Annual Feast of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones Season Premiere Tradition

My favorite part of Game of Thrones Season Premiere night is the feast and gathering that preludes it. Waiting until 9pm in the final stretch of the long AGOT drought can be a daunting task so I resolved years ago to eat my way through it and hence, the annual Feast of Ice and Fire was born. Throw in great company, games, food, and tons of tasty drinks, and the countdown to showtime flies by.

We followed the tradition that all guests would bring a Westeros themed dish. As usual our friends and family didn't disappoint. However, my sister Alexandra was the real MVP in helping put the feast together. She is as obsessed with all things ASOIAF  as I am so the feast was bigger (and tastier) than it's been in previous years. She is a fantastic cook and baker. We used some recipes from the Feast of Ice and Fire Cookbook and tried to represent the regions of Westeros and Essos in our dish selections.

Our delicious table

Our menu included (I subjectively categorized the dishes brought by our guests):

The North:

Honeyed Chicken

Lemoncakes  (SO DELICIOUS-My sister outdid herself with these)

The Riverlands:

Miniature Meat Pies (Frey pie, anyone?)

The Reach:

Fresh Fruit 

Buttered carrots

Dorne:

Grape Leaves Salad

Spicy Chicken Dip

Kings Landing:

Cheese and crackers

Heads on Spikes

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

My son rolling heads and my favorite neighbor delivering an awesome pose

The Iron Islands:

Pillaged Sour Ale  

Westerlands: 

Ommegang 'Bend the Knee Honeyed Ale'-Lannister sigil

The Wall:

Lord Commander Mormont inspired Spiced Wine

Dothraki Sea:

Fermented Mare's Milk (White Russian)

Meereen:

Mint Green Tea with Honey

Mint Green Tea, Cheese, Lemoncakes, and Frey Meat Pie made for a fantastic second breakfast the next day

The Feast was a success and ran all the way until showtime. When we finally sat down to watch the show, I couldn't believe the wait was finally over (stay tuned for my review). Next year for the final season, I am going to try making an Iron Throne and the Painted Table of Westeros...Ambitious, I know, but I have the luxury of that ambition at this point. Whether or not my vision will be fully realized, only Bran can tell. One thing I can say for sure, each feast has been more delicious than the last and next year will be no exception.

Cool Things to Get Into: 2017 Update

I have posted before about cool things I'm into but since my curiosity  is never satiated I'm always looking for new and exciting ways to enrich my life and imagination.  Depending on the day and the climate of my particular attitude, a long commute can be a great space of time to fill with stories, news, theories, and more. Because my commute is what it is, it allows me the time to devote myself to my favorite podcasts without getting in the way of my other interests and obligations.

So here it goes...some of my favorite suggestions for making your 2017 a little bit more fun.

What I'm listening to:

Podcasts:
The Loaded Couch: Fantastic variety show about beer, video games, TV, movies, and general hilarity with a great host dynamic. They have a consistent show format with regular weekly releases.

Limetown: There isn't enough I can say about this awesome series. It is a continuous mystery so you will have to start at the beginning but it is such a cool format. It takes shape through the perspective of a
journalist who will stop at nothing to find out where 300 people from a testing/research site called Limetown, have disappeared to. The closer she gets to the truth, the stranger and more dangerous the episodes become.

Forever Fallen-Doctor Who Short Trips: Besides the story being written by my good friend Josh Wanisko, it is also a great insight into the power and conflicts of our choices. It helps to be familiar with the Doctor Who universe but to listen to Josh's story, it certainly isn't necessary. I'm extremely proud of my friend's story and the positive acclaim it has received and am so happy to recommend it.

Myths and Legends: Folklore and myths from around the world are featured on this podcast. Obscure figures from Greek mythology, sinister origins of familiar fairy tales, and strange superstitions, make this a well
rounded and enjoyable show to listen to. Episodes tend to be in the 30-40 minute range so are perfect for the commute to and from work.

The NoSleep Podcast: Scary fiction at it's finest! This podcast is in the same vein as Wicked Library and Tales to Terrify which I have reviewed in a previous post. There are definitely stories that will make your heart race and your stomach flip. Leave the lights on!

YouTube: A Song of Ice and Fire Channels
My obsession with Westeros is only surpassed by my hunger to sink my teeth into any good analysis on the moving parts that drive the series. Some channels are devoted to the story and shedding light on the mysteries and unanswered questions the series leaves in it's wake.

Preston Jacobs: Great theory-crafter with intelligent reviews and insight into all things ASOIAF. My favorite videos include: Deeper Dorne, Prepping for Winter (analyzes released sample chapters by George R.R. Martin), and Littlefinger's Mistake.

The Last Harpy: Short dynamic analysis on all the theories that keep us obsessed fans awake at night. Great channel!

What I'm reading:

The Witcher Series: My amazing husband bought me the books that inspired one of his favorite games, The Witcher 3. We both tend to share similar interests so it's pretty easy and refreshing for us to recommend new things to each other. We never run out of things to talk about. The story is filled with all of the usual traits of the Fantasy Genre and yet stands alone in it's uniqueness and beauty.

What I'm playing: 

A Game of Thrones Living Card Game-Second Edition: This is a deckbuilding, faction based, strategic card game highlighting the military tactics, intrigue, and power struggles of the great Houses of Westeros (in the vein of Magic but VERY different). I got into the game during the First Edition and fell in love with it. It has a very competitive environment for play and I have been lucky enough to play against some of the best players in the Meta and attend some store championships and draft tournaments in the NYC area. I'm not very good and don't have the time to devote to improving that I wish I did, but I do love to play when I can.  It is a great time to get into the game for new players because to catch up with the current card pool you wouldn't have to back track too much. The core set and two House expansion sets are released and the monthly chapter packs are only in their second cycle. (Each cycle is themed and is defined by 6 chapter packs of 20 new cards @ 3x each.)

No Spoilers: HBO's Game of Thrones won't spoil the books for me Part 1

HBO's Game of Thrones has surpassed the published material of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. Will the plot liberties showrunners have taken spoil the upcoming books?

Articles have been written about this. Friends have asked me about it. My response:  I'm not worried at all. Here's why.

It takes Roy Dotrice about 208 hours to read the first 5 Song of Ice and Fire audio books. I will assume approximately 80 hours for the final two books. HBO's adaptation of Game of Thrones averages about 55 minutes per episode but let's assume an hour for each over 6 seasons and estimate the series so far at 60 hours of content. It has been confirmed that the HBO series will complete the series in 2 additional seasons with a shorter episode count. At this point, 13 episodes all together until the series finale. 

After all is said and done:
Show only watchers: 73 hours of story.
Book readers: 288 hours of story including the last 2 books. (This doesn't even include the World of Ice and Fire, Knights of the Realm, and countless hours one can spend theory-crafting characters and plot lines)


My non-spoiler examples of why the show couldn't possibly ruin the book for me:

1. At least 5 main characters with complex story lines in the books, don't even EXIST on the show.
2. At least 5 characters that are dead on the show  are still alive in the books.
3. At least 5 story lines on the show are not even close to their book arcs (Sansa, Dorne, The North Remembers, to name a few)
4. At least 5 character journeys in the books have not happened in the show.
5. Last but not least, George R.R. Martin hasn't decided on the ending of the series but says it will have a bittersweet ending (in the vein of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Trilogy). Even HBO showrunners agree that the show won't spoil the books. 

My approach to the HBO show and the ASOIAF books is to treat them as two totally different obsessions. Both are amazing and both approach the story in different ways but book readers are without a doubt  treated to so much more. 

Winds of Winter: A compilation of released chapters

I'm quite behind on my reviews, characters and theory analysis of  A Song of Ice and Fire (and my reviews for Neil Gaiman's Sandman for that matter) but as my blog is young and I'm also a busy parent, wife, and multi-tasker extraordinaire, I will forgive myself and hope any random readers do too (Wink).

For all the groaners who complain about how long it takes Mr. Martin to write a book let me break down a couple of published statistics and considerations.

• According to Amazon's Text Stats, an average novel is approximately 64,000 words long
• George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire is (without Winds of Winter is approximately 1,770,000 words long. 
• Game of Thrones, the first book of the epic series, was published in 1996. 
• According to the average length of a novel, A Song of Ice and Fire  (so far) is the equivalent to approximately 28 books.

I think the equivalent of 28 books in 20 years is pretty acceptable. It is the kind of series that takes time. It's many characters and plots are intricately positioned and even seemingly unimportant dialogue is sometimes a part of a wheel within a wheel.

That isn't to say I don't share the anticipation of Winds of Winter with fellow fans of the series. The fifth book, A Dance with Dragons, was released in 2011 and I'm just as eager for the next installment as anyone. In an effort to ease the pain of the wait, I thought I would include a consolation from an amazing discovery I found on AngryGOTFan.com. With gratitude to the time it took to gather this together, I'm pleased to share almost 200 pages of The Winds of Winter compiled into one PDF. At approximately 45,000 words and 11 chapters, it is already a short novel worth of story. The rest of the book will come out when it comes out.

In the words of Neil Gaiman, "George R.R. Martin is not your bitch."  Enjoy and happy waiting!

ASOIAF Book 1: Game of Thrones: Part 1-Emerging Threats

Book 1 of A Song of Ice and Fire

When I first opened Game of Thrones, it was evident that it was going to be a different kind of fantasy novel, though I wasn’t quite sure what that meant yet. I always prefer character-based story arcs, so right off the bat I figured this series was going to be right up my alley. Whether watching a character evolve or watching a character dig their own grave, reading it through a third person point-of-view was an engaging, and sometimes exhausting, experience. Plus, I love history and the stories and conflicts of the dynastic great houses of Westeros is heavily influenced by the medieval history books of England. Think War of the Roses and the feud between the Yorks and the Lancasters. George R.R. Martin has stated he likes to take real historic events, turn them up to an 11 or more, and let his characters live and/or die in these alternate versions of history. It is absolutely wonderful.

Emerging Threats...

The Others Origins: Thousands of years prior to the events in Game of Thrones, the Others, an inhuman but not dead species with necromancer abilities, once brought a Long Night and Endless Winter to the Seven Kingdoms. This Long Night threatened anything living in the world. Though their motives were unclear, the Others had the ability to reanimate the dead which gave them access to a potentially never ending army. They were eventually defeated in the War for the Dawn by the First Men and Children of the Forest, who put aside their differences in order to face their common threat. The Wall was erected after the War for the Dawn was won. It is said to have mystical properties that prevent the Others from passing through it into the Seven Kingdoms.

In Westeros, children and adults have regarded the Others and the Long Night as the extinct subjects for great scary stories:

"Thousands of years ago, there came a night that lasted a generation. Kings froze to death in their castles, same as the shepherds in their huts; and women smothered their babies rather than see them starve, and wept, and felt the tears freeze on their cheeks... In that darkness the White Walkers came for the first time. They swept through cities and kingdoms, riding their dead horses, hunting with their packs of pale spiders big as hounds. –Old Nan to Bran Stark

To give perspective, the Wall is a 700 foot wall of ice, hundreds of miles long, that separates the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros from the wild north.

For thousands of years the Night's Watch (or Crows because they wear all black)  have defended the Realm from the dangers beyond the Wall which until recently, was staving off Wildling raiders. 

Prologue: Some Wildlings have been causing some problems near the Wall and Ser Waymar Royce is charged with commanding a small ranging to deal with them. A camp of slaughtered Wildlings was discovered by Will, a ranger known for his stealth and hunting skills. When Will brought Gared and Ser Waymar to check out the camp, he was chilled to find the bodies were gone.  Royce scoffs at the fears his fellow Brothers voice regarding the unsettling scene. This predictably leads to Waymar Royce being slain by a pale figure with milk white skin and pale blue eyes (now we know what happened to the campers). Royce rises as a Wight and kills Will. Then Gared flees and deserts his post. In the Seven Kingdoms, deserting the Night's Watch is punishable by death. Following the prologue, Gared is beheaded for being an oathbreaker by Eddard Stark of Winterfell, Warden of the North. Though Ned hears Gared's last words, he doesn't put much credence in the man's testimony of his encounter with the Others.  Ned's 8 year old son, Bran, questions his father  about whether Gared was telling the truth about the return of the Others beyond the Wall and Ned tells him, "A madman sees what he sees."

The problem is, few people in the realm believe the Others still exist, if they ever had. The Wall is considered to be the 'the end of the world' in Westeros and few people worry about what goes on in that bleak, frozen area of the world and beyond.With the rising conflicts and budding wars within the Seven Kingdoms, Lord Commander Mormont's pleas for more men go mostly ignored. 

It still isn't clear why the Others have returned after thousands of years and why they are creating an army of dead thralls, but the big picture is certainly foreboding.  The Night’s Watch has been dwindling in numbers over the years and the new recruits they are getting are hardly the choicest men, rather criminals who, presented with the choice of death or the Night’s Watch, choose to take the black. Few honorable men freely choose the harsh life at the Wall (there are a few exceptions). Overall, the Night’s Watch has become a dumping ground for the worst of the realm. The Night's Watch, which was once a noble order held in high esteem, has lost a lot of  respect in the Realm it is charged to protect.

Me, A Song of Ice and Fire, and a Monumental Task

I have made the decision to blog about George R.R. Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series as well as the HBO series based on the novels. My dilemma is what approach do I want to take? 

• Do I do book to show comparisons or do I blog about them separately?

• Do I do a synopsis of the 1^st 5 seasons of the show to save time and then individually review each episode of season 6 since it is still on?

• Do I evaluate theories as they  relate to each novel or do I evaluate the theories separately since in many cases they tie the story together and give clues to what will be coming in future novels?

• How do I best summarize and review without being contrite to the wheels within wheels of the books?

•  Do I do individual character analysis of certain characters whose arcs are much more complicated to generalize?

These are just some of the questions I am asking myself as I commit to take this on.
I want to challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone, to commit to something big. I used to write in journals every day. It was important to me to explore my interests, my days, my conflicts. I am going to make exploring those things important again.

Since my MO has always been to start then abandon my previous blogs, I am looking to make myself accountable for the continuity of this one.  Even though my lack of consistent writing over the years has left me a bit choppy and struggling to find my voice again, I feel proud of what the blog is so far.

Cool things I listen to (and so should you) Part 2

I love to read books. I also realize that for many of us, we find ourselves in the consuming vortex of our busy lives. There is enough to do with work, family, friends, and all the joys and obligations that come with them; we may have even stopped trying to make time to read.

Though I still make time to read actual books, audiobooks allow me to "read" more. I have an iPhone and love the Audiobooks app (there are others but this one is my preference). For $14.99 a month I get a credit for a book of my choice. Once I use the credit for my book with my paid subscription, I get to keep it even if I cancel my subscription. There is also a bunch of free books that you can listen to without a paid subscription. You can get free audiobooks from the local library too, of course. Books on CD/tape may not be as portable these days but are still a viable option and perfect for long car rides. 

I am into the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre of books. More Fantasy than Sci/Fi as you may notice from the list below. If you are interested in Fantasy here is a list of my personal recommendations:

'Game of Thrones' by George R.R. Martin read by Roy Dotrice. The first of 7 planned books in a epic series called 'A Song for Ice and Fire'. I recommend reading these books too but if you find that Martin's tomes seem too voluminous, let Roy Dotrice tell you a story.  He will take you through the war-torn world of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and to the  faraway lands still trying to get there. There will be honor, intrigue, & death but there is hope sometimes too. I'm not going  to say the 'ASOIAF' series is always easy but it is definitely worth it. Follow this up with next four published books in the series,  'Clash of Kings', 'A Storm of Swords', 'A Feast for Crows', and 'A Dance with Dragons'. All are read by Dotrice who epitomizes how an epic story should be narrated. I've given up on many audiobooks due to lackluster narrators.  Roy Dotrice won't disappoint!

'The Lies of Locke Lamora' by Scott Lynch read by Michael Page. The first of several planned books called The Gentleman Bastards series (3 of which are currently published). This is a great listen, fast paced and exciting in the vein of Ocean's 11 but in a post-medieval fictional landscape. Our protagonists, The Gentleman Bastards, are a society of educated thieves that work together in a long, dangerous cons. The story will keep you on edge. Michael Page brings the world of Camorr to life with his dramatic and humorous narration. Follow this up with 'Red Seas Under Red Skies' and 'A Republic of Thieves'.

 'The Name of the Wind' by Patrick Rothfuss read by Nick Podehl.The first of a trilogy called The Kingkiller Chronicles (2 of which are currently published). I read this book right before listening to it which I don't usually do. At first, I couldn't get into the narrator Nick Podehl. His voice was, I don't know...Bland?  Eventually the story consumed me and I soon found his narration acceptable though it took some getting used to. That said, I still highly recommend it. This is a story about secret names. It is a story about Kvothe, a legend by way of perception, as he tells his life story to a Chronicler. Follow this up with a 'A Wise Man's Fear'.

'American Gods' (the tenth anniversary edition) by Neil Gaiman read by Dennis Boutsikaris, Neil Gaiman, and a Full Cast  I don't think there is enough great things I can say about this audiobook. 'American Gods' is in my top 10 books of all time right up there with 'ASOIAF'. Do yourself a favor and make sure you listen to the full cast version. It really is a treasure and Neil Himself reads the 'Coming to America' parts. I love this production so much. It is a story about the Old Gods (the mythological ones that are weakened due to lack of worship) versus the New Gods (the technology age that wants you to be consumed by things like television and phones). 

Balticon50 Part 4: Panels and Convention Highlights

I will start off by saying we did A LOT at Balticon. We took advantage of a lot of the kids activities, we sat in on some gaming panels, Jeremiah attended a podcasting tips panel, and my neighbor Jen and I ditched our Men and the kiddos to attend the Masquerade CosPlay contest. It was a great few days of general geek stuff and I had a blast.

Panels Saturday:
George R.R. Martin Interview-Moderated by Balticon50 Toastmaster and Author, Mark Van Name: I thought this interview was too generic. I don't need the "loaded questions" effect but I would have liked a little more substance. The interview questions  were okay if you knew absolutely nothing about GRRM but my bets were that the audience had been long time fans of George and had heard most of these responses before. It was great to see George but I think the interview questions could have been a lot better.

Special Highlight: While standing on line to get into the Panel room, I heard someone behind me who's voice I distinctly recognized as one of my absolute favorite 'ASOIAF' theorists that I follow on YouTube, Preston Jacobs. We spoke for quite a bit about some of his theories and I told him that while I am not a subscriber to his R+L=D theory (I believe R+L=J), his ideas were still quite compelling. He told me about his experience at the Balticon50 Feast of Ice and Fire dinner with George R.R. Martin (a charity event that cost $1000). We talked for a bit about his conversation with GRRM and how Preston felt a bit disappointed when George told him he might be over-reading his interpretation between Plato's 'The Republic' and GRRM's Tuf Voyaging (a story in the1000 Worlds universe)  I won't pretend I am an expert on 'The Republic' but I can see why Preston made the connection. Interpretation of literature takes on a life of it's own according to each reader and sometimes connections are there whether they were intentional by the author or not. Preston was really great to talk to and it was a unexpected surprise to run into him at Balticon.

Me and Preston Jacobs

Games of GOT: This was a fun panel hosted by folks from one of my favorite podcasts, History of Westeros. Moderators included: Aziz Al-Doory, Ashaya, and Jeff Hartline. They mostly talked about the many GOT games available on PC and tabletop. I even got to pipe in from the audience about how awesome the Game of Thrones Living Card Game is. It can be very competitive but I enjoy it on a casual level and had a lot of insight to offer on why it's not only a great game but also why it's a great time to get into it. After the panel I got to chat with the hosts and tell them how much I enjoyed their podcast.

Other Fun Things: 
Hoola-hooping, learning a couple of Medieval dances, meeting Peter S. Beagle, attending the Masquerade contest, having a delicious Sheppard's Pie for dinner, Mad Hatter Tea Party, and Fairy Gardens.


Panels Sunday:
Liars Panel with authors, George R.R. Martin, Jodi Lyn Nye, Joe Haldeman, Mur Lafferty, and moderated by Mark Van Name: This was a charity panel to raise money for children's literacy. The rules were: Each panelist answers a set of questions. All answers must be the truth—except three. After each answer, anyone in the room can challenge the answerer. After there are no more challengers, the panelist tells whether the answer was the If it was true, each challenger puts $1 in a bucket that runners pass. If it was a lie, the panelist puts $10 in the bucket. The panel was just fantastic and laugh-out-loud hilarious. I cracked up when Mur Lafferty discussed 'impolite promises' and Jodi Lyn Nye demonstrated that she was double-jointed. Some things that are surprisingly true about George R.R. Martin include, he once got a gift certificate for a nipple piercing that has been re-gifted to other sci-fi/fantasy writers, one of his favorite shows was 'My Mother the Car', and he loves the theme song to the old show, 'Petticoat Junction'.

George R.R. Martin Reading:

We were offered three choices and the wild majority of us hooted our assent for a chapter from GRRM's anticipated novel, 'Winds of Winter'. It was an Aeron Damphair POV chapter that hadn't been previously released on George's website nor read out loud before. I won't give too much away but it starts, "It was always midnight in the belly of the beast..." and that set the tone for an incredible and shocking chapter. George received a standing ovation when he finished the chapter and he took time to answer some questions from the audience. When someone asked, "Who are Jon Snow's parents?" George replied to our delight, "Some Kardashian and Justin Bieber." He also talked about Brienne and how she was sort of his improvement to the Fantasy cliche of women fighting in chain-mail bikinis. He said with a chuckle, "She is one of my favorite characters but that doesn't mean she is safe." He also confirmed that Brienne was a descendant of Duncan the Tall from the 'Dunk and Egg' stories. The reading from Winds of Winter was the perfect ending to an awesome convention and I was ready to go home.

George R.R. Martin reading an Aeron Damphair POV chapter from Winds of Winter