content: George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' novels feature a sizable cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others beyond Westeros' northern border; and the ambition of Daenerys Targaryen, the exiled heir of the previous ruling dynasty. The Great Houses of Westeros represent the Seven Kingdoms forged across the continent: the North, the Iron Islands, the Vale of Arryn, the Westerlands, the Stormlands, the Reach, and Dorne. A massive Wall of ice and old magic separates the Seven Kingdoms from the largely unmapped area in the most northern portion of the continent.
  Each chapter is narrated in the third-person limited point of view through the eyes of a single character. Beginning with nine POV characters in ''A Game of Thrones'' (1996), a total of 31 such characters have narrated over the course of the first five volumes of the series.