Ser Spidey Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 In various topics on this board, encountering troubles in explaining things, posters have come up with an idea-George had made a mistake. However, the other posters would soon find a reasonable explanation for the same thing. Since this happened so many times, I am willing to believe that there are at least some issues which were meant to be the other way than the way we explained them. In other words, wrong. I ask you to find a mistake in the books, a mistake that is certain, a paragraph defying the laws of chemistry/physics/history, without a possible magical explanation, or someting that doesn't fit in considering the previous books. Think we can do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Targaryen Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Think we can do it? "I saw men freeze last winter, and the one before, when I was half a boy." - Gared "You are a young man, Tyrion," Mormont said. "How many winters have you seen?" He shrugged. "Eight, nine. I misremember." Note: Gared is past fifty while Tyrion is in his twenties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Spidey Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share Posted January 9, 2008 Maybe Gared didn't mean it was the previous winter, but a winter in the past, when he first saw a men freeze to his death. I just want every example to be well discussed before we call it a mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormont Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Not necessarily a mistake. It is perfectly possible that there are two types of 'winters' in Westeros: an occasional, brief spell of cold weather and a rarer, deeper Great Winter. It's also possible that only Southrons notice the former or call them 'winter'. It's the best explanation for this discrepancy I can think of, but I think it works. The real mistakes, btw, are the ones that George owns up to. See the SSM for details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Ent Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Find the problem with this, then: And by the time the sun came up, they were halfway back to Harrenhal. Jaime pushed his horse much harder than he had the day before, and Steelshanks and the northmen were forced to match his pace. Even so, it was midday before they reached the castle on the lake. Beneath a darkening sky that threatened rain, the immense walls and five great towers stood black and ominous. It looks so dead. The walls were empty, the gates closed and barred. But high above the barbican, a single banner hung limp. The black goat of Qohor, he knew. Jaime cupped his hands to shout. "You in there! Open your gates, or I'll kick them down!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anya, Vengeance Demon Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 The "lion"/"lion cub" discussion from A Feast for Crows may not count as a mistake (rather than simply an awkward bit of phrasing), but it has been removed from the paperback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Targaryen Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Find the problem with this, then: Jaime cupped his "hands" but by that time he only had one hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Ent Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 The "lion"/"lion cub" discussion from A Feast for Crows may not count as a mistake (rather than simply an awkward bit of phrasing), but it has been removed from the paperback. Oh! Very interesting, I didn't know that. Could somebody supply a citation of the new passage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Targaryen Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 I have the mass-market paperback but I'm afraid I don't know which one we're talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anya, Vengeance Demon Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Oh! Very interesting, I didn't know that. Could somebody supply a citation of the new passage? It's on p. 429 of the US paperback. "Call it what you will. Crowning the Lannister girl is a hollow gesture. She will never sit the Iron Throne. Nor will you get the war you want. The lion is not so easily provoked." Ser Gerold drew his sword. It glimmered in the starlight, sharp as lies. "This is how you start a war. Not with a crown of gold, but with a blade of steel." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L'Sana Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 "You are a young man, Tyrion," Mormont said. "How many winters have you seen?" He shrugged. "Eight, nine. I misremember." I'm inclined to think that this is a mistake. We can calculate Tyrion's age to be in the 22-23 range at the time of this discussion, and we know that for the past 10 years, it has been summer. This means that the 8 or 9 winters Tyrion has seen must have happened over a period of 12-13 years. Given what we know about the length of the seasons in Westeros, this seems highly unlikely. Not necessarily a mistake. It is perfectly possible that there are two types of 'winters' in Westeros: an occasional, brief spell of cold weather and a rarer, deeper Great Winter. It's also possible that only Southrons notice the former or call them 'winter'. It's the best explanation for this discrepancy I can think of, but I think it works. Except that the Citadel seems to provide some standard for measuring the seasons. It is officially "Autumn" everywhere in Westeros when the Citadel sends out the White Ravens, and everyone seems to be expecting a similar sign for Winter. I wouldn't think that there would be that kind of discrepancy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Stark Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 "Eight, nine. I misremember." It could also be an attempt by Martin/Tyrion to be a bit overly poetic in describing Tyrion's hard life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Spidey Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share Posted January 9, 2008 We can calculate Tyrion's age to be in the 22-23 range at the time of this discussion, and we know that for the past 10 years, it has been summer. This means that the 8 or 9 winters Tyrion has seen must have happened over a period of 12-13 years. Given what we know about the length of the seasons in Westeros, this seems highly unlikely. Alhough I think Tyrion was 24/25 at that point, this is a great observation, and I can't find a way to explain this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Spidey Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share Posted January 9, 2008 And the part where Jaime uses his hands is a certain mistake. One found, ? to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All-for-Joffrey Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 If you wanted to be a Martin apologist about the hand thing you could always argue that it's from Jaime's POV and since he just lost his hand he still imagines himself as having two hands rather than face the fact that he's no longer the man he once was. This would make him a bit of an unreliable narrator, similar to the way Sansa fantasizes that she kissed the Hound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paladin of Ice Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 There are a few minor ones in the early books that have been confirmed, if I remember... the color of Renly's eyes, the gender of a horse being ridden, things like that. The Tyrion one above is one of the more serious ones. (Also the fact that in Game of Thrones Tyrion was practically doing acrobatics while later in the series even everyday physical activities prove stressful and draining for him, but that was a deliberate choice on Martin's part, IIRC). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ran Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Yes, the SSM is a good resource for a lot of these through ASoS. George has made references to genuine mistakes that can be found there. One of the first things I ever corresponded with him about was the problem of the Targaryen family tree following "The Hedge Knight". Baelor's age in THK was impossible to reconcile with some details in AGoT, and in end the George changed the family tree a little bit (Viserys II went from being Aegon III's fourth son to his brother). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Targaryen Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 As I recall, one of Chataya's girls hair changes color between ACOK and ASOS. This may have been corrected in later editions like the Targaryen family tree that Ran referenced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
For Now We Toast Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 "Eight, nine. I misremember." Perhaps Tyrion is just being sarcastic in response to Mormont questioning his age. It may not fit the context, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerys Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Yea im thinking Tyrion is being sarcsatic to Mormont's question, it sounds the sort of sarcy comment he would make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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