[hedgeknight]

"hedgeknight, if that's what you've felt all along... well, that stinks."

Howdy Boaz - in truth, I've felt like you - that Martin has created human characters, portraying them in such a way as to give them real personas - I love his work! I've been a supportive fan since page one of Game of Thrones. I love the richness of this series - from the people to the customs to the lands and everything in between. I've never read a series that I felt I was "in" the book when reading - I could smell the sweat from crossing swords in the practice yard, taste the wine of the Arbor, hear the thundering hooves of charging horses, hear the creaking of hempen rope as a bloated fly-covered corpse dangles beneath it. I just love that type of writing and Martin is one of the best.

So, my feelings are more of disappointment with the gratuitous depictions. And the scene with Biter literally made me queasy.

And JohnSnow - thanks for the PM! I'm fairly new here too - nice place; good folks.
-g-