- Is Martin trying too hard to be clever? I wonder if the adulation and admiration he got from killing off “heroes” in the early books went to his head. What was the point of explicitly not mentioning Mormont’s name for so long? It could not even have been to play up the surprise to the less attentive readers, or service the character’s perspective, since there is no moment of revelation. From one paragraph to the next, Tyrion simply switches from calling him as “the knight” to using his name. Also, regarding that plotline, it felt like he was trying to play the same game he played with Arya & Sandor Clegane, making it look like the good guy has been captured by the renegade warrior and is being dragged back to face Cersei & doom, but SURPRISE! The captor is actually bringing the good guy to where he wants to go all along (Was anyone shocked when Tyrion & Jorah didn’t make it there either? )! Also, the PoV-line cliffhangers are getting old, especially to readers who are now familiar with his old tricks. I daresay no one thought Brienne was dead from aFfC, anymore than Theon died in aCoK or in his jump from Winterfell’s walls, or Asha had died in the Wolfswood any more than Arya died getting hit with an axe at the Twins. Unless WoW kicks off with Jon Snow’s funeral, I won’t believe him dead either, and even then, that would depend on the circumstances. I think the internet should change Martin’s Official Reputation from “No Character is Safe” to “No One is Dead Unless You See a Lethal Injury or the Body Gets Mutilated.” Did anyone believe the reports Cersei received off Manderly’s execution of Davos? Nope. Martin was way too invested in him. Who got killed in the last two books? A couple of throwaway PoV characters killed in the very book in which they are introduced, Arys Oakheart & Quentyn Martell. Both books feel like they could have done without either storyline, leaving one with the suspicion that Martin threw them in there to keep up his character-killer reputation. That reputation has coasted awfully far on Ned Stark alone, plus a few background characters, villains and the by-now traditional prologue throwaway PoV. Meanwhile, we get fake-outs like Bran & Rickon, Theon, Brienne, Tyrion, Asha, Davos, Arya and Catelyn. And maybe (though I doubt it) Jon. As a literary device, that reputation was supposed to lend credibility to things like Jon’s gang-stabbing, but thanks to Martin’s going to that well so many times, the safe percentage is that this is another non-death feint.

- Are we finally satisfied that Arya is indeed evil now? She murders a man for absolutely no other reason than strangers tell her to, because they are getting paid for it, regardless of all their blather about their god. Give me the Old Man of the Mountain over the kindly man of the House of Black and White any day.

- If wargs are as rare are Bran is told, how is it that one family has four (and possibly more) children of the same generation with at least a portion of that talent? Bran, Ary & Jon are shown to have the ability to take on their wolves’ skins, and Robb & Rickon seemed to have some degree of connection to their wolves, who react strongly to their wills. Robb’s last words suggest he might have been feeling Grey Wind’s death or peril too, and the fact that his and Jon’s last thoughts seemed to be more with their wolves than anything else, point back to Varamyr’s thoughts about the death of wargs. Though Sansa lost her wolf too soon to tell, Lady seems to have been the one to most obviously reflect her human’s personality and nature, and that may have been the mental connection at work (Varamyr claims that the animals become more like humans), again suggesting the talent. So is it a genetic thing or simply a case of exposure to the right animal at a young enough age (at lot of Rickon’s behavior issues, generally written off as a lack of parenting, might also come from his absorption of Shaggydog’s feral nature, such as his refusal to accept a hair cut, or his initial hostility to the Freys flipping to complete acceptance after an inconclusive fight). Of the sentient children, the youngest is the one with the most success at warg stuff, and the oldest in the one with the least. Jon seems a bit closer to Ghost than Robb to Grey Wind, but the former was more isolated and dependant on Ghost in the wild while the latter was far more involved with civilization and generally busier.

- Have Quaithe's predictions begun to show the cracks of Melisande's? She seemed to predict the arrival of Connington and Aegon in Mereen. In fact, most of the people whose arrival she foretold to Daenerys ever encountered her. Were these just possibilities that never came to pass or did she misinterpret her prophecies and they'll actually encounter each other elsewhere? Or was this an example of Martin's plans changing? I know that he made references to a "Mereenese knot" when discussing the ongoing writing process. I wonder if the original plan was for several of the characters and storylines converge there, only to realize he wrote himself into a corner and had to adjust.

- I also think that Aegon's survival came out of the blue. It seems too good to be real. Might he have been an ace in the hole for Varys & Illyrio in case their plans with Viserys and/or Daenerys fell through, a fake Aegon kept under wraps until the last of the real Targaryens failed? Let's not forget that Aegon would be THE rightful king. If they have the true heir to Aerys II & Rhaegar, why bother with their schemes with Viserys & Daenerys? Why plan to wed Daenerys to Drogo, and give her three dragon eggs for a wedding gift? From their overheard conversation beneath the Red Keep, they appeared to be genuinely intent on using the royal siblings and give no indication of their plans with the real heir. They had to have seen how inferior Aerys' children were to Aegon, who has been raised to the specifications Varys enumerates to Kevan, and how much less biddable Viserys would be.

- Speaking of Aegon VI, what is now supposed to be the appeal of Daenerys? Aegon has a better claim. He doesn't have uncontrollable, homicidal pyromaniacal monsters coming with him. He might be capable of having a successor of his own body follow him on the throne, instead of his reign being simply a prologue to the civil war that follows the death of an heirless monarch. All that Varys says to Kevan about Tommen applies equally to Daenerys - she was raised to believe the throne is hers by right (also recall what Asha has to say about the inferiority complexes of younger siblings - Dany & Tommen both grew up in the shadow of psychotic older brothers, until their very recent deaths, while Aegon never knew his older sister), and was certainly not raised to rule. Not only that, from what we have seen so far, she's crappy ruler. She operates on her whims and sentiments and while they are admittedly benevolent, she is still inconstant and fickle and gives absolutely no sign of respect for anything other than what she thinks is a good idea. Her kindnesses are as likely to cause strife and disaster in any realm she rules as Cersei's paranoia and selfishness. Aegon has at least been raised in an organized and educated fashion, not by a spoiled & arrogant brother's reminiscing about a nation he fled as a child. Aegon's foreign upbringing was controlled to give him maximum exposure to Westeros culture and values, while Dany spent her formative years being guested in palaces of the wealthy of the Free Cities and being a curiosity and showpiece, and lets not forget her complete willingness to use any and all means at her disposal to take "her" rightful throne, including sponsoring invasions by Dothraki savages with nothing but contempt for her people's culture. Even if Aegon is no more than a semi-competent non-entity once on the throne, that's still a long way ahead of the walking nightmare of chaos that is Daenerys Targaryen! Is this another Buffy the Vampire situation, where we are expected to abandon all critical observation because "Yay, girl power!"? Hmm. Skinny little light haired bimbos who randomly and luckily are bequeathed a great and unique power and as a result do a half-assed job of protecting ordinary people while indulging themselves by befriending selfish jerks and losers, sleeping with murderers and making idiotic plans that work because the author decreed it. Daenerys IS Buffy. And don't forget lesbian experimentation with oriental subordinates!

- I think the subtitle of this book should be "The North strikes back." It's nice to the northerners kick ass or show well next to their wealthier, more sophisticated and numerous southron brethren for once. It seemed like the theme of the first four books was "the North takes it up the tailpipe." Now a lot of badassery hinted at early on seems to be coming to pass.

- Pie and punch, anyone?