Which character was the first one to draw you into the story?

[Canon Claude]

Harking back to that first time you ever tried reading the books, if you can remember how that felt. Which character was the first to really engage you, cause you to become invested? And did that ever change over the course of the books for you?

[Lord Lannister]

Tyrion is probably the first character that really drew me in. His wit, humor appealed to me and I have a thing for underdogs, which he most assuredly is in this game of thrones. Over time, my favorite character shifted to Jaime. While it definitely wasn't my first impression of him(I literally cringed when I saw he got his own POV), over time I've grown to think of him as a tragic character and possibly one of the most heroic, marred by the fact that he fell in love with the worst possible person ever. Nearly all of his negative actions and traits stemmed from his relationship with Cersei. A man who had all the good intentions in the world, slays the wicked(Aerys), defends the innocent(people of King's Landing) and weak(Tyrion) and champions his love and does whatever it takes to protect his children and his family. I think the crippled knight rescuing Brienne from the bear pit was one of the most utterly heroic things I've read in fiction. The inner thought Jaime had about himself in my signature was one of my favorite lines. He wanted to be the literal knight in shining honor, and it went to shit along the way. 

[James Steller]

Call me generic if you will, but Ned Stark would have to be that character for me. He's a compelling protagonist, and I never thought that he'd get killed off as soon as he did. He's built up as a loving father, a veteran warrior, and a hero of two different wars in the name of his best friend, King Robert (though I didn't much like Robert as a person, even when he was filtered through his best buddy's perspective). 

Obviously after the first book, my attention shifted to Stannis's storyline; I used to think it was odd how GRRM kept Stannis out of the first book, but it makes sense to me now. He's one of the most interesting characters in the whole story, and we're introduced to him through the eyes of other characters. People with cause to fear or oppose him, like Tywin and Varys, or Ned, who's trying to put together the mystery of why Jon Arryn was killed. It hypes up Stannis before his actual entrance.

[TheLastWolf]

I started the series with ACOK since I watched the first season of the abomination and heard the important parts from buddies so it was pitiable Maester Cressen. Or GRRM'S greatness, even extending to uniPOV characters as an author to be precise 

[Daeron the Daring]

Jon and Daenerys.

[SeanF]

Daenerys and Ned, I think.  The event that drew me in, though, (and I remember my jaw dropping as I read it) was "the things I do for love."

[Hippocras]

11 hours ago, Canon Claude said:

Harking back to that first time you ever tried reading the books, if you can remember how that felt. Which character was the first to really engage you, cause you to become invested? And did that ever change over the course of the books for you?

Arya.

[Springwatch]

Dany as Beggar Princess. Poor child, and what a strange, unhappy situation.

Starks on a first read were just way too cosy and sweet for me - I was basically feeling it was self-indulgent twaddle. 'The things we do for love' came as an enormous surprise.

ETA

Dany felt real to me; but the Starks felt like something out of a storybook - I can't put it better than that. As it happened, I reached peak disengagement when Bran finished his spiderman routine by hanging upside down outside Cersei's window. I could have thrown the books away at that point, but then....

My expectations got played; I see that now. Well, it worked.

[John Suburbs]

Old Nan

[The Commentator]

Daenerys. The preparation for her wedding to Drogo got me interested. The story was dry before then.  

[Universal Sword Donor]

I absolutely *loathed* Sansa for the first two books but ASoS really turned her and Jaime's characters around. So I would say those two

[Floki of the Ironborn]

With all the focus on the Stark family, I was most intrigued by the two misfit members; Jon Snow and Theon Greyjoy. Both of them had one foot in the Stark camp, but for different reasons, they could never truly belong to that clan. Their individual journeys became more and more compelling as the story continued. People who dismiss the fifth book lose any credibility with me, because I think it's one of the best books in the series purely because of the Theon and Jon plotlines. 

[PrettyLittlePsycho]

The ones who drew me in were Ned and Jon, but there are other charactrs who grew on me over time. Most notably Arya, Dany, Tyrion.

And then there are some I never got warm with like Cat, Sansa, Jaime, Brienne.

[Hugorfonics]

19 hours ago, Canon Claude said:

Harking back to that first time you ever tried reading the books, if you can remember how that felt. Which character was the first to really engage you, cause you to become invested?

My cousin asked me that recently, what stands out in asoiaf, I couldnt believe he was serious. Tyrion. Always and ever. Dragons are cool, so are wolf powers. In fact everything about asoiaf is 10 outta 10... But with no Imp, trash. 

19 hours ago, Canon Claude said:

And did that ever change over the course of the books for you?

Theon always stood out to me, I resonated with him early in. Naturally he broke my heart in acok, but I was so enthralled, especially regarding Reek. Then adwd hit. Holy shit do I love Theon/Ramsay. Such superbly written characters, better with every page.... Just like Tyrion 

2 hours ago, Floki of the Ironborn said:

People who dismiss the fifth book lose any credibility with me, because I think it's one of the best books in the series purely because of the Theon and Jon plotlines.

Word. Adwd is my favorite book

[TheLastWolf]

21 hours ago, Hippocras said:

Arya.

If, sequential in timeline, same here 

21 hours ago, Crazy Old Guy said:

Maester Cressen's chapter made me love Stannis and even Davos.

"The boy who never learned how to laugh" is a line that always stuck with me.

(I also believe that Stannis may be autistic or neurodiverse in some ways, but whatever)

[Rose of Red Lake]

Catelyn Stark brought me here; Tyrion made me want to leave.

 

[TheLastWolf]

2 hours ago, Crazy Old Guy said:

On Maester Cressen's chapter, the "Stannis being neurodiverse or autistic" thing, or both?

[Chancho]

Jaime, the anti-Ned.

Ned is the kind of chump who makes me not want to read or watch a fantasy medieval story..

It was great to see him getting stomped, Martin knows watch to do with those types of chumps gladly.

Put Arthur Dayne, Barristan, White Bull, Rhaegar and Ned in one sack and throw them on the river.

[Darksnider05]

Arya being excited about the world.

[Roswell]

The first book's first chapters were far from exciting.  I started to pay attention when Dany rode her silver horse.  The story got progressively more interesting after.  Ned's execution was also a good chapter.  I no longer had the will to stop reading after the dragons hatched.  I knew then that I will read the next book.