A Game of Thrones

The second time through Game of Thrones was a lot more straight-forward than the first time I read it. While I didn't feel particularly lost the first time through, I definitely wasn't paying attention to a lot of the details. I didn't understand a lot of the characters. But with the knowledge of where this story goes, and who becomes important, I was able to get a lot more out of the book than the last time I read it.

Martin throws a whole lot of characters at you, which makes it almost necessary to ignore most of them just so you can follow the plot. This time I was able to pick up on subtle characterizations of Roose Bolton. I kept all the families, and who they owe fealty to, straight. I even picked up on a lot more of the history. The history of Robert's war really informs the everything going on now.

I'm more convinced than ever that Jon is Lyanna's son, not Ned's. Ned has too much honor to have ever cheated on Cat. Once they were married I can't imagine him ever taking another woman to bed. And there's the fact that everyone seems to believe that Jon has a different mom, from Lady Ashara Dayne (whose brother Ned killed), to Willa the farm girl. Meanwhile Ned is forever remembering Lyanna's final moments in her "bloody bed". The same phrase is used to refer to a birthing bed in other instances, but never a death bed. The subtle implication being that Lyanna had a child she begged Ned to protect. I doubt we'll ever get confirmation one way or another, though.

I'm not sure I'll get around to re-reading the rest of the series for a while. These books take an awful long time to read. But it was fun to pick up on all the little things I missed last time. I am completely floored by Martin's attention to detail. Things like R'Hllor and the Children of the Forest show up far earlier than I remember them being there. It really adds to the richness of the world.

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