I feel that nothing much of importance happens in these chapters. Perhaps the significant points for me are:
1. Petyr tells Ned not to trust him - foreboading comment.
2. Jon makes friends on the wall and feels that Castle Black has become his life & home.
I feel that eventually Jon will leave Castle Black, maybe because I continue to like his character.
3. It's revealed that Jon Arryn knew that Gendry was the King's bastard, and Arryn was poisoned because he was asking questions.

I am now reading chapter 44 and find myself forgetting what happened in chapters 24-31 ...find myself glancing back. This book will take forever to read. It reminds me of the time when I decided to read something of "importance" and tackled "In The First Circle" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. I abandoned that book a little more than half way through, it was the same grey and gloomy prisoner life chapter, after chapter, after chapter...
It didn't matter that it won the Nobel Prize in Literature. I just couldn't finish it.

I feel that these chapters (24-31) could have been woven into the next section with just a few sentences. GRRM is just too long-winded...did he make the book this long just to impress?

I'v read that Grrm is prolific when hes writing these stories, typically having to edit down hundreds of pages just to get the books to the length they are published at, I don't know if its an ego thing with him but according to interviews with him he just likes what hes writing and once hes in his zone he just goes at it.
I was just looking at the beginning of chapter 24, Ned is talking to Grand Master Pycelle about Jon Arryn's sickness and I had a laugh, it seems that part of a cure they tried on him was "wasting potions and pepper juice", the book doesn't mention how these things were administered.
At The Wall, Jon meets Samwell Tarly. Jon is putting a group of people around him who are misfits but his brothers in deed, I like Samwell. again GRRM I think is putting something important before us.

The paper back version of GoT I have doesn't have numbered chapters so I think I got ahead of the scheduled read for this form,(I actually went through the book and numbered chapters myself) If I put something out there that should not have been I apologize for that, also I thought I read a post on Friday morning from an earlier thread but could not find it that evening, was something removed? again if it was as a result of something I posted I apologize, I enjoy the discussion here on BT, I'm still trying to get the hang of the editor and the proper way of conducting myself on this type of site, I don't want to come off as some kind of troll, so again I apologize if I have been thoughtless on this form and any other form I have put myself into, so please bear with me as I learn some etiquette. (That last bit is directed towards the long time posters here on BT)

Chuckle - I numbered the chapters myself also. I have not found anything improper or offensive said in this discussion. I'm very new on BT also, and you haven't come off as a troll. What do you want us to "bare" with you?...LOL...just couldn't resist this. I think you may have meant to say "bear"...just kidding and teasing a little bit...gotta laugh sometimes !

One of the draw backs are misspelled words, but thanks again.

Yes, I deleted a post I had made. I was commenting on your theory that Jon is actually the son of Richard and Lyanna. I think this is interesting, but I deleted the post because I wanted to mention Gendry and thought I was in the wrong section to do it. Gendry is also the bastard son of Richard, and there seems to be a lot of interest in him. I am wondering if Gendry is the son of Richard and Lyanna? Gendry would certainly be of great importance if this were true. He would tie the House of Baratheon and the House of Stark together. I would think this would be upsetting for Cersei. Jon Arryn was asking many questions about Gendry before he was killed. This may have been the motive for the Lannisters to kill Jon Arryn because it would compromise Joffrey's position. Bastard sons, as far as English history is concerned, can become legal heirs to the throne. Henry VIII had an acknowledged bastard son who was in line for the throne, but the boy died.



As I read GoT I am amazed at the detail and imagination that has gone into it. I think Martin is a wonderful storyteller and I can see him going on and on. I don't think it's an ego thing, I think he loves to write. He has created fascinating characters and I feel he wants them to have the fullest life possible.

Taylor, you made another remark that made me stop and think. You asked why Martin kept Bran alive as a cripple instead of just killing him. Could he be used for something. I think absolutely! Bran learned information that would be very dangerous for Cersei if it were to come out and I believe it will come out. The crows are helping him remember. While on the topic of fatherhood, is it possible that Joffrey is not the son of Richard, but the son of Jaime? Is this the secret/reason that Cersei and Jaime want Bran dead? (did everyone know this and I am just late to figure this out?) This would make Gendry even more important. Gendry is actually Richards son. Then there is Jon. It makes sense that Jon is the son of Richard and Lyanna. Ned could be raising this child as his own to keep him away from Cersei thinking he may be killed if Cersei found out. Ned loved Lyanna and would want her child protected. But both Jon and Gendry cannot be sons of Lyanna, she was only 16. It may be only a matter of time before the Lannisters start to suspect Jon. You gotta love to hate those Lannisters!



Taylor, you have been a wonderful discussion participant! We talked about different points of view in another thread, and the great thing out different points of view is you get to see things from another's perspective and things that you may miss altogether. Discussing a novel as a group with differing opinions gives the reader a better appreciation for the book. You mentioned that Martin may be keeping Bran alive, as a cripple to use him later. That is a great theory. And because of this I began to think about Tyrion. Why is he alive? He would be seen as deformed and defective. His eyes are two different colors. I would think a child like that would have been destroyed by an important family. He shows weakness in the blood line. I love Tyrion so I am very happy he was allowed to live, but if this story was true, I think he would have been doomed.

Suzanne, Crystalline you two have put my mind at ease, Thanks again.

I agree that the children in the story will be prominent in coming chapters, but looking ahead in the book I see that in the case of Joffery and Gendry there is no point of view chapters so I,m not prepared to think we will get to much of them in this book, Ayra, Sansa, Bran and Jon are POV till the end though.

From Ayra's POV ( chapter 31 ) we learn that Varys is connected to Illyrio (the guy who Helped Visarys gift Dany to Khal Drogo). a side note; Jorah Mormont is the son of Lord Mormont head of the Knights Watch.
Ayra doesn't know any of this and shouldn't but she did try to tell Ned what she overheard in the dungeon, Ned blows it off though.