Game of Thrones: The Virgin Diaries 2

This Week’s Counts

Total Chapters Read: 23
Bastard Count: 33
Dragons Count: 24, and then an explosion of Dragon mentions and I stopped counting.
Winter is Coming: 6
Chauvinism: 2
New Characters Introduced: 105
Catch up on last week’s impressions HERE

What is your Overall Evaluation of Game of Thrones This week?

__Excellent    x    Very Good    x    Good ___Fair ___Poor

Summary: This week Arya got a sword and she and Jon finished each other’s sentences. Dany had a much nicer wedding night than on TV. NotRobb took a ride with the King and got mad about Jaime sitting on the iron throne once when he was 17. Tyrion hung out on the wall and spit some straight truth Jon’s way. Catelyn traveled to King’s Landing with a guy who has a green beard, and saw her friend Creepyfinger. Sansa hung out with Joffrey who acted like a bunghole, and Arya ran away. NotRobb murdered Sansa’s dog, dropping him very low on my personal totem pole of characters I’m rooting for. But the C-Word is the reason Lady gets murdered so I hate her, too. Bran dreamed about crows, and then woke up (!!).

NotRobb found out that King Rob is massively in debt (is he representative of America because he’s fat and borrows money a lot?). NotRobb also feels terrible about Lady which GOOD he should. He saw Cat at Creepyfinger’s brothel and then Cat left King’s Landing. Arya Underfoot returns from her fleeing incident, and she had to throw rocks at Nymeria to save her life, but then she got a dancing partner and things are okay. Dany got pregnant so you know bad things are coming her way. Tyrion showed up and gave Robb plans for a saddle that will help Bran ride even though he’s crippled now. NotRobb began a quest to find more information on Jon Arryn’s death, and he found another Bastard in a steelwork house. Jon knows nothing but now he has a friend named Samwiseell and he weren’t droppin no eaves.

Cat accused Tyrion of tryna murder the Sweet Summer Child, and they began a journey “back to Winterfell” but they’re really going to the Vale. The Tournament began and ended without Paul Bettany so that’s a shame, and Loras Tyrell invented the Rose Parade. The Hound is nicer than his brother who killed his own horse, but both still scare Sansa a bit. Some idiots attacked Cat and Tyrion’s party, but the named characters won the fight (surprise.)

Why Do You Think You (Or We as a Class) Read Game of Thrones?

Everyone seems obsessed over this series because the story is so epic. There is a grand variety of characters to chose from. I dunno…it’s good, and it’s nice to know what’s getting all this hype. At the very least it’s a great exercise as a writer to know what I like and what I don’t like.

How Would You Rate Game of Thrones on the Following Qualities:

Action: Very Good
Interest: Good
Originality: Good/ Fair
Character Development: Excellent/Very Good

Tell More About One of Those Qualities Above. Why Do You Feel This Way?

But why the Cardboard Sean Bean in the background?

I rated Character Development above the other categories because I feel that the characters are what make Game of Thrones stand out. Other elements of the book help it fit very well into the fantasy/high fantasy genre.
There are a TON of characters introduced at all times in this book, and each is unique and interesting so far. I like that there’s less chauvinism than I expected from the men in power, and that when it is expressed it’s done so to add to a character.
On a similar note, I like how strong the female characters are in their development. Sansa and Arya are totally different, but neither is villainized or made less than the other, which makes them very interesting and believable as siblings. Jon Snow is allowed to be a cranky 14 year old boy and he’s disappointed that life on the Wall isn’t what he expected. He takes Tyrion’s criticism and uses it to change his ways a little, but when challenged he still goes back to his older instincts. Dany’s determined not to let circumstances dictate her life, which is respectable and awesome. It’s OKAY that Sansa is a dreamer and Arya is a scoundrel. NotRobb loves them all (even Dany. He doesn’t know it but he has love in his heart for all the children in the KnownWorld. Or whatever ya’ll are calling it these days.)

Also Tyrion is small but powerful. The end.

Describe a Part of Game of Thrones you Identified with Or Tell How this Book Relates to Your Life.

Erm…
I’ve been to Medieval Times a bunch so I’ve seen jousting and tourney games before. I have siblings whom I love but they also sometimes annoy the bejesus out of me. One time my Dad got promoted at his job at Eddie Bauer so my family moved from one apartment to a different apartment. Just like the Starks.

What Are the Strengths of this Book?

• Lots of Character Development
• Expansive World Building
• Detailed Descriptions
• Animals

What Are the Weaknesses of Game of Thrones?

• Repetition of certain identifying details (Jon messing up Arya’s hair and them finishing each others sentences)
• Too long between exciting scenes sometimes (is this a necessary evil of the form?)
• Animals in danger

In case you were unaware of what this should have looked like….

Final Conclusion: Loras on TV is FAR  inferior to Loras in the book. Considering I imagined his whole outfit looking like a glammed out version of the cape that the Lion wears at the end of the Wizard of Oz.

Tune in next week to see how many more rude nicknames I can come up with for main characters in this ridiculous series, and feel free to catch up with my reading adventures on Twitter (@Jenisaur) and use the hashtags #JenSnow, #sweetsummerchild, or #GoTvirgin to join the conversation!

Oh and thanks to Free Graphic Organizers for my reading guides!

Jen Schiller
Staff Writer
@Jenisaur