Harper Voyager to Reissue A Song Of Ice And Fire in Hardback in the UK

After releasing A Dance with Dragons, one of the most anticipated books of recent years, Harper Voyager decided to reissue the first four books of the amazingly popular series A Song of Ice and Fire in hardback. Their cover art will follow and complement the theme of A Dance with Dragons' cover.

Game of Thrones Violin Style

Game of Thrones Gets Casting News

Accoding to Den of Geek. The Doctor may be coming to HBO's epic. As Stannis Baratheon. Add to the news that Natalie Dormer is already signed on to star in the second season. Things are starting to warm up and it hasn't even been a month since it left the airwaves.

The Game of Thrones Game

GoT T-shirt

If you a fan of the Game of Thrones TV series you may just want to add HBO's new GoT t-shirt to your list of must haves.

For those of you that don't know what the "Eight" is check out the show, or better yet read the books. The t-shirt is available here for $25.

Over Thinking A Game of Thrones

An interesting article over at overthinkingit.com regarding George RR Martin's A Game of Thrones adaption and the problems of points of view.

Winter is Rocking

Game of Thrones Gets Second Season

According to George RR Martin and Winter is Coming. HBO has already decided to go ahead and renew Game of Thrones for a Second season. According to HBO's President, Richard Plepler, the second season will start "same time next year."

I happened to catch the first episode and thought it was decent. Fanboys (and fangirls) will really appreciate, although I found it rather slow in parts but I can see where it is building up to a much faster pace. 

HBO looks to recapture viewers since the Sopranos left the air and other networks picked up their audiences with new dramas. HBO will promote the heck out of this and Gaiman's American Gods when it hits the airwaves in 2013.

One Woman's Response to Some of Game of Throne's Negative Pubicity

Over at Tor.com Amy Ratcliffe, fights back against a negative New York Times review of the new HBO series by George RR Martin. A brief excerpt and a link to read the whole thing:

When I sat down tonight I intended to write about my experiences with the Game of Thrones food truck last week and meeting George R.R. Martin. Instead I clicked on a review from The New YorkTimes about Game of Thrones. It sidetracked me. The review by Ginia Bellafante feels like a direct slam against a woman like me. A woman that loves Game of Thrones. It feels like a flaming insult to geek girls. It was such a direct contrast of an article from Wednesday that Susan Young wrote for MSNBC about geek girls powering viewership for sci-fi/fantasy TV that I was jarred. Then Iwas angry.

Why did the article get my geek girl knickers in a twist? I encourage you to go read it, but I’ll pull out some highlights:

Click here for more.

A Dance With Dragons Now Has A Publication Date

I can hear some of you saying "Finally!" with a sigh of relief and at the same time I can hear some others saying "Yeah, right!" crossing their hands over their chests and frowning in a skeptical manner.

Well... Believe it or not, George R.R. Martin's publishers have a publication date for the long awaited book and the fifth of what most would consider one of the best series in modern fantasy, A Dance With Dragons.

You may not believe and think that it is just another publication date following many other disappointments however as the author himself puts it "This date is different. This date is real.": July 12, 2011.

This morning we heard the news from an Entertainment Weekly article and it has become the hottest fantasy topic on twitter and blogosphere. Some have even already pre-ordered their copy on Amazon.

What do you think? Come July, are we finally going to get a book in our hands? Have you ordered your copy already?

The George R. R. Martin Experiment: Part Two

The George R. R. Martin Experiment

Part Two: A Game of Thrones

Victoria

How This Works

Ok, for those of you that missed Part One of The GRRM Experiment, here's a point-form recap:


Personal Views

1. Personally, I am not a fan of epic fantasy.  I prefer standalones.
2. Personally, I prefer three or less point of views in one novel.
3. If reading a series, I prefer each novel to have its own plot.  There can be overarching plots which connect all the series, but each book should be self-contained.
4. I thought that A Game of Thrones (the only novel in the series I've read in its entirety) had solid structure, style and imagery, but I was put off by the cliffhanger ending.
5. It took me nearly two years of on-again-off-again reading to complete A Game of Thrones.

What I'm Doing Here

1. Well, I'm going to re-read A Game of Thrones, then, I'll started reading the other books, but here's the kicker: I'm only going to read the chapters of the characters I like.
2. All the other points of view, I'm going to skip. When a new point of view is introduced, I'll give that character a minimum of two chapters to make me like them.
3. I want to see if GRRM created characters that are integral to the story. If I miss massive chunks of story because I've decided to follow characters who have nothing to do with the plot. . . Well, then answer me this: What is the point of having that character?
4. There will be spoilers throughout this post, so beware!

Concerning Character Growth

Let me tell you, there has been no shortage of people telling me that character growth is an integral part of this series.  My main response has been: Character growth should be an integral aspect of any novel.  I don't want to read about a stagnant character. 

With that said, I have amended my rules:

I will give every character their first two initial chapters, and for the rest of that novel, if I do not like them, I will skip all the rest of their chapters.  When I move onto the next book of the series, I will then give them an additional chapter to prove to me that they have changed. If not, they will be disregarded for the rest of that novel.

On to the Experiment!

Who I Chose and Why

Bran
I like Bran.  The opening chapter is in his point of view, and he was in such a situation that I immediatly identified with him.  I'd probably have the same reaction as he did.  That, and he can talk to crows, a crow gave him a third eye, he's crippled and he has to be carried around by Hodor, a simple-minded giant of a man.  What's there not to like about Bran?  Oh, and from what I can tell, he can probably start travelling through either dreams or an astral plane or a something.  It's obvious this kid has a significant role to play at some point in the series.

Arya
Arya is the type of heroine I adore.  She's young, she's got spunk, she's no good at 'woman's work', and she trains with a sword.  She has the whiff of a potential thief-like character about her, with her sneaking about.  She gets into the type of scrapes and adventures that I'm into.  She's just a lot of fun to read.

Jon
Well, this kid has the standard hero qualities.  That and he's stuck on a crumbling wall, charged with the task of keeping strange creatures, called the Others, from crossing into the human lands.  He seems to be a strong leader, is able to check his pride at the door, and just seems like an all-around good guy.  Not to mention he totally enabled Arya to be more of a tomboy than she already is, by giving her Needle, her first sword. 

Why I Did Not Choose the Other Points of View

Eddard
Well. . .  It's not that I didn't like him, but I'll be honest here, his chapters were lacking in the excitement factor for me.  Personally, I'm not into the whole political scheming type of storyline, and that's exactly what his point of view is about. 

Catelyn
This woman just annoys me.  First off, she gets a strike for being rather distant to Jon.  Yes, I know, he is the symbol of Eddard's infidelity, but it's not Jon's fault.  Not to mention the fact that this world that she belongs in, is not about fidelity, at least not for men.  She lives in a patriarchy.  She just needs to get over it.  You can't go around blaming others for other people's mistakes.  That, and for all her running around and capturing Tyrion, she doesn't really accomplish anything.  Oh, she counsels and leads about her son, Robb, but that's all she does.  She's a counselor.  Again, political point of view.  Snoozefest for me.

Tyrion
I don't have much of a problem with Tyrion, save for the fact that I find him a little gimmicky.  Him being so different from everyone else, I can deal with, that's what makes him interesting as a character, but he always seems to know something that someone else doesn't.  Personally, I don't find that particular trait believable.  Not to mention, this guy travels.  A lot.  I have to say. . . That's one of the things I don't like about epic fantasy: the traveling.  If I wanted to read a travelogue, I'd go to the travel journalism section of my local bookstore.

Sansa
This girl is exactly the kind of character I can't stand.  She has no spine, she whines, and all her thoughts are centered around embroidery, dresses and that simpering Joffrey.  Enough said.

Daenerys
It was pretty apparent from the beginning that this point of view was going to be important.  The first time I read this novel I really had to struggle through her chapters, let me tell you.  She starts out as a scared Sansa, which, as you'll all recall, I think is a bad thing.  A scared Sansa is worse than a normal Sansa.  By the end of the book she's learning to toughen up, which is great.  Though, I have a suspicion that she'll end up turning into a mega -insert bad word here-, which isn't so great.  I really hope she doesn't turn into a megolomaniac super-beep.  I could be wrong, though.  She has another strike against her too. . .She's got dragons.  Dragons!  I may like fantasy, but I do not like dragons.  I have a strong aversion to them.  To me, they fall into the same category as vampires and werewolves: Cheeseville.  That's just a personal preference thing.

Am I Able to Follow the Plot?

Yes!  So far, so good.  The transitions aren't always smooth, I must admit, but it's not particularly bothersome.  Sometimes where in the timeline the chapter I'm reading falls into isn't quite apparent.  It usually takes me only about half a page to piece it together, though.

I've been able to gain information on all the major plot points through these characters.  Mainly when they receive letters, or in Bran's case, in visions.  Arya gave some first hand accounts of what was happening in King's Landing.

Bran is a helpful source of information, especially when he had his little tumble.  We learned that the king's wife was having an affair with her brother.  We learned that Eddard  was chosen to be the Hand and that they're not happy about it. In Bran's vision he let's us know where everyone was, and  what they were all doing.  For instance, with Bran's point of view I know who's going with Eddard, who's staying, where Jon's going, how Catelyn ends up sailing about for a little while (with a bloodied knife, no less.), and that his uncle is missing.  We learn through him that his mother took the Imp hostage, that some of his father's men were killed, who killed them, and that his father was injured, and perhaps mortally.

Arya, while trying to catch cats, finds out about a plot to kill Eddard, then through her point of view, we learn of his death, while Jon's point of view tells us that Eddard had been imprisoned when the king died and was being falsely accused of treason.  And since Jon receives word of this by raven, it's only safe to assume that the news he receives is now old news.

So really, all in all, I have a solid plot structure going on here.  True, I had read the book in its entirety in the past so I can't be entirely objective here, but I tried to only focus on the three points of view that I chose to continue with.  I'll really start seeing how I can follow the plot when I start reading A Clash of Kings, since I haven't read it yet, which I'll be discussing on Friday, June 25th.

Around the Net Week of June 14th

BOOKS

Vera Nazarian

For a limited time (90 days) you can get your hands on a free eBook from Vera Nazarian.

Nebula Award-Nominated author Vera Nazarian is offering her novel Dreams of the Compass Rose as a free download for a limited time!
The title is available now, and will be for 90 days, in its entirety, as a free download, in various e-book formats from Smashwords, and other online retailers. After the initial free download period (ending September 15, 2010), the title will be available for sale at the regular retail price. Copies downloaded during the free period will remain yours permanently -- completely free-of-charge, without any DRM restrictions, to be enjoyed on your various reading devices. (Since this is a copyrighted work, they ask that you kindly not to share your complimentary copy.)

What is Dreams of the Compass Rose about you ask?


The Compass Rose universe -- an ancient milieu where places have no names, cities spring forth like bouquets in the desert, gods and dreams walk the scorching sands in the South, ice floats like mirror shards upon the Northern sea, islands that do not exist are found in the East, death chases a thief on the rooftops of a Western city, immortal love spans time, and directions are intertwined into one road we all travel....You come to this place when you wonder, and sometimes, only when you dream.


Joe Abercrombie

According to Mr. Abercrombie himself the release date of his eagerly awaited new book The Heroes has been postponed. As of right now The UK release date is is set for a 20 January 2011 and the US release date is still holding at 7 March 2011. This is very disappointing but at the same time was are getting a Abercrombie release for 2011. With that in mind we can't really complain. I am really looking forward to this release as I have with all of his work.

The full blog entry:

The Heroes – New Publication Date

May 14th, 2010

Any of you who’ve spent time waiting for books to appear will know that the world of publishing can be a fickle business, and that publication dates are … let us say …malleable.  Writing is not a precise science.  There can be unforeseen problems.  Revisions can take longer than expected.  And that’s before you get into the whole arena of commercial considerations, of the time required for production, and distribution, and enthusing a sales force, and preparing an eager public, and yada yada yada.  Until you have the book in your hands it’s wise not to take anything for granted.

So it is with great regret I have to inform you that, following a meeting with my editor and various whip-and-sword-wielding figures at Orion made from fire and shadow, we have decided, reluctantly, that we have to move the publication date of The Heroes.

But do not weep a river of tears quite yet, my friends, for the publication date is coming forward.
Yes, indeed, the UK hardcover of The Heroes will now be available on January 20th 2011, and not a moment before.  If any among you were minded to pre-order what will undoubtedly be THE fantasy release of that day, you could do so here.

The US hardcover release is still currently scheduled for March 7th, but I’ll let you know if that changes in the light of these developments.  Bear in mind that the management take no responsibility for any future disappointing delays in publication dates, as publication is a fickle business, and etc. etc.

Book Giveaway

Gail Z. Martin

SFFSignals is giving away two signed books from Gail Z. Martin. Head on over and enter to win Dark Haven and Dark Lady's Chosen. Giveaway deadline is 20 June 2010.

Dark Haven- With his wedding weeks away, Tris must address the trials and executions of those responsible for the atrocities against Margolan's people. Jonmarc Vahanian, the new Lord of Dark Haven, and one of Tris's allies, faces trouble with the Blood Council, where there is defiance against the prospect of a mortal lord. And beneath Dark Haven, the Flow, the vast river of power damaged when Arontala wrested the Soulcatcher from Dark Haven's foundation, is becoming unstable, threatening the balance of magic itself, and the future of the Winter Kingdoms.

Dark Lady's Chosen- Treachery and blood magic threaten King Martris Drayke's hold on the throne he risked everything to win. As the battle against a traitor lord comes to its final days, war, plague and betrayal bring Margolan to the brink of destruction. Civil war looms in Isencroft. Finally, in Dark Haven, Lord Jonmarc Vahanian has bargained his soul for vengeance as he leads the vayash moru against a dangerous rogue who would usher in a future drenched in blood.


T.V. NEWS


HBO - Winter is Coming


The Trailer for the HBO series A Game of Thrones has been released. It is a teaser trailer but has got me all excited. 





Voltron


It appears that Voltron will be making it to the big screen soon, but in order to garner support and a larger fan base Voltron will be returning with an all new animated series.


From SciFi Wire:

So, we've got Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles coming back. Also Thundercats. Transformers and G.I. Joe are here. That's everything, right? No more '80s cartoons and toy lines to bring back? Oh, wait, here's one more.

Voltron is coming back as a revamped animated series. This time it will air on Nicktoons, and they're calling it Voltron Force. World Event Productions and Classic Media are developing this, with Kickstart Productions, makers of Wolverine and the X-Men, co-producing.

Voltron Force sure sounds like a hip, modern revamp of the old Voltron: Defender of the Universe, butVariety reports that the new series will actually stay faithful to the original. Voltron was a giant robot who formed when five individual robot lions joined together. Because sometimes a team of five individual robot lions just isn't enough to get the job done.

Nicktoons will air 26 half-hour shows starting next year. Mattel will produce a new toy line to go along with it, so a new crop of kids and buy all the lions that make up Voltron. World Event Productions president Ted Koplar told Variety it's really all about the toys.

"What paramount is getting the toys right," Koplar said. "They're pretty involved toys that have to transform and fit together. It's an exciting way to introduce the brand to a generation that isn't familiar with Voltron."

Well, cool toys came with a cool cartoon in 1984, so they can do it again. World Event Productions and Classic Media were going to try a big-screen movie, but they've gone with the animated series instead.

Movie News


Green Lantern

While the Green Lantern movie is still in the production, it has not stopped Warner Brothers and DC Comics from already preparing for the second installment in the series. Since Green Lantern is one of my favorite DC characters I am really excited for this movie and its sequel. The first Green Lantern movie is beaming into theaters 17 June 2011.


From SciFi Wire:

Green Lantern won't hit theaters until June 17—that's June 17, 2011, more than a year from now—but Warner Brothers is so sure it will be a hit that they've already started work on the sequel.

Greg Berlanti, Michael Green and Marc Guggenheim—all of whom worked on the first installment in what the studio hopes will be a Green Lantern franchise—have been hired to write a treatment for the second movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

And not only that, but the team has also been asked to write the treatment for a big-screen adaptation of The Flash, though the trio's new deal doesn't indicate which of the two projects they're going to tackle first.

Who are these guys? Berlanti created Everwood and is an executive producer on Brothers and Sisters. Guggenheim co-created Eli Stone with Berlanti and is executive producer and co-creator of the upcoming ABC superhero drama No Ordinary Family. And Green worked with Berlanti on Everwoodand created NBC's Kings.

Starting work on a sequel so far out from a movie's release is rare, indicating the studio's confidence that green will turn out to be gold.

So Warner Brothers is clearly excited about its Green Lantern movie. But how about you?

Transformers/Michael Bay 

Michael Bay and his production team have announced plans to kill off some of the Transformers from the second movie in the franchise, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I personally do not have high hopes for this one as Bay has stated that Shockwave will be planning to take over Megatron's spot as leader of the Decepticons. Depending on which series you like comics or cartoon, he was either a trusted right-hand man where Starscream was the treacherous 2nd in command. Or a cold calculating military advisor waiting to take wrestle power from Megatron. However, I do love Shockwave and hope to see more of him in the third movie. No title for the third movie has been announced, the movie will open to audiences in 2011.

From SciFi Wire:
Okay, he didn't EXACTLY say that, but it seems like director Michael Bay and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura are really, truly going to off some of our beloved Autobots, based on what we learned from a new Transformers 3 article in USA Today.

Here's what the piece had to say:

"While Optimus Prime, Megatron and even Sam all have died and been resurrected, di Bonaventura says this film will have no do-overs: Die,and that's it. Bay hints that there may be a lot of that. "As a trilogy, it really ends," he says. "It could be rebooted again, but I think it has a really killer ending."

There are other changes afoot for the third Transformers flick, which is filming now for a summer 2011 release. Bay and di Bonaventura acknowledge that there were problems with last year's Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, which was blasted by critics and even some fans despite earning $836 million worldwide—second last year only to Avatar.

Bay says it was "very hard" to put the second movie together quickly after the Hollywood writers' strike of late 2007 and early 2008, with di Bonaventura adding, "We tried to do too many things in the second movie, which didn't give enough time in any one of them. We were constantly jumping to the next piece of information, the next place."

So what's different? Well, for one thing, Bay reveals that they're getting rid of "the dorky comedy," meaning that Fallen's tacky and racially insensitive twin robots are "basically gone." Even better, there's a new villain in town: Shockwave, the laser-cannon-wielding Transformer from the original series who is obsessed with overthrowing Megatron and leading the Decepticons in a takeover of the universe.

Perhaps the movie's most spectacular new special effect will be model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who will play a new love interest for human hero Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) following the departureof Megan Fox from the series.

As for the plot, USA Today says it has something to do with the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, and how the Transformers may have played a secret and dangerous part in it. Bay: "The movie is more of a mystery. It ties in what we know as history growing up as kids with what really happened."

Finally, and perhaps not surprisingly, Transformers 3 will be in 3-D, although it's likely that the movie will be converted in post-production and is not being filmed that way.

Will all these changes make for a better movie? Does this make you psyched for Transformers 3? Let the debate start now!

The George R. R. Martin Experiment: Part One

The George R. R. Martin Experiment
Part One:  How This Works
Victoria

Alright. . .  So there you are, wondering what all this is about, right?  What experiment?  What is GRRM doing now?  Is this another one of his side projects that's detracting from the time he's supposed to be using to write, you ask.  Well, good news for you, he's not doing any experiment, at least, not to my knowledge.  I'm the one conducting the experiment.

Now, before I get into what this experiment is, I'm going to give you a bit of background information, so that you fully understand my motivation and intention. 

The Background

So, I'll be honest here, big epic fantasy is not really my first choice of reading.  I love fantasy, but I tend to be more of the stand-alone kind of gal.  There are exceptions.  I mean, I love myself some Abercrombie or Lynch as much as the next person, but when it comes to huge over reaching story lines with giant battles and quests and treks and castles and fortresses and. . . - well, you get the picture - That sort of thing just isn't my cup of tea. 

I had seen GRRM's stuff on the bookshelves at the store and I had heard people rave about them, but my interest wasn't piqued.  My actual thoughts on the subject, I'll be honest here, were:  Oh.  That kind of stuff.  Like we need more of that ol' cliche crud.  I know, the horror.  Now, don't get too upset, there's more.  There's a method to my madness here.

Then one day, some three years ago, I went out on a dinner date with a man I'd had my eye on for a little while.  We were sitting at the bar, waiting for a table to open up, and he presented me with a gift.  It was a copy of A Game of Thrones tied up in yellow ribbon.  He had asked around and found out I liked fantasy, so he decided to give me his favourite fantasy novel as a first date present.  Well, I have to admit, I was impressed.  Not many guys give presents nowadays.  (Hint, hint to you men out there.)

So, when I got home, I cracked open the book and started reading.  Alright, so the writing style was solid, there was some great imagery.  So far so good.   There were some great characterizations.  Alright, I'm liking this, maybe I was too harsh in my initial judgement.

Then things started to get fragmented.  Characters got separated, things started happening. . .  And really, you'd think that's when the reader would get sucked in. . .  Well, not this reader.  I started to get annoyed.  I had to read chapters about characters I did not like.  Characters I could not get into.  I'd have to wade through them to get to the characters I did like.  I just felt that there were way too many points of view.  There were far too many characters for my tastes.  Were all these points of view really necessary?  Were they needed?  This is one of the reasons I'm not into epic.  It's not just GRRM that does it, either.

It took me nearly two years to get through the book.

Though, I'm still with the man who gave me the book, so I guess I didn't hate the book that much.

And I don't hate it, like I said, there's some great stuff in there. . .  There's just that pesky business of characters I do not like.

Back to the Experiment!

What is this experiment?  Well, I'm going to re-read A Game of Thrones, then, I'll started reading the other books, but here's the kicker:

I'm only going to read the chapters of the characters I like.

All the others, I'm going to skip.  When a new point of view is introduced, I'll give that character a minimum of two chapters to make me like them. 

Yes, I know, I'll lose out on some plot, but that's kind of the point.  I want to see if GRRM created characters that are integral to the story.  If I miss massive chunks of story because I've decided to follow characters who have nothing to do with the plot. . .  Well, then answer me this:  What is the point of having that character?  This is an experiment, and it might fail, and I might find myself completely lost, but I'm going to do it anyway.

So join me next Friday when I discuss my reading of A Game of Thrones.   I will only be reading these characters:

Bran
Arya
Jon

I'll detail why I chose only these three characters, why I discarded the other characters, and I'll relate what kind of story I read when I eliminated half of the book.