Reading the Chunksters discussion

Gah! I am so sorry...I totally missed posting this cause I was snowboarding!

Thoughts, feelings, characters you love, Hate??? How's the reading going?

Glad you were having fun and not sick!!! I'm a bit behind, but loving the book!!!

I'm still feeling a bit removed from the characters - and I still think that's somewhat deliberate on the author's part, meaning I think he deliberately wants us not to know completely whom to trust.

So on the one hand, I'm completely enjoying the tale. Martin knows how to maintain suspense and engagement. Plus, he has such a great imagination. But on the other, I'm not as fully "into" the book as much as I would be when I feel there are characters I really "know."

I really liked this section of the book. It is getting harder and harder not to read ahead!

Very glad that Catelyn finally snapped out of it and is acting more normal. I like that she took the initiative to go and tell her husband what happened with Bran, though it seems as if the people she's been caught up with may have ulterior motives... not sure I trust them, especially Littlefoot knowing his past with her!

I ... don't like to think Tyrion really may have had something to do with the plot against Bran. He -did- make a comment in ... the last section? When he mentioned Bran might wake up and his brother, Jamie, asked whose side he [Tyrion] was on that led me to believe he knows more than he is letting on. But I -like- him, and I don't want to think he could be knowledgable of this. If it -is- his blade, I'm guessing it was taken or something. But I want to believe they are just SAYING it was Tyrion's blade to frame him.

Can't wait to talk about the next section!

Deana wrote: "I really liked this section of the book. It is getting harder and harder not to read ahead!
"

Eeep I completely agree Deana!! I keep wanting to read ahead in the book because it is just so interesting.

I agree with the comments on Catelyn and Tyrion! I really hope it wasn't Tyrion, but I'm thinking there could be reasons why it was him. The killer did say "It was a mercy." Maybe because Tyrion knows what it's like to be awkward and misshapen and wanted to protect Bran from the same fate?? Not sure!

I like Tyrion too, he really seems to come from a different place than his siblings. I think everyone underestimates him as well.

Catelyn
These new characters -Lord Varys, Petyr, Littlefinger- are interesting. Are they one and the same? I was unclear about that. The new twist -the Valeryan steel dagger belonging to The Imp, Tyrion Lannister- what do y'all think of that? I was beginning to like Tyrion, and now this.

Jon
I feel bad for Jon, having such a rough time training for the Night's Watch, but the armorer taught him a good lesson, I thought. I found it interesting that when the bird arrived with news for Jon regarding Bran, Tyrion immediately assumed it was bad news, saying "I am truly sorry."

Amy wrote: "Catelyn
These new characters -Lord Varys, Petyr, Littlefinger- are interesting. Are they one and the same? I was unclear about that. The new twist -the Valeryan steel dagger belonging to The Imp, T..."

I think Petyr and Littlefinger are the same. Lord Varys is someone else.

And yeah!! I caught that too about Tyrion's reaction to the bird...that made me think it was his dagger...

You are right, Catherine. In the following Eddard chapter, that was clear. Lord Varys is someone else, Petyr/Littlefinger are the same person. It's a tad bit annoying, so many characters with multiple names, as if it isn't hard enough to keep them all straight.

Eddard
I'm glad Catelyn got to see Eddard and explain what she thought was going on, but I'm with Eddard, I do not trust Petyr.

Tyrion
This chapter lost me a little bit. At first I thought Tyrion was dreaming when he described ascending to the watch towers to see Jon, but I guess some time had passed, as Jon and Ghost were grown? He was very drunk, so maybe that's why it seemed off. Also, I'm very nervous about Tyrion returning to Winterfell to deliver messages for Jon.

I agree with the statements about Martin intentionally making it difficult for us, the readers, to know which characters to trust. In that regard, I guess we don't yet really -know- each character very well, but I still think the character development is good, if that makes sense.

Amy - Yes, Petyr, Lord Baelish and Littlefinger are all referring to the same person. He has a bunch of nicknames because Catelyn knew him when they were growing up, so he has had a bunch of names throughout her life as he grew into them :)

I made a similar comment to your first one about Tyrion (how you were liking him and didn't want to believe it could really be his dagger) above. I didn't read much into the comment about the bird -- even knowing nothing about the plot, I think pretty much everyone assumed Bran would die. But you could be right about that being foreshadowing.

Not sure what you meant about Jon and Ghost being grown. Not much time had passed before that scene, but Jon was ... in his middle teen years (14? 15?) when he went to take the black, so he was mostly fully grown to begin with. I think just since Tyrion is so short Jon looks tall to him?

Tyrion did make comments about them having gotten big though.Again, I thought this chapter was a bit confusing. I think it was just that he was so drunk and it was his point of view.

Puppies grow quickly and Ghost is basically still a pup so he could have grown considerably while Tyrion was there visiting. Jon had so many layers of clothing on, that he could have seemed bigger/taller to Tyrion. Just a thought. I did love that chapter and their interaction. This was a good section all around. Frankly, right now I trust very few of the characters. I do hope Tyrion is a good one, but it's been mentioned more than once that he loves his family, so will he support them even if he wasn't involved? Anyone that was with them in Winterfell could have taken his dagger so that seems logical.

I'm catching up!! :-)