. They are full of pathos and dark comedy.Whether GRRM is getting inside the mind of a character as repulsive as Chett and making him sympathetic, describing Merrit Frey's cursed luck and incurable migraines, or Varymyr's abusive childhood, GRRM is at his best when doing these wildly readable character studies.The best one is probably the Pate prologue (which resonates strongly with me since I was an abject failure and college dropout the first time around!). I was bored the first time I read it (I wanted to hear about my favorite characters, not Pate and his classmates!), but I've read it many times since and am dazzled by how sad and quietly scary the whole thing is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridgeburners Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 I've been wanting to make this point for a long time, but I think the quality of the prologues (and book 3 epilogue), which all feature a doomed, usually unimportant or unimpressive character are of exceptional literary quality. Each of them is like a brilliant, pessimistic short story of a person struggling vainly against a bleak, hostile universe. They are full of pathos and dark comedy.Whether GRRM is getting inside the mind of a character as repulsive as Chett and making him sympathetic, describing Merrit Frey's cursed luck and incurable migraines, or Varymyr's abusive childhood, GRRM is at his best when doing these wildly readable character studies.The best one is probably the Pate prologue (which resonates strongly with me since I was an abject failure and college dropout the first time around!). I was bored the first time I read it (I wanted to hear about my favorite characters, not Pate and his classmates!), but I've read it many times since and am dazzled by how sad and quietly scary the whole thing is.It is an interesting point, and you could have made your own thread about it, IMO.Pate is probably my favorite prologue/epilogue guy. But I really love Maester Cressen. I love his struggle trying to sway Stannis towards peace with his brothers, thinking as a father figure (he practically raised the Baratheons). He also reflected Davos' maddest point against Melisandre before Davos got there himself. It's a shame such a major character had so little exposure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Joker Of FunLand Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Oberyn is in the top 10 for me. Even if he didn't last long, all his scenes were captivating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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