 "The Atlantic" pondered whether Martin ultimately intended the readers to sympathize with characters on both sides of the Lannister–Stark feud long before plot developments force them to make their emotional choices.Contrary to most conventional epic fantasies, the characters of "A Song of Ice and Fire" are vulnerable so that, according to "The Atlantic", the reader "cannot be sure that good shall triumph, which makes those instances where it does all the more exulting.