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…
This past week I found myself stuck on a short story I’ve been trying to craft, and then I learned the news that Ursula K. Le Guin had died. So I stopped writing, and started reading. I’ve not read as much of Le Guin’s works as I had hoped to at one time, but I…
One of my goals for 2018 is to explore more vintage fantasy, so I’m kicking off the New Year with a review of The Eternal Champion, one of the lesser known novels from British author Michael Moorcock. Michael Moorcock is one of the godfathers of fantasy fiction. He found fame in the 1960s as part…
This week, I’m focusing on mythology – Norse mythology to be precise, the subject of the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor: Ragnarok. While the movie does not even attempt to stay true to actual mythology, Neil Gaiman does in his latest release aptly titled Norse Mythology. Here’s my review. Anyone who has…