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Books

Book Review: A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin

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On the day of Hurricane Irene was here, I finished reading, “A Dance With Dragons”, the fifth book of “The Song of Ice and Fire” series by George R.R. Martin, here is my review.

This book is centered around the characters of Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, and Daenerys Targaryen, which are the three most popular characters in the series. Since these characters weren’t in the last book, “A Feast for Crows”, George decided to make it up for the fans by putting the three characters in this book to keep his readers happy.

The War of the Five Kings in Westeros is almost over. Jon Snow has been elected, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, but he still has enemies on the Watch and beyond the wall. Tyrion has been found guilty of murder and he is kidnapped by Jorah Mormont to be sent off to Queen Daenerys. Queen Daenerys now rules the conquered city of Mereen with her three dragons. The character Arya Stark is still in this novel but she is not a point of view character, I don’t want to give out spoilers but what happens to her is pretty disturbing and sad.

Enough with the plot, on with the review.

I thought this was the best book of the whole series so far. Again, it was a pretty thrilling read and hard to put down. I love how Tyrion meets a new midget friend which is very entertaining. In defense of this book, Tyrion had a hard time making actual friends. He never really had any friends through the first 4 novels. He finally met another midget female, who’s name is Penny, a new character introduced in this novel.  Penny wasn’t really his lover in the book, but it seemed that Tyrion enjoyed being with her.

The story of Arya Stark, what happens to her in this book is very sad and heartbreaking. I think that’s the story line you should pay more attention to. She wants to reunite with her brothers and sisters that are still alive, but of course, she’ll have to wait a lot longer for that to happen because horrible things happen to her.

Now lets talk about the character Cersei. Cersei seemed to be evil and to be the most hated character in the first four books. You really wanted to hate her before. Well, in this book you actually felt sorry for her and she really showed that she can be someone in this book. She was still being held captive because she was caught sleeping with two other men when she wasn’t supposed to. In this book, George wants you to look at Cersei in a more positive direction this time and he does a good job at it.

What I liked about this book is that George gets deeper into the main characters. He makes it feels like that you actually know the characters, as if you knew them in real life. George is a masterful storyteller. I love his writing so much. They’re so realistic and insightful. I’m already looking forward to Book No. 6, so hopefully he don’t make us wait too long for the next one. I didn’t want “A Dance With Dragons” to end.

The question is, will Tyrion and Daenerys ever meet for the first time? I enjoyed the read. The series keep getting better and better.

Kev

Books, TV

Report: Steven King to team up with Stephen Spielberg to bring “Under the Dome” to Showtime…

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Stephen Spielberg is already hard at work on two different TV shows, “Falling Skies”, and, “Terra Nova”. Spielberg is about to work on his third TV show in which he will team up with Stephen King on bringing his book, “Under the Dome” to the small screen. “Under the Dome” will be a TV series for the Showtime channel.

More on it, here.

I wonder who’s going to be playing Barbie and Big Jim Rennie, the book’s two big characters.

I’ve read the book. It’s very good. It’s way over a thousand pages long, but yep, I read the whole thing. It’s one of his best new books in a while. It’s strictly sci fi so, it’s no surprise that Spielberg would be all over it.

Yet, another reason to get Showtime. I will get the Showtime channel before Oct. 3rd ’cause of “Dexter – Season 6”.

Kev

Books

Book Review: “A Feast For Crows” by George R.R. Martin

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Just last week, I have finished reading the next book of “The Song of Ice and Fire” series, “A Feast For Crows” by George R.R. Martin. Here is my brief review.

Here’s the synopsis… This novel leaves right off from the third book, “A Storm of Swords”. More important characters are killed off from the last book. Jon Snow has become commander of the Night’s Watch in which he is supposed to guard, The Wall. King Stannis Baratheon has come to aid the Wall with him. King Tonmen Lannister now rules Kings Landing under the watchful eye of his Queen mother, Cersei Lannister. Tyrion Lannister, the Imp, has fled the city and disappeared. 

Brienne, the maid of Tarth, goes on a search for the Stark sisters, Arya and Sansa. In this book, there is no Tyrion, Jon Snow or Queen Daenerys because “A Feast for Crows” was taken place in different areas. Plus, George R.R. Martin explained that “A Feast for Crows” is part 1 of the next book “A Dance With Dragons”. George had to split the books in two parts because it would have been way too long. 

A lot of people gave this book negative reviews, but I think this is a very good one. I think the “Song of Ice and Fire” series keeps getting better and better, the more you read. I think “A Feast for Crows” was a pretty thrilling and powerful read. I couldn’t put this one down either. In this book, it seemed that Cersei Lannister is the leading character because she was written the most in this book than any other character.

I read a lot of other reviews of this book and a lot of people were angry that Tyrion Lannister, the midget character wasn’t in this book at all. I am actually glad that George kept Tyrion out of this book. In the last book, Tyrion was being held prisoner by Cersei Lannister. Why? I don’t want to say why ’cause I don’t want to reveal spoilers of what happened from the last book, “A Storm of Swords”. George wanted to keep Tyrion’s disappearance a mystery. Plus, I believe he wanted to give other characters more recognition and introduce newer characters as well.

I loved this book because George takes the shock factor to another level. While Brienne the Maid of Tarth was on a quest to find Arya and Sansa, there will be a surprise here in the story that will take you at the edge of your seat.

This is definitely a different book than the previous three. It is more character driven, and the tone of the book is different as well. Plus the chapters have gotten a lot longer than the previous books. Cersei is a great villain in the books. She’s pretty pissed off and mean as hell in this one but for a good reason. She cares for her family and does her best to protect them like any family would. She does a lot of things in this book that you would get pissed off at. She’s a good villain to hate.

The Brienne, the Maid of Tarth story gets even more interesting in this book, you even feel sorry and sad for her at times. I also liked how George got more into detail with Cersei and Jaime.

In these books, there is no such thing as “good” and “evil”. Remember that. The pacing of this book maybe a little slow, but there are still shockers in this book that will get your head spinning. There are also some very violent and graphic scenes in this book, more violent, than a “Storm of Swords”. It’s mostly the chapters with Brienne that gets violent.

Other than that, this is a great book. If you’re reading the books, you can NOT skip this one. If you skip this book and jump to “Dance With Dragons”, you’ll definitely get lost in the story lines and you won’t understand what’s going on. That’s why you have to read each book in order. You can’t skip anything.

I’m in the middle of reading the new book, “A Dance With Dragons”, and like always it’s a thrilling read, addicting and can’t put it down.

Kev

Books, movies

Why the goth look on Lisbeth Salander???

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The goth look on Lisbeth Salander played by Rooney Mara for David Fincher’s “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and Noomi Rapace played Lisbeth for the Swedish version, is being questionable by some people. Some of you may ask, why the goth look? I can see why some people would feel uncomfortable with her look. I’ve seen plenty of real women that has a similar goth look.

Before Stieg Larrson created this Lisbeth character for the Millennium series, he had this weird and messed up vision in his head of what Pippi Longstocking would have looked when she’s a full grown adult. Pippi Longstocking was a very popular character for children’s books in Sweden. Pippi Longstocking was also pretty well  known in the U.S. too. Everything about Lisbeth is Pippi Longstocking inspired.

If you read the Millennium books, Lisbeth has the words, “V. Kulla” spray painted on the front door of her apartment. Where does “V. Kulla” came from? It’s the abbrievation of Villa Villekulla which is the name of Pippi’s house in the children’s books. Salander originally was born with red heair but she dyed it to black. Pippi had red hair too. Lisbeth’s face is very similar to Pippi as well.

In the books, Lisbeth is an expert researcher and a pro computer hacker. Before, Mikael Blomkvist met this woman in the books, he kept picturing her as a smart, rich, and beautiful lady. Nope. When he actually met her in the first novel, she turned out to be a scary looking goth girl instead. Lisbeth wasn’t rich, she had financial troubles and would do just about anything for money. That’s why she agreed to work for Mikael ’cause she was desperate for a job. While she can be a tough and difficult lady to get along with, there is a heartfelt and emotional part about her too. She can be a fun loving girl at times too.

I think the reason for the goth look is not only for the entertainment part of it, without it, people wouldn’t pay attention to the books. The Millennium series wouldn’t be popular without the goth look. They want people to be scared of her look at first, but when you actually get into the character, you’ll think to yourself, “Wow, she’s actually a great character”.

The reason for her tough girl attitude, is that she had a tough life growing up. Everybody treated her like garbage, she was raped, etc. As a 12 year old, Lisbeth, set her own father on fire, because he beat her mother that left her with permanent brain damage.

The goth look is so she can be a different and new person. The look is her way of moving on from her dark past. She wanted to move forward and not look back. She felt that she could be a better person with that look.

I really am looking forward to David Fincher’s version, and I hope he stays true to the novel, this time, and not leave anything out. I will be there to see this in theater. I still haven’t read the other two Millennium books, “The Girl Who Played With Fire” and “The Girl Who Kicks the Hornet’s Nest” but I’ll get to them soon. There are still other books I need to catch up on.

Kev

Books, music

Report: Jonathan Demme to direct Stephen King’s “11/22/63″…

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Stephen King’s next book “11/22/63” is not out in stores yet, but the book is already being made into a movie for the big screen, and the film will be directed by Jonathan Demme. The man who brought us, “Silence Of the Lambs”.

The story for “11/22/63” is about a 35 year old English teacher named, Jake Epping, who tries to go back in time to save JFK’s life from the assassination. The book is set to hit bookstores everywhere, November 8th of this year.

Deadline, reports.

To read excerpts of “11/22/63” visit Stephen King’s website.

What do you think? Will Jake save John F. Kennedy’s life? I think so yes. I think King will make JFK survive the assassination so someone else will play Kennedy for the film.

King’s newest books have been really crazy and whacky as of late. This book sounds even whackier.

I’ll probably buy this book when it comes out, sure. I buy every new book Stephen comes out with. The book must be that good if it’s already being made into a film. I wonder what made King go political all of a sudden? He has been staying away from horror as of late which is the genre he is most known for. He’s been writing a lot of sci-fi lately.

I wish he would write a horror novel again.

Kev

Books

Book Review: “Storm of Swords” by George R. R. Martin

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So I finished the book, “Storm of Swords” last week by George R. R. Martin and so far, I think this book is the best one of the “Song of Ice and Fire” series. This one is the most shocking with a lot of twists and turns. It’s also a very sad novel too.

Plot/Synopsis (with no spoilers): A Storm of Swords picks up the story where A Clash of Kings ended. The Seven Kingdoms is in the grip of the War of the Five Kings, with Robb Stark, Balon Greyjoy, Renly, Joffrey and Stannis Baratheon fighting to secure their crowns, although Renly Baratheon has already died. Stannis Baratheon’s attempt to take King’s Landing has been defeated by the new alliance between House Lannister (backing Joffrey) and House Tyrell, whilst House Martell has also pledged its support to the Lannisters. Meanwhile, a large host of wildlings is marching on the Wall under Mance Rayder, with only the tiny force of the Night’s Watch in its path, and in the distant east Daenerys Targaryen is on her way back to Pentos in the hope of raising forces to retake the Iron Throne.

The novel begins in the final months of 299 After the Landing and carries on into the year 300 AL.

This book was quite a thrill. The book is long, over 900 pages, but somehow I read it very quickly. That’s how great it is. The moment you start, you’ll never want to put the book down, believe me. I’m not going to give out spoilers, but the reason this book is very sad and emotional is because some of the major characters are killed off. I’m not going to say who. Just wait until you read the controversial “Red Wedding” chapter in the middle of the book that everyone is talking about. That chapter is so shocking, it’ll make your jaw drop open.When I finished the book, I just had to re-read the “Red Wedding” chapter again, trying to make sure if I read that chapter right.

In this book, you will not see the good guys win. You will see the most important characters make the stupidest mistakes. Each character has a mission that they want to achieve. One character wants to reunite with their long lost loved ones but you’ll know in this book, that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes story lines in the series do end with a happy ending, but not very much.

The stories continue with each character having their own separate storyline much like the earlier books. The characters continue their adventures. Each character and each adventure has different emotions. Some stories are enjoyable, happy, sad, and some will make you pissed off. The story lines will have excellent mysteries building and will keep you guessing ’til the very end.

I also love how magic and wizards have nothing to do with these books. Magic and wizards have always been a huge part of Medieval stories but not with George R.R. Martin. In the books, “magic” and “wizards” seem pretty fictional to the characters.

Queen Daenerys is more controlling and demanding in this book and Tyrion is more funnier than ever. Arya Stark continues her adventure to make her way back to Rivverun but of course, she meets new characters and other things happen to her.

George R.R. Martin is a masterful storyteller and a genius writer. I really love his writing style and beginning to like him more than Stephen King.

This book “Storm of Swords” is really gory and nasty. The way the gore is described, it’ll make your stomach turn. So if you have a weak stomach, this isn’t the book for you. It might want to make you put the book down and look away a bit at some parts. I’m usually never grossed out and disgusted at fictional stories, but this one pretty much did it to me.

Just wait until this book lands on HBO when they start making this book for TV. I’m currently reading the 4th book, “Feast for Crows”. I did buy the new 5th book, “Dance with Dragons” but I need to finish the 4th one first. I just hope George R.R. Martin keeps writing these novels. Sorry Stephenie Meyer and J.K. Rowling, but it looks like George R.R. Martin will take your spotlight.

Kev

Books, TV

Report: HBO says “Game of Thrones” will keep going until George R.R. Martin stops writing the books…

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HBO were pretty quick on responding to rumors if “Game of Thrones” will get cancelled quickly. The team at HBO wants to let the fans know, that they won’t be cancelling the show anytime soon. They plan to keep going until George R.R. Martin stops writing the books, so they’re pretty loyal to him.

Read more on the story, here.

Good, because I’m going to keep watching the show until the very end. I don’t care how long the show lasts. I hope the show lasts for a long time and I hope George keeps writing the novels as well.

I’ve just finished “Storm of Swords” and now I’ve just started “Feast For Crows” (the fourth book) today. I’m so addicted to these stories.

Kev

 

Books, TV

Report: Two new castings announced for HBO’s “Game of Thrones – Season 2”, Stannis Baratheon and Melisandre are casted!!!

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Two major castings have been announced for HBO’s “Game of Thrones – Season 2”. Actor Stephen Dillane is hired to play Stannis Baratheon and Carice Van Houten have been hired to play Melisandre. Two important characters of the next book, “Clash of Kings”.

More on it, here.

While the first season was really good, it’ll get even better. The first book and first season of the show was just an introduction to the series. It’ll start going in the second book.

I’m still currently reading the third book, “Storm of Swords”. I haven’t bought the new fifth book, “Dance with Dragons” yet. I have plans in buying the new book, but first I have to finish “Storm of Swords” the third book, and then I’ll have to read “Feast for Crows” the fourth book. You have to read these stories in order because they continue on one after another. If you don’t read them in order, you’ll get lost in the storylines, so don’t read the 5th book “Dance with Dragons” yet if you haven’t read the first four books. Seriously.

Kev

Books, movies

Report: Universal refuses to make Ron Howard’s “Dark Tower” series…

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Poor Ron Howard! I’m sure he’s pretty upset and heartbroken about this news, but I’m sure another major movie studio will be making it instead. After all the hard work Ron Howard did with the “The Dark Tower” series, Universal has decided the studio is not going forward with the projects. The people behind Universal would not say why they wouldn’t make “The Dark Tower”, but my guess is that it’s way too much money to make. I mean, think about it, with the three films for the big screen and the TV series in between the films, that’s quite a lot. That would cost a fortune, so it’s gotta be about the money.

Don’t worry though, people. As I said above, another major studio will pick it up to make it. It could be possible that Warner Bros. or Paramount Pictures would want it.

A lot of people are giving this series negative feedback because of Akiva Goldsman being the writer (he’s not everyone’s favorite writer), but I’m willing to give this a chance. I’m a huge fan of the Dark Tower books. I’ve read all 7 of them and love them all.

Deadline, reports.

Kev

Books, TV

Report: Gwendoline Christie is Brienne, Maid of Tarth for “Game of Thrones – Season 2″…

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HBO’s Game of Thrones have found their Brienne, Maid of Tarth, who is known as the wench in “Clash of Kings”, the second book of the “Song of Ice and Fire” series. Gwendoline Christie can be seen in the Terry Gilliam’s “Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassius” which is the only film she starred in her acting career. This will be her next acting gig.

The Hollywood Reporter, reports.

They better make her look ugly for the Brienne, Maid of Tarth character, ’cause that’s how she was in the second book “Clash of Kings”. She’s a skilled warrior in the book and she wants to become a knight. Catelyn orders her to escort Jaime Lannister to King’s Landing, hoping to exchange him for Catelyn’s captive daughters. Catelyn Stark was Lord Eddard’s wife. I won’t go any further with the plot points, I just wanted to give you an idea what this Brienne character is like.

I feel she’s going to be another popular character for the “Game of Thrones” series. I’m reading the third book, “Storm of Swords” and Brienne is throughout most of the third book too.

These are great books and if you haven’t started these books, you really should.

Kev