AGOT: Jon I

A Game of Thrones

JON I

Characters:

Jon

Eddard

Cersei

Robert

Catelyn

Jaime

Tyrion

Robb

Myrcella Baratheon

Tommen

Arya

Joffrey

Sansa

Rickon

Benjen

Theon

Ghost (Jon)

Important Characters:

Daeron I Targaryen "The Young Dragon" conquered Dorne at 14, immediate uprising and lost until Baelor the Blessed

Notes:

Jon is excluded from the the platform for Robert's welcoming feast

This allows him to get drunk

Theon is included in the procession

Jon thinks Jaime is what a king should look like

Ghost never makes a sound

Jon usually eats with the family but Catelyn thought it would insult the royal family

Jon wants to go to the Wall with Benjen, to serve in the Night's Watch

Benjen tries to tell Jon what he will be giving up, that he is too young to make that decision

Tyrion acrobatics

Jon has more of the North in him than his half-brothers

Tyrion tells Jon to make being a bastard a strength

Tyrion seen as a bastard in his father's eyes because he is a dwarf

His mother died in child birth, so his father could never be sure he was his

A short chapter and the beginning of a friendship between Jon and Tyrion, two of the most popular characters. One of the best parts of rereading the books is to compare the characters when we first meet them to what they are like now. You can definitely see the outlines of the characters they will become, but they are different at the same time.

Next up, a message will arrive.

AGOT: Eddard I

A Game of Thrones

EDDARD I

Characters:

Eddard

Robert

Jaime

Sandor Clegane "The Hound"

Tyrion Lannister "The Imp"

Cersei

Prince Joffery Baratheon

Catelyn

Important Characters:

Balon Greyjoy

Lyanna Stark

Brandon Stark

Lord Rickard Stark

Howland Reed

Tywin Lannister

Lord Robert Arryn


Notes:

Storm's End – one of the strongest castles in the Seven Kindoms, main seat of the Baratheon’s and ancestral seat of the Storm Kings

King Robert arrives

Ned has not seen Robert since Balon Greyjoy's rebellion

This is when Ned took Balon's son Theon as a hostage

Robert has not aged well

Greyjoy Rebellion – uprising against the Iron Throne led by Balon Greyjoy, 289 AL, Balon tried to break away and restore the Iron Islands to the “Old Way”

Robert immediately wants to go to the crypts and pay his respect

Ned loved him for that

Robert was a man who knew how to take his pleasures, the same could not be said of Ned

Ned's brother Brandon was strangled by order of Mad King Aerys

His father was made to watch him die

Brandon was to marry Catelyn

Robert was supposed to marry Lyanna

Lyanna's Death/Promise (room smelled of blood and roses) 283 AL

Robert vowed to kill Rhaegar for what he did to Lyanna - and he did

Jon Arryn sickened very quickly

Robert says Lysa is not handling Jon's death well - she took her son to the Eyrie

Robert wanted the boy to foster with Tywin Lannister

Sitting a throne is a thousand times harder than winning one

Robert wants to name Ned Hand of the King

Hand of the King - king's chief advisor and executor of his command in the Seven Kingdoms.

Warden of the North (Stark), South (Martell), East (Arryn) and West (Lannister)

Robert suggests they join their houses - Prince Joffery and Sansa will be betrothed

Ned is worried about going south

Compare different versions of Rhaegar in this chapter and last

I really like this chapter. Ned is one off my favorite characters and Robert is not too far behind. The setting is cool and everything they talk about interests me. As a first time reader I was having a lot of trouble keeping everyone straight at this point, but every character we meet or hear about at this point has significance. It is easy to appreciate on a re-read.

Next up, Jon Snow.

AGOT: Daenerys I

A Game of Thrones

DAENERYS I

Characters:

Daenerys Targaryen

Viserys Targaryen

Magister Illyrio Mopatis

Khal Drogo

Ser Jorah Mormont

Important Characters:

Rhaegar Targaryen 

Princess Elia of Dorne

Ser Jaime Lannister "The Kingslayer"

Ser Willem Darry

Aegon the Conqueror

Khal Moro - Drogo's bloodrider


Notes:

Viserys wants Daenerys to look like a princess
Illyrio knows Viserys will remember his friends when he comes into his throne

Aegon Landed 298 years ago, story starts in 298 AL

They are in Pentos

Pentos - one of the Free Cities

Nine Free Cities:

Pentos

Braavos

Lys

Qohor

Norvos

Mry

Tyrosh

Volantis

Lorath

Vaes Dothrak – only Dothraki city, it is illegal to wear a blade or shed blood

Dothraki

Casterly Rock – western shore of Westeros

Highgarden – castle in the Reach, ancestral seat of the Tyrells

King's Landing – Capital of the Seven Kingdoms

Dorne – southern shore of Westeros

Dany pictures what was happening when she was born

Rhaegar dying for the woman he loved

The usurper's dogs (Stark and Lannister) sacking King's Landing

Rhaegar's heir was murdered before his mother's eyes

Dany had been born on Dragonstone during a storm

The Isle of Faces – a sacred island in the middle of God’s Eye where a pact was signed between the Children of the Forest and the First Men

Dragonstone – island located at the entrance to Blackwater Bay, originally held by the Targaryens, until Robert won the war. It was given to Stannis by Robert.

The Trident – river in the Riverlands

Braavos – one of the Free Cities

Myr  – one of the Free Cities

Tyrosh  – one of the Free Cities

Qohor  – one of the Free Cities

Volantis  – one of the Free Cities

Lys  – one of the Free Cities

Viserys tells Dany that the usurper's hired knives follow them

The Iron Throne – seat of Kings in the Seven Kingdoms

Viserys plans to marry off Dany

She always assumed he would marry her - Targaryen tradition

The Seven Kingdoms – realm located on the continent of Westeros

Hot Bath

Viserys thinks Dany looks too skin for Drogo

Tyrell – one of the Great Houses (The Reach)

Redwyne (Tyrell)

Illyrio says the people of Westeros long for Viserys to claim his throne

The Battle of the Trident – battle that ultimately decided Robert’s Rebellion 283 AL

Viserys plans to kill Robert as Robert killed Rhaegar

Dany sees Illyrio smile

The Lord of Light – R’hllor, prominent God on Essos

khal – leader of khalasar

khalasar – a nomadic horde of Dothraki

The Unsullied - eunuch slave soldiers, trained from a young age in Astapor to unquestioning obedience and martial prowess.

The Doom of Valyria - the cataclysm of an unspecified nature that caused the collapse of the Valyrian Freehold. Around 100 BL

The Summer Isles – located south of Westeros and Essos

Ser Jorah was exiled from Westeros for selling poachers to a slaver

The Dothraki braid their hair and let it grow until they are defeated in battle, then cut them off in shame

Drogo had never lost a battle

bloodrider - Part guardian, brother and companion, the bloodriders guard and accompany the khal in his daily routine, they share what is his, sometimes even his wives but never his horse.

Viserys plans to wed Dany to Drogo, then use his khalasar to reclaim his throne

Daenery's chapters are good for exposition

So this is the first chapter away from the North. Dany is one of the most popular characters in the series. I personally enjoy her chapters, but she is not one of my favorites. I do like the expansion of the world through her view.

Next up, another fan favorite. Lord Eddard Stark.

AGOT: Catelyn I

A Game of Thrones

CATELYN I

Characters:

Eddard

Catelyn Stark

Important Characters:

Brandon the Builder (Stark)

Arya Stark

Sansa Stark

Maester Luwin

Jon Arryn

Aerys II Targaryen "The Mad King"

Brynden Tully "The Blackfish"

Lord Hoster Tully

King Robert Baratheon

Queen Cersei Lannister

Grand Maester Pycelle

Benjen Stark

Prince Tommen Baratheon

Notes:

Godswood - small wooded area enclosed by castle walls, used to worship the Old Gods, in the North they include a Weirwood

Catelyn had been born in the south at Riverrun

Whenever Ned took a man's life he would go to the Godswood

Ned worships the Old Gods, Catelyn is follower of the Faith

Weirwood - heart tree, usually has face carved into it

Sept - building to pray to the New Gods

Faith of the Seven - dominant religion of Westeros, called "the Faith", not prevalent in the North and the Iron Islands

Winter is Coming - Stark words

The Night's Watch is running short on men

The Others and the children of the forest have been gone for 8,000 years

Catelyn tells Ned that news has arrived the Jon Arryn is dead

Ned had fostered with Jon Arryn along with Robert Baratheon

When Mad King Aerys demanded their heads Jon Arryn rose up in revolt

Jon married Catelyn's sister

The Eyrie - castle in the Vale of Arryn, ancestral seat of the Arryns situated in the Mountains of the Moon

The Vale - eastern shore of Westeros

King Robert is coming to Winterfell

Catelyn worries about the direwolf with the antler in it's neck is a sign

Robert brings with him the Lannister, his queen's family

The Lannisters came late to Robert's cause

A short chapter with no real action, but a lot of important information. Robert's visit will really get the story started, but up next we go to a surprising point of view character in a different location from where the story has taken place so far.

AGOT: Bran I

A Game of Thrones

BRAN I

Characters:

Bran Stark

Lord Eddard Stark

Robb Stark

Jon Snow

Theon Greyjoy

Joey Cassel - captain of household guard

Hullen - master of horse Winterfell

Harwin - Hullen's son

Desmond - guard of Winterfell

Gared - killed

Important Characters:

Mance Rayder - the King Beyond the Wall

Old Nan

Rickon Stark

Notes:

They are going to behead a deserter from the Night's Watch

Gared is the deserter - from the Prologue

The Long Night - 8,000 before AL Westeros was covered in darkness for years, the Others arrived from the Land of Always Winter

Winterfell castle of the North, ancestral seat of the Starks

Children of the Forest - nonhuman race here long before the First Men during the Dawn Age, magical beings supposedly extinct

Age of Heroes - began with the signing of the Pact at the Isle of Faces and lasted for 4,000 years

Ice – Ned’s sword

Valyrian Steel - a magical alloy invented in Valyria and used to make weapons of unparalleled quality.

Starks – one of the Great Houses (The North)

Tullys - one of the Great Houses (Riverlands)

King Robert Baratheon is the king

Ned beheads Gared

Theon kicks the head

Jon thinks Gared was dead of fear

The only time a man can be brave is when he is afraid

Riverrun – castle in the Riverlands, ancestral seat of the Tullys

First Men - (Northerners) first men who came to Westeros 12,000 years before AL, fought a war with the children of the forest because they were cutting down weirwoods

Andals - (Southerners) arrived 6,000 years before AL, fought First Men and children of the forest could not conquer the North so they made peace, brought faith of the seven and knighthood

Rhoynar - (Dorne) riverfolk forced by war with Valyria to Westeros 700 years before AL, where river queen Nymeria married a Martell and gave Dorne many of its traditions

A ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is

They come upon a pack of pup direwolves and a mother killed by an antler

Direwolves have not been seen south of the Wall in 200 years

There are 3 male and 2 female - just like Ned's true born children

Ned allows the children to keep them

Jon Snow finds an albino direwolf for himself

This is where the entire story stemmed from

Great Houses:

Crownlands - Baratheon (Targaryen)

Riverlands - Tully

Stormlands - Baratheon

Dorne - Martell

Iron Islands - Greyjoy

The Vale - Arryn of the Eyrie

The North - Stark

The Reach - Tyrell

Westerlands - Lannister

As I say above, this is the chapter that George R.R. Martin originally conceived of that led to the entire series. It is crazy to think of how much grew out of this one scene, but this is a great chapter and a great opening to the story.