I’m back again on the blog, and this time with a review of Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien de Castell, the first book in his four-part Greatcoats series. Review Traitor’s Blade is a swashbuckling adventure, filled with clever mysteries and thrilling swordfights, in the spirit of Alexander Dumas’ The Three Musketeers. Falcio val Mond, First Cantor of the Greatcoats,…
I’m glad to be back after a four-month hiatus from the blog! Writing my next novel is what’s kept me away, but I promise there’ll be several more posts before the year’s end. I’m kicking off my return with a review of a wonderful novel I just finished: Storm Glass by Jeff Wheeler. Review Imagine a…
George R.R. Martin promised a “bittersweet” ending to A Song of Ice and Fire. Nothing about that promise suggested there would be a fairy tale ending where Daenerys and Jon lived happily ever after. And after reflecting on the finale of Game of Thrones, I am convinced of one thing: Game of Thrones was meant…
When the bells tolled, Daenerys had a choice. She could have accepted the surrender of King’s Landing, as Tyrion encouraged her to do. Instead, she chose to become the Queen of Ashes and burn them all. Is Daenerys Beyond Redemption? Once upon a time, Daenerys Targaryen stole our hearts. She was the Breaker of Chains,…
With only two episodes left, “The Last of the Starks” has set up the endgame of Game of Thrones. Here are my thoughts on where the show seems to be heading. Cersei Is Winning … For Now Last week I predicted that some of the characters who survived “The Long Night” won’t survive Cersei Lannister….
The ending of “The Long Night” was one of the most jaw-dropping moments ever on HBO’s Game of Thrones. Never in a million years did I expect the episode to end the way it did—and only halfway into the final season no less! But now that the Battle of Winterfell has reached its shocking conclusion,…
The second episode of the final season of Game of Thrones, titled “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” could very well have been titled “the Night Before Everyone Dies.” Because I fear the cast of characters we’ve grown to love is about to be thinned out dramatically. Here are three thoughts heading into the battle for…
The first episode of Season 8, titled “Winterfell,” brought some heartfelt reunions. But it also set up a few reckonings. And it appears that humans are going to prove to be their own worst enemies on Game of Thrones. Reunions Jon’s reunions with Brann and Arya were long-coming and quite touching. These characters have not seen…
“When you play the game of thrones, you live or you die.” — Cersei Cersei’s quote sums up one of the fundamental themes of HBO’s Game of Thrones. So, as we head into the final season, it’s fair to ask: Who will win the game of thrones? But first, it’s important to remember the words…
I can’t remember how many times friends have told me I should read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I was aware of the book’s popularity, but for one reason or another I avoided tackling the 662-page tome for years. Now that I’ve finished it, I finally appreciate what everyone was talking about….
The second book in Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion Sequence, Phoenix in Obsidian, isn’t as good as its predecessor, but still adds to the mythology of the Eternal Champion. This is particularly true with the reemergence of the black sword Stormbringer. Without a doubt, it was the best part of this novel. The story picks up…