The George R. R. Martin Experiment: Part Four

The George R. R. Martin Experiment
Part Four: A Storm of Swords

What I'm Doing Here

When I first tried to read this series I was put off by the amount of points of view there were.  Personally, I prefer a smaller cast of main characters.  For this experiment, however, I am reading all of the books, but here's the kicker: I'm only going to read the chapters of the characters I like.

All the other points of view, I'm going to skip. When a new point of view is introduced, I'll give that character a minimum of two chapters to make me like them.

I want to see if GRRM created characters that are integral to the story. If I miss massive chunks of story because I've decided to follow characters who have nothing to do with the plot. . . Well, then answer me this: What is the point of having that character?

If you haven't read my prvious posts, here's some links:

Part One
Part Two
Part Three A
Part Three B

There will be spoilers throughout this post, so beware!

On to the Experiment!

Alright.  Before I say anything else, I need to make some people aware of something:

Sam gets his very own point of view in A Storm of Swords!

This is very exciting.  So exciting, in fact, that I actually let out a whoop when I turned the page and saw his name.  That wouldn't have been so bad if I had been at home, but I wasn't.  I was in public.  On a park bench.  Lots of people walking around.  I startled an elderly man who glared at me.  Apparently I'm not supposed to be vocal when reading.  At any rate, a new point of view to be happy about.

Now, if only Tyrion's squire, Podwick, will get a point of view as well.  He's a lot more interesting than Tyrion, I think.  Why is he so shy?  Why is he scared all the time?  Why does he stutter?  What are his motivations?  What does he do and see?  Do people talk about important stuff around him because they think he is an idiot?  I want to know.

The Characters I Am Reading in A Storm of Swords and Why

Samwell

Why?  Because he's an underdog.  Who doesn't like a good underdog?  Especially the fat, cowardly-yet-not-cowardly type?  I also have a very strong suspicion that the obsidian horn Jon gave him is in fact, drum roll please. . .

The real Horn of Winter.  Who's with me on that one?  That's another reason to read Sam's chapters: I want to see if I'm right.

Jon

I've been with Jon from the beginning, and I haven't regretted the decision, either.  I did get a little concerned when he had his relationship with the wilding woman, but thankfully that ended.  To me, Jon's chapters are a respite from all of the gratuitous sex in the other chapters.  I use the word gratuitous, because save for a few times, none of the sex scenes further the plot.  Thery're just there.  Yes, I know that the middle ages were not all hunky dory.  Yes, I know that with war, came rape.  Yes, I know many other books I really like have sex and sexual violence in them, heck, I've even written a few scenes myself, but there is a difference, I think:

They help further the plot.

With all the sex and sexual violence I've seen in this series so far, I'm really beginning to think it's pretty juvenile.  They're just there to showcase "how horrible" war is.  It reminds me of how Christopher Paolini, yes the teenaged author of Eragon, had a pile of bodies in the center of a town, and there, crowning the heap of rotten flesh was the most horrible thing of all. . .

An impaled baby.

Oh, the horror!  Oh, the humanity!

Really?  I mean, come on.  Mr. Martin, you are not a teenager, but a grown man.  Not all readers require to be tittillated by sordid descriptions of women being impaled by a pulsating. . .  Ha ha!  I got you excited there, didn't I? 

Honestly (do I really need to use that qualifier by now?  When have I not been honest through this series of posts?), I think all of these scenes are ridiculous.  So, to sum it up, I cheered when Ygritte died.  I was at home at this point, so I didn't startle anyone this time.  Not even my cat, he just blinked at me and went back to sleep.  Though, I'm actually dreading that Ygritte will come back as a wight and try to kill Jon and he'll feel all torn and begin to be all sappy.  Hopefully the Night's Watch has learned to burn the dead.  It was never stated if they burned them or not.

Jon is also on an epic adventure, which helps keep my interest.  Beside Bran, who's off with Sam and Coldhands, Jon is the only other character dealing with the supernatural, and let's face it, this is fantasy.  I want my supernatural.

Arya

Alright, I'm going to reiterate something here, in case you forgot: Arya is the best character in the series. 

She continually makes me happy.  As soon as I see her name in big, bold letters atop a page, I'm ready to dig in to pure goodness.  She has every quality I like in a protagonist.  She's bold, she's decisive, she's shrewed, she's a chick with a weapon, and she has faults.  One of those being that she lusts for vengeance.  I know that her lust to kill everyone who has done her or her family wrong is going to get her in some way, but I'm glad.  She needs it to grow.  Right now, her growth is a bit stale, so she needs something to give her a kick.

Meeting up with the Hound was a pleasant surprise.  For all his faults, I actually like him.  He has a story lurking there.  Too bad up until now he was always in Sansa's points of view.  So, I do not know why the Hound is no longer in King's Landing, and I do not know why he no longer cares for the Lannisters, but I'm going to assume it has something to do with Sansa.  I'm not too particularly concerned about it at the moment, because I know I'll find out eventually.  I'll find out in the same manner I found out how Winterfell fell: through another point of view.  True, I had to wait a book to find out, but I found out.

Also, I can't wait to see what happens with Arya and her coin.  There's something strange going on with that that borders on the supernatural.  I mean, Jaqen was capable of some pretty creepy stuff.  Come on, Arya! 
Bran

Bran is special.  It's obvious.  It's also quite obvious that he has a very important role to play.  It also helps that he's crippled.  It gives him a motive and makes things interesting.  His companions are also pretty cool.  I'm also a sucker for a story that involves children, dreams, shapeshifting and well. . . All that good stuff. 

It was a very happy moment when he met up with Sam, let me tell you.  This is another moment that I let out a delighted squeal.  These two characters are perfect for each other, I think.  Both of them are underdogs, and both are destined for greatness, whether they know it or not.

I really enjoy reading Bran's chapters, in fact, I enjoy them just as much as I enjoy Arya's.

Daenerys
Finally!  She's actively doing something.  I have to admit, after the last book, I was ready to start skipping her chapters, but she changed my mind when I gave her her mandatory two chapters.  She's turning out to be pretty much what I expected of her.  She has gained a backbone and is beginning to act on her own.  She's also becoming pretty cold and calculating, even with her penchant for freeing every slave she comes across.  That is going to come back and get her somehow, I think.  As long as she continues to be active, I'm with her.  And, to my constant complaint about her:  If only she didn't have dragons.

The Characters I am Not Reading in A Storm of Swords and Why

Tyrion

I am skipping Tyrion's chapters, because save from the end of the last book, he bored me to tears.  I believe I made a comment before that if Tyrion had given all the attention he gave to his male member and his whore, he would have become king.  That, and I want to see, if without reading his chapters, I can still follow the plot.  He is in the center of things over at King's Landing and provided me with a lot of details, so I want to see if I can find out this information without him.

I will admit, while skipping through a chapter of his, two words popped out at me.  They were, 'Sansa' and 'wife'.  I started laughing.  Serves Sansa right.  Man, I can't stand her.

Sansa

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Reading Sansa's chapters are akin to torture.  She's whiny, selfish and really, just a spoiled brat.  I can't feel sorry for her at all.  Especially since she's the only member of the Stark clan who behaves the way she does.  Everyone else is strong willed and fights for what they believe in, save for her.  Can't read her chapters.  I just can't bring myself to do it.

Catelyn

I can see why Sansa is the way she is through her mother.  While her mother is strong-willed, I also think she's pretty selfish, and for all her crowing about honour, I honestly don't think she's any different from scheming Cersei.  Can't stand her either.  I'd much rather hear about Robb through Robb, instead of Catelyn's point of view, but alas, that's not going to happen, because well, it was pretty obvious from the get go that he was going to die.

Personally, I think this is a fault of the series.  George R. R. Martin, while he is willing to kill characters, he has shown an unwillingness to kill of his main characters.  I think this is a shame.  If Robb had received his own point of view, and then died, it would be that much more poignant.  We, as the readers, would actually care, but since he never receives a voice, we do not, or at least, do not care as much as we should.  We never had a real relationship with him, so how could we?

And how do I know he died?  Through Arya.  Arya also thinks Catelyn is dead as well, which I'm happy to believe, but I am waiting for another character's point of view to let me know otherwise.

Jaime

I was dreading when his point of view would appear, and here it is.  I really do not understand his allure to so many readers.  He is a horrible man, he's full of himself and he just does not give a damn about anyone.  He is only concerned with himself, and his own well being.  I truly do not think he overly cares much for Cersei.  Personally, I think the only reason he 'loves' her is because she is his.  She belongs to him.  Hateful, hateful man.  No use for him.  Don't care about him.  I hope he dies so I don't have to be bothered by him, but oh, he's probably not going to, at least not any time soon, because he has a point of view now.  Damn.

Davos

I did read a little bit of his chapters, and while the whole drowning people was a bit interesting, that's about all there was to keep my wandering attention.  I'll give him a real chance in the next book, but for this book, nope.

My Impressions of the Series Thus Far

I must admit, that I really like what I read of A Storm of Swords (well, besides the chapters I read because I had to. . .  Stupid experiment rules.).  In fact, I've enjoyed this book far more than the previous two.  I think the reason for this, is because the plot is actually beginning to move.  The first two books of the series were slow and ponderous in comparison.  After reading A Storm of Swords I feel like A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings were merely setting everything up.  And that thought brings me to why I generally stay away from epic fantasy.

Epic fantasy is so large in scope that it takes what seems like forever to get everything going.  Inertia, right?  The more mass something has, the harder it is to get something moving along.  One plus about that, though, is that once it gets going, it's harder to stop.  So hopefully, when I start tackling A Feast For Crows, the plot will gather even more speed.