I buried him with mine own hands, in a place he showed me once when I was a squire at Stormโs End. No one shall ever find him there to disturb his rest.โ He looked at Jaime defiantly. โI will defend King Tommen with all my strength, I swear it. I will give my life for his if need be. But I will never betray Renly, by word or deed. He was the king that should have been. He was the best of them.
George R. R. MartinSometimes he could almost forget that it was there, the way you forget about the sky or the earth underfoot, but there were other times when it seemed as if there was nothing else in the world.
George R. R. MartinI'm a huge fan of Tolkien. I read those books when I was in junior high school and high school, and they had a profound effect on me. I'd read other fantasy before, but none of them that I loved like Tolkien.
George R. R. MartinRemember Old Nan's stories, Bran. Remember the way she told them, the sound of her voice. So long as you do that, part of her will always be alive in you.
George R. R. MartinTolkien can say that Aragorn became king and reigned for a hundred years, and he was wise and good. But Tolkien doesnโt ask the question: What was Aragornโs tax policy? Did he maintain a standing army? What did he do in times of flood and famine? And what about all these orcs? By the end of the war, Sauron is gone but all of the orcs arenโt gone โ theyโre in the mountains. Did Aragorn pursue a policy of systematic genocide and kill them? Even the little baby orcs, in their little orc cradles?
George R. R. Martin