Game of Thrones - BOOKS Discussion (Spoilers) (Page 7)

What if Danerys gets turned into a White Walker.  She can't be burned and she can't be killed by weapons.  

Ah, I guess she could get killed by obsidian...

I got into a debate over this with a friend. He was technically smelted which is not fire lol

SNERK.  Good one Kido.

The test is over as of Monday! 

I cracked it open yesterday and plan to get into it this week.  (can you say that with iPads now?  Not sure if you want to "crack open" your kindle/ipad)

I think I would turn that feature on, to be honest!  Could be cool - or just as "cool" as choosing white, black or sepia page colors.

Yeah, the ones that may have seen a little water damage or that musty old smell is kind of cool.  One of the reasons I like used book stores (other than getting hard back editions of books for pennies on the dollar).  Sometimes even first editions if you get REALLY lucky.  But I was collecting Tom Clancy, Stephen King 2nd or 3rd edition hard back that looked brand new for 50 cents to a dollar at my local shop.

I guess we still say "dial the number"...  What phone actually has a DIAL in the last two decades?

OK.  MY idea?  Modify a phone app with a dial option.  So you can actually have the rotary phone look and usage.  Yes, no?

I'm actually glad I saw the shows first in this case.  I just go with the TV pronunciations of names and they have thrown about characters at me in the first 3 chapters that I'm glad I sort of know who they are talking about already.  Makes it a bit easier to get through the chapters without having to sound out names or keeping characters and locations sorted.

Negative is I keep referencing scenes in the series rather than let my imagination run.  So far, it's remarkable close to the shows.

The shows stick pretty close to the book.  They cut-out a lot of the novel filler and they add a few human scenes.  

I agree that watching the shows first helps with understanding, but the books do add a lot of the extra theories/other crap.  

That's exactly what I'm hoping -  fill in the gaps the show can't hope to cover.

Seems to me that the first season stayed much closer to the book. Season two started to diverge as the unavoidable pairing down of characters and story lines began to compound. Season 3 continues down that path and I also think there are more and more changes based on actor portrayals, viewer response, writer preferences, etc. 

Some changes seem less necessary that others (** cover your eyes Kido ** I didn't think Jaime and Brienne's fight was particularly well done), but still think the show overall is great.

Wait.  I'm missing something.  The story line is continuing along the same thread.  It's not like Walking Dead which has gone completely off the rails.  They cut-out long, drawn out descriptions of cities and palaces and the color of the fire and Cersei wishing she had a co-k because then she'd be king.  But I don't think the story line has really lost anything.  

I also disagree about the Jaime and Brienne fight.  It was told from Jaime's perspective and he was thinking a lot of the things he says in the show.  Then he starts to think that she's really beating him on stamina.  

Well no, they didn't decide to spare Ned Stark or replace the dire wolves with pink kittens, but some characters' personae and motivations we see are often more different than I'd prefer. Doesn't mean they aren't still doing a great job overall.

Some changes (Arya and Tywin interacting at Harenhall) are curious choices even if they made for some interesting scenes. Why create new material that doesn't contribute to a major story arc when you are cutting and combining left and right already?

Tyrion being more likable and much less rough looking (eyes, beard, keeping his nose) than in the book is probably something some people like and some people don't. Certainly can't complain about the job Peter Dinklage is doing.

Robb marrying a completely different character than in the books might have a reason and might even be a more interesting story line, but necessary? 

As for the Jaime and Brienne fight, it was a huge lost opportunity. In the book, it is a long, savage exhausting fight between two expert fighters and the pivotal point in their relationship. From both of their eventual POVs, Jaime would have won had he not been weakened by his captivity. Brienne finds herself fighting for her life, taken aback by Jaime's skill and ferocity, is wounded and finally turns the tide when Jaime slips next to the stream. Even then, the desperation continues as she holds his head under water demanding that he yield so she doesn't have fail her mission by killing him.

For his part, Jaime realizes that Brienne is indeed a legitimate warrior and physically stronger than him. The respect he gains is in large part the reason he cons the Brave Companion leader (not a group dispatched by Roose Bolton) into sparing her virtue and probably her life in the process.

Instead, we get Brienne contemptuously swatting away Jaime's sword after less than a minute and a half. I didn't find it dramatic in the least. Heck, her armor isn't even blue for Pete's sake. 

I suddenly have the urge to watch the end of Rob Roy....

Arya and Tywin- They had to establish Tywin's character more because he's almost never seen in the show except dressing the elk and talking to Tyrion.  I didn't think it detracted from the story though.

Tyrion keeping his nose- Yeah, that's one that they clearly did.  Peter Dinklage's people were probably opposed to anything that would obscure his face in some way.  The book was pretty consistent that his nose was half-off whereas in the show, he has a rather average looking scar.

Robb marrying a completely different character- The way they met, fell in love, got married yes.  But she is still the daughter of a lower lord.  And she still dooms his kingdom...

Jaime would have won had he not been weakened by his captivity- I'm not so sure about that.  I really think that he was just overhyped.  He was made a Kingsguard at 15 after he and Dayne beat the Smiling Knight.  It's not clear if he won many tournaments or jousts because he was knighted so early and then sent to the Kingsguard so he couldn't compete.  He really is only known for killing the king and a bunch of pyromancers.  He was caught in the only other battle he fought in.  I'd say overhyped.  His POV passages are all full of bravado until he loses his hand and then he goes the other direction.  

Brienne on the other hand beat Sir Loras, killed Renly's guards, and beat Jaime.  She's clearly a good warrior.  But still rather humble in her POVs. 

I was wondering about the Roose Bolton thing in the show/book.  I think they did so to keep from introducing too many people and to link it to what is going on with Theon Greyjoy.  They really accelerated that process. I do like the way they presented his hand getting cut off in the show though.  It was rather accelerated too. 

Brienne's own POV of her fight with Jaime:

Brienne remembered her fight with Jaime Lannister in the woods. It had been all that she could do to keep his blade at bay. He was weak from his imprisonment, and chained at the wrists. No knight in the Seven Kingdoms could have stood against him at his full strength, with no chains to hamper him. Jaime had done many wicked things, but the man could fight! His maiming had been monstrously cruel. It was one thing to slay a lion, another to hack his paw off and leave him broken and bewildered.

Sure, he falls into Robb's trap and gets captured at the Battle of Whispering Wood, but he didn't exactly drop his sword and surrender.  The 10 men he single handedly cut down trying to fight his way to Robb (after he realized the battle was lost) would probably attest to Jaime's swordsmanship. An even better testament, his creator says Jaime is "one of the great swordsmen of the history of Westeros". 

http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/MTV_Worldcon_Interview_Versus - Fun interview if you haven't seen it.

As for cutting the Brave Companions/Bloody Mummers from the series, I'm sure it helps keep things less complicated for people just watching the series and a good move in the grand scheme, but I was like - "WhoTF is this Locke guy?"

I found it funny how many women were like "Booyah! Danerys Targaryen is a bad-azz!!!" last night on the interwebs.  

If they had read the books, they would've seen that coming.  

I wonder how freaked out people are going to be when Robb and Catelyn die a horrible death or how giddy when Joffrey keels-over.  mwaahahahahaaa.

You won't like it? The Dwarves are an important part of that scene though because they're Joffrey's way of making fun of Tyrion. Followed by Tyrion being accused of killing him.