Game Of Thrones History Lesson

Longtime fans are well aware that George R. R. Martin based the non-magical conflict of A Song of Ice and Fire off the very historical War of the Roses.

Do you wanna know what those are?  Some nifty animation laid over a TED talk will give you the basic historical background needed to get where the show went and where it may be going.  See the video after the cut.

Year Of Anticipation Correction

Last week, we here at Gabbing Geek ran a “Year of Anticipation” column discussing all the stuff we were looking forward to this year.

Well, one of those things probably isn’t showing up this year.

Tropebusting! One Thing I Dig About The Song Of Ice And Fire

My wife is, as I have often said, not a Geek.  She doesn’t like superheroes, Star Wars, science fiction, or a host of other things that routinely appear on this site.  She has two exceptions.  One is YA distopias.  We always go see a new Hunger Games movie.  Actually, that’s the only one she’s really interested in.  She watched The Maze Runner but wasn’t overly impressed.

Her other, bigger weakness is high fantasy.  If it’s based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, she’ll be there.  She loves Harry Potter.  And, though it took me a lot of effort to convince her to give it a shot, she goes for Game of Thrones in a big way.  Why did it take me so long to get her into that one?  Well, I had to sell it for what it was:  the opposite of Tolkien, and in a good way.

Explanations and SPOILERS after the cut.

15 Unsolved Mysteries From A Song Of Ice And Fire

 

The recent season finale for HBO’s Game of Thrones did its usual job of shocking viewers who maybe thought they had the whole thing figured out.  By this point, even book readers are likely to be a little shocked since the show has more or less used up all the material George R.R. Martin had published officially to date, with changes made and some characters (Lady Stoneheart for example) being completely omited.

But Martin has said there are two more novels to come, and while The Winds of Winter may be finished next year (or it may not), the books do have a number of unsolved mysteries left to be explored.

After the cut, I’m going to write up 15 unsolved mysteries from the novel series.  I’m not ranking them.  That’s for other people.  The list is no doubt not exhaustive either.

Obviously, there are MAJOR SPOILERS below the cut, and some of the mysteries listed may be true for the show as well.  You’ve been warned.

The “Game Of Thrones” News We All Pretty Much Expected

Above statement no longer true.

In news that should be, like, no surprise at all to fans of both George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire  novels and the HBO series Game of Thrones, one of the producers of said show has pretty much acknowledged that the show will give away the end of the books before the books get there, which at Martin’s current pace will probably be around the year 2525, if man is still alive, if woman can survive.

George R R Martin Hates You

Look upon the face of evil. Round, cuddly evil.

There’s really no other explanation other than George R R Martin hates his readers.  Sure, nobody wants to read a book where the hero just skips his way to the bad guy and kills him with one slash of his sword.  You have to overcome obstacles, face difficulties, maybe even some mortal peril to make the adventure seem worthwhile.  But George R R Martin took it to a whole new level by killing so many people anytime you read a chapter with your favorite character you may be afraid to turn the page.

A Serious Question About The Song Of Ice And Fire

A look too many of us secretly wish we could pull off.

HBO recently released the trailer for the next season of Game of Thrones, and meanwhile George R.R. Martin’s publisher squashed rumors that the next novel in the series, The Winds of Winter, will be released this year.

Now, many fans have wondered what will happen when the TV adaptation uses up all of the published source material and has to move on.  And many others worry that Mr. Martin, an older gentleman who seems a bit thicker around the middle than most people would be comfortable with, though for a man his age probably isn’t too heavy, will not live long enough to finish the novels, of which he believes there will be two more.  I have a better question to ask.