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After reading A Dance With Dragons, I recognized a feeling that nobody seems to have died in the book. (I recall only Sir Patrek dying, that too only because of the bet). Indeed GRRM seems to be bringing back characters hitherto thought dead. Is there anybody who can compile statistics or something to prove/disprove this?

To clarify what I mean, I don't recall any major PoV dying. With no king dead, two characters brought back from the dead, and one major character not as dead as cliff-hangerly hinted at.

TheLethalCarrot
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apoorv020
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    The title of this question is sort of a spoiler for ADWD, don't you think? – Josh Aug 03 '11 at 16:27
  • It could just mean that I know GRRM is a serial killer and bodies with his signature are not showing up anymore. Yes, I sort of see your point though. – apoorv020 Aug 03 '11 at 16:57
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    I think the whole GRRM is killing people thing is wrong to begin with. Beside Ned and Robb, which really major character dies? – Jakob Jan 27 '14 at 13:47
  • GRRM doesn't kill people. He kills imaginary characters. – JoshDM Aug 03 '14 at 18:44
  • I seem to recall that 6 Trebuchets were launched at the end of ADWD (6 hostages)... – Möoz Sep 02 '14 at 03:35
  • This is a question that only GRRM can answer. And if he wanted to just tell everyone what happens next, he wouldn't bother working on another book. – Misha R Mar 23 '16 at 21:27

2 Answers2

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Your memory is a bit dodgy, I'm afraid. Major characters dead (or presumed/reported dead) in A Dance With Dragons include:

Janos Slynt
Quentyn Martell
Kevan Lannister
Stannis Baratheon
Mance Rayder
Jon Snow

TheLethalCarrot
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Mike Scott
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    Ah, but the last three characters you mentioned are not necessarily dead. The second is probably the most significant death of the lot. – apoorv020 Jul 31 '11 at 20:04
  • I'd bet on number 5 being permanently dead. I believe that number 6 is dead, but will come back from the dead (as several other characters have done). Number 4 I agree is pretty doubtful. – Mike Scott Jul 31 '11 at 20:08
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    Don't know about 5, he was killed, brought back to life and then announced dead in the same book. – apoorv020 Jul 31 '11 at 21:00
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    I'm still on the fence about #4. We only have Ramsay's word that he died. #5 is the same, but revealing his true name means that he is at least a captive. #6 is probably dead, but will almost certainly be brought back as his death seems to be fulfilling the Azor Ahai prophecy. On a side note, #3's death was the saddest for me. Always liked that character. – System Down Aug 21 '11 at 01:52
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    I've been wondering long and hard about 5&6 (interestingly enough, I was thinking the exact thing asked in this post right before #6 got offed)...my gut tells me both those guys have to be around in some way, shape or form going forward. I never got the impression that #4 was really dead and this seems like winterfell is getting bad intel or ramsay is just bs'ing – kekekela Aug 24 '11 at 18:54
  • #6 is never confirmed. Almost every time we see a presumed death from the characters PoV, it's turned out to be a plot twist. The only ties in GRRM's world whereby a death is absolute is when there's an external, visual corroboration. In the case of #6, we only see the world go dark from his point of view (as I recall) – Josh Apr 11 '12 at 22:21
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    Don't forget pretty pig :( – Nick Jul 31 '12 at 10:15
  • I'm not sure if the excerpt of The Winds of Winter GRRM released in his website count, but at least one of the characters mentioned was shown to be alive. – Wilerson Aug 17 '12 at 19:15
  • I was extremely sad about Jon being Ides of March'ed, just like I was his (maybe?) father. Literally threw the book and screamed at that part. Still waiting for Cercei to get the axe or something. But, OTOH, she is a great character for being egotistical and shallow. Lost count on how many characters there really are in the series, but I do know I love most of them. Miss the Dog the most; Sandor Cleagan was probably the best, most unapologetic character that I loved the most. Have scars? Be ruthless. It works. – Jersey Jul 25 '13 at 20:39
  • I would say that only one character on your list can be considered "major" – Jakob Jul 30 '13 at 12:36
  • @Wilerson: yes, but that chapter almost certainly occurred before the letter bringing news of his death was written (I also very much doubt the information in the letter, but I don't think you can take this chapter as confirmation of anything). – Peter Shor Jul 30 '13 at 12:54
  • @PeterShor In the end, until the release of the next book(s), nothing is sure. Ned Stark's bones could be reanimated for all I know. – Wilerson Jul 31 '13 at 17:02
  • @apoorv020 Doesn't this answer your question? May be overdue a check mark ;). – Lou Mar 24 '16 at 17:30
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Well, I don't have a statistic, but I think that this image, in which a Reddit user tabbed their books with a post-it for every death in the books - answers your question insofar as whether people die in A Dance of Dragons:

enter image description here

The answer: yes, people die. A lot of people die.

recognizer
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Lou
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