Servusamanu.com

Favorite Living Author George RR Martin has been announcing the new casting in the HBO series A Game of Thrones.  This week has had some great casting.  Instead of trying to hijack his words, let me just point you to the relevant posts on his blog:

Ian Glen as Ser Jorah Mormont

Tamzin Merchant as  Daenerys Targaryen (Great Great Casting!)

Richard Maddenas Robb Stark

Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner as Ayra and Sansa Stark

Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister

This new folks join Sean Bean as Eddard Stark, Jennifer Ehle as Catelyn Stark, and Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister.

Good Stuff!

My favorite living writer’s best book (well, one of my favorite) is going to HBO!!! Normally I’d be wringing my hands of the impending travesty, but HBO did Band of Brothers and Rome, so I trust their pedigree to make something appreciable. (IMHO obviously.) George RR Martin keeps up the action and romance in the novels, so HBO shouldnt have to ’sex it up’ too much.

For those out the loop, A Game of Thrones is the first book in a seven book series (four are out currently) that follows the political intrigue, epic warriors, and arcane mysteries of Westeros. It’s epic fantasy, but it’s not hack and slash. Rather, it’s a dense, expansive, ‘old’ world, threatened as much by the animosities of its own history, as by any mythic beast or tyrannical king. (Although both exist…kind of.) Its also a world of magic, but not of visible magic. Superstition clouds any genuine arcane power and arguments and made and settled by words, swords, and poison. Altogether, George RR Martin continues the long and respected tradition of Chanson de Roland, La Morte de Arthur, and the Iliad.

A Game of Thrones has been one of my favorite books since I first read it, oh, nearly a decade ago and if you haven’t read it yet, better start now. Each of the four books are long. Think Harry Potter, but dense. They’re well worth the time spent though and I’m eagerly await both the next book in the series and now this HBO miniseries.

Awesome!

For a better review: SF Site: A Game of Thrones

Hemingway, H.P Lovecraft, Henry Miller, George RR Martin. Which one of them has his own website?

George RR Martin is the author of, among other things, the Song of Ice and Fire, the best fantasy series written since Tolkien. He keeps his page fairly up to date with his new projects, but even better is his ‘Not A Blog’. It is not a forum for writing or publishing, although he does link to contests on occasion It does however give a humanizing look at the life of one (especially talented) fantasy writer. It may not be the most explosive blog a writer has ever started, but anything and everything by GRRM is gold, so why complain?

He’s also the author I intend to quote if anyone gets on my case for occasion bits of sports commentary. (Seahawks 4 Life!)