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Mistakes/Contradictions in the books?


Magnar of Skagos

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So, I just finished reading AGOT for the second time, and picked up on a few things that I missed the first time around; and in doing so, also found a pair of errors.

Daeren Targaryen was only fourteen when he conquered Dorne,” Jon said. The Young Dragon was one of his heroes.
“A conquest that lasted a summer,” his uncle pointed out. “Your Boy King lost ten thousand men taking the place, and another fifty trying to hold it. Someone should have told him that war isn’t a game.” He took another sip of wine. “Also,” he said, wiping his mouth, “Daeren Targaryen was only eighteen when he died. Or have you forgotten that part?” - 
Jon 1, A Game of Thrones

A simple misspelling I caught as I read through this chapter. Made me stop for a minute, because the name did not look right.

"And there's my grandfather, Lord Rickard, who was beheaded by Mad King Aerys. His daughter Lyanna and his son Brandon are in the tombs beside him."  - Bran VII, A Game of Thrones

Wasn't Rickard burned alive by Aerys?

 

Anybody else notice anything like this in their re-reads? Feel free to post and discuss them here!

 

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So, I just finished reading AGOT for the second time, and picked up on a few things that I missed the first time around; and in doing so, also found a pair of errors.

Daeren Targaryen was only fourteen when he conquered Dorne,” Jon said. The Young Dragon was one of his heroes.
“A conquest that lasted a summer,” his uncle pointed out. “Your Boy King lost ten thousand men taking the place, and another fifty trying to hold it. Someone should have told him that war isn’t a game.” He took another sip of wine. “Also,” he said, wiping his mouth, “Daeren Targaryen was only eighteen when he died. Or have you forgotten that part?” - 
Jon 1, A Game of Thrones

A simple misspelling I caught as I read through this chapter. Made me stop for a minute, because the name did not look right.

"And there's my grandfather, Lord Rickard, who was beheaded by Mad King Aerys. His daughter Lyanna and his son Brandon are in the tombs beside him."  - Bran VII, A Game of Thrones

Wasn't Rickard burned alive by Aerys?

 

Anybody else notice anything like this in their re-reads? Feel free to post and discuss them here!

 

Summers in ASOIAF last several years.

 

It is possible Eddard did not want his kids to know the truth of the horrible way their grandfather and uncle died. 

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It is possible Eddard did not want his kids to know the truth of the horrible way their grandfather and uncle died. 

More than possible, it's a certainty. He didn't even tell Catelyn of the horrific details of Brandon and Rickard's murders, she only knew that they were executed without a trial, until Jaime told her. So Bran infered it was a beheading because that's the only way of execution he has ever known about.

 

Other than that, there are some specific cases of inconsistencies here and there, and minor changes like Meria Martell's name but nothing too serious - the most important inconsistencis are about time and space -distance and timelines- which are kept purposefully vague for that reason but still, they can cause confusion if one looks too much into such issues.

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"And there's my grandfather, Lord Rickard, who was beheaded by Mad King Aerys. His daughter Lyanna and his son Brandon are in the tombs beside him."  - Bran VII, A Game of Thrones

Wasn't Rickard burned alive by Aerys?

 

Nobody in the Stark family except Cately(and Ned) knows and she only knows that because Jaime told her.

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In some part of the book, it says that Renly's green doublet goes well with his green eyes.

Word. I never noticed that.

  He was the handsomest man Sansa had ever set eyes upon; tall and powerfully made, with jet-black hair that fell to his shoulders and framed a clean-shaven face, and laughing green eyes to match his armor.  
 Maybe Sansas color blind? She says the Eyrie is very grey lol.

 In all seriousness my mom has green eyes that could be mistaken for blue, especially if her siblings and nephews had blue eyes

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So, I just finished reading AGOT for the second time, and picked up on a few things that I missed the first time around; and in doing so, also found a pair of errors.

Daeren Targaryen was only fourteen when he conquered Dorne,”

A typo that everyone missed.

 

 

"And there's my grandfather, Lord Rickard, who was beheaded by Mad King Aerys. His daughter Lyanna and his son Brandon are in the tombs beside him."  - Bran VII, A Game of Thrones

Wasn't Rickard burned alive by Aerys?


A deliberate character error. Bran's limited knowledge of his family's history is pretty much a running gag. ("Are you sure you have never heard about the Knight of the Laughing Tree?")

(By "deliberate" I meant "on George's side", of course. Bran simply doesn't know).

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There are remarkably few considering how much he's written. But yeah, eyes change color. Horses change gender. One whore's hair color changes. The harbor at King's Landing goes from being outside the gates to inside them. The Septon at the Wall is misidentified as Chayle in one of Jon's last chapters. Jeyne Westerling's hips change size. Catelyn suggests Weirwood heart trees are strictly a northern thing but then they're not. One of Egg's Sons goes from being married in Barristan's telling to being a "confirmed bachelor" in the worldbook. Barristan also got confused writing in the White Book.

I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting. Plus then there are some typo's depending on what edition you have. I think it's my print copy of Feast that refers to an Aenys II when they meant Aerys. 

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The AFFC and ADWD appendices state that Roger, Rickard, and Roose Ryswell are the quarrelsome cousins and bannermen of Lord Rodrik Ryswell. However, the text of ADWD states they are his sons.

ADWD Reek II

The air was full of drifting smoke from the cookfires drowning in the rain. A column of riders came wheeling up behind them, led by a lordling with a horsehead on his shield. One of Lord Ryswell's sons, Reek knew. Roger, or maybe Rickard. He could not tell the two of them apart.

ADWD Reek III

Roose Bolton seated himself across the table from his son. "Barbrey Dustin is my second wife's younger sister, Rodrik Ryswell's daughter, sister to Roger, Rickard, and mine own namesake, Roose, cousin to the other Ryswells. She was fond of my late son and suspects you of having some part in his demise."

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When Qyburn meets Jaime

He was spare and soft-spoken, with warm brown eyes.(ASoS,Ch.31 Jaime IV)

and when he meets Cersei

He was tall, though slightly stooped, with crinkles around his bold blue eyes. (AFfC,Ch.03 Cersei I)

ETA: Not all contradictions are mistakes. Most seem to be intentional (eg. Joffrey's sword is Lion's paw, from Arya's PoV, and Lion's Tooth from Eddard's and Sansa's)

Some we can't tell either way as yet, eg. the Blue Bard claims he was raised as a chandler but had more skill making lutes than barrels - chandlers make candles, and coopers make barrels. 

I suspect GRRM put this one in to signal the Blue Bard's back-story is bs, as torture has never revealed truth in ASoIaF so far.

There was also 'Oswald' Kettleblack - clearly the author's mistake for Osmund in ASoS, Ch.67 Jaime VIII but intentionally used as Penny's misnomer for his father, Oswell, in ADwD, Ch.33 Tyrion VIII.

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When Qyburn meets Jaime

He was spare and soft-spoken, with warm brown eyes.(ASoS,Ch.31 Jaime IV)

and when he meets Cersei

He was tall, though slightly stooped, with crinkles around his bold blue eyes. (AFfC,Ch.03 Cersei I)

this one I always felt it was their projections leading to the eye color change. It feels to deliberate. 

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Never did add up to me. Glover tells Davos Manderly is summoned to Barrowton. Manderly tells Davos he is summoned to Winterfell. Ramsey tells Roose he went back to where Manderly said he parted ways with the Freys. Roose decides to move the wedding to WF. Maybe someone could clear that up for me.

Bolton has sent forth ravens, summoning all the lords of the north to Barrowton. He demands homage and hostages … and witnesses to the wedding of Arya Stark and his bastard Ramsay Snow, by which match the Boltons mean to lay claim to Winterfell. ADwD Davos IV (386)

"And now I have a wedding to attend. <snip>. Even so, I must go to Winterfell. Roose Bolton wants me on my knees, and beneath the velvet courtesy he shows the iron mail. ADwD Davos IV (392)

But yet in the Reek chapter the Bolton’s are out looking for the missing Frey’s for 16 days.

"We rode back to where Lord Lamprey claims they parted ways, but the girls [dogs] could not find a trail." ADwD Reek III (p422)

"You will plant a son in her," Roose Bolton said, "but not here. I've decided you shall wed the girl at Winterfell." ADwD Reek III (p426)

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In agot, in the first Catelyn chapter, Ned says that Tommen was still "sucking the Lannister woman's teat the last time I saw him" and Cat replies "Prince Tommen is seven". However, in the first Ned chapter when Robert arrives, it's said that Ned and Robert haven't seen each other in 9 years since the Greyjoy rebellion.

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Never did add up to me. Glover tells Davos Manderly is summoned to Barrowton. Manderly tells Davos he is summoned to Winterfell. Ramsey tells Roose he went back to where Manderly said he parted ways with the Freys. Roose decides to move the wedding to WF. Maybe someone could clear that up for me.

Bolton has sent forth ravens, summoning all the lords of the north to Barrowton. He demands homage and hostages … and witnesses to the wedding of Arya Stark and his bastard Ramsay Snow, by which match the Boltons mean to lay claim to Winterfell. ADwD Davos IV (386)

"And now I have a wedding to attend. <snip>. Even so, I must go to Winterfell. Roose Bolton wants me on my knees, and beneath the velvet courtesy he shows the iron mail. ADwD Davos IV (392)

But yet in the Reek chapter the Bolton’s are out looking for the missing Frey’s for 16 days.

"We rode back to where Lord Lamprey claims they parted ways, but the girls [dogs] could not find a trail." ADwD Reek III (p422)

"You will plant a son in her," Roose Bolton said, "but not here. I've decided you shall wed the girl at Winterfell." ADwD Reek III (p426)

 

 

Lady Dustin told Roose that Ramsay was not welcome in her hall, and or Roose received word that Stannis was marching on Winterfell and had to beat him there.

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In agot, in the first Catelyn chapter, Ned says that Tommen was still "sucking the Lannister woman's teat the last time I saw him" and Cat replies "Prince Tommen is seven". However, in the first Ned chapter when Robert arrives, it's said that Ned and Robert haven't seen each other in 9 years since the Greyjoy rebellion.

That's not necessarily a mistake. It's not inconceivable that at one point Ned ran into Cersei and her children, but not Robert. Ran once theorized that Cersei spent a night at Riverrun on her way to Casterly Rock with the kids while Ned and Catelyn happened to be visiting. 

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Lady Dustin told Roose that Ramsay was not welcome in her hall, and or Roose received word that Stannis was marching on Winterfell and had to beat him there.

That does not answer my question was about why Glover told Davos the wedding was at Barrowton and Manderly tells Davos he is going to WF. Perhaps I am not expressing myself properly so I will repeat. How, why does Manderly tell Davos he is going to WF for the marriage when Glover says the Lords have been summoned to Barrowton.

Never did add up to me. Glover tells Davos Manderly is summoned to Barrowton. Manderly tells Davos he is summoned to Winterfell. Ramsey tells Roose he went back to where Manderly said he parted ways with the Freys. Roose decides to move the wedding to WF. Maybe someone could clear that up for me.

Bolton has sent forth ravens, summoning all the lords of the north to Barrowton. He demands homage and hostages … and witnesses to the wedding of Arya Stark and his bastard Ramsay Snow, by which match the Boltons mean to lay claim to Winterfell. ADwD Davos IV (386)

"And now I have a wedding to attend. <snip>. Even so, I must go to Winterfell. Roose Bolton wants me on my knees, and beneath the velvet courtesy he shows the iron mail. ADwD Davos IV (392)

But yet in the Reek chapter the Bolton’s are out looking for the missing Frey’s for 16 days.

"We rode back to where Lord Lamprey claims they parted ways, but the girls [dogs] could not find a trail." ADwD Reek III (p422)

"You will plant a son in her," Roose Bolton said, "but not here. I've decided you shall wed the girl at Winterfell." ADwD Reek III (p426)

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That does not answer my question was about why Glover told Davos the wedding was at Barrowton and Manderly tells Davos he is going to WF. Perhaps I am not expressing myself properly so I will repeat. How, why does Manderly tell Davos he is going to WF for the marriage when Glover says the Lords have been summoned to Barrowton.

It probably is just an editing mistake, since GRRM often moves chapters around.

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