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Book 1
Prologue: Below him the city
- Maester Eaton's calm attitude when he is about to die. He isn't freaking out, he isn't even trying to fight back, especially after the assassin made it clear that he would harm his apprentice if he does any of it. He simply accepts his death and goes on with it, even managing to calmly chat to the man that would kill him, all the while thinking about keeping Dairon safe.
Chapter 1: Dark Wings, Dark Words
- Harren Hoare is introduced as a ruthless tyrant who manages to scare his lords into submission. All but one. Edmyn Tully stands up to him and though he is eventually forced to back down, he manages to give Harren at least some opposition. Very impressive for a man that knows exactly how far Harren is willing to go and it puts a lot of emphasis on Edmyn's bravery. Torvin sums it up the best:Torvin: This trout had the heart of a lion!
Chapter 2: Broken Vows
- Leonard gets one for his fight with Temari. Not only does he fully avert Armor Is Useless, he also beats Temari, who has been mentioned to be a dangerous sellsword, with little problems, knocking him out but still showing enough honour not to harm him too much.
- The way Terroma just calmly walks up to the Solvers who are about to kill Jaron, armed with nothing but a tiny knife. The men taunt him, Ellena is horrified by what she sees as him walking to his certain doom, but when one of the Solvers implies that he plans on raping her, all hell breaks loose. Only with his tiny knife, Terroma manages to kill three Solvers in an astonishingly short amount of time, without suffering as much as a scratch.Terroma: You don't even realize how dead you are right now, do you?
Chapter 3: We Write History
- Maya standing up against the abusive wannabe-rapist Trymon Brune. Initially smug and dismissive of her, things turn around quickly when Maya fights back against him. She easily overpowers him and kills him without even hesitating, proving to him right before his death that he messed with the wrong woman.
- Though short, the first battle of the story is a glorious one, where Willfred and the Crakehall cavalry crush a band of Ironborn marauders. Not much more than a skirmish in the grand scale of things, it sets the tone for the coming war.
- The Gutters as a whole get one during the fight at the Hammered Harp Inn. Though some of them get wounded, they manage to fight off a group of armed bandits without suffering a single casualty of their own. Each member of the group earns badass points during this fight, though special mention goes to the One-Man Army that is John Gutten.
- A villainous one goes to Bear, leader of the bandits. After John and Temari get introduced as severely badass, Bear is shown to merely toy with them in their fight, taking on both at once by merely using his knife gloves. He comes close to kill them both and is only taken down by a sneak attack from Samantha.
- Ellena proving resourcefulness, cunning and ferociousness in her escape from Samuel Harrington and Jaylon Gordus. To put it into perspective, a twelve (almost thirteen) years old girl manages to escape two of the most dangerous men in Oldtown. Sure, a lot of luck was involved, but Ellena deserves praise for this.
- Jenna Harking, previously a Shrinking Violet, fighting back against Wolfius is satisfying and very awesome. In retrospect, no other character came ever that close to actually cause lasting harm on him as she did in this second. Clawing at one of his eyes permanently damaged his sight even.
- Richard Harking's survival is a moment of heartwarming, but what follows is sheer determination. Bleeding from a heavy leg wound that has barely been treated, limping and with only his annoying brother Alan as back-up, Richard grabs his father's old sword and does not hesitate to fight against the evil that is Wolfius Woodbark.
Chapter 4: Butterfly
- After several chapters of build-up and hype, the Storm King is finally introduced, in a glorious charge against his fresh recruits, completely wiping the floor with them. Sure, his introductory chapter also features a heavy Kick the Dog-moment from him, but he still manages to be badass, terrifying and imposing all the same.
- Similarly, Roger Hill gets a badass introduction of his own. Unlike the Storm King however, he doesn't take his opponents head on. Instead, he is shown to be cunning enough to lure several brigands into a trap, wearing them down over the course of weeks, before cornering the last of them in a small farmhouse, where he easily dispatches of them.
- The warehouse battle. Just the warehouse battle. One of the most memorable moments in the entire story, featuring Jaron, Harpy and Robb fighting for their lives against Butterfly's Solvers and the crimelord himself. Not afraid to die, they face a far greater force and through Robb's Heroic Sacrifice, they even manage to take them down.
- This is followed by Martin's Big Damn Heroes moment, with him and a group of reinforcements saving the day. In there, Samantha Ducard deserves special mention, as she takes on Butterfly in a one-on-one fight, defeating and severely crippling the crimelord, leaving him at Harpy's mercy.
Chapter 5: The Iron Price
- Though it comes at a considerable personal cost for him, there is Lucas' resolve when tortured by the Sphynx. He keeps his calm for so long that the torturer himself becomes quite angered, in spite of his usually collected personality.
- Lyria's and Rosalie's fight against Wolfius. Though completely outmatched and terrified, the two women manage to hold him off for long enough for the city guard to cause him to flee. Special mention goes to Rosalie, who nearly goes through with a Heroic Sacrifice to allow her mother to attempt a killing strike at Wolfius.
- Richard and his friends, neither of them a classical hero, volunteer to accompany the city guard during their dangerous raid on Clayton's warehouse. Even when the mission goes sour and they see themselves face to face with Alysanne, they do not back down. Philip in particular lands a near-crippling hit on Alysanne by setting her on fire and later risks severe wounds of his own by saving Urid's life.
- Kersea gets a slightly villainous one when she saves Alysanne from certain death. Openly defying Clayton's orders, she saves her friend by quickly dispatching two guards. It shows without a doubt that even though Kersea is the nicest and kindest of the assassins, you do not want to mess with her.
- Another moment for Kersea, decidedly more heroic, comes when she actually takes down Wolfius. Considering later revelations about Wolfius, it is a serious accomplishement she managed to do here, probably without even realizing it.
- John's Back-to-Back Badasses-moment with Daghan Oxus qualifies. We get to see him in action, as well as his newest ally Daghan, who proves to be absolutely terrifying in battle, killing or wounding even more of the attacking sellswords than John did. Their fight ends when Janae throws a vial of Wildfire at their attackers, basically blowing up half of Rodrik Stone's troops.
- Raenna's Establishing Character Moment. Cornered in a tavern and forced to fight, she managed to kill four men in just a couple of seconds, using her own lethal skills, her surroundings and the fact that the men severely underestimated her. She even manages to go out of her way to spare one of the thugs who recently became a father.
- Samantha's sheer determination when it comes to save Lucas from the clutches of Mullendore. She takes down a good chunk of the Solvers on her own, turns one of Mullendore's top followers against him simply by being kind to him, saves Leonard from certain death, faces down the Tom and the Moggy and eventually outright succeeds at her goal.
- In the same storyline, Archmaester Wulvren proves that he is more than a harmless weirdo, by almost blowing the Moggy up with his mixtures, setting the giant on fire and forcing him to retreat. He is notably the only character in the story who ever did this and unlike anyone else, he is as far from a physical badass as possible.
- The chapter finale sees the much anticipated assassination of Harren Hoare. Though tragically failing, Torvin and Garthon come incredibly close to actually killing the most hated man in Westeros, giving him a nasty scar and crippling his son, only failing due to being betrayed by one of their allies.
Chapter 6: Masquerade
- Lucas and Leonard, physically at their lowest after their arrival in Raylansfair, are ambushed by a group of thugs, paid by Sherryl to kill them. Just as they are about to lose this fight, the sudden arrival of Ian Shortwood turns the tides. The hedge knight proceeds to wipe the floor with the thugs, basically introducing himself as one serious badass.
- It is an Offscreen Moment of Awesome for him, but Samuel Puffer somehow managed to take down half a Solver outpost on his own and survived long enough for Terroma and Raenna to come to his aid. It shows just how effective Terroma's training can be.
- Samuel Harrington, after four chapters of hesitating and going back and forth finally undergoes a Heel–Face Turn for good. In doing so, he takes down a significant number of Solvers all by himself. It shows that he can be terrifyingly effective when focussed on a goal and to make things better, having turned on the Solvers means he finally gets to use his skills to help out the more heroic characters of the story.
- The ambush in Tanner's Alley is pretty much one big mass of moments that drive the HSQ off the chart. The scene begins with the death of Himani Sand and it all goes downhill from there. Harpy, willing to sacrifice her own life in the process, almost manages to kill Mullendore and succeeds at taking one of his eyes, permanently crippling him in the process. Jaron fights off half a dozen guardsmen to protect her, aided solely by Ayden. What follows is one long, brutal battle sequence, in which both sides of the conflict get their share of moments, mostly Jaron, for killing Jaylon Gordus in single combat and the Tom, for constantly fighting off two or more combatants at once without suffering as much as a scratch. It goes without saying that both men are the last standing on each side in the very end.
Chapter 7: Valar Morghulis
- The Oldtown storyline continues to be action-packed and already starts with Samuel Harrington taking out Jaron and Erik without even using his sword in a lethal way. Later on, he saves Harpy's life by knocking her out of the way of a crossbow bolt.
- And his actions above are later revealed to be part of an impressive Batman Gambit, with which he has smuggled the most dangerous enemies of Mullendore left alive into the Hightower, past the guards, putting them into a position to tarnish the crimelord's ultimate victory. It is probably his most magnificent moment in the entire story.
- Vaasrand of Lys, the beast hunter, does exactly as well as expected during the hunt for the beast of Raylansfair. Though he is ultimately overpowered by the massive horde of wolves the beast has amassed around it, he actually manages to intimidate it into fleeing, single-handedly saving the lives of Richard and his companions.
- The skirmish between Samantha and her group and Rodrik Stone's sellswords turns into a surprisingly even-matched fight, when Samantha, hopelessly outnumbered and surrounded, actually holds her own against Rodrik's lack of proper tactics. The fight is broken up by the surprising arrival of three knights, wearing the colours of House Targaryen. They are led by none other than Orys Baratheon, who manages to defeat Rodrik even after his own sword is broken by the sellsword's Valyrian Steel.
- Once more, Archmaester Wulvren proves that he is not to be messed with. Though helplessly outmatched against Marak, he stays behind to allow Ellena a chance at escaping. He barely manages to survive, but ultimately succeeds at giving her some valuable time.
- Marak delivering a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown to Otis Shiff, followed by a literal Curb-Stomp Battle might be a tiny bit unsettling, given Marak's sheer rage, but it is damn cathartic at the same time.
- Terroma's fight against Marak is gritty, brutal and gut-wrenching, as expected when two fan-favourites face off against each other. Both are among the best fighters in the entire story and it shows. Unfortunately, Surprisingly Realistic Outcome happens when two fighters of such deadly skill face off and their fight ends in a Mutual Kill.
- Noelle gets a moment of her own during the same fight. She goes all out on her magic, conjuring fire out of thin air, neutralizing most of Terroma's supporters on her own and even managing to nearly kill Raenna with her magic. It is the most blatant display of power that has been seen in the story so far.
Chapter 8: What Is Dead May Never Die
- Being a chapter that revolves around a single battle, the Raid on Raylansfair to be precise, just about every character and storyline get at least an awesome moment or two.
- The Raid on Maybros, though less in the focus as the Raid on Raylansfair, brings us Leo Hill's fight against Durren Stallhart. It is what happens when to juggernauts fight against each other. The previously unstoppable Durren is taken aback by Leo's Combat Pragmatist fighting style and actually taken down, wounded and forced to retreat.
- The beginning of the raid on Raylansfair already establishes the brutal chapter that is to follow, when the Ironborn curb-stomp a significant part of the city guard, who have gone to defend the docks from their initial onslaught.
- Alan Harking gets a surprising moment of awesome, when he saves the lives of Richard and Hal, by killing two bandits. Given it is followed by him abandoning them again, but that doesn't make it any less awesome.
- Later in the same storyline Jarow demonstrates just why he has been a feared soldier so many years ago. Despite his poor physical and mental condition, he takes down several bandits, buying Richard and Hal time during their escape and pulling a You Shall Not Pass! moment against Bear and the entire Band of Claws.
- Rodrik Stone gets a villainous one. After chasing Samantha down, he is outnumbered by her, Davith, Lenrianda and I'lian. Not afraid of them, he takes them on all at once and actually wins, killing I'lian and Lenrianda and seriously wounding Davith.
- Another villainous moment goes to Cleaver Clint, for taking insane amounts of punishment in his fight against Garthon. He gets impaled, twice actually, but still manages to ragdoll Garthon around whenever he gets a hand on him, coming very close to actually kill him.
- That being said, Hjalgar's stone-cold execution of Cleaver Clint that followed just then deserves a mention of its own, cementing Hjalgar as a major case of Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass.
- The Ironborn are winning clearly, slaughtering the defenders of Raylansfair left and right. Already having reached the castle, they make short work of Federico and his guards, before moving closer to Jenna and a critically wounded Hackor. Just as everything seems hopeless Ser Emphryus Dresfel arrives, to mow down the Ironborn single-handedly. Holding a choke point and using his superior armour to his advantage, he kills over a dozen of them and even survives to tell the tale.
- The fight at the lighthouse from start to finish. There is a reason this scene has burned itself into the minds of many readers, being often stated as one of the best scenes of the first book. The much awaited confrontation between Clayton and Kersea ends in a brutal three-side battle between Clayton, Alysanne and Raenna, with Harris later taking Raenna's position. Special mention go to the old castellan himself, who takes down Clayton and Alysanne pretty much on his own.
Chapter 9: Valar Dohaeris
- Orys Baratheon coming to the aid of Argella Durrandon cements his position as a Knight In Shining Armour, who is willing to do the right thing even when having personal reservations against someone. His way of helping her, after she has been struck down by Mullendore and her men having been surrounded by the Solvers? He gives Mullendore a Death Glare, followed by a severe Badass Boast, making it clear that if the man does not back down, he will not hesitate to kill him. The best part is that Mullendore actually does back down.
- Through a mixture of cunning, resourcefulness and sheer luck, Jenna Harking manages to fool Hugo Farnham and save Leonard, basically all on her own. The Shrinking Violet from Chapter 2 has come a long way and is now ready to become a major player herself.
- The fight between Samuel and Ryder Harrington. Both men are perhaps the best fighters in the story and of their age, especially the former of the two. Up until this point, nothing was able to stop him. He finally meets his master in Ryder, who actually takes him on in unarmed combat, beating him bloody in the process and showing that he is actually better than the best.
- Though wounded and crippled beyond repair, Lucas manages to hold his own against the Tom in their climactic duel. For one short time, he even gains the upper hand, smashing the Tom's mask and nearly killing him. The Tom is visibly impressed and he is not the only one.
Epilogue: The King's Landing
- Ladies and Gentlemen, after two and a half years of build-up, nine chapters, almost three hundred parts and nearly two thousand pages, Aegon Targaryen makes his first appearance and he does not disappoint. The epilogue Point-of-View, Lord Rosby, mistakes him for an ambitious, yet powerless Heroic Wannabe, stating his lack of any real force. Aegon's response? He introduces him to Balerion, known as 'The Black Dread'. A new power player has entered Westeros, this much is for sure.
Interlude
Interlude: Seven Letters
- Mern Gardener's part in the interlude wraps up some of the events in Raylansfair and while it also introduces the enigmatic Devrin Oakheart, who is scheming against his king, it establishes Mern as way more savvy than any previous account made it seem to be. Having doubts about the loyalty of Petyr Vyrwel and Maron Mullendore, he comes close to ruin their entire plan with one move, by naming one of his knights, Ser Kasyn Luck, as his ambassador in Raylansfair, ensuring that one man loyal to him would always keep an eye on them. It appears, the conspirators won't have it all that easy against the king as it previously seemed to be the case.
Book 2
Prologue: The Black Dread
- While it is also very nightmarish, the battle between Aegon and the Mooton-Darklyn alliance is a big moment of awesome for House Targaryen. Massively outnumbered, Aegon himself leads his men to victory atop the dragon Balerion, showing for the first time how badass a dragon can be.
- Jon Mooton gets a surprisingly awesome fight when he manages to take on Orys Baratheon, previously an unstoppable badass. The ability he shows impresses Orys greatly, to the point where he treats him as a Worthy Opponent.
Chapter 1: Fires Far
- Whereas the prologue and epilogue featured each just one of the dragons, the very first part of the chapter features all three of them at once, each larger than any creature that has been seen in Westeros in thousands of years.
- Amerei Mooton gets a moment in which she proves to be every bit a defiant as her father. Refusing to kneel to Aegon Targaryen and accusing him for unleashing Balerion on her father's army, even giving up her inheritance for her conviction is a very gutsy move, considering how easily it could have ended with her death.
Chapter 2: Thorns
- The joust between Ser Emphryus Dresfel and Bernard Buckler is pretty intense, and despite Bernard technically winning, the injuries Dresfel gave will probably eliminate him from the rest of the tournament.
- The subsequent melee tournament is also this, with warriors from all over the Stormlands fighting for supremacy. Drent not only succeeds in bringing down a knight from House Cafferen, he defeats his opponent Warrick Fell and is the only commoner to remain at the top 10. And King Argilac only retires from the melee when then are less than 20 fighters, which is pretty impressive for a man that's almost seventy.
