Jump to content

Questions for GRRM - WorldCon and beyond vol. 2


kissdbyfire

Recommended Posts

We now know a Westeros exclusive Q&A/interview will happen, only it won't be right now. And that's excellent, because it gives us the chance to polish our questions. So this thread is dedicated to questions we'd like to see answered. We can discuss them until we find a good format/wording, debate their merits, and then submit them and vote here.

Instead of complaining that GRRM doesn’t give anything away, let’s put our thinking caps on and come up with some interesting questions for him, like our friends at asshai.com did.

If you're reading this and are going to attend WorldCon or Bubonicon, browse the questions here and at google moderator. If you see a question you find really interesting, feel free to ask it if you can.

The two recent interviews that got this ball rolling can be found here and here. The first is the asshai.com interview/Q&A; the latter is part of a longer interview for www.fantasymundo. When the second part of the fantasymundo interview is posted and translated, it will be linked at the SSM section and here.

The questions from the previous thread are listed below, within the spoiler tags to save space.

- If Maelys the Monstrous was the last male Blackfyre, who was the last female? Someone in Pentos perhaps?

- Is the Stark name cursed?

- Was the "pink letter" really from Ramsay?

- Whose POV will be in USA paperback edition?

- Is Stonesnake really dead?

- Are there any weirwoods in Braavos?

- Will we ever see Lys?

- Will we learn more about wildlings from Goodheart and Elephant?

- Where is Robb's will?

- What happened to maester Walys?

- Since when has been maester Luwin serving in Winterfell?

- What is written in the white book about deaths of Arthur Dayne, Gerold Hightower and Oswell Whent?

- Where is Dark Sister/will it show up in the story?

- Were the Targs exiled from Valyria?Please expand.

- He once said that there could be later cases of polygamy in the Targaryen family. If so who were they? He might not answer but who were Maekar, Jaehaerys II, and Aegon V's wives?

- Is Mel using dark magic to make herself young or is she undead already?

- Expand more on how the Targaryen succession line works concerning whether or not females can inherit. Do females in the main line also go after males in the cadet branches/distant relatives?

- Did the COTF warg the ancient dragons? Are only greenseers able to do this?

- There has never been a ruling queen in the North/lady of Winterfell. Is this deliberate?

- When the KM says women bring life and the FM bring death and that no one can do both does that mean that they give something to female recruits to prevent them from ever having children?

- Is Jon handsome?

- Will Nymeria ever let a wolf mate with her so she can have puppies?

- What did Arthur Dayne look like? What is his elder brother's name?

- Does House Dayne/The Sword of Morning have anything to do with the AA legend?

- Will the upcoming winter last for years?

- Why did Bran call Queen Nymeria a witch queen? What was her life like in Dorne?

- Will we learn more about Rhaella?

- When Dany dreamed of a lover's face that she can't see has she met this person yet/will she in the near future?

- What was MMD's plan? ie. What was she chanting/trying to do with herself, Dany, Rhaego and the Dragons Eggs before & at the pyre?

- Did Martin change his gameplan for what Sansa's purpose in the series would be? It seems like her character took a big 180 after AGOT.

- Do the three dragons already have remnants of human/horse warged into them? (as per the sacrifice)

- Are there any secrets in the crypts of Winterfell?

- If only one dragon had been in the cage, would Quentyn have succeeded in abducting him?

- Who would win in a fight: Robert Strong or the Grave Digger?

- Is the Lannister/Frey wedding going to take place in Riverrun or The Twins?

- Dragon's breath isn’t hot enough to burn you, i.e. the incident with Drogon doesn't mean Dany is fireproof correct? (I already know the answer to this.)

- Did Shiera Seastar and Bloodraven had a secret child?

- Ask if Needle was ruined/or if the KM stole it while Arya left it.

- It seems like the Kings of Winter engaged in human sacrifices to the old gods. For what purpose?

- Ask if Bloodraven has been watching Arya and if he has plans for Arya.

- Did the FM recruit Arya for some other/higher purpose? Do they have an agenda with her?

- Also, ask about FM vs. dragons. Did they ever interfere before with the Targaryens/Targaryen dragons and will they do so in the future? Do they see Dany's dragons as a threat/enemy?

- I want to know if Arya will receive courtesan training in the future.

- Was there any specific reason that Valyria didn't invade Westeros?

- Have there been known Stark skinchangers in the old north?

- Are Roose Bolton's eyes normal even for westerosi standards?

- Is there anything you wish you had done differently in retrospect?

- Which of Danaerys prophecies can we confirm to have occurred?

- Is there something that is very important for the storyline and that you are willing to tell us, that no one ever thought of asking you? If so, what is it?

- Does the Bolton flaying history stem from anti-warging measures and/or attempted emulation of the Starks?

- Were the Targs exiled due to either incestuous practices or slave rights?

- Is there Skaagosi blood in recent Stark lineage?

- Does the White Book explain the whereabouts of the KG at the end of the rebellion?

- Does Winterfell always require a Stark for supernatural reasons or just tradition?

- Why did the Starks lose family lore concerning their warging; was this due to Maester knowledge suppression?

- Why dont the people of Pyke build better bridges?

- Where the Daynes came from (because of their complexion)?

- Will we ever see Allyria Dayne and Howland Reed?

- Is AAR a good guy?

- Where Azor Ahai is from? He is quoted in prophecies from Asshai and the name sounds foreign, but he fought the Others and now we know that the only continent that reaches to the North is Westeros.

- Do you predict that your novels would give rise, in the near future, to a new sub-genre of fantasy novels? Would you think that anti-fantasy is a good name for that possible movement?

- Would we have a directory of names and houses and stuff when the series is finished?

- Are you interested in philosophy? What is your take on Hobbes and Machiavelli?

- Are you conscious about the culture you are creating? Because it is a complete culture, with mythology, etiquette, stock phrases and proverbs, variance, cuisine, music, morals, etc. In short, the ASOIAF culture is as complete as a real human culture, which has not been done before in this magnitude.

- How do you believe Dunk and Egg should be best incorporated into a reading of ASOIAF?

- Which families in the south still practice Old Religion,besides Blackwoods,and if he will not answer,will we see/find out about them in the next books?

- I would like to know just how advanced Valyria was back in their glory days.

- What happened with Aegon V's third son?

- Did the Targaryens start the incest affair after the Doom of Valyria (when there were less Valyrian noble families)?

- Why was Bloodraven jailed by Maekar and sent to the Wall by Aegon V?

- What does it take to be a possible greenseer? First Men blood or COTF's?

- Is Ned overrated?

- Did Dany at some point really benefit from blood magic? (that's regarding the Pyre and blood magic being the reason for the eggs hatching, not Dany herself).

- Is it possible that Shiera Seastar is still alive? (Regarding if she could be Quaithe)

- Will we see another D&E reference besides BloodRaven?

- How important would you say is female sexual agency in your books?

- What do you think about the notion of sisterhood - female sustaining friendships?

- Will any of the major POV characters end the series in a satisfying romantic relationship?

- Does "HappilyEverAfter" always have to be a cliche?

- Does Sansa have the potential to be a true mother to SR?

- Will we see the Fingers again?

- I'd like to know how closely Winds resembles what was originally going to be the penultimate book pre-gap-scrap, or to rephrase, are things back on track from the issues that arose from the scrapping.

- Is he enjoying writing Winds more after the difficulties of Feast/Dance.

- Is Quaithe a real human being, or perhaps she is something else?

- What is color of septa Lemore's eyes?

- Is it possible to change your sex using a glamor?

- Are Iron Bank and FM closely related, or do they act independently?

- Before you decided to divide the four book, you mentioned names of two new characters appearing in what was then to be ADWD - Harry the Heir and King of the Mummers. We already know who HtH is, but will KotM still appear, or did we already meet him, but under different name?

- Jeyne Westerling switch. People have been quoted here as saying George has mentioned the description differences between Storm and Feast were errors, others say it's evidence of a switch. Would be nice to get that cleared up.

- Is Izembaro a person, place or institution?

- Did Howland Reed and Ned literally pull down the ToJ to construct the funeral cairns or was it already broken down with loose stones strewn around the base? Is it still somewhat intact?

- Will we get a POV set in Casterly Rock and not just in a dream?

- Do we know how Illyrio came to have three dragon eggs? Potentially very important given the appearance of eggs in THK, etc.

- Why do the white walkers don't make impressions when they walk in the snow? If Ashara’s still-born daughter would have lived, what would have been her first name?

- I'd like to know about the women in disguise (KotLT, Danny Flint, Alleras/Sarella). It seems like it's foreshadowing something significant for Sarella, and I'd like to know if she's going to play a larger role in coming books, and whether she will be revealed as Sarella, rather than Alleras.

- I'd also like to know if she's the first woman to study at the Citadel, and if not, what happened to the others.

- I'd like to know what Catelyn would do if she had the chance to see her kids again. Would she let them see her as Stoneheart, or would she prefer they remember her as she was?

- A lot of the conversations we have about Sansa seem to focus on authorial intent. I'd like to know how much agency he thinks Sansa has, and to what degree he thinks she exercises passive resistance, if at all.

- We also focus a lot on Catelyn being mean to Jon. I'd like to know whether Jon and Stoneheart would harbor any ill-will or hatred toward each other if they met again (or would they come to an understanding?).

- Why didnt Robert, IE the Iron Throne, punish the Ironborn further after Balons uprising? Given their present strength, and the conditions on the isles, it does seem like they got away pretty lightly.

- Did dragons bring magic back or was it the other way around ?

- Approximately how much time did Leaf mean when she mentioned that Coldhands was killed "long ago"?

- There has been a lot of speculation about whether Ramsay really wrote the "pink letter" to Jon Snow that appears at the end of ADWD. Did you intend for that to be ambiguous?

- Did Tywin know that the rumors about Cercei/Jaime were true - that they actually did have a sexual relationship and Cercei's children were fathered by Jaime. If so, can you tell us more about how he felt about that?

- Did you have the valonqar prophecy planned as part of the books from the start or was that added in later?

- Did Oberyn poison Tywin?

- On that same note, how many other little extra gems are hidden in the story that his fandom hasn't yet quite discovered? Can he give any subtle hints to some of these (so long as they aren't spoilerish) so that we can entertain ourselves looking for them until at least the next D&E novel or World of ASOIAF comes out?

- Who were Rhaella's handmaidens when she was Queen?

- Can he clarify a comment he made about Targs and higher-than-normal tolerance to heat? There are many mentions of nobles or high-status people taking scalding hot baths meaning that those who can afford the luxury of having servants to draw hot baths will probably develop more of tolerance to the heat simply due to exposure. So can Targs tolerate heat more than anyone else or just more than the average commoner not wealthy enough to have servants doing the heavy lifting required to take regular scalding, hot baths?

- If he was sheltered at Mole's Town and found he had to make a choice, would he choose an onion or an apple?

- Were you surprised at how interested some readers are in the possibility of a relationship between Sansa and the Hound? How do you think Arya would react to that, if it happened?

- Will be learn more about Lannister history in the next book, like we've learned about Stark history?

- Did Tywin participate in any noteworthy military conflicts before WoFK?

- How do you think Tywin's actions would have been different if Joanna Lannister did not die giving birth to Tyrion?

- How did the Reyne-Tarbeck rebellion against Casterly Rock go down? Was it all the West against the rebels or did major Houses stand on the sidelines to see how won?

- We know Kevan was Tywin's right hand, but what role did Tyget and Gerion play before their deaths?

- Did Bronn take part in either War of the Usurper or the Greyjoy Rebellion as a young sellsword?

- Did Tywin sleep with Shae or was she planted there by Varys (along with the crossbow)?

- Will we learn more details about what Tywin did as Aerys Hand?

- We know the Freys are despised for the Red Wedding, but how does the rest of Westeros view the Freys' bannermen? Guilty as the Freys or just following their oaths?

- Has the Brotherhood without Banners grown or weakened since Lady Stoneheart took charge?

- Were the Boltons kings themselves before they were submitted by the Starks?

- What other kings have there been in the North except for the Kings of Winter and the Marsh Kings?

- After the main series is done, do you think its possible that we may see more stories set in Westeros?

- Were you surprised that there was so much speculation about the identity of the "hooded man" in Winterfell? Can you give us any hints to who it was?

- Could an experienced skinchanger warg at miles of distance from the animal? Or one has to be "one" with the tree like Bloodraven?

- Is "see through the weirwood eyes" the same as warging the tree? thus seeing what it sees/saw? or is a separate ability and seeing through distant weirwood trees extends your warging abilities?

- Are all weirwood trees connected through the roots? Like an immense creature?

- Was the fighting pit in ADWD meant to be another fireproof event for Dany, or is it open to interpretation?

- Where does the agnatic primogeniture end? Does a female-line male (Baratheon brothers) trump a male-line female (Daenerys, Rhaenys, Rhaella)?

- What happened during the two hours where Jon and Tormund were talking?

- Did Benerro actually see Dany in his fires (in the same way that Melisandre saw Jon when she asked to see AA), or did he settle on her based on the "checklist"?

- What is the origin of, "There must always be a Stark in Winterfell"?

- Are the animal-based sigils of northern houses linked to skinchanging? Like, do the Mormonts skinchange into bears?

- Will Robb's will become important, and will we learn what's in it?

- Is Lightbringer a literal sword?

- Did you intend for us to doubt whether Ramsay wrote the letter?

- Was Jaqen H'ghar in the Black Cells by accident, or was it part of his mission.

- Are the Last Hero and AAR the same person?

- Is Coldhands different due to who he was/is or is it due to who "created" him?

- Is Robb's will important?? If Robb names a person x and Davos brings back Rickon, then who will the North support?

- Why was there never a Robb POV?

- Will Danny control only 1 dragon or all 3?

- Why did the Dragon eggs hatch for her and not for the other targ kings? If it was a timing matter, then would the eggs have hatched if Viserys had taken them(and not died obviously).

- We see that Coldhands could not go south beyond the wall even when the black gate was open for him - does this mean that the Others can’t go south even if they take a boat or walk underwater?(like there will be an invisible barrier holding them back)

- Can a dead body be warged?

- You [GRRM] have stated previously that symbolism is important in the series. Should we pay more attention to Sansa's choices of clothing?

- Apart from death, will there be a possibility that some POVs will leave the story (per say) without dying? Fulfill their role and quietly have their ending before the end of the series.

- If a character had purple or mismatched eyes would an ordinary POV character immediately point it out?

- Had Bloodraven ever appeared in a scene without us knowing warging a person or an animal?

- There are some extremely strong hints in books two, three, and five that Stannis and Melisandre are sleeping together. Can you confirm that the two are lovers?

- Do you see any major similarities between Cersei and Tyrion?

- Is Harry the Heir going to play a major part in Sansa’s future?

- Should it be taken for granted that there is only one Azor Azai, or can there be two?

- Was Darkstar’s famous line (“They call me Darkstar, and I am of the night,”) intended to be taken seriously? Or was it included to make Darkstar look ridiculous?

- Will we ever know who buried the dragonglass and the broken horn at The Fist of the First Men?

- Why are Cersei’s sexual behavior and her desire for power such major parts of her characterization?

- Shae is a character whom many readers deem villainous. Did you intend for this to be the case? Are we supposed to approve when Tyrion slaps her? Some would argue that Shae, an economically exploited prostitute of the lower classes, is definitely in a weaker position than Tyrion, the son of one of the most wealthy and powerful houses of Westeros. And yet, in the series Shae comes across as a heartless gold digger, Tyrion a betrayed man. Was this portrayal intentional, or was it due to Tyrion’s biased POV?

- You once said that with Cersei and Dany, you intended to show the “two ways that women can rule.” Both are arguably incompetent rulers at this point. Does this reflect your views on women being able to lead?

- Is Lolys Stokeworth intended to be the joke that Tyrion and others see her as, or are the attitudes of Littlefinger, Tyrion, and others meant to display the callousness of the time? Also, when you wrote that Lolys son (conceived during a gang rape) was "he of the hundred fathers," was this intended to be funny, or was it a portrayal of the attitudes that her contemporaries would have taken towards her?

- Will we learn more about the band of nine?

- What kind of person was maelys the monstrous (niether jon connigton or barristan selmy, who killed him use a bad word against him)?

- Did [the targeryan] and the other great houses intermarry?

- Are there any weirwoods in Dorne?

- Do Daynes have a godswood, if yes is there a weirwood in it?

- Which Westerosi house is the oldest?

- And speaking about trees, do weirwoods reproduce through seeds or is there something else needed? The only young weirwooods we have seen have been growing at dark bleak places associated with magic (Whispers, Nightfort).

- Who is more honourable, Arthur Dayne or Ned Stark?

- Will there be more than 3 dragons in the ice and fire series?

- Was Rhaegar better friends with Jon Connington or Arthur Dayne?

- Will we see the sword Dawn?

- Will we see Dark Sister?

- Will we see the original sword Ice?

- Is the new High Septon actually a fanatic believer, or is he a player?

- Did Ned break Stark tradition by burying Lyanna in the Crypts?

- Were the KG at the ToJ aware that Ned was coming?

- Did Gerold Hightower have a change of heart once he reached the ToJ?

- Did Maester Aemon believe that Tyrion had a part to play in the Targeryen prophecy?

- Did Aemon have a reason to go to the Wall apart from avoiding politics?

- Will all prophecies be fulfilled?

- Will Sansa marry again?

- Where was Rhaegar prior to the Battle of the Trident?

- Had Lyanna ever been in KL and/or the Vale?

- Regarding AA and TPTWP, recently in an interview Martin seemed to indicate (very casually) that they are the same (when talking about Melisandre searching for TPTWP). While it may at first seem a question he wouldn't answer directly or maybe not at all, it would be nice to get a confirmation if he meant his earlier interview to imply that AA and TPTWP are the same (or maybe just believed to be the same by Westerosi aware of both terms).

- I would ask if Martin intented Bran's last chapter of ADWD to be a cliffhanger with regards to the fate of the Reeds.

- Regarding Sansa and Tyrion, the question could be asked what Tyrion would have done if, say, Karstark had managed to kill Jaime while he was captive of Robb Stark. Would he have ordered Sansa's execution himself, allow Cersei to do the same or would he have interfered with his sister to keep Sansa alive?Just wondering how far Tyrion would go in respect of loyalty to his family on the one hand and a certain sense of sympathy for Sansa on the other hand.

- What has happened to Davos' bag of fingerbones since Blackwater?

- How do you feel about the myth of the Fisher King and how does "There must always be a Stark in Winterfell" fit in that tradition?

- Singers and songs pop up at crucial points in the story: Mance Raider channeling Bael the Bard, Tom o Sevens, the Rains of Castamere, the Song of the Rat Cook... Will Dany also get a singer or a song devoted to her?

- Several characters gain knowledge of prophecies related to them: Cersei, Stannis, Jon, Daenerys. How would you rank those four with regard to the impact knowlege of their respective prophecies has so far had on their decisions, starting with the character least influenced? Will that ranking have changed by the end of the series?

- Considering that Ned himself warned Cersei about his plans, the only thing that Sansa's information seems to have prevented is Arya's and her own escape to Winterfell. Why does Cersei tell Tyrion that all would have been lost if not for Sansa?

- Is there a difference between a good leader and a good ruler?

- Will we ever meet a lesbian couple in Westeros, where both parts are enthusiastic about lesbian sex and no participant gets out of their way stressing how it's just not as good as with a male lover?

- Why are the novels so comparatively coy when hinting at sexual abuse, if the victim is male? Will that change in the next books?

- Did your attitude towards any of the characters change during the process of writing? (Is there a character you used to feel ambivalent about who has unexpectedly grown on you? Did a character you used to be particularly fond of reveal a hidden darker side?) / Characters are sometimes said to develop a life of their own in the course of the story. Which character surprised you most in that regard?

- Since Varys is implicated as a possible accomplice to the murderous Tyrion, he's been hiding out until his showdown with Kevan and Pycelle. How near and far from Kings Landing has and will he be? And what or how many disguises will he use?

- Will the series end with a POV character we've read before or will it be an Epilogue character?

- Do you feel WoW is a much easier book to write compared to DwD, b/c of the POV characters coming together in several locations, and no Meereenese Knot to untie?

- Have you stuck to your word and not added anymore POV characters?

- Have you finished Dunk&Egg 4?

- Have you finished your script (ep 7 Autumn Storms)?

- Are you writing/editing any portion of the RW episode for Game of Thrones?

- Will you be on set for the RW scene?

- How many POVs from Feast and Dance do you intend NOT to use?

- What happened to Benjen Stark?

- Is Aerys II or Rhaegar Jon Snow's parents?

- Are Jon Snow, Roose Bolton and Stannis really dead?

- Did Eddard warg into the Birds and fly away before his death?

- What will happen when the Dragons hear the horn Euron found?

- What is J'aqen doing at the Citadel?

- Will Sam Save Horn Hill from the Iron Born?

- Will Robert Strong fight for Queen Maggie?

- Will D and D continue to deviate from the story and will they change major events in the story?

- Why do you hate the Martells?

- Abner Marsh and Bowen Marsh related?

- Should we trust in the content presented in the letter Ramsay sent Jon?

- Why is Quaithe hiding her face? Is she a famous character from the past?

- Are the white walkers trying to recover something that was stolen from them? In case yes, could you give us a hint if it is material, ideological or biological?

- Can we expect a Red Wedding 2.0?

- You gave several hints on several occasions on characters behind some events, but you gave us none towards The Harpy, is The Harpy a Meerenese or is it a Westerosi or an Yunkish?

- From the perspective I read AFFC, I came to conclusion that Sansa is going to become a queen, is she going to become the Queen of The North or is she going to marry Aegon Targaryen?

- We are aware that magic has returned to the world of ASoIaF and several forum mates noticed strange events happening in both The Wall and Winterfell's Crypt, we know that Alysanne Targaryen visited The North and visited both The Wall and The Crypts, is there a chance that her dragon laid a clutch of eggs?

- Arya is being trained to become a merciless assassin, is she going to be hired to kill a very important character?

- Is the Valonquar any Cersei's sibling?

- We never knew Shiera Seastar's fate, but we know that she was Bloodraven's accomplice, when Bloodraven was arrested, did she flee? Or did she die in King's Landing?

- Is Podrick Payne going to die? What about Hyle Hunt? Can we expect minor characters' return?

- We know that sometimes errors are unintentionally introduced on the texts, (e.g.: Renly's eye and Jaime's horse), but there is a discrepancy which several readers noticed towards Jeyne Westerling's description from both Jaime and Catelyn, can we expect this to be a mistake or a hint? Or is it just a variation from male to female perspective?

- Elenya Westerling was left in Riverrun along with her siblings and her mother while Robb went to The Twins, when Jaime dissolved the siege, however we came in touch with just one Westerling child, Jeyne, where is Elenya?

- Why the content of Robb's letter taking so long to reach its destination?

Can we expect more mythical creatures?

- Is Bloodraven somehow related or in league with the others?

- The Night's King had a female white walker consort as his queen, did they have any child? Were they kept alive when the Night's King was casted down? Were they exiled? If yes, are them related to the Targaryens?

- The Ironborn are the most martial-minded society in Westeros, more than any the leaders have to show they are brave and manly, but Balon during two wars never leaves his Seastone Chair once . And yet we never see any of the Ironborn complain about this, or object to Balon's obviously misguided plans. Why is that?

- What was the name of the house that ruled the Stormlands pre-Conquest?

- Why the areas dominated by the Andals are seemingly so culturally similar, even if part of different Kingdoms, while the Northern First Men-based cultures have more noted differences from each other?

- How much (%) of POV fat are you gonna trim on the TWOW?

- What made Stannis first suspect that Joffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella weren't Robert's children?

- What was Stannis and Davos' relationship like when Davos began serving Stannis?

- How did Stannis and Melisandre meet and become as close as they are?

- Why did Benjen Stark join the Night's Watch when his House had so few potential heirs?

- What ailment does Robert Arryn suffer from--epilepsy or hydrocephalus? Did Lysa, Jon Arryn and Maester Colemon consult other maesters/healers while in King's Landing? If not, why?

- I still want to know whether when Bran was dreaming in AGOT the Dragons he saw beyond Asshai were representative of real dragons that live in the Shadow Lands.

- Was Osha's choice of Skagos influenced by anyone/anything?

- Which character as yet not introduced are you expecting to generate the most fervour?

- Does Doran have the capacity to be ruthless?

- Did Varys know Serra when he lived in Lys?

- What does the mockingbeard want ?

- I'd like to know if the undying had some control on the visions Dany was having or are just a magical medium unaware of what they could potentially show.

- How much does aegon know about the rebellion and how does he view the Ned and Co.

- Is shade of the evening just a hallucinogenic? Are the Undying really just a bunch of strung out druggies taking up residence in a magical building while thinking their hallucinations are visions and displays of power?

- Do the statues of the old Kings of Winter in the crypts below Winterfell go all the way back to the statue of Bran the Builder right at the beginning, on the lowest level?

- Can you therefore count the number of generations between Bran the Builder and the statue of Ned, giving us an indication of Winterfell's true age?

- You have said that Melisandre is seeking out AAR in Westeros on her own accord. Are we to understand that she is completely independent from the other factions of Rh'llor? Is there a single governing body of Red Priests with specific motivations and agents like Benerro and Moqorro?

- Is Quaithe associated with a specific religion or is she an independent priestess from Asshai with her own glass candle?

- How did Bloodraven end up in the dark cells at KL before he was sent up to The Wall? How did he end up with the CoTF after being Lord Commander of the NW?

- Can you give us any details about the battle of the Trident? Whos plan it was, the composition of the rebels etc.

- Will we see Braavos involved in Westerosi affairs more and more?

- You referenced to the Ashhai board that Braavos was first formed by a fleet from Valyria whos slaves revolted. Was this fleet by any chance going to Westeros?

- What happened to the original sword, Ice?

- Will we get new POVs, or merely pro and epi POVs in the next books?

- Is the Yunkish army really as poor as it seems?

- Roughly, is there many FM or very few?

- Was the goats path Grey Wind found unknown by the Lannisters, or just disregarded as insignificant?

- Is the Knights of the Vale merely a title or does it tell us also about their prowess?

- What are your views on some scenes from the show that bothered some fans : the Jaime/Alton one, those with Brienne killing people... and all those that changed the characters drastically (like Cersei for example)?

- What were the reasons behind Reek cut in season 2 ? It doesn't seem that it was budget driven or to have less characters introduced at the same time, since casting Reek in season 2 would have spared having one more character (Dagmer) to take in for the viewers.

- You have said that the ending will be 'bittersweet'. How long ago did you work out how the story will end?

- What real-life figures (if any) inspired and influenced your creation of the character of Daenerys Targaryen?

- If you were living in Westeros during the War of the Five Kings, which king would you have supported?

- Will we find out more about the Age of Heroes, or will the truth of these myths remain buried in the ancient past?

- Have you considered, when dealing with the various offers of adaptation, the possibility of an anime version of ASOIAF ? Wouldn't the tone and style of the books better suit a (seinen/ecchi) japanese animated TV series rather than a "live action" American TV show?

- Is the myth of the Lightbringer a story about forging a sword, or rather a story about forging a hero and the sword was just a prop? In other words: is there a point in expecting Lightbringer reborn to accompany Azor Ahai reborn?

- Did the Starks and the Targeryens intermarry between the conquest and Robert's rebellion?

- Is Mel really Shiera Seastar?

- Was Lyanna entirely indifferent to Robert?

- Will the Baltimore Ravens ever make it to the Super Bowl again?

- Besides Martells and Baratheons is there any other great house whose members have Targaryen ancestors?

- Are we going to get a glimpse of Asshai?

- Are we going to get a glimpse of Skaagos?

- Will there be a direwolf versus dragon encounter? I mean a real direwolf and a real dragon, not a Stark versus Targaryen.

- Will we hear more of Rhaegar?

- Will we hear more of Elia (Rhaegar's wife)?

- Will we hear more of Summerhall?

- Will we hear more of Ned Stark's mother?

- Will we hear more of Hodor's history?

- Will we hear more of Melisandre's history?

- Were the Dothraki and the Lamb Men one and the same people at one time?

- Did the Targaryens leave Valyria for Dragonstone due to some sort of falling out of favor among other members of the Valyrian Stronghold?

- Did you expect people to root for Stannis (this one comes from my own answer to a thread about questions to be asked to GRRM)?

- Was Ironborn society significantly different at the time of Harren? They seem to have diminished greatly since, yet such a predatory society doesn't seem to be capable of reaching great numbers.

- Where is Stonesnake?

- With all that's going on regarding ASOIAF (books, show, novellas, graphic novels, interviews, creating map books and so on and so on...) how do you keep your momentum and enthusiasm for writing about this world? Do you think it's possible you might ever reach your ASOIAF-Threshold and just never want to write about this world again??? (please say no!).

- Did big walder kill little walder?

- Why was Rolph Spicer granted Castamere? Should it be seen as an symbolic act, thus to us readers representing the gradual downfall of House Lannister?

- Ser Barristan at some point decides to accept Robert's offer to join him, and we have been given some of the reasons he does so (Robert's generous nature with defeated enemies, Selmy's doubts about Viserys's saneness, etc.) we don't know when he makes this decision. By this I don't mean what day or hour he does so, but rather does he do so before or after he hears the news of the death of his three sworn brothers at the Tower of Joy? Does he join Robert and abandon Viserys after he finds out he is the last loyal, living kingsguard or does he do so knowing he is pledging to fight on the other side of the rebellion against his still living sworn brothers?

- What is your dreams as the Author for your works?

- Do you hop they will be remember like Tokien or something more?

- What do you wish as the Author wish to rembered for the most these works or another piece or all of them?

- I'd like to ask him more about religion in the world he created; it's modeled on medieval Europe, England to a certain extent, but you don't see the fighting between religions that was the hallmark of middle ages.Martin has dozens of religions - on Westeros alone there's the Seven, the Old Gods, the Drowned God, The Red Good, etc. let alone all the Gods in Essos (hell, look at Braavos alone) yet all seem to live in relative peace. Sure, there's war. But it's not war based solely on who you worship.

The history of Western Civilization is marked by religious war, first by the constant fighting between Christianity and Islam (the Crusades, anyone...Jerusalem?) then after the Reformation between Catholics and Protestants....THEN the Protestants turned against each other. The Faith Militant is interesting, but even then you have the High Septon at war with the Iron Throne for power, not against people of other faith. (This mirrors the struggle between the Catholic Church and the Crown in England, leading up to Henry the VIII's formation of the Church of England, but I digress...)

Why is everyone in Westeros so evolved when it comes to religion?

- Will Benjen Stark, in some form or another, make an appearance in tWoW?

- Was Eddard Stark's mother named Sansa or Arya?

- Will we ever learn the truth about Bran's assassin? I for one don't believe it was Joffrey on his own. It was Littlefinger, if you ask me.

- Will we ever get to learn the entire conspiracy of the Citadel in TWoW?

- Will we get to see Greywater Watch in TWoW?

- How did the Sea of Sighs and the Shadow get their names?

- Is there a possibility that any wizards survived the Doom, and passed on their knowledge from master to apprentice in secret?

- Will Tyrion ever meet Tysha again or learn what happened to her?

- When counting casualties from wars and battles in Westeros, would you say there more deaths in the 300 years prior to the Targaryen landing or during the 300 years afterwards ? ( I realize the conflicts were vastly different during those two time frames. I'm wondering which was more deadly: the frequent localized conflicts between 2 of the 7 Kingdoms or the all-out civil wars that ensued during the Targaryen reign and recent upheavals).

- Did Aemon know bloodraven was the 3EC / greenseer or that he is alive?

- Was Broodraven sent to the wall with Aemon or did he choose to go?

- I would ask is there anything you want to tell us or Is there any question that you are surprised that no one has ask you, and if so what is it.

- What is the population of Westeros, and a breakdown by region?

- Did Tyrion literally want to rape Cersei, or did he claim that he did in order to make himself look as evil as possible?

- In the show, why was the Jeyne Westerling character substituted with a new character?

- Given the use of the Unreliable Narrator technique, are you aware of any occasions where fans are still wildly misled by a character's POV?

- Which character do you think has changed the most from your original conception of them?

- When did glass candles start burning?

- Where is the place about which Jaime was dreaming about in “A storm of swords” (King’s Landing, Dragonstone or some else)

- Will we see Evenstar?

- It would be really interesting to me to know if he had planned Aegon/Young Griff from the beginning, or was it something that popped up later.

- Did the lords of Skagos send any men to aid Robb when he called his banners at the beginning of the War of the Five Kings?

- What is the real-world inspiration for Skagos?

- Is there a story or legend about how the Valyrians supposedly got the blood of the dragon, and is it tied to the founding of Valyria?

- Were we supposed to see it coming that a hidden Aegon would pop up?

- Will every mystery be revealed or we should count on secrets dying along with their keepers?

- Who is your least favorite female and male character and why?

- Was/Is Coldhands a deserter from the Night's Watch?

- Did Rhaegar compose the song "Jenny of Oldstones"?

- Are the headaches suffered by Gregor Clegane the result of some long-ago blow to the head, and is the forget-me-not cloak worn by Loras Tyrell in his tilt with The Mountain significant, in a non-sartorial way?

- Did the Targaryens ever use dragonhorns to control their dragons? *** (Although he is far from tame, Drogon is controlled by Daenerys with little more than a whip and her voice. Is it safe to say, then, that the dragon horns were the means by which non-Targaryens controlled dragons?)***

- Through the HBO show, the internet, and the fervid imaginations of fans, your world and your characters have taken on lives of their

- own outside of the books. How do you feel about this?

- What exactly does the church of Rhillor look like ? We know they have temples all over the known world of various sizes, but is there one supreme temple somewhere (a red Vatican), or a founding city ? Is there one supreme high priest or priestess somewhere (a red pope) ? Or does each temple do their own thing, waiting for the AA to be their one true leader ?

- Who was the user of Dawn prior to Arthur Dayne

- What color were Vhaghar and Meraxes?

- So far we've seen prophecies to be useless (Patchface, Ghost of the High Heart) or worse (Maggy the Frog, HotU); will this ever change?

- What is the shadow and the Shadowlands?

- What created the Others?

- Will Benjen stark come back?

- Was Brandon the Builder the Night's King, the Last Hero, neither or both?

- When will you come to California again?

- Mr. Martin, I know you love Tyrion, but ... is he a villain?

- Did Robert and Cersei ever had a genuine hot and unadulterated sex even for just one night?

- GRRM, how did you come about devising the narrative of this colossal series? Surley it couldn't have been a "spur of the moment" thing. Was there years of planning ahead? Or is it really one big intuitive collective masterpiece?

- Why would the Sealord of Braavos sign as a witness for the bethrothal of Viserys and Arianne if the Braavosi have such a strong hate of dragons?(The Targaryens being dragonlords and the bethrothal a gain for the Targaryens.)

- Can we conclude from their lack of success that the previous assassination attempts on Dany did not involve any Faceless Men? If so, why haven't the Faceless Men accepted this particular hit yet? It can't be for lack of people willing to pay the price, can it?

- Did any Stark ever come down and try to conquer the southern kingdoms when they were kings in the north?

- Is Valonqar a gender neutral term like the Valyrian word for dragons?

- After conquering Westeros & Essos, will the Others invade Sothoryos?

- In AGoT, after Sansa tells Baelish about heros and monsters, Baelish says "Life is not a song". With respect to that quote, I would like to ask: Is 'A Song of Ice and Fire' a song? Or is it not a song?

- Will we ever see Tyrek Lannister again?

- Who is the mastermind behind the most plots? Varys, Littlefinger, Bloodraven, the Maesters?

- How do you decide which characters are given chapters? Why didn't Robb or Stannis get chapters? Does Stannis know too much or do you want him to be more mysterious? Did we not get a Robb point of view simply because Catelyn filled that role well enough? Why did you give us a Melisandre chapter?

- Do any of our current points of view (excluding Ned and his promise) have any secret information we don't know of yet? How do you go about writing through their eyes? Is it hard not to reveal certain things?

- Aegon seems pretty important, and Jon Connington likely knows more than he does. Why did you decide to show us that part of the story through Griff's point of view instead of Aegon's?

- How come Daenerys does not think very much (or at all) about her mother Rhaella? Especially given that her mother was a full-blooded Targaryen, as well as a queen and mother (as Dany tries to be all of these things), one would expect it. Also the circumstances of her conception are very nearly as significant as her birth. Does Dany even know anything about it?

- Will at least two Starks find one another?

- Is Willas' role in the series similar to Bran's? Just as Bran goes beyond the wall (despite being unable to use his legs) and becomes a protege of the three-eyed crow, does Willas have a close relationship with the Citadel at Oldtown? After all, his mother is a Hightower. Is he involved in the maesters' plots against the dragons or does he know anything about this? According to Margaery, he knows a lot about stars (astronomy? astrology?), which would be very like the Tudors' reliance/fascination with the same subjects.

- What are the words of House Clegane?

- How big was the meteorite that fell at Starfall?

- Where is the Dragonsteel used against the Others 8,000 years ago?

- Did Oberyn poisoned Tywin?

- In A Storm of Swords, Dany thinks back to her childhood and how Viserys and she were always running, 1 step ahead of the Usurpers knives. Did Robert have assassins on their heels all this time, or were they sent by someone else ooor was it all unfounded fears?

- Are we going to see Casterly Rock? It's the only big location in Westeros we haven't seen yet (except Storms End, which is lined up for WoW).

- How is it that the Andals conquered Dorne but not the North, and Aegon I conquered the North but not Dorne even though he had Dragons?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does HBO use CGI to generate the images of Dany's dragons, or do they work with live dragons on the set for those scenes?

Chaeck out season 1 extras, they use Australian winged geckos.

No, seriously? let's not go down that path plz lol

P.s. When is Worldcon going to happen? did it happen already? with all the SSM updates I see posted on the general forum

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chaeck out season 1 extras, they use Australian winged geckos.

No, seriously? let's not go down that path plz lol

P.s. When is Worldcon going to happen? did it happen already? with all the SSM updates I see posted on the general forum

Yeah, it was last weekend. I haven't been able to go through everything yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe we could trick Martin into an involuntary giveaway by asking, "Is Illyrio planting a cuckoo´s Egg (all possible puns intended) on the Iron Throne?"

Ah, no forget it. I think he´s been asked too often wether Aegon is real and I don´t really want to know yet, either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is the High Septon who imprisons Cersei based on a medieval/Renaissance reformer, such as Girolamo Savonarola? I'm impressed by the fact that he's been chosen by what appear to be the ordinary village septons of the riverlands/crownlands (the poor sparrows). Again, a very interesting reference to St. Francis of Assisi and Sister Sparrow.

At the end of AFfc, Petyr Baelish appears to be very certain that his plot to wed Sansa to Harry will succeed. She is already married to Tyrion Lannister, whose first wife Tysha disappeared after his father had half a barrack of Lannister guardsmen (and his own teenage son) rape her. Was Tyrion's marriage to Tysha formally dissolved or was it declared null and void despite the consummation, because the groom was underage (he was thirteen, she was fourteen, or so she said)? If not, what impact does it have on Sansa's marriage to Tyrion? She does ask him about his first wife in ASoS. Does Petyr. who appears to be familiar with the details of the incident, know where Tysha is? Is that why he's so confident he can get Sansa's marriage to Tyrion dissolved? Or does he hope Tyrion will turn up dead somewhere? Does he even plan to wed Sansa to Harry or is this just another ploy to get her involved in his plot to kill Sweetrobin?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A am new here and i basically just signed up to post this question that I have been thinking about since I re-read the series.

In ADwD Barristan thinks to himself about Robert that "If I had seen him smile over the red ruins of Rhaegar’s children, no army on this earth could have stopped me from killing him." To me it seems that this rage is very deep and not present in his everyday life of calm and measured personality. Even when he fights Hizdahr's guard it seems that he is performing a dance or something, with respect for his opponent and without any ill intention or anger at his opponent. We saw a little of it when he was dismissed by Joffrey, but he didn't loose it and it didn't seem as intense. I therefore wonder if we will ever see him unleash that kind of rage or if there has been a point where he fought that way? (Maybe at Duskendale?) Is there anything left that he cares about so much that he could get that angry?

I would very much like to read a POV with him fighting with that kind of rage either real-time1 (maybe, let's say, Daario betrays Daenerys) and he singlehandedly decides to take on the Second Sons or in the past.

1 I'm not sure if he cares enough about Daenerys (or anything else) for him to get so angry as to take on an army. But that would also be an interesting discussion, how much love and hate is left of the old man?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some more questions:

Re: Rickard Stark's southron ambitions, which Barbrey Ryswell mentions in ADwD--what exactly were these ambitions? He began by arranging matches for at least two children--Brandon and Lyanna--with scions of southron houses. Was this an attempt to gain allies in the south, in case the NW and the Northmen had to face wildling attacks or attacks by wights and Others? Or was he trying to do a Simon de Montfort--create a group of great lords (Stark, Tully, Arryn and Baratheon) who could check the power of the Iron Throne, whether embodied in the person of a Targaryen ruler or his Hand? Or did he (taking into account the recent revelation that Torrhen Stark's brother, Brandon, had wanted to kill the dragons and the Targaryens) want to remove the Targaryen yoke? Barbrey believed this plan originated with Maester Walys--did the latter live long enough to confide it to Maester Luwin and Benjen Stark, to be eventually discussed with Ned?

Petyr Baelish--his accounting system must really be confusing if Tyrion, who is almost as clever as him, cannot get the hang of it. Unless Petyr's doing an Enron--taking money from one enterprise and putting it into another. Is he keeping some of it for his own use?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When you write how often do you think about adding clues to later happenings in the story. Any examples of things that already have been revealed? Anything readers haven't caught onto yet that has already been revealed?

If the Braavosi hate dragons than why would the Sealord sign as a witness for the bethrothal contract of Viserys and Arianne.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Will Dany invade Westeros in Book 6?

(I know he normally does not answer "spoiler" type questions. But he has already told us that Dany will invade Westeros in Book 4; then he retracted this and said she would invade in Book 5; which turned out not to be the case; most now expect her to finally invade in Book 6).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd like to know if GRRM ever conceived that each prophecy mentioned (or alluded to) in every book should be fulfilled in its entirety, concurrently with every other prophecy.

With a tidy little bow on each literal interpetation of each prophecy. Before the end of the series.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Before the writing of the series, have you had a sketched out skeleton plot that you planned on seeing through or has it gone through a few changes since the 1990s?

Do you or have you changed plot points due to fans' discussions on how the series will progress/end?

After what I judge to be a mixed response to the scrapping of the 5 year gap in AFFC and DwD, are you glad you continued with the linear movement of the first 3 books?

If GoT is still on the air in a number of years and if you have yet to finish the series, would you wish the series to continue by giving plot points to the GoT production/writing team, or would you want them to wait for the final books to come out?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Do you or have you changed plot points due to fans' discussions on how the series will progress/end?

He already answered that quite a lot. The answer is no.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...