Steel & Snow

[twistedlittlemonkeydemon]

In the UK, the paperback edition of SOS was split into 2 books: part 1, Steel & Snow, and part 2, Blood & Gold.

As I have been reading part 1, I have really had to avoid this forum for fear of being spoiled about events in the second book, so I thought I would set up a thread for UK readers who have finished Steel & Snow, but not Blood & Gold.

I've just finished Steel & Snow today, so thought I would share my thoughts on some of the characters/storylines so far:

• Davos -- I didn't really warm to Davos in COK... his story seemed to be a way to see into the Stannis camp, but Davos himself seemed as much an observer as us. He storyline so far in SOS has been great though and, as I saw mentioned in another thread, he is kinda filling a Ned-shaped hole.
  
  
• Samwell -- Might be controversial, but I am not a great fan of Sam Tarly so far .. I would like to have seen him "man up" a bit more. That said, his storyline has been great and the "Sobbing Sam" chapter in particular was a stand-out.
  
  
• Jaime -- When I first saw there was a Jaime POV line in this book I thought "Wow!" -- wasn't expecting it, as up until this point he has been painted as something of a villain... I think that's a fair portrayal, but it's been interesting to see things from Jaime's POV - in a way, I kinda don't get the "Kingslayer" slur either -- sure, he killed the King he was sworn to protect, but Robert, Ned & all has all sworn fealty as well; Jaime just finished what they started.
  
  On another note, although lots of people seem to love Brienne, I haven't really got into her character much yet -- so far all she has really done is exchange insults with Jaime ("kingslayer!", "wench!", "kingslayer!", "wench!", etc.) and blindly follow orders. Hope she develops a bit more, as I find her a bit 2 dimensional.
  
  
• Jon -- I got a bit frustrated with Jon's storyline in COK as it didn't really go anywhere... just a bunch of dudes in black trundling through the snow... the story in SOS has been great though, and really looking forward to where this goes next... he was so close to Bran!! (Which reminds me, I kinda suspect that Jon could be the 3-eyed crow Bran is seeking (since he is also a warg) .. or could it be Maester Aemon?)
  
  
• Bran & Arya -- Both their storylines have been a bit slow so far, Arya in particular hasn't had a great deal to do (although the Beric Dondarrion vs. Sandor Clegane scene was brilliant)
  
  
• Dany -- the scene with The Unsullied was good (although it played out as a suspected, which is unusual) but other than that there's not much has happened yet.. I guess its all build-up to some big stuff though.
  
  
• Sansa -- her storyline in COK was surprisingly good, and that's continued in SOS, but I am starting to loose interest in her a bit to be honest.
  
  
• Catelyn -- meh
  

[Mattyp]

Great idea for a thread as I haven't finished 'Blood and Gold' yet! :thumbsup:

Davos is one of my favourite characters now, him and Brienne definitely fill a Ned shaped hole. Davos almost makes me want to root for Stannis to win as at least with Davos as the hand he'd make a damn improvement over the shit hole that is Westeros currently!

Catelyn has some of the best chapters in 'Blood and Gold' that I have read, I actually like her character, she is such a tortured soul!

You seem to be a ways behind me but Jaime's chapters are quickly becoming my favourites. As for the 'Kingslayer' thing that is because he was part of the Kings guard, sworn by an oath (similar to the Black oath) to protect the King no matter what. He is an oathbreaker, not just a rebel like Ned and Robert were.

Arya, Bran, Dany - Meh. They have been disappointing for almost every novel except for Arya's whose scenes fluxuate between awesome and repetitious.