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(spoiler safe, especially if you've seen the series or read the first few books)
Someone pointed out something distinctive about A Song of Ice and Fire: http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/A_Game_of_Thrones#Viewpoint_Characters
Look at the POV characters, for this and later books (though later lists have spoilers): largely women, children, underlings, or underdogs (dwarfs, bastards, knights with missing hands...) Half women in the first book, plus boy, youth, dwarf, and Ned. Second book is the same list, with Davos (underling) and Theon (jerk, and hoo boy) replacing Ned. Book 3 replaces Theon with Sam and Jaime, and we're starting to tilt male, but not males in charge. 4 gets back to parity, with lots of characters even my spoiler reading has told me little about; I don't know if underling/underdog is holding up. Book 5 has 16 POVs, wtf, not counting bookends, and only 5 are women. Some of those men are very high ranking (Lord Captain, Lord Commander), but still not *top* ranking.
Apart from Ned, *none* of the kings or lords in charge get a POV: Robert, Drogo, Renly, Stannis, Robb, Tywin, Lord Martell, Balon, Euron, Mance... closest would be Jon after his ascension, or a Lord Regent who gets the book 5 Epilogue.
I'd wondered why Robb never gets a POV, unlike all of his siblings but the 3 year old (even the foster one); "because he's 'King'" seems a good answer. The Game of Thrones is told from the POV of the pieces, not the players. Or at least not the male players.
Someone pointed out something distinctive about A Song of Ice and Fire: http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/A_Game_of_Thrones#Viewpoint_Characters
Look at the POV characters, for this and later books (though later lists have spoilers): largely women, children, underlings, or underdogs (dwarfs, bastards, knights with missing hands...) Half women in the first book, plus boy, youth, dwarf, and Ned. Second book is the same list, with Davos (underling) and Theon (jerk, and hoo boy) replacing Ned. Book 3 replaces Theon with Sam and Jaime, and we're starting to tilt male, but not males in charge. 4 gets back to parity, with lots of characters even my spoiler reading has told me little about; I don't know if underling/underdog is holding up. Book 5 has 16 POVs, wtf, not counting bookends, and only 5 are women. Some of those men are very high ranking (Lord Captain, Lord Commander), but still not *top* ranking.
Apart from Ned, *none* of the kings or lords in charge get a POV: Robert, Drogo, Renly, Stannis, Robb, Tywin, Lord Martell, Balon, Euron, Mance... closest would be Jon after his ascension, or a Lord Regent who gets the book 5 Epilogue.
I'd wondered why Robb never gets a POV, unlike all of his siblings but the 3 year old (even the foster one); "because he's 'King'" seems a good answer. The Game of Thrones is told from the POV of the pieces, not the players. Or at least not the male players.