Read A Song Of Ice And Fire 2016 discussion

A Storm of Swords * 57. Bran IV *Discuss only this chapter and anything prior

Oh my God what a cool chapter! I was actually kind of scared at what was down in the well. I did not see that coming at all.

That Black Gate down the well was very cool and I have a great mental image of it. But what I don't get is why did Bran not stay on that side of the wall and try to get to Jon at Castle Black? To me that would have been first priority. Was it because of the chance of danger ?

Best chapter of the book! We get a lot of information about the Night's King, even speculation about his true identity. If that is true this would be a fantastic revelation in our story.

Also I loved the part with the magic door.

Ok wow Sam and Bran meeting was enough for me for this chapter!

Vishakha wrote: "Ok wow Sam and Bran meeting was enough for me for this chapter!"

Yes! I loved reading that.

I think this is one of the best chapters in the entire series. To be honest, there were parts of this book that made me doubt how seriously the editting process was taken - you know, bits and sentences that just didn't fit in the overall writing and felt like a stain on the otherwise nicely flowing storytelling. But this chapter to me proves the absolute mastery of George Martin. It was a compelling horror story that shows not only his diversity as a writer, but also his ablility to stay true to his characters (namely, Bran). Every single past story that was told in this book, all the memories and fairytales prove the vastness of this world. You can drown in the history of it.

Also, I have a theory. It's based on something Bran said when looking at the door. He said (I'm paraphrasing) if a person could only grow old but never die, this (talking about the face of the Old God) is what they would look like after a thousand years. There are many Bulgarian legends about maidens being built into structures like fountains and walls to make them stronger. At first their entire bodies were walled, later only their spirit, or soul, but when that happened, soon they got sick and withered away. So here's my theory - what if the Old Gods are the spirits of real people (most likely greenseers) imbued into the weirwood trees? It would explain the blood-red leaves and why no two of the carved faces are ever the same - they would bear the face of the person whose spirit was bound to the tree.

I love hearing about all the old stories Old Nan used to tell.
That is such a creepy/cool gate!
I wonder the importance of Bran thinking the door/tree shed a tear (if any at all).

His hands were cold as ice, but he saved us from the dead men, him and his ravens, and he brought us here on his elk.”
“His elk?” said Bran, wonderstruck.
“His elk?” said Meera, startled.
“His ravens?” said Jojen.
“Hodor?” said Hodor.

This is just cute XD