What to ask GRRM?

[Seams]

The last interesting revelation I remember from one of these GRRM Q&A situations was when he confirmed that Bloodraven took the sword Dark Sister with him when he went to the Wall to take the black.

So maybe you should focus on a detail like that, something that doesn't necessarily reveal a lot about the plot but something that can give us a hint about the back story or about a character.

Possible topics:

Dragon eggs. It seems like the highborn people of Westeros and Essos would keep track of the known dragon eggs in the world, the same way that wine collectors would keep track of rare, unopened bottles of wine or baseball collectors keep track of Honus Wagner cards. They hope more might be found, but the known eggs would be tracked. You might ask directly where Ilyrio got the eggs he gave to Dany. You might get a clearer confirmation, though, if you ask whether Ilyrio's eggs came from a known source (handed down through the Targaryens) or whether they were turned up without the provenance of the known eggs.

Runes and hieroglyphs. There are a few items in the series that are covered with runes. We are told that no one knows how to read runes, yet the smith at Riverrun is able to credibly reproduce the ancient crown of the Kings of Winter that is covered with runes. Will we see a character who can decipher runes at some point, or have the messages of runes been lost for all time?

Ser Ilyn Payne's silver sword. Speaking of runes, Ser Ilyn produces a silver sword covered in runes and with a death's head pommel at Joffrey's wedding feast. Is this an ancestral sword for House Payne and will we see it again in the series?

Obsidian arrowheads. Maester Luwin gave Rickon four dragon glass (maesters call it obsidian) arrowheads. Did Rickon take those with him when he left Winterfell with Osha?

Knights. Several characters aren't really knights, but might qualify as warriors. Theon, Jon Snow, The Hound, Brienne. Is it important that these characters are not really knights? Was Ser Duncan the Tall ever really knighted?

Squires. Although a knight isn't always a knight, it seems as if there is a lifelong, dedicated bond between a squire and the warrior he serves. Wex Pyke seems determined to clear Theon's reputation. Podrick Payne is determined to find Tyrion. Egg is very attached to Dunk. But we see some interesting not-really-squire relationships in the books, such as Arya being trained by The Hound and Tyrion teaming up with Penny. Is Penny Tyrion's squire, or his master-at-arms? Ask GRRM whether he can talk a little about the nature of the squire's bond with the person he serves. (I bet GRRM has never had a question about Penny in a Q&A session. He might really want to talk about her.)

Antler Men. Varys told Tyrion that the merchants known as the antler men had been plotting against Joffrey and secretly supporting Stannis. Was Varys telling the truth, or was he trying to get rid of these men for some other reason. Are there still antler men working behind the scenes in King's Landing or elsewhere? Have we seen them and we just don't know it?

Renly's green armor. Ser Garlan Tyrell wore this armor at the Battle of the Blackwater. Does he still have the armor? Will we see it again in battle?

[The Grey Wolf]

If a landed knight has only a daughter does she become a dame when he dies or does her husband become Knight of X in his good-father's place? Also, what is the proper form of address for the wife of a landed knight or the daughter of a landed knight ruling in her own right?

[The Sleeper]

Why did he choose to compare Domeric Bolton's riding abilities to Lyanna's.

[HoodedCrow]

Gosh , sorry, it’s Mervyn Peake, who I suspect wrote the character Steerpyke  who perhaps inspired the character Little finger.

People on this board repeatedly and technically incorrectly label Arya a sociopath. It would be great if Martin commented on that issue.

[Lluewhyn]

On 10/28/2018 at 12:26 AM, chrisdaw said:

Has anyone just asked him if Ramsay wrote the pink letter? Good chance he'll answer that straight and kill off half the nonsense written about it.

As that would give away eagerly anticipated plot points from TWOW,.....probably not.

You might be able to get him to answer about the "Did Oberyn poison Tywin" theory, as I doubt that would show up in future books, seeing as how all of the relevant characters are dead.

[Lluewhyn]

On 10/27/2018 at 8:56 PM, HoodedCrow said:

I would like to know if Littlefinger is based on Steerpike from Melvyn Peake

My question for that would be did he consciously re-purpose Arkin Ruark from his first novel (Dying of the Light, 1977) into Littlefinger? There's a lot of similarities.

[chrisdaw]

24 minutes ago, Lluewhyn said:

As that would give away eagerly anticipated plot points from TWOW,.....probably not.

I don't think he ever intended who wrote it to be a mystery.

[kissdbyfire]

Just now, chrisdaw said:

I don't think he ever intended who wrote it to be a mystery.

The mystery imo is what is accurate in the PL and what isn't. There are truths in it, and deliberate lies, but also things Ramsay may believe are true but aren't. 

[oakbloodthesap]

ask grrm if the "dept" that king Robert Beratheon had with the iron bank. was...
1 .. to show that the king was bad with money 
2.. that Robert had pumped westeros  economy with ( amount of dept here ) ( pumped into the economy ) 
3.. to show that Ned was hording gold? ( something that well be found out latter ) ( Jon makes note that wherever Ayra is sent to she well need money to support herself ) 
--------------
why does Jamie lack any reaction to the fact that his father ordered the slaughter and rape of the people of kings landing of which he had just killed the mad king to protect ?( wild fire plot ) 
------
what fucked him over more the five year gap or the Meereenese knot? 
--------
why does pyke a ironborn captain with his own ship and crew stay at the wall?
why do the iron born who are said to belong to a land with 10,000 kings follow a king? what brings them together wouldn't a king be more beneficial to the "Greenlanders" ?
do the coastal house's pay the Ironborn off?
how did the Ironborn build so many ships ?
why are they feared if they only had one victory ? ( burning of the Lanister fleet at Lannisport ) ?
did the Ironborn pay tribute to the Targaryens ? ( the same or more )
--- 

[Lord Lannister]

I always wanted to know if we'll ever learn what happened to Gerion Lannister. The whole scenario of a lord seeking out a legendary sword in a ruined civilization just tickles every fantasy bone in my body and would seem to have enough material to be it's own short story. 

[Lady Fevre Dream]

On 10/28/2018 at 11:46 AM, Seams said:

The last interesting revelation I remember from one of these GRRM Q&A situations was when he confirmed that Bloodraven took the sword Dark Sister with him when he went to the Wall to take the black.

So maybe you should focus on a detail like that, something that doesn't necessarily reveal a lot about the plot but something that can give us a hint about the back story or about a character.

 

Your sentence makes me think that perhaps asking about Rhaegar's harp might be a good idea.  I remember over the years reading posts from people thinking that the harp might be in Lyanna's tomb.  I'm not saying I subscribe to that, but a question along those lines might lead to more info such as the Dark Sister question did. 

Myself, I'm not sure what question I would ask.  Quite frankly, I might ask if he's ever given thought to revisiting characters and story from Fevre Dream.  Also, I'd ask if that cap of his is meant to be reminiscent of Cap'n Abner Marsh, LOL

[Lollygag]

I wouldn't expect a direct answer, but you could ask if Illyrio is Gerion and see if there's a reaction.

I've yet to find anything inconsistent in Illyrio = Gerion. Even Illyrio being light on his feet is explained away by being Gerion.

AGOT Daenerys I

"Regal," Magister Illyrio said, stepping through an archway. He moved with surprising delicacy for such a massive man.

AGOT Arya III

"If one Hand can die, why not a second?" replied the man with the accent and the forked yellow beard. "You have danced the dance before, my friend." He was no one Arya had ever seen before, she was certain of it. Grossly fat, yet he seemed to walk lightly, carrying his weight on the balls of his feet as a water dancer might. His rings glimmered in the torchlight, red-gold and pale silver, crusted with rubies, sapphires, slitted yellow tiger eyes. Every finger wore a ring; some had two.

 

 

ADWD Tyrion IV

The truth was rather different. His uncle had taught him a bit of tumbling when he was six or seven. Tyrion had taken to it eagerly. For half a year he cartwheeled his merry way about Casterly Rock, bringing smiles to the faces of septons, squires, and servants alike. Even Cersei laughed to see him once or twice.

All that ended abruptly the day his father returned from a sojourn in King's Landing. That night at supper Tyrion surprised his sire by walking the length of the high table on his hands. Lord Tywin was not pleased. "The gods made you a dwarf. Must you be a fool as well? You were born a lion, not a monkey."

 

ADWD Tyrion III

Illyrio spoke up quickly. "Yollo, he is called."

Yollo? Yollo sounds like something you might name a monkey. Worse, it was a Pentoshi name, and any fool could see that Tyrion was no Pentoshi. "In Pentos I am Yollo," he said quickly, to make what amends he could, "but my mother named me Hugor Hill."

 

ADWD Tyrion VI

Halfway down the steps, he lost his footing. Somehow he managed to break his tumble with his hands and turn it into a clumsy thumping cartwheel. The whores in the room below looked up in astonishment when he landed at the foot of the steps. Tyrion rolled onto his feet and gave them a bow. "I am more agile when I'm drunk." He turned to the proprietor. "I fear I ruined your carpet. The girl's not to blame. Let me pay." He pulled out a fistful of coins and tossed them at the man.

 

 

[The Fattest Leech]

2 hours ago, Lady Fevre Dream said:

Your sentence makes me think that perhaps asking about Rhaegar's harp might be a good idea.  I remember over the years reading posts from people thinking that the harp might be in Lyanna's tomb.  I'm not saying I subscribe to that, but a question along those lines might lead to more info such as the Dark Sister question did. 

Myself, I'm not sure what question I would ask.  Quite frankly, I might ask if he's ever given thought to revisiting characters and story from Fevre Dream.  Also, I'd ask if that cap of his is meant to be reminiscent of Cap'n Abner Marsh, LOL

I seriously love this question Something that could actually be fun to ask.

One thing that has been heavy on my brain lately is if Froggy from Armageddon Rag is based on Ellison? I swear to toads he is, and that makes me love him even more. Yeah, yeah, not an Ice and Fire question, but I don't know that he is going to answer too many more of those type of questions. Finding the precise phrasing is harder than writing a query letter

[Lady Fevre Dream]

41 minutes ago, The Fattest Leech said:

I seriously love this question Something that could actually be fun to ask.

One thing that has been heavy on my brain lately is if Froggy from Armageddon Rag is based on Ellison? I swear to toads he is, and that makes me love him even more. Yeah, yeah, not an Ice and Fire question, but I don't know that he is going to answer too many more of those type of questions. Finding the precise phrasing is harder than writing a query letter

LOL  Which came first, the Cap'n or the Cap?  And, whose hat was that:  his or Abner's?  Oh no, that might be too many questions. 

See, I think you're on to something when it comes to answering questions on ASOIAF.  How many can actually not have already been asked?  Add in looking for the correct phrasing and yes, it's gotta be pretty damn difficult. 

[Lord Varys]

I'd prefer 'Fire and Blood'-related questions for a 'Fire and Blood' event.

Aside from that, I'd like to know 

1. Whether George's revelation that Bittersteel apparently didn't have any children also means he never actually married Calla Blackfyre (do tell him that people can have daughters and daughters can marry in the main Blackfyre line - or some guys named Mopatis ;-))

and

2. Whether he can similarly rule out that Bloodraven and Shiera Seastar never had any (illegitimate) children?

People who obsess about the contents of Lyanna's grave always feel creepy to me. I mean, what's Jon supposed to be in the future? Some ghoul? Lyanna, his mother, is in the crypts. Or at least her mortal remains. The idea that her tomb will be opened to reveal or confirm some dark secret that could be revealed or confirmed a thousand other ways is just gross.

He may go down there to Lyanna's tomb to visit her grave and think about and 'talk' to her, but I don't think he or anyone else is going down there with the same expression as Stannis has when he is facing Selyse in, ah, battle, with the intention to desecrate Lyanna Stark's tomb.

So please nobody ask questions about Rhaegar's harp.

[Varysblackfyre321]

How typical was Mance’s situation in accordance with the watch? And why have certain changes in the ASOIAF comic book series. And I’d ask him how important does he think his books are.

[The Grey Wolf]

Were Orivel the Open-Handed, Jeffory Norcross (Neveryield), and Rolland Darklyn Kingsguard for Daeron I?

Was Hareth Grand Maester during the First Blackfyre Rebellion and when did Grand Maester Aethelmure live?

Apart from the Red March what are the other parts of the Dornish Marches called?

In TSOTD it mentions Aenys and Maegor showering their supporters with gold, offices, honors, and land but where did they get said land from considering the size of the Crownlands?

Did any Targaryen ever die trying to claim a dragon and did Silverwing becoming feral eventually necessitate a dragon hunt of sorts?

What was the color of Vhagar's scales and eyes?

Why was Gaemon known as "the Glorious"?

Why did Jaehaerys I name one of his sons Valerion and why was no Targaryen princess ever named after Good Queen Alysanne?

[The Grey Wolf]

Did Bittersteel not marry Calla, (which would explain why he apparently died childless) and if so, did she marry Haegon?

[Guest]

I'd be interested in more personal questions. the ones about characters being modeled after other characters from his other works or from other authors sounded cool. Maybe also what his favorite characters/scenes were for him to write and also what his hardest or even least favorite were. Not sure if i like the ideas of asking anything that would be revealed in the future. 

[rustythesmith]

"You've written the series in a very interesting way using the first person Point of View style that allows for mysteries to exist in the Point of View character's ignorance, biases and misunderstandings. As far as I can tell you've been very committed in sticking to that limited point of view style so my question relates to the degree of that commitment regarding homophones. If a POV were to misunderstand a word that sounds the same as another word but is spelled differently, (ex: two/too sun/son flee/flea) which spelling would appear on the page? The speaker's intent or the POV's misunderstanding?"