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…
Earlier this year, I finished The Empty Throne by Bernard Cornwell, the eighth installment in his newly renamed Last Kingdom series about England’s struggles against the Vikings in the late eighth and early ninth centuries. Here’s my review after this image of the book’s cover. When I saw the book’s title, I had assumed the…
This week, I’m a little late to the blog, largely because I’m recovering from knee surgery. But this unfortunate development has offered some time to catch up on my reading. Recently, I finished A Plunder of Souls by D.B. Jackson, and here’s my review. A Plunder of Souls is a welcome and worthwhile edition to…
After this season’s first episode, I wrote that “On Black Sails, the Seeds of Treasure Island are Beginning to Grow.” Having watched the season finale twice, I think my initial observation was quite accurate. Above all things, this season was about the transformation of Long John Silver into the notorious pirate of Robert Louis Stevenson’s…
I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t see last week’s ending on Black Sails coming. Not at all. The queen of Nassau? I had no idea what to expect when Eleanor encountered Charles Vane in Nassau’s dungeon, and I wasn’t too surprised by her initial reaction. But by the end of the episode…
Saint Patrick’s Day is one of my all-time favorite holidays, so today I’m re-posting an article about Stephen R. Lawhead’s Patrick: Son of Ireland. I had little appreciation for the story of Saint Patrick until I began my research for Enoch’s Device. That novel begins in Derry and tells the story of two Irish monks who try to prevent…
With just two episodes left in the third season of Black Sails, I thought I’d revisit the predictions I made after the season’s premiere. The legend has been born! I was right about a few things. The seeds of Treasure Island are indeed beginning to grow and Silver has begun his transformation into the Long…
If the trailer is any indication, Season 6 of Game of Thrones promises to be a blast. And, because the show has now out-paced the books, it will be the first time readers of the books will actually be surprised as the show unfolds. (Note, HBO warns that the trailer has “mature content,” so it…