“Oh, my sweet summer child, what do you know about fear?”— Bran’s Story Becomes Intriguing...
All right folks, it is yet another week and yet again, George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones is my weapon of choice for a Tumblr post. As of now, I have made it to page 412, so I am right on track with my reading goal for the week. Even though I barely hit that goal for this week, it’s been one of those weeks with Art Shows, Great Journeys Project, and more, so I’m okay with that.
Now, on to more interesting tidbits about my reading in A Game of Thrones—beyond my current page number and the state of my busier than usual week. But before I do, I feel I must say that even though this book is not as difficult to read and comprehend as my last read, The Divine Comedy, I still feel like it is taking me much longer to read than I had expected. Maybe it’s because I am really getting into the characters and G.O.T. happens to be my favorite thing in the world right now (even over League of Legends gaming, so that’s saying something!). Or, maybe it’s because I am just getting tired as my senior year is winding down and the pile of college forms to fill out are ramping up.
So, if you have been following my Game of Thrones saga (novel AND TV series), I recently began a mission to re-watch all of G.O.T. Seasons 1-4 before I could begin watching Season 5. With this in mind, I set out to find those subtle and often not so subtle variations between novel and TV. Martin’s novel has brought me to love some of the very different storylines and given me an appreciation of details, characters, and plot twists that I otherwise had less interest. For example, when watching the TV show, I never really liked Bran’s storylines and always thought his portions and character as odd. Truly, until the final episode of Season 4, not much happened with him other than his crippling fall. Yet, now that I am reading the book, I have a newfound respect and interest in Bran’s chapters and in his story.
Recently, as I read on, Bran has woken up and is paralyzed from the legs down, so he has to stay in bed and rest. However, there is an old woman named Nan that stays with him almost all the time and just watches over him. When Nan tells stories to Bran that she believes he would like, he always shuts her down. In this type of moment, Bran asks to hear a story about fear, and Nan honestly replies, “Oh, my sweet summer child, what do you know of fear? Fear is for the winter, my little lord, when the snows fall a hundred feet deep and the ice wind comes howling out of the north. Fear is for the long night, when the sun hides its face for years at a time, and little children are born and live and die all in darkness while the dire wolves grow gaunt and hungry, and the white walkers move through the woods”
LOVE that quote! The imagery, intensity, and honesty in Nan’s words really stuck out to me, especially since it gave much more significance to Bran and his journey North of the Wall. It is in this type of language, depth of description, and well-developed characters and details that I am beginning to appreciate Bran’s story, and I have a feeling that his role is going to end up being the most significant.
Also, on this rainy Saturday, I took the opportunity to sway back and forth between reading A Song of Ice and Fire and watching the final episodes through Season 4 of the TV series. At the very moment that I found myself finally able to begin Season 5 and catch up, I also find myself a bit confused as to why I haven’t seen Bran or his storyline yet. However, I have heard that the storylines found in A Song of Ice and Fire and those in the TV version of Season 5 are quite different. So, I will look forward to seeing more of Bran on screen soon, and reading the depth and detail of what actually happens in the book as I continue on with both.