Stop by bookshelfbattle.com and discuss tonight’s episode right after the S5 premiere! (Don’t forget to plug your blog while you’re at it while you’re commenting! It’s ok, we’re pretty shameless about self-promotion here at Bookshelf Battle Headquarters).
Sigil of House Bookshelf
I have to disagree.
I agree that sometimes everything in a book won’t transfer well to television.
On the other hand, while GRRM didn’t invent the fantasy genre, he is a pioneer of a sub-genre, namely – “Fantasy for Adults.” His career is one of the many reasons why we have books set in fantasy worlds where the hero doesn’t always save the day, unicorns don’t talk, and all sorts of chicanery ensues, thus keeping the attention of the adult reader.
So while it’s understood the show creators might feel necessary to deviate from the source material, let’s not cast GRRM aside as if he’s some kind of bumbling old-timer.
“Plans” and “life” are two concepts that do not get along. In life, you might get up everyday and work toward a plan. You and your friends cheer yourself along. Then one day – boom – an accident, a catastrophic illness, or some other unforeseen event happens and that’s it. Goodbye plan. Adios progress that was being celebrated and cheered on.
We cheered on Robb Stark as the inexperienced underdog won victory after victory against the veteran and fully bankrolled Tywin Lannister. We hoped this progress would eventually lead to a final battle in which Robb emerges victorious and the North becomes a separate state.
That was the plan…and then…bam! Throat cut at a wedding…just moments after the host went out of his way to make the Starks feel welcomed and assured them that there were no hard feelings about his daughters being dissed.
Like the gambler who hides an ace up his sleeve, that trick should only work once. OK GRRM. We’re onto you now. You won’t lull us in to a false sense of security again. We know you’re up to something and…oh hey look. The Viper just beat the Mountain….good for him…OH MY GOD!!!
M. Night Shyamalan knocked our socks off with the twist at the end of The Sixth Sense. I remember watching it, thinking it was an ok but average, mediocre movie until…OH MY GOD! BRUCE WILLIS’ CHARACTER WAS DEAD THE WHOLE TIME! (Shut up, you’ve had so long to watch that movie, spoilers, schmoilers).
Shyamalan then went on to attempt to recreate that twist in a series of movies that fizzled.
The Village – the monsters in the old timey village are just people who dress up to scare the people from wandering off and realizing that the village exists as an enclave in the modern world. BOOO! DUMB!
The Happening – the plague killing off the world was created by plants, their revenge for the way they are treated by humans. BOO! STUPID TWIST! STOP MAKING MOVIES! BOO!
Shyamalan just could not recreate that first brilliant twist. GRRM keeps doing it again and again. That is why he’s brilliant.
I’m not saying the show will be terrible as it starts to move away from GRRM’s books….but the show runners do have some enormous shoes to fill.
A brief rehash of where the series stood as of the last episode of Season 4:
I should just peel that Target sticker off. It is annoying.
That’s all I remember. If you think of something I missed, feel free to share.
As a reminder, I’m going to be discussing Game of Thrones all season long. GOT fans are welcome to join in the discussion.
And while you’re at it, feel free to include a plug for your book, blog, whatever the heck you’re working on.
Valor Morghulis. Season 5 starts tonight.
Wait another day for Game of Thrones to start???
This a man cannot do.
GOT fans and bloggers! I hope you’ll feel free to join me in the many discussions that will be held on bookshelfbattle.com as we watch Season 5!
What do you hope to see? Hope not to see? Conspiracy theories? Praise or complaints? Toss it all into the comments section and you know what? While you’re at it, feel free to add a shameless plug for your blog while you’re at it. Tell my 3.5 readers where they can see your GOT commentary and watch your stats surge (with all the surge that 3.5 readers can provide!)
There’s always a battle going on in my bookshelf, but it looks like Jon Snow and Nedd (with head firmly attached head) Stark have things under control. I’ve assigned them to guard my 20% Target copy of Game of Thrones and thus far they have not failed.
Although between you and me, Jon is a bit of a dummy. Whenever I ask the guy a question, it’s like he knows nothing. :::rimshot:::
You know nothing, Jon Snow. Now guard my 20% off Target book!
Valor Morghulis, friends! Join in the fun, share what’s going on in your blogs, and have fun this season!
Winter is coming…and so are yetis. House Bookshelf. House Yeti. House Jones. As Westeros burns in a glorious war over the Iron Throne, another battle emerges…a side war over the fate of…Lord BQB’s snacks!!!
Word of Warning – come Springtime, this blog is going to Stark up the place. I pay the Iron Price, but I always pay my debts, Winter is Coming, and so is Game of Thrones.
As I recall from last year, there are a lot of GOT Nerds in the book blogosphere. So I hope to get these posts rockin’ with lively discussions – what is that wacky imp going to do next? Who is George RR going to bump off next?
And where the heck is Lady Stoneheart?
Is it too early to start talking Game of Thrones? Yeah, probably. But what the hell.
What do you want to see happen on Game of Thrones this season?
Hypotheticals only. No spoilers. I haven’t read the books, so I’m only as far as the series. That is probably a sad admission for a book nerd, but so be it.
And if you have no predictions or comments as to what you hope will happen, then just feel free to discuss anything going on in Westeros. Or its neighbors.
Valar Morghulis. Wait till April? This a man cannot do.
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.”
– George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons
Can the next season of Game of Thrones just start already?
George RR Martin, Almighty Creator of Westeros, likes football. Want proof? Check out his blog:
http://grrm.livejournal.com/401649.html
Thoughts:
1) Yes. He still uses Livejournal. Supposedly he also still writes his stuff on an old MS DOS Computer.
(Cue Bob Saget How I Met Your Mother Narrator) – Kids, there was a time before Windows when you had to type out instructions of what you wanted your computer to do before it did anything…
2) Is it possible to like football and be a nerd? Should I be worried he’s losing his nerd cred?
3) Forget I asked that. The man created an epic fantasy world and for Christ’s Sake, he wears a Fisherman’s Cap wherever he goes. His nerdyness is beyond reproach or question.
4) I did feel bad about this excerpt that George RR wrote:
As for the non-football contests, yes, of course, GAME OF THRONES lost another Golden Globe. This one to THE AFFAIR. Nothing unexpected there, and I am glad I saved myself some time and money and stayed home. Sad to say, I don’t think any fantasy will ever win a Golden Globe. The prejudice against genre shows runs too deep. I did think Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were great, however, and I liked Allan Cummings in his peach suit-shirt-tie ensemble.
I’ve never seen The Affair. I assume it’s a decent enough show. I have a bias for Game of Thrones because I think it should win everything. And if you want affairs, that show has them every two seconds. But it is sad that this author who’s an expert of the fantasy genre, obviously based on his vast knowledge and experience, concludes fantasy could never win an award due to bias.
Why isn’t Game of Thrones deserving of a Golden Globe? How many shows have there been that are so epic and sweeping in scope, so complicated in terms of plot, and yet have been able to attract so many viewers, and rivet them to a story that features so many different complex characters? GOT is the only show like that, that I can think of.
Again, nothing against The Affair, but I doubt it could possibly have a moment like GOT had last year, where I felt my heart literally sink when The Viper, er, uh, well let’s not give away a spoiler and just say he celebrated too soon.
Back to George RR liking football. Here’s a question for everyone. If NFL teams were Game of Thrones Houses, who would be who?
Here’s my lineup:
GAME OF NFL THRONES
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS/HOUSE LANNISTER – OK. I’m going to lay it out for you. Their owner is Bob Kraft. Bitch, the man owns cheese. Every time you put cheese on your taco the man gets a quarter. Like Tywin, he can put lots of money toward getting the best players.
BALTIMORE RAVENS/HOUSE GREYJOY – The Greyjoys aka the “Iron Born.” Those a-holes run around Westerns with their slogans of “We Do Not Sow” and “We Pay the Iron Price.” In other words, they aren’t exactly law abiding citizens, and as seen last year, neither was their star player, Ray Rice. Although, that might not be fair, as the NFL has been kind of mired as of late with one story after another with players on various teams being accused of wrongdoing. (I could also insert the Oakland Raiders here, but the jokes write themselves).
You guys take it away and finish the list. Because honestly, I’m a nerd and don’t know a whole helluvalot about football. So God help me, I might be a bigger nerd than George RR Martin. And that’s saying something.
Bookshelf Battle 