George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire & Ice series

[V_Translanka]

I don't know if anyone's familiar with the series, but after reading the graphic novel The Hedgeknight, which acts as a kind of prequal to the series of books, I thought I'd pick it up.

I've been looking for a good fantasy or sci-fi series since finishing Stephen King's The Dark Tower series (though I've only got the first three of the comics right now) and reading the Harry Potter books that are currently available. I tried Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and L. Ron Hubbard's Mission Earth to no avail...The vampires continued to be gay (literally and figuratively) and boring and while the aliens were sometimes funny, they too were mostly boring and stupid.

So I picked up the first of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire & Ice series, entitled A Game of Thrones. It's a fantasy series along the lines of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (The Hobbit was far better) & Stephen King's Eyes of the Dragon. One of the coolest ideas in the series is that it takes place on a planet where the seasons can last for years. I haven't read any of the other books...It's a series of seven books (three forthcoming), but already I'm hooked. I couldn't put it down. :D

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[Nayni]

I read A Game of Thrones, and although I don't really remember the plot (which is very strange) I do remember enjoying it immensely... and I would re-read it if my friend didn't still have it borrowed off me.

I want to complete reading the entire series, I wasn't aware how many were in the series and I didn't want to end up doin a Robert Jordan again....jeez has he finished writing The Wheel of Time yet?!?! So, need to get down to a library or bookstore obviously... I do remember being disappointed that a favourite character of mine died though.... hm. Oh well, I need to get into books again and you've reminded me of a book I did like which has more books to it, so kudos.

[V_Translanka]

Yeah, I eventually read the four available books along with the two short stories in the collections called Legends (& Legends II): The Hedgeknight & The Sworn Sword, which were both then made into comics. They're great and I can't wait for A Dance With Dragons to come out (it's supposed to be fairly soon).

As for the Wheel of Time...yeah, it's supposed to be done soon (even though RJ just died recently)...

[Oz]

This is such a good series. The pages just flew right by. The only problem is, I finished the fourth one months ago. I've been waiting for a Dance for so long, that I dont even think i remember where it left off. It was originally scheduled to release in January this year...then March...then August...Now i dont even know. I've been meaning to do a reread, I just havent had the time.

[Dark Mandy]

Martin won't offer any more dates until he's actually finished, though rough estimates from the publishers suggest a publication date in June 2008.

[Oz]

I predicted this early in the series, and I still stand by it.

Jon Snow and Baby Aegon are the same person.

[Roland]

Let me first say that I absolutely love A Song of Ice and Fire (I've read through it three times), and I'm eagerly awaiting Dance along with the rest of you. It is an instantly engaging series, and I've never had four novels fly by so fast before.

As for this:

I predicted this early in the series, and I still stand by it.

Jon Snow and Baby Aegon are the same person.

Here are my thoughts:

I've heard this theory countless times, and I've thought long and hard about it since that first encounter. However, I've found that the conclusion that Jon Snow is Baby Aegon just doesn't add up. Jon would be a year older than he is said to be, and if he is the son of Rhaegar and Elia, he wouldn't resemble the Starks at all. Martin has simply invested too much time into the Jon Snow character for me to believe that he is actually Aegon.

However, I do believe that Baby Aegon survived the sacking of King's Landing by some means. I've always found it very odd that a child who would be distinguished by his silver hair would have its head smashed against the wall until it was no longer even recognizable as human. Gregor could have easily slit the child's throat or stabbed him to finish the job.

Here's what I think:
Aurane Waters = Aegon.

I'm not sure about his official age, but I know for a fact that he is younger than Cersei. Then again, that might still make him too old to be Aegon.

His eyes and hair color are rare in Westeros, and only seen in members of the Dayne, Targaryen, and Velryon families. Let us not forget, however, that Cersei also notes that every whore in Lys has these features.

Cersei remarked at first glance that she thought Waters was Rhaegar. She dreamed of Rhaegar day and night when she was younger, thus she would know his appearance well. The fact that Waters so looks like Rhaegar could be due to the fact that he might possibly be Aegon.

Waters kept hinting that he wanted a stronghold of his own because his title as Lord meant nothing without lands and income. Cersei constantly thinks on how he was pressing for Dragonstone to become his. Now, that could just be because of its history as the seat of kings and princes, but then again, perhaps there is an ulterior motive behind that if he is indeed Aegon.

Lastly, he set sail with the bulk of the new warships and not a soul knows where he disappeared to. Granted, he could just be a minor character that we might not see again, or he could have taken those ships as a first step in reclaiming all that was taken from him (if he is this Aegon, that is).

Just my crazy crackpot theory. :D

[V_Translanka]

A weird theory I had in the beginning before all of the stuff with Bran & his third eye was more explained was that he would be one of the people to ride Dany's other dragons...y'know, on account of the crow saying he would fly. Of course, that seems rather debunked now...and I never really thought there would be anything romantic between the two...just thought I'd share an absurd theory while we're on the subject (of theories, not absurdities!).