Tag Archives: George R.R. Martin

Why took “Game of Thrones” this long to make one of the best episodes of the series…”Blackwater”…was incredible…

I missed “Game of Thrones” last Sunday, ’cause I was becoming less interested in this Season. This Season of “Game of Thrones”, hasn’t been that good. Why? Because this Season has been changing so much of the stories from the books. Altering the characters, and leaving important characters out from the books, lots of other things. They’re following the Tyrion vs. Joffery feud pretty well, but everything else they’re changing around. They even changed the Arya story a lot too.

Somebody told me that last Sunday’s episode of “Game of Thrones”, the “Blackwater” episode was one of the best episodes of this Season. After watching the re-run of that episode on DVR, I agree! The “Blackwater” battle was the best episode of this season.

Why is “Game of Thrones – Season 2” kind of boring this year? Well the pacing of the show is kinda slow this season. There’s not much violence and gory stuff. “Game of Thrones – Season 1” was very violent and gory. Season 2 didn’t have much of that, up until the “Blackwater” episode. The “Blackwater” battle was pretty epic, felt like a movie on the big screen.

Tyrion is going to be much uglier now, after what happened to him during the battle (Minor spoiler: Getting half of his face, chopped off). Don’t get me wrong, I still love the “Game of Thrones” franchise, it’s just that the books are way better, of course. I wish they would do more with the Brienne Maid of Tarth character, ’cause that’s a good character that doesn’t get too much screen time.

In other news, I also DVR’d “Hatfields & McCoys”, the western mini series on the History channel with Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton, I DVR’D both parts, and I’ll start watching them today. I’ll review “Hatfields & McCoys” later this week. Looking forward to checking it out. I missed the first part ’cause I forgot it was on, so I DVR’d the re-runs on the History Channel.

Kev

This month is “Game of Thrones” marathon for me…

With the return of “Game of Thrones – Season 2” coming in April 1st, I have decided to start re-watching “Season 1” on DVD tonight. Watched the first two episodes. “Game of Thrones” DVD, HBO did a really good job with them. The picture and sound is really nice.

Plus, I have also decided to start re-reading, “A Clash of Kings”. The second book of the series. I want to be reminded of the plot for “Season 2”, so I’m re-reading the second book. Once I started the second book, I still couldn’t put it down. The book is still addicting just like the first time I read it.

I just love the series too much. The books and the show. It’s a celebration, that’s what it’s all about.

I have three favorite characters for the “Game of Thrones” series: Tyrion, Arya, and Daenerys. Of course, I loved Khal Drogo and Eddard Stark, but they were only around for the first season, not trying to give spoilers.

Wait until you see “Game of Thrones – Season 2” which will be adapted from, “A Clash of Kings”. The Arya storyline for the next one will be interesting. The next book focuses on Arya more.

Kev

Looking forward to the return of “Game of Thrones” in April!!!

Man, I can’t wait for this show to comeback! Season 2 premiere date is officially April 1st. Season 1 comes out on DVD this coming Tuesday. I’m definitely buying the DVD, so I can re-watch Season 1 before Season 2. I love the books, and love the show. “Game of Thrones” is one of the best shows on TV other than “Walking Dead”, “Dexter”, and “Breaking Bad”.

Kev

Report: Peter Dinklage who played Tyrion on “Game of Thrones” wins Emmy…

The talented, Peter Dinklage, wins an Emmy for role as, Tyrion Lannister, in HBO’s, “Game of Thrones”. Peter says he is surprised about the win and admits he wasn’t ready for it. He also admits the other nominees for that category should be up there instead.

Read what he have to say, here.

Congrats to Peter, and well deserved to one of the most talented short actors, I’ve ever seen. See Peter’s acceptance speech in the video below.

Kev

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

Book Review: A Clash of Kings (Book 2 of “Song of Ice and Fire” series)

So I’ve finally finished the second book of the “Song of Ice and Fire” series (or better known as “Game of Thrones”), titled, “A Clash of Kings”.

The stories continue to be addicting and hard to put the book down. I can’t stop reading these books. The second book leaves off from where the first book ended. In this book, the Seven Kingdoms is plagued by a civil war. About 5 kings who fight for the iron throne. King Joffrey, the young king from the first book still sits on the iron throne. The book also continues the adventures of Princess Daenerys who wants to conquer the Seven Kingdoms. It continues the stories of Tyrion Lannister, the midget character who continues to feud with King Joffrey and Tyrion tries to help avenge the death of Lord Eddard Stark. Arya Stark, the daughter of Eddard, poses as a boy named Arry and goes on an adventure with new recruits of the Night’s Watch.

Just like the first book, “Clash of Kings” continues to be dark, sexual, and violent. It is also more controversial than the first book. It’s different without Eddard Stark though, that’s my only complaint is George R.R. Martin killing off that character so soon. This is not a really a spoiler ’cause everyone knows this is going to happen anyway.

If I had a favorite character of these books, I think Tyrion is the superstar here. Tyrion continues to be funny and entertaining just like the first book. Other than the comic stuff about Tyrion, there’s something more serious and dramatic about him too. That character is so special in a big way. Hard to explain. While all the characters in the books are great, I think Tyrion is the important part of the series. I’m not sure what, but reading these books, I think something bad is going to happen to Tyrion later in the books. Maybe he’ll get killed off too, I’m not sure. Don’t give me any spoilers, but I know something will happen to him.

The reason I love these books so much ’cause they are so insightful and detailed. Plus, they are easy to read, you’ll read ’em quickly. This book makes you feel like what it will be in the Medieval times in real life. This book is just as good as the first one.

I’ve started the third book, “Storm of Swords” today. If you’re not reading these books, then what are you waiting for? Starting reading them soon!

Kev