Which POVS do you want The Winds of Winter to focus on?

[Stannis Your Enthusiasm]

No more Damphair and Hotah chapters please. The rest can stay and die as traitors. Or die trying making straw hats.

[bullsfan78]

No more Damphair and Hotah chapters please. The rest can stay and die as traitors. Or die trying making straw hats.

I didn't really mind the Hotah chapters, as they offered a chance to see the political intrigues in Dorne from a purely disinterested point of view (Hotah was about as disinterested as a character could get, since his only calling in life is to protect Doran). I agree with you re:Damphair, though. I'm sure we'll get at least one more, just so the readers can figure out where he has been, but I hope his chapters are kept to a minimum. I find his religious zealout/crazy prophet POV very tedious.

[jentario]

There is no time for Sam's story to become integral. Hell, there isn't even enough time for Arya, Sansa and Bran which comprise the largest bulk of the surviving AGOT POVs (which are supposed to be central to the series).

I hope the book makes a lot of room, if you know what I mean. I want blood. POV blood.

OT:

I would like the Meereen characters to be the focus this time to ensure Dany's arrival at Westeros at the end of the book, but I would like the POV of Meereen to switch equally between the POV characters and to see their different perspectives on eachother and on the events they encounter on the road. That said, we have one Meereen POV too many at the moment. One of then will die in the battle, I reckon.

I also want to spend a lot of time at the North (at first around Winterfell but as the book comes to a close I would like an emphasis on the Wall), with semi-frequent JonCon-Arianne, Jaime-Brienne and the rest of the Starks. Non frequent: Areo and Aeron. Page waters, IMO.

So:

Meereen- 30%: Dany, Tyrion and Barry/Vic

Winterfell- 10%: Asha/Theon, Davos

The Wall- 10%: Mel at first and Jon after his resurrection

King's Landing- 10%: Cersei at first and hopefully some Arianne and JonCon interference later

Jaime/Brienne- 5%: one will likely die early on

Arianne/JonCon- 5%: just enough to remember and develop them, maybe 4 Arianne chapters and 1 JonCon

Bran/Sansa/Arya- 20%- I want more of them

The rest- 10%

[Sister without Banners]

I would really like to see Tyrion/Barristan and Tyrion/Dany meetings.

I would really like to see this too, as well as anything that gets Dany moving towards Westeros.

I'd like to see some Bran chapters, just to explain what the hell is going on there. Jon chapters could be very important - assuming he's still alive. I would also like to see a Dorne perspective, perhaps Arianne. I suppose Jaime, Brienne, Cersei and Sansa would be the main POVs for the Seven Kingdoms, while Margaery could provide an interesting perspective on Kings Landing.

[Arkash]

- Sam.

- Davos.

- Sansa.

- Arya.

- Jaime.

- Bran.

- Melissandre.

- Arianne.

- Reek.

[Layne]

If GRRM wants to have all his POV characters in one continent by the end of the book, he'll need a lot of Mereen povs.

Which is just fine with me. Victarion can solve the famous knot in two pages in one of his chapters, and still have time to rape someone, pack his things and be on his merry way. There won't be much left of Mereen, but if you want plot development, you need to raze a certain city to the ground.

I'd go the opposite direction. If he ever wants to get the action back to Westeros, Mereen needs to end, and end fast. That place has been the narrative sinkhole where A Song of Ice and Fire goes to die. Ten Dany chapters in Feast for Dancing Dragons, when she needed like two. I think the Mereen problem can be solved in 6 chapters total, split between the active characters. Send the unnecessary POV characters back to background land. Martin has done far more in less chapters in the earlier books.

The other problem is all the character serving no purpose other than to relay events that would have been told to us second hand in the first three (far better) novels. Brienne, Sansa, Sam, even Arya; none of these characters need a bunch of chapters telling us what they are doing. Littlefinger's story is a perfect candidate for "Oh hey, did you hear what happened?" or an "Oh crap!" moment. Hopefully Jon stays dead for a bit too, because he had nothing important to do anymore either. Abandon all the Greyjoys except Theon and Victarion (and bump him back to background status as soon as he hooks up with whoever he is supposed to meet).

The story can then get back on track, focusing on:

Jaime (replacing Brienne, perhaps/hopefully?)

Cersei

Theon

Bran

Dany (let's face it, awful or not, people like her and she's not going away)

Tyrion (he isn't going away either, but hopefully he can absorb Jorah, and maybe Barristan)

Aegon (/Martells?)

Then he can toss one or two chapters at:

Sansa (she should have exited as a POV character when she left Kings Landing, but the damage is done)

Arya (Doesn't need nearly as much exposure anymore. Little girl assassin is kinda boring and requires a fair amount of SoD)

Victarion

Sam (like Sansa, damage done)

Davos

That would get the story back on track.

So of course there is about zero chance of it happening, lol.

[protar]

I hope that most of the focus is on the older characters we've known and loved since GOT, but I'll make an exception for the Dornish, who I really like. Characters I hope/anticipate to be the major POVs:

• Tyrion
  
• Jon
  
• Dany
  
• Theon
  
• Arianne
  
• Jaime
  
• Sansa
  

I also feel like Martin may break his word and add a new POV - specifically Tyene, otherwise Cersei is the only POV we've got of KL.

On the whole though I want Martin to trim down on the POV's. Even without any deaths I feel like some characters can retire as POVs. Asha and Brienne have met up again with Theon and Jaime respectively so we don't need them. I really hope that Areo never has a POV ever again but I feel like Martin sending him after Darkstar is a sign that he wants a pair of eyes there.

Controversially I also feel like Bran should take a break as a POV here. I don't want Martin using his new found nigh-omniscience as a crutch for plot-convenience. I think it would be better, and more mysterious if Bran didn't get any POV's, except maybe one at the end of the book, serving the same role as an epilogue (though hopefully Bran doesn't die!).

Overall I'm estimating a good 85-90 chapters.

[TheKingofSkagos]

I just want the battles in the North and Meereen to be done so we can move to larger story themes like Dany coming over to Westeros, who rides the 3 dragons, and winter coming with whitewalkers.

[intheswamp]

Hopefully, Dany and Tyrion have half the number of chapters they did in Dance. I don't think I can take another book full of Tyrion's self-loathing and food descriptions and Dany's stupidity and whining about how horny she is all the time.

I want Winds to focus on whatever characters will actually move the major plots forward. Please GRRM, don't give us anymore filler like a good chunk of the last 2000 pages have been.

[Lord Bored]

Cersei

Jaime

Davos

Theon

Asha

Victarion

Arianne

Arya

Sansa

Jon Conn

Sam

Who I am kidding though, most of these POVS will probably be severely under-utilized and I'll be stuck with heaps of fuckin' Dany, Jon, and Tyrion POVS. Ugh.....

[theriveryeti]

Cersei

Jaime

Davos

Theon

Asha

Victarion

Arianne

Arya

Sansa

Jon Conn

Sam

Who I am kidding though, most of these POVS will probably be severely under-utilized and I'll be stuck with heaps of fuckin' Dany, Jon, and Tyrion POVS. Ugh.....

You don't like Dany, Jon, or Tyrion? Are you sure you like the books? :drunk:

[The Meeraculous Third Reed]

Overall I'm estimating a good 85-90 chapters.

Both Storm and Dance had 72 I think. I'd be happy with that.

I agree with some of your other points though. Bran should be a very intermittent POV for the meantime,

[jentario]

Both Storm and Dance had 72 I think. I'd be happy with that.

I agree with some of your other points though. Bran should be a very intermittent POV for the meantime,

Hopefully GRRM will shorten his chapters because there are too many POV characters and too little pages, unless you want characters to disappear again (I don't). That can make it last a good 85-90 and also it will be more straightforward and to-the-point (which a lot of ADWD chapters failed at by being dragged out). Same length, more jumping around- that's what I want.

[The Meeraculous Third Reed]

Hopefully GRRM will shorten his chapters because there are too many POV characters and too little pages, unless you want characters to disappear again (I don't). That can make it last a good 85-90 and also it will be more straightforward and to-the-point (which a lot of ADWD chapters failed at by being dragged out). Same length, more jumping around- that's what I want.

Remember a lot of POV's are now in the same place. This was rarely the case in ADWD. Theoretically you can get two chapters worth of story and character progression for the price of one chapter.

[Tini]

I also feel like Martin may break his word and add a new POV - specifically Tyene, otherwise Cersei is the only POV we've got of KL..

Why do we need another POV in KL, especially Tyene? To spoil surprises´for Cersei and the reader?

If Cersei leaves KL, the city is likely in turmoil and about to fall to Aegon. A point of view would no longer be needed, but we'll most likely get one in the form of Arianne. Other possible POVs include Jaime who will return to KL if he can, provided that Tommen is still there. Sansa could be captured and brought to KL for the bounty. I could even see Tyrion or Barristan return to KL, scouting for Dany. Mereen has too many POVs (that is, any). It could certainly spare a couple, and still kill off Victarion.

[winwolf]

a lot of arya / jon / cersei / jaime / bran and im happy

[ManceSnow]

I want to see Meereen chapters so we can get the story away from there, so that means lots of Vic, Barristan, Tyrion and maybe Dany. I think its likely that the Meereenese will beat Yunkai, but also that Vic/Barristan will die.

The other ones im interested in are Theon/Asha because of the Battle for Winterfell. I want to see Ramsay die. Also Sansa, to finally make her do something, and Arianne to provide a POV into Aegons movements (also JonCon for that reason).

Ones I see as less important are Aeron, Areo, Bran, Arya, Jaime, Sam, Brienne

while theyre good fun to read, I think the others will advance the plot much more, which is necessary.

[jonsid]

Prologue followed by Chapter 1 Ros :dunce:

[Rashtibram]

Arya, Bran, Cersei, Jaime, Brienne, Sam, Tyrion, and Theon.

[Nia Stone]

Sansa should get the most chapters.*fingers*crossed*

Would love for Arya to have around 5.

Danny, of course.

I am so fed up with the Imp so even if he gets another 1003497 chapters, do make sure that he dies in the last one. I would deeply appreciate it.