Re-reading Song of Ice and Fire

Chapter 2, Sansa
Summary
Sansa attends the tourney held in name of Joffrey. His grace is not impressed by the contestants and wants to punish a drunken knight, Ser Dontos, with death. Sansa with unexpected help from Hound manages to convince him to make a fool of him instead. Tyrion Lannister arrives at Kings Landing.

Quotes

Arys Oakheart was courteous, and would talk to her cordially. Once he even objected when Joffrey commanded him to hit her. He did hit her in the end, but not hard as Ser Meryn or Ser Boros might have, and at least he had argued.

The king laughed. “My dog has a fierce bark. Perhaps I should command him to fight the day’s champion. To the death.” Joffrey was fond of making men fight to the death.
“You’d be one knight the poorer.” The Hound had never taken a knight’s vows. His brother was a knight, and he hated his brother.

“I am sorry for your loss as well, Joffrey,” the dwarf said.
“What loss?”
“Your royal father? A large fierce man with a black beard; you’ll recall him if you try. He was king before you.”
“Oh, him. Yes, it was very sad, a boar killed him.”

Commentary

How sad and terrifying must be the life of a girl that she likes the man who argues with his liege before he hits her. Sansa’s life is a nightmare. Her betrothed is really showing his colors. With no one to control him (where is Cersei I ask you? too busy running the kingdom?) the boy is becoming more and more cruel and ruthless. Surprisingly the mitigating element in this boiling kettle of cruelty is the Hound. He’s the one that, by lack of interest discourages Joffrey from at least part of his mad moves.

I have to say, I love the way Martin paints his characters. His world is by no means black and white. Hound seems like a cruel, cold blooded killer (anyone remember Mycah?), but this chapter brings a new level of the character. Is he mitigating Joffrey’s madness on purpose or is it just the way he is? Maybe he just doesn’t care? Either way, he’s not a clean cut villain.

What I found amusing in this chapter is how Joffrey and his supporters find the red comet a sign of his certain victory over his enemies. The red comet for crimson of the Lannister. Yeah, right… Ser Aerys comes close to the truth though. The comet, the dragon’s breath, is prophesying the comeback of the dragons. Lannisters would rather believe that it’s a good sign for them because they sit in the dragon’s lair, on dragon’s iron throne.

Chapter 1, Arya
Summary
Arya is travelling King’s Road with Yoren and the Night’s Watch recruits. When one of the boys (Hot Pie) tries to take the Needle from her she gives him a heavy beating. Yoren stops her and takes her into the forest to punish her. He tells her that Ned was supposed to join them on the Wall, but Joffrey ordered him killed.

Quotes

Yoren had plucked some from the streets with promises of food for their bellies and shoes for their feet. The rest he’d found in chains. “The Watch needs good men,” he told them as they set out, “but you lot will have to do.”

Yoren was looking at her. “You hurt?”
Calm as still water, she told herself, the way Syrio Forel had taught her. “Some.”
He spat. “That pie boy’s hurting worse. It wasn’t him as killed your father, girl, nor that thieving Lommy neither. Hitting them won’t bring him back.”
“I know,” Arya muttered sullenly.

Commentary

Arya is still in shock after seeing her father executed, but unlike Sansa she’s not suppressing her anger with the world’s injustice. She takes it out on the first boy that crosses her. The bloody beating she’s giving him is only a way of releasing her feelings. Yoren knows this and reminds her that it’s not the Hot Pie that killed her father.

Arya starts on a very dangerous path that may eventually lead her to dark places. In the words of Master Yoda: “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.” Arya is moving from fear to anger and will soon be on her way to suffering, to hurting people.

A Clash of Kings, Prologue
Summary
Dragonstone, King Stannis receives a word from a number of his liege lords: they will not support his claim. Stannis has gathered a small army in hopes of winning the Seven Kingdoms, but it’s not nearly enough strength to match Tywin Lannister or even his brother, Renly. His wife urges him to listen to the advice of red priestess, Lady Melisandre. Ser Davos is proposing to make a pact with Robb Stark. Stannis’ old maester wants to save his King from following red priestess’ folly and seeing no other choice he tries to poison her, but he only manages to kill himself.

Quotes

“How many swords will the Lord of Light put into my hand?” Stannis demanded again.
“All you need,” his wife promised, “The swords of Storm’s End and Highgarden for a start, and all their lords bannermen.”
“Davos would tell you different,” Stannis said. “Those swords are sworn to Renly. They love my charming young brother, as they once loved Robert… and as they have never loved me.”
“Yes,” she answered, “but if Renly should die…”

The wine was sour on his tongue. He let the empty cup drop from his fingers to shatter on the floor. “He does have power here, my lord,” the woman said. “And fire cleanses.” At her throat, the ruby shimmered redly.
Cressen tried to reply, but his words caught in his throat. His cough became a terrible thin whistle as he strained to suck in air. Iron fingers tightened round his neck. As he sank to his knees, still he shook his head, denying her, denying her power, denying her magic, denying her god.

Commentary

It wouldn’t be a proper introduction to a Song of Ice and Fire book if someone didn’t die in the first chapter.

A Clash of Kings does not immediately pick up the threads of the first book of the saga. We’re introduced new characters, new place and entirely new plot. Martin takes us to Dragonstone, seat of Lord (now King) Stannis Baratheon, and explains what was not said in the Game of Thrones. Stannis indeed is gathering army to take the Iron Throne. We also find out why he’s hesitating, not striking anywhere. Stannis knows that with the little swords he has gathered he will not be able to take the throne by force. Being a reasonable man he’s looking for other ways. At first he dismisses the “magic” of the red woman, Melisandre, but once he realizes that he will not have an army to win the kingdom he’s beginning to listen.

The lead character of the chapter, Maester Cressen is easy to like. His fatherly feelings towards Stannis are very strong. He’s doing everything he can to prevent him from making, what he presumes to be, a grave mistake. In the desperation the old man sees only one way to save his liege. His mistake though is underestimating the power of red priestess.

Martin introduces Melisandre in a great style. From the first page the red woman appears strong. The ending of the chapter makes even a bit scary. She knew that Cressen was trying to kill her and she proved to him that her god, R’hllor, the Lord of Light will protect her. This manifestation of power adds a new dimension to the book. Not only dragons are back, but also some higher beings of we don’t know much yet. Or is the priestess is fooling herself?

This brings me to the red comet. Announced in the last chapter of Game of Thrones, the red comet was a sign of Drogo’s departure from the realm of living, or perhaps it was a sign that the dragons are coming back? The two events were definitely linked to each other, so it’s hard to tell. Now, maybe, just maybe what Melisandre believes to be the power of R’hllor is simply the magic that’s flowing to the world through dragons? Maybe the ability to use it and knowledge where it comes from are two different things? I think I’m getting ahead of myself here, so I’ll stop here.

There are so many things to talk about in this chapter… The last one I want to touch one is the character of Stannis Baratheon. A grim man, just to the point of unreasonable. Frank to the point of being rude. Hard and unyielding. Not the leader people would love, not the king people would follow. A man with potential to be a monster. Take note that he didn’t even flinch when his lady wife suggested his brother could die. He considered it in his mind, wondering how likely it would be. A character difficult to like. We’re going to see a lot of him in this and next books.