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The graph is interesting. But maybe Game of Thrones doesn't have a "main" character. One of the things fans love about the books is that they subvert genre expe

The graph is interesting. But maybe Game of Thrones doesn't have a "main" character. One of the things fans love about the books is that they subvert genre expectations at every turn. Given how things are going, in fact, I won't be surprised if the next literary convention GRRM eschews is "conclusion".

xiaq 11y ago
Exactly. Instead of a lot of plotting and planning, people just kill and die. It's very, very refreshing.
- talmand 11y ago
  But there's lots of plotting and planning for people to just kill and die as well.
lumberjack 11y ago
I've only read three fantasy series besides ASOIAF but all of the have similar character development. I think the difference in ASOIAF is that there isn't a clear set of protagonists and antagonists. Or maybe the story so far only talked about the protagonists and the antagonists are yet to be revealed.
qrendel 11y ago
I think this is one way to look at it, at least for the books. For the TV show, over all the seasons it seems like three main characters have emerged (based on longevity, screentime, and plot importance): Daenerys, Tyrion, and Jon Snow. You could perhaps argue Cersei as well - iirc she has more POV chapters and page-time in the books than any other character. An alternative view is that the main character(s) change from book to book and season to season. Ned was probably the main character in the first book & season one, Robb replaced him in book/season two, with similar evolutions for other "temporary-mains." Though really the first explanation seems better: a "main character" just doesn't fit the structure of ASOIAF very well.
- FnuGk 11y ago
  Robb was never a POV character
  - qrendel 11y ago
    Didn't actually say that he was, though it may be the TV show has changed my memory of his place in the second and third books. After a few years it gets hard to keep track of exactly what happened in a ~5000 page series.
saeranv 11y ago
Ah interesting. Personally I don't think so. He is not a postmodern author in that sense. Subversion of tropes in the fantasy genre is one thing, getting rid of literary/narrative conventions is quite another leap.

xiaq 11y ago

Exactly. Instead of a lot of plotting and planning, people just kill and die. It's very, very refreshing.

talmand 11y ago
But there's lots of plotting and planning for people to just kill and die as well.

lumberjack 11y ago

I've only read three fantasy series besides ASOIAF but all of the have similar character development. I think the difference in ASOIAF is that there isn't a clear set of protagonists and antagonists. Or maybe the story so far only talked about the protagonists and the antagonists are yet to be revealed.

qrendel 11y ago

I think this is one way to look at it, at least for the books. For the TV show, over all the seasons it seems like three main characters have emerged (based on longevity, screentime, and plot importance): Daenerys, Tyrion, and Jon Snow. You could perhaps argue Cersei as well - iirc she has more POV chapters and page-time in the books than any other character. An alternative view is that the main character(s) change from book to book and season to season. Ned was probably the main character in the first book & season one, Robb replaced him in book/season two, with similar evolutions for other "temporary-mains." Though really the first explanation seems better: a "main character" just doesn't fit the structure of ASOIAF very well.

FnuGk 11y ago
Robb was never a POV character
- qrendel 11y ago
  Didn't actually say that he was, though it may be the TV show has changed my memory of his place in the second and third books. After a few years it gets hard to keep track of exactly what happened in a ~5000 page series.

saeranv 11y ago

Ah interesting. Personally I don't think so. He is not a postmodern author in that sense. Subversion of tropes in the fantasy genre is one thing, getting rid of literary/narrative conventions is quite another leap.