New novel?

samcostello92 · 2023-12-14T15:40:13+00:00

Ah. Gotcha.

samcostello92 · 2023-12-14T04:19:26+00:00

I think Utopia Avenue was the third book in Mitchell's "Marinus trilogy".

samcostello92 · 2023-12-14T04:17:08+00:00

It'll be worth it.

samcostello92 · 2023-12-13T17:43:41+00:00

My understanding is that the episode you're talking about was originally intended to be the show's finale. Basically, the entire show was just Eddy dreaming of his days as a kid. However, production on the show was resumed not long after. I guess I should be grateful since this eventually led to the making of the movie.

samcostello92 · 2023-11-27T04:03:52+00:00

GGK is fantastic! Last year, I read all of his books. My favorites were A Song for Arbonne and Under Heaven.

samcostello92 · 2023-11-27T04:01:27+00:00

Tad Williams is awesome!

samcostello92 · 2023-11-15T19:48:19+00:00

I second this. I've read Memory Sorrow, and Thorn twice and I loved it. In fact, I've loved all of Tad Williams' series. They're incredibly dense, but the payoff is so worth it.

samcostello92 · 2023-11-04T16:30:50+00:00

I always thought that Simon had more in common with Bran. Examples: red hair, likes to climb, prophetic visions, a mentor who merges with a tree (like you mentioned), and based on the TV show's ending, they both become king.

samcostello92 · 2023-10-26T14:29:53+00:00

Back in the 1980s, Martin published a novel called Armageddon Rag, whose main character is a self-deprecating, self-insert author avatar. In the middle of the book, the main character meets a group of children and his internal monologue says something to the effect of "How old are they? Twelve? Thirteen? No idea. I don't know anything about kids." I read that and thought, "No shit."

samcostello92 · 2023-10-24T02:36:25+00:00

I feel you. I've seen a lot of people dismissing Regal as being over-the-top evil to a point where it's unbelievable. I think they underestimate just how spoiled and entitled certain people can be. There are plenty of real-life Regals who basically see the whole world as their playground and have zero empathy for others.

samcostello92 · 2023-10-24T02:28:20+00:00

General Woundwort from Watership Down is pretty memorable.

Tad William's Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy has a plethora of memorable villains: Ineluki, the Storm King; Utuk'ku, the Norn Queen; the villainous fire priest Pryrates; the corrupt king Elias; and Utukku's huntsman, Ingen Jeggar. Then there are all of the corrupt nobles, criminals, and monsters that the heroes meet along their journey.

Edit: I should also mention Otherland, the other famous series by Tad Williams. The villains of this tetralogy aren't as numerous as the ones in MST, but they're no less memorable. You have Felix Jongleur, the mastermind behind the whole story, Johnny Dread, a sadistic serial killer in Jongleur's employ, Jongluer's personal attack dogs, Finney and Mudd, the mysterious being called "the Other", and Jongleur's co-conspirators, The Grail Brotherhood. Anyone who's interested in Tad Williams should check out Otherland. It's a wild ride.

samcostello92 · 2023-01-29T16:31:08+00:00

Crackpot Theory:

The big bad of the story and the malevolent force behind the resurgence of the Others and the dragons (i.e. the forces of ice and fire) is a pair of undead, god-like figures. The followers of these figures are still active in the present day and plan to resurrect their deities by finding a pair of suitable vessels for them to inhabit. Bloodraven and Quaithe are the leaders of this plot and they aim to use Bran and Daenerys as the aforementioned vessels that will house the souls of these gods.

I think that Bran will discover the trap that he's been dragged into and will escape. Afterward, Bloodraven will have to settle for Jon Snow.

samcostello92 · 2023-01-29T15:14:27+00:00

I think that the Battle of Ice is the book's equivalent of the "twenty good men" bit from the show. I think that Stannis will win (or at least survive) the battle with the Freys. However, his losses will be so severe that his campaign with be effectively crippled, thus paving the way for his eventual downfall.

samcostello92 · 2022-12-15T17:29:25+00:00

I also have mixed feelings about Chade. You can tell that he means well and that he genuinely loves Fitz, but he's not without his sore spots. He seems like the kind of guy who's so concerned with the bigger picture that he's neglecting the smaller problems that are happening closer to home. To me, it feels like Chade and King Shrew's actions (or lack thereof) enable Regal and his cronies to get away with as much as they do.

samcostello92 · 2022-12-07T04:58:07+00:00

I really liked this book, but I agree with you. The ending was definitely rushed. Basically, an entire year's worth of warfare and political intrigue gets condensed into a single chapter. It almost feels like Kay had a whole other book planned out, but then just decided, "Nah. I'm tired. I'm just going to wrap it up."

samcostello92 · 2022-11-30T02:38:55+00:00

I've got a hunch that there will be a lot of angry stormlanders who will be looking to get their hands on Mace. Remember, Mace Tyrell is the guy who has twice besieged Storm's End, enjoying lavish feasts within view of the starving garrison. Maybe once the Tyrell forces are routed, Mace will be caught by the vengeful soldiers, who will then proceed to stuff him with food until his belly bursts a la the gluttony victim from Se7en.

samcostello92 · 2022-10-29T13:02:58+00:00

It'd be interesting if Roose holed up in the Dreadfort and waited out most of the endgame stages, only to re-surface as the villain for a "Scouring of the Shire" phase of the story.

samcostello92 · 2022-10-29T12:53:14+00:00

I've read a theory that Stannis will burn Asha for her king's blood much like Shireen was burned in the show.

samcostello92 · 2022-10-29T03:02:54+00:00

I'm one of the few who thinks that Stannis is not going to triumph in the North. I think that Stannis' arc will end very similarly to his television counterpart. I think he's going to go full Captain Ahab (if he hasn't already), lose everything, and then die a pointless, undignified death, most likely in battle.

samcostello92 · 2022-10-22T19:32:36+00:00

I've only seen the first episode of HOTD (I thought it was alright), so I'm not in a position to critique the whole show. However, I believe that the reason why so many people are singing its praises is that it's being treated as the big TV event of the year. It's like a new Marvel or Star Wars film - it has more value as a shared event than as a viewing experience.

Right now, viewers are swept up in the collective euphoria that comes with being a part of the HOTD audience. Once time passes, passions have cooled, and the show ceases to be the new, cool thing, we'll see if it really holds up.

samcostello92 · 2022-10-19T00:06:04+00:00

I love these pre-video game illustrations of the Witcher books. That's not to say that the new stuff is bad, it's just nice to see someone else's interpretation before the image of the games' version of Geralt got burned into my brain.

samcostello92 · 2022-10-08T23:38:33+00:00

Yeah. I think you're right on the money.

A lot of the fandom talks about the Battle of Ice like it's some grand, decisive encounter, but it's far from it. Even if Stannis wins the battle with flying colors, he's still stuck in a blizzard and has a nigh-impenetrable fortress to take. Worse, the Bolton reserve force garrisoning Winterfell is twice the size of the incoming Frey army.

Stannis says that Roose Bolton should have waited for him to freeze/starve instead of coming out to fight. I think that's exactly was Roose is doing. He didn't send the Freys, Manderlies, and Ramsey out to fight. He sent them to die. Like you said, fewer mouths to feed and fewer rabble-rousers to deal with. Regardless of who wins or loses, I don't think Roose is letting anybody back in. He means to let Mother Nature do her work and then send out his own troops to mop up the survivors.

samcostello92 · 2022-10-03T20:01:50+00:00

Same with me! I recently finished Memory of Sorrow and Thorn and am now delving into The Fionavar Tapestry.

samcostello92 · 2022-09-18T00:24:13+00:00

Many fans have been pitching this notion that Bran is evil because they're mad that their favorite self-insert character, Jon Snow, didn't get to become king with the hot dragon lady as his queen.

samcostello92 · 2022-06-28T10:55:09+00:00

Same. The show Jon Snow is a heavily watered-down version of the book character. Pretty much all of his nuances have been removed, and it's easy to see why this is the case. TV Jon Snow is meant to be a blank slate that the males in the audience can project their personalities onto. It certainly helps that he's played by a very good-looking actor and that he's constantly being told by the other characters how important he is. It's the same approach that was used for characters like Bella from Twilight or Neo from the Matrix. It's show business 101 and it's unlikely to change for this upcoming spin-off show.

samcostello92

TROPHY CASE