Episode 9 of the sixth season of Game of Thrones, titled “The Battle of the Bastards,” was everything I hoped it would be, and more: epic and thrilling, with an unexpected stopover in Meereen that was quite awesome to behold. And for once in a very long while, the episode ended better than many would…
Season 6 of Game of Thrones promised to be the least predictable to date. Because the show had surpassed George R.R. Martin’s novels, readers like me would finally be surprised as events unfolded on screen. That is, until the show lurched back into material from A Feast For Crows. But still, heading into this season’s…
These days, it’s quite rare when I agree to do a book review. The problem is time. There’s just not much of it given my job and my writing. But David’s pitch for his novel The Conjurers caught my eye, and I’m glad I read it. The subtitle of The Conjurers is “A Gritty Fantasy of…
Last Sunday’s episode proved that Game of Thrones will continue to pull material from the books, even if it’s doing so somewhat out of sequence. Season 5 of Game of Thrones appeared to cover both A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, but the show left out a lot of storylines from those…
After “The Door,” it was not surprising that last week’s episode of Game of Thrones would be a bit of a letdown. The show, however, is moving at breakneck speed, and there were a few significant developments. Note, *SPOILERS* to follow. Will Arya Be Free of the House of Black and White? Even though most…
It’s been eight weeks since the surgery on my ruptured patellar tendon, and between trying to get on my feet again and trying to get back to work full time, I’ve unfortunately had very little time to focus on the blog (or much else when it comes to writing). But I did want to say…
This week, I’m featuring my review of Pope Joan, the highly acclaimed novel by Donna Woolfolk Cross. I read it before my trip to Rome last year, but only now got around to putting my thoughts to the page. Better late than never, I suppose. Pope Joan is a fictional account based on the legend…
Without much time to blog this week, I wanted to offer a few quick thoughts on “Oathbreaker,” the latest episode of Game of Thrones. Note, *SPOILERS* to follow. I think we know what Jon plans to do. While “Oathbreaker” was basically set-up for the rest of Season 6, my favorite part – and the point…
After just two episodes, Season 6 of Game of Thrones is moving at a furious pace. The reason, I believe, is that the show’s writers are no longer tethered to George R.R. Martin’s books. But is that a good thing? “That’s what I do. I drink and I know things.” In just two episodes, we’ve…
I thought the season premiere of Game of Thrones was everything we could have asked for, and more. It touched most of the key storylines, had some hugely exciting moments (go Brienne and Pod!), and a jaw-dropping twist at the end. I don’t have time to cover everything that happened, but here are three quick…
On the heels of my review of The Empty Throne, I’m offering my review of the next novel in Bernard Cornwell’s Last Kingdom series, Warriors of the Storm. The novel is another excellent installment in Cornwell’s ongoing saga about the Saxons and the Vikings in early ninth-century England. Reading Warriors of the Storm, I could…