The Secrets of Game of Thrones

MASSIVE SPOILERS. MAJOR SPECULATION. DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN THE LAST TWO BOOKS OF THE GAME OF THRONES SERIES.

I'll start off by saying that it's the bad guys who are the most interesting in this series of books. Cersei Lannister, Jaime Lannister, Tyrion Lannister, Sandor Clegane keep you flipping through the pages of this story. I'll also say that everything that is happening in these books in present time is due to what happened 15, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, 5,000, 10,000, years ago. So, keep your eyes peeled for the stories of Old Nan and snippets of what happened in the past.

Before I get into the meat of the story, spoilers, and speculation, let me just cover the books shortly. Book 1 is the best of the lot, the most interesting. That's the one I read cover to cover... for the most part. I may have skimmed through a couple of chapters at the end. Books 2, 3, and 4 are all strong. Book 5 is the weakest of the lot - mostly just filler material. I did start skimming more and more as I went through the series, focusing mostly on the bad guys and skimming or outright skipping chapters focusing on the good guys. All the while I do try not to miss out on any snippets of the past - especially the ones involving Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, Princess Elia Martell, Lyanna Stark, and Robert Baratheone cause that is the real story being told piecemeal through this series of 7 books. There is also a sub-plot here in the past involving the parentage of Jon Snow. Most likely he is the legitimate son of Ashara Dayne and Brandon Stark, and not the illegitimate son of Eddard Stark as we are led to believe. This hasn't been confirmed yet, but I expect it to be in the next 2 books, the last 2 of the series.

Getting back to Rhaegar, he is the Hector of this story. Greeks and Trojans fans will get the reference. There is no Achilles here. Between Robert, Rhaegar, Elia, and Lyanna, there is the makings of a tragedy here. A war was fought over a mis-understanding. Robert thought Rhaegar kidnapped and raped Lyanna. Lyanna, completely in love and under some misguided delusions that that love was reciprocated ran away from home to be with Rhaegar. There was a tourney which Rhaegar won, after which he gave a rose to Lyanna as the most beautiful girl/woman in attendance, not because he wanted to, but because his wife, Princess Elia of Dorne, asked him to probably thinking that would make the poor girl feel better about herself. Unfortunately, as they say - no good deed goes unpunished. Lyanna took the rose for love, and ran away from home. Robert took that for abduction and rape. A battle was fought, Robert killed Rhaegar, Rhaegar and Elia's children were murdered, Elia herself was raped and killed, and thus began a song of ice and fire. (Note: Parts of this paragraph were speculation. What follows is also speculation.)

How will it end? It will end with Daenerys, Rhaegar's sister, still in her mother's womb at the time of his death, returning to Storm's End/King's Landing at the very end of these 7 books. She is the Odysseus of this story - spirited away from home before birth (that part doesn't match Odysseus), and on a long, winding journey to return (this part does). She will step foot back on home soil but not till a very long time. Probably not until the f*g end of these books. She will die shortly afterwards, but not before delivering/bringing home an infant son with her, the Prince that was promised, who will go on to inherit the Iron Throne after all is said and done. His is the song of ice and fire but he will play no major part in this series other than to make a brief appearance at the very end of this series as an infant baby to accept the Iron Throne - of that I am pretty sure. So, kind of an anti-climactic end to a very long series.

Before I go, let's tidy up some loose ends - Pycelle, Baelish, Varys will all die. Zombie Hound will kill Zombie Mountain. Cersei will probably poison Jaime and he will choke her in return. He is the volanqar of the prophecy, not Tyrion. Casterly Rock will go to Tyrion. Lady Sansa will come to him willingly before all is said and done, I think. Rickon will get Winterfell, Bran will become a mystic/seer, the new crow with three eyes, Jon will get a much strengthened/replenished Night Watch, Mance Rayder will die but his son will inherit the Kingdom beyond the walls. Benjen Stark is not dead yet. He will reappear. He has gone deep into the forest to gleam from the Children of the Forest the secret to defeating The Others. He will pass on the task to Jon before dying. Jon will complete the task.

Oh, I'm sure I'm forgetting something. There was one more loose thread. Oh yeah, Lyanna Stark was poisoned, the tears of Lys. But, by who? Probably Cersei so she could be Queen. Promise me, she had  begged Ned, but promise her what? The secret of her flight from home - to leave it unrevealed?