I picked up the first book at the airport three weeks ago thinking "isn't this that highly-rated TV series?", got hooked, and just finished plowing through the six books that have been published. I thought the books were entertaining and carefully written. There's a lot of foreshadowing on a few different levels, which is a joy to stumble across when I don't really stop to analyze the story. Masa's post was fun to read, so I figured I'd write a similar one even for a thread that's been silent for nine months.

Structure and increasing POVs: I also felt that Martin was adding the extra POV of minor characters just to show what was going on in a particular location, which was unfortunate. Sometimes readers are better served when the author doesn't go into all the details of what happened everywhere. The story would've been just as good if not better by sticking to the POVs of the main characters. The chronological mess of A Feast for Crows and the first half of A Dance with Dragons was also really bad. I struggled to get through Feast because I didn't care for most of the POV characters there, then re-reading Jon and Sam's conversation in Dance was a bit grating.

Characters:
Ned / Eddard: I got spoiled a few years ago with people saying "SEAN BEAN DIED OMG" so I went through the entire first book expecting him to die. I'm a bit of a sucker for the honor-bound and good-natured type characters, so reading about him slip into the slime that is King's Landing was tragic every chapter.

Catelyn: I was okay with Catelyn. Her motives seemed very normal to me, with a level of selfishness that fit nicely between someone who is altruistic and sadistic. Her rejection of Jon was a real disappointment though. It's not as if he ever did anything to her, and wouldn't be inheriting the Stark's power anyways.

Robb: Throughout the first book, I was a bit confused as to why Robb didn't get a POV until I realized he had no future. Robb was bland to me - we see so much of him through Catelyn's eyes.

Jon: One of my favorites. Like a couple other characters, he has to manage with the hand he's dealt. He's also one of the few characters who is truly trying to cope with the impending threat from the Others that almost everyone else in the kingdom is ignorantly or stupidly dismissing. I liked his flexibility and how he isn't as bigoted as many of his peers. About him getting stabbed through... I don't think he'll stay dead. Martin has shown through Thoros that followers of Rhollor can raise the dead, and the risen are still sentient. Melisandre has been seeing Jon in her visions and needs a new card now that Stannis is freezing at Winterfell, so I think there's a good chance she revives him.

Sansa: Ugh. The highborn-lady-infatuated-with-the-prince thing was almost tolerable, chalked up to the dreams of a little girl. Her betraying Arya really killed her as a likable character (though it seems like she's one of the ones Martin has written so that readers will hate her). All her family values from Ned must've gone through one ear and straight out the other. Even the Tully's words are honor, duty, and family. I also loathe all the politicking and backstabbing nastiness, but didn't have much sympathy for Sansa getting thrown through the grinder as a hostage to the Lannisters.

Arya: Favorite character, though more and more disturbing as the story progresses. I liked how she is learning all sorts of survival skills that the average Joe would find critical in a war-torn and messed up land like Westeros. Not sure how she'll come back into the story though... but as she's learning how to be an assassin it wouldn't be surprising to see her off an important character before we're all done.

Bran: Didn't really care for him. Childish like Sansa and Arya, but isn't really maturing. Not too enthused about the greenseer stuff either now that he's stuck underground in no-man's land.

Tyrion: My first thoughts when reading his chapters was that Martin is going to keep him around forever just so he can write in all those raw jokes. Didn't really like or hate his character - one of those POVs that I just kinda cruised through.

Cersei: Hate the bitch. Feast of Crows was really hard for me to get through mainly because I loathed reading her chapters. I'm not sure why so many people enjoy reading her POV. Reading about an ambitious, evil, self-absorbed, and not intelligent character slowly choking the realm into ruin who thinks she's in the right was suffocating.

Joffrey: Spoiled brat that everyone loves to hate. Oddly, he didn't really rub off on me like Cersei did.

Jaime: Pretty interesting character, especially once you dig into his motives for many of his actions. Still enough to be damned, but I thought out of all the added POVs in the later books his had the most value.

Littlefinger, Varys, and Illyrio: Probably the three people causing the most grief to the land (+Cersei) from all their scheming. I hope they all get their due before this ends.

Stannis & Davos: Didn't really care for either of them.

Theon: Ugh again. Obviously, I don't like reading about douches when a story is told from their perspective. Not much pity for all the suffering he's going through now even though he's also a victim of his circumstances. Attitude can change so much...

The Hound: Pretty sure he's dead. That priest dude at Saltpans buried him. Lem from the Brotherhood has his helm now.

Brienne and Ironborn: Could've done without these POVs. I did like how Brienne didn't devolve into an "unbeatable solo warrior" type of character though.

Wargs: I actually found myself hoping that the Stark children improved on their warging abilities as the story progressed. I'm a sucker for old magic and abilities re-emerging into a forgotten future.

Wights and Others / White Walkers: was a bit surprised they're not showing up more often. Aren't they supposed to be a major threat? It feels like the conflict with them is going to be wrapped up in only one book near the end of the series.

Egret: Who?

Mellisandre: Also was surprised by her shockingly normal thought process when her POV was presented. I mean, this is the woman who spawned a shadow between her legs. In the whole scheme of the "vs. Others" framework though, she' seems to be trying to do good in her own way.

And finally, Daenerys: Also a favorite alongside Arya and Jon (this is probably why I liked Dance of Dragons so much more than Feast of Crows). A bit idealistic at times, but she's also working well with the hand she's dealt. The infatuation with Daario and her neglect towards her dragons were downers, but it's nice that most characters are written with flaws that turn off a good portion of readers.

Now... apparently The Winds of Winter won't be out until 2014 at the earliest, so it's going to be a long wait until this series finishes (thought of Berserk) :|