I'm not too sure about this book so far. >.> I like the story just fine. But there are so many characters that I guarantee I'll mix them up and confuse myself. It's also a bit of a detriment that I've heard/read so much about the books already from the TV series.
So I know this is Ned:
Which is good and bad. Bad because I like him so far in the book, but I already know he's going to die. Good because his death is not going to come as any big shocker. xD
And I know this is Daenerys:
Which is good and bad. Good because I can picture her in my head while reading, bad because, well, I can picture her in my head while reading. So instead of imagining characters for myself (which is half the fun of reading), I already know some of them which just makes it awkward.
And then there's everyone else. I've never seen Game of Thrones on TV, so I don't know who every character is. So I read about these people and then try to figure out which character goes with which face from TV and it's half annoying at least.
I know it can't be helped, but I kind of wish I hadn't known anything at all about the TV series before starting the book. It would have been much simpler and a much more enjoyable read.
And I don't suppose I should care too much that there are 80 billion characters, since half of them will be dead by the end anyways. Right? xD