Your biggest pet peeve in the series?

[Avicella]

This probably doesn't bother anyone else but I find it really irritating when during a fight or duel the swords are frequently described as 'kissing' when they meet. It's used so often - there are times it is used two or three times on the same page - and it bugs me. I can appreciate its effectiveness once or twice but its repeated use really started to jar with me. Swords just don't 'kiss', they smash into each other.

[Vandalism]

I do find George Martin's lactation fetish slightly annoying at times.

[Alric Stark]

At this point the "X character is" is dead....surprise just kidding device is getting old.

Trying to make the next part spoiler friendly...

It makes for in my opinion a no win with the cliffhanger in Dance.

If the character is dead then he has again killed off one of my favorite characters...if not I have lost all fear of losing certain characters because I know they will just come back. I know the tell tale is "did you see the body" but I feel GRRM has gone to the well one to many times with the death fake out.

[Silver Spearwife]

At this point the "X character is" is dead....surprise just kidding device is getting old.

Trying to make the next part spoiler friendly...

It makes for in my opinion a no win with the cliffhanger in Dance.

If the character is dead then he has again killed off one of my favorite characters...if not I have lost all fear of losing certain characters because I know they will just come back. I know the tell tale is "did you see the body" but I feel GRRM has gone to the well one to many times with the death fake out.

Agreed.

I have a few rules on deaths:

1) If you don't see the body, don't expect them to be dead.

2) If a character "dies" at the end of their own chapter (Brienne twice in AFfC, Arya in ASoS, Tyrion in the river in ADwD, Theon in ACoK, Davos in ACoK, etc.), don't expect them to be dead, prologues and epilogues excepted.

3) If a character has had a relatively long, detailed narrative, and "die" before their story can have any major impact, don't expect them to be dead. For instance, nothing happens to Bran for one and a half books, but he takes a great deal of space up with narration. Some stuff happens in ACoK, but not anything Theon's POV couldn't have covered. If Theon had actually beheaded Bran, almost all of Bran's chapters would have been a waste.

Catelyn is the only exception, at least for the first two, but she was revived anyway. Note that Quentyn does not die at the end of his own chapter. He technically dies in Barristan's chapter.

The second rule is the one I'm most expectant of Martin to break eventually, but he hasn't yet.

EDIT: Ah, thought of something that bugs me. Dunno if this irks anyone else, but the chapter titles in the last two books are awkward. I get that for minor characters in the fourth book it worked out, and changing it for someone like Arya is a good narrative device, but he started using them to excess in the fifth book. Did you really have to change Theon's chapter title every time? And I think Asha's a common enough narrator now where you can just call her "Asha". I guess it's less that he did it and more that he'd never done it before, like he was breaking an established pattern.

[Lizaveta Martell]

I'm surprised none of you are sick of hearing what Dany is wearing at that moment. I have to admit, I'm not interested in what she's wearing.

...

Does anyone else see a point to it?

Yes. Dany has to interact with many cultures and be everything to everyone. She's Westerosi, but she's Valyrian, but she's a Khaleesi, but she's Queen of the Freedmen, but she's Queen of the Meereenese. You have to consider what role she's playing and who she's appeasing. I think it's revealing that she is most comfortable in her Dothraki clothes.

Things I hate:

Where do whores go? Jesus Christ, get over yourself. If you really cared, you'd search in the Westerlands and damn the dangers to yourself, you self pitying misogynist. I liked Tyrion initially but just stop drinking long enough to either 1) get over it or 2) come up with a viable search plan.

Lancel and So and so Kettleblack and moon boy for all I know. Again, either talk to your grande amore about if and why she slept with other people or get over it. Obsessing about sexual fidelity at a time like this is silly.

Dany believing anything Viserys or Mirri told her. I love Dany, (and I think she gets unfair slack from people imagining that their interest in the Westeros half of the story should somehow mean that she should want to go to Westeros) but those are two sources of information that you should obviously distrust.

[Danny Campbell]

Hmm, my biggest pet peeves in the story... When Dany is acting like a scared little child through out the entire story, locking up the dragons instrad of raising and using them. Her lack of ability to get anything done over there (use the dragons, wipe out her enemies, raise an army of former slaves and take over). Sansa being the dumb little girl constantly stabbing her family in the back for her own gain. The constant stream of "this person died... no wait, they are still alive. And the last one, the arcing story lines that, with only two books left to go, seems to not have enough time to actually wrap them all up in a precise manner rather than just cutting them off.

[TheCheesecakeMassacre]

1) Magic. To me one of the main hooks of the series is its realism and the dragons and prophecys are just convinient plot devices. Dany could use some smart political maneuvering to sway some of the houses to her cause but NO DRAGONS FIREEEEEEEEEE just undermines the whole story.

2) Brienne. Don't care, she spent all of AFFC walking around lost in every single chapter.

3) Arya. Good character but has strayed into ridiculous territory.

4) To many not dead people. Catelyn serves no role, Aegon serves no role and now Jon will be killed and reborn for no reason.

Anything that breaks the realism really.

[Chelly]

My only real pet peeve is the whole "Winter is Coming". Yes, those are Stark words, and therefore badass, but it bugsme in the context of how we are already past book 5 and winter, in fact, has not come. It was only just getting here when we left off in ADwD. There is supposedly only 2 more books left. Hey, Winter and Others! Where you at?! Maybe their words should be "Winter is coming...wait for it...wait for it....wait for it...ugh! Its a coming, I swear!"

[wyman's cook]

winter isn't coming...FUCK DRAGONS AND ESSOS, I WANT TO READ ABOUT THE OTHERS

ps...OMG we posted in the exact same moment ;D

[Fire Eater]

1) Magic. To me one of the main hooks of the series is its realism and the dragons and prophecys are just convinient plot devices. Dany could use some smart political maneuvering to sway some of the houses to her cause but NO DRAGONS FIREEEEEEEEEE just undermines the whole story.

2) Brienne. Don't care, she spent all of AFFC walking around lost in every single chapter.

3) Arya. Good character but has strayed into ridiculous territory.

4) To many not dead people. Catelyn serves no role, Aegon serves no role and now Jon will be killed and reborn for no reason.

Anything that breaks the realism really.

GRRM himself said if there was no magic it would'n tbe fantasy just historical realism. Magic enhances the story, like the Force did in Star Wars. The dragons don't undermine the story they probably have a purpose that is not yet revealed in the story.

It isn't confirmed that Jon Snow is dead, neither any of the characters or narration provide any confirmation.

[Milcov]

1. The effing Greyjoys. Theon was cool at one point, but there's no need to have the whole family involved as POV characters.

2. POV characters not being titled as their real names. "The Prophet" or "Captain of the Guards" Just call them their real bloody names

3. Brienne - boring

4. Resurrection. I don't mind a bit of magic, and dragons but don't bring Cat back, just leave her dead. I don't want there being too much magic as to remove from the grand scheming and politics which made AGoT so good.

5. For that reason Melisandre.

6. How Cersei suddenly became an idiot.

One peeve I've had about these forums from my lurking is how everyone hates on Dany for the 'blood of the dragon' nonsense, but all the houses do it. It's just associating themselves with their sigils, the only reason that Dany does my head in is that I want her just to talk to Barristan and hear some old stories about Rhaegar and Aerys. I love Jaime's flashback/dreams involving the old kingsguard and Rhaegar.

[Milcov]

I should probably add that Oberyn Martell should have lived longer

[Baitac]

I don't know, but I can't stand the whole Drowned god thing? Really? Your god DROWNED? Should you maybe re-think this whole thing? And then, you cannot just convert or something. You have to DROWN and come back to be legit? So if you STAY DROWNED, you are not worthy? What's up with that?

[hombay]

I have no "peeves" really. I thought that most of the repetition is due to how the characters work. We all have things we say all the time, whether we know it or not.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

My only real pet peeve is the whole "Winter is Coming". Yes, those are Stark words, and therefore badass, but it bugsme in the context of how we are already past book 5 and winter, in fact, has not come. It was only just getting here when we left off in ADwD. There is supposedly only 2 more books left. Hey, Winter and Others! Where you at?! Maybe their words should be "Winter is coming...wait for it...wait for it....wait for it...ugh! Its a coming, I swear!"

I think that works in a way, though. "Winter is Coming" is the Stark motto. Winter is "their" time. It's what they're built for. I think it's interesting that the summer-autumn period of the first five-ish books is when the Starks have the most problems and fall the furthest. It's when winter actually comes that they appear to have turned a corner: Bran's discovering his powers, Sansa's learning political savvy, Davos is going after Rickon, Jon's becoming a leader and Arya has turned a corner in her training. Winter is the worst time for everyone else, but it's game time for the Starks. I think its arrival (finally) signals that the Starks are coming full circle.

[Duir]

Martin's obsession with certain body parts and their respective range of names.

Some of them make me shudder in disgust.

[Chelly]

I think that works in a way, though. "Winter is Coming" is the Stark motto. Winter is "their" time. It's what they're built for. I think it's interesting that the summer-autumn period of the first five-ish books is when the Starks have the most problems and fall the furthest. It's when winter actually comes that they appear to have turned a corner: Bran's discovering his powers, Sansa's learning political savvy, Davos is going after Rickon, Jon's becoming a leader and Arya has turned a corner in her training. Winter is the worst time for everyone else, but it's game time for the Starks. I think its arrival (finally) signals that the Starks are coming full circle.

Oohh, that's really interesting. I never really thought of it that way. I like that. It makes me feel that the Starks are going to make a comeback of epic proportions and where everybody else is living in fear in the winter, the Starks are owning it. They have suffered so much hell since the beginning, so hopefully all this waiting for Winter would be worth it.

I do want to see some more Others, already.

[Faint]

I'm growing increasingly disenchanted with GRRM's secret identity fetish. Too many characters are pretending to be somebody else, be it intentionally or unintentionally/unknowingly.

I've kind of come to accept the constant stream of cliffhangers although I've never been fond of them either.

That being said, all things considered, given all the positives of the series, it's not too a big deal.

[Gypsy]

Dany. So done with her.

[LadyoftheNorth72]

Yes. Dany has to interact with many cultures and be everything to everyone. She's Westerosi, but she's Valyrian, but she's a Khaleesi, but she's Queen of the Freedmen, but she's Queen of the Meereenese. You have to consider what role she's playing and who she's appeasing. I think it's revealing that she is most comfortable in her Dothraki clothes.

This is actually the exact reason why all the Dany wardrobe descriptions get on my last nerve. I am already sick to death of her "young girl" thing, and the fact that she has managed to go the whole effin' series without learning one of the most key lessons in being a good or effective leader in a medieval-ish world: YOU CANNOT FREAKING PLEASE EVERYONE. Sooner or later (preferably sooner, if you want to live) you have to decide who and what you are and what mantras/ethics/standards you intend to rule and live by, and then get on with it...and let it be known that people can either get on board with you, start looking for the fastest way out of town, or be prepared to defend their opposing position with their lives.

Dany cannot even manage to come up with any strong and immutable principles or values to live by ("no, you absolutely cannot reopen the pits ...oh wait, unless you ask eight times and I like the way you put it that last time" / "having an affair with Daario would be a personal and political disaster ...oh, but he's so damn hot, who cares" / "question them sweetly ...no, wait, go ahead and set their feet on fire"). She is easily swayed and more easily manipulated. You can't even raise a decent child that way, much less rule a city, country or continent.

It became very evident that the ongoing fashion parade was intended to either 1. Show how super versatile Dany is at adapting with all these other cultures, or 2. Display her difficulty and struggle to learn who she really is and what she is meant to do. Either way, as a plot device it has all the subtlety of a two-by-four between the eyes. If it is #1, then hooray, we get it, Dany looks lovely no matter what she wears - that has exactly zero to do with her being able to RULE any of those regions, but at least she will look nice as she fails. If it is #2, then IMO we are a good 2-3 books beyond the point where she should have self-realized and identified, solidified her ruling code into something she was willing to stand behind to the death, and picked herself out a style that she likes and is comfortable in and STUCK WITH IT. If that is Dothraki garb, then she should have sat on her bench in Meereen in a vest, breeches and boots ...it certainly couldn't have lowered her enemies' opinions of her any, as they hate her guts and see her as an outsider no matter how many sets of "floppy ears" she displays. In fact it might have gained her an iota of respect to show that she would not be intimidated or influenced into wearing their ridiculous maxi-togas.

And if, by chance, this is actually going to work out to be option #3 - that she suddenly realizes upon reaching Westeros that their codes and ways and garb and laws and culture were in fact what suits her perfectly and she simply hadn't realized it all this time because she has never been "home" - then I may throw my book across the room and refuse to ever pick it up again.