So last time I whined a lot about the Swarm Host and how it was virtually useless. As usual, I just wasn't using it right.
To be sure, having three micro-intensive units (Swarm Hosts, Infestors and Vipers) is above my relatively useless skill level (check out this Terran wall! Am I gonna build Banelings or Roaches? Nope!). But I've found two uses for these guys, one of which is less risk-intensive than a similar strategy I tried using in Brood War with Lurkers.
Basically, you bury them on high ground near (but - and I can't stress this enough - not in) the enemy attack lane, and rally the Locusts to the far side of the attack lane. The closer they are to the enemy base, the more warning you'll have that the army is on the way and the more easily you'll be able to use them for base harassment once that army is dealt with. On the other hand, the closer they are to your base (or at least your army), the easier time you'll have saving them in the event that the other player has detection (and he better have detection - you're zerg) and decides to hunt down your Swarm Hosts.
There was another game on Crossfire where I used them to harass an enemy's third while I went after his natural. Since his army turned around as soon as I started attacking the natural, the Hosts were able to wipe out his third and then take that upper corridor towards his main, tear down those destructible rocks, and swarm in from the side.
One thing that HotS has definitely done to my Zerg build is force me to tech to a Hive as fast as possible, because my favorite new unit is hands-down the Viper. "Oh, you just blew 400/300 on a nice shiny Battlecruiser that you're keeping on the edge of the battlefield and trying to repair with SCVs on the high ground? Here, lemme just drag that baby over into the middle of my Hydralisk swarm." "Oh, you went through the trouble of properly micro-ing your units so your Siege Tanks were in the back of the line? Yoink!" "Hey nice Thor. Let me drag you away from my Ultralisks and into the middle of my Zerglings." "Oh, I wasn't paying the macro any attention whatsoever, got curbstomped, and now all I've got to defend my base are a bunch of Speedlings and a Viper? Blinding Cloud." Go ahead and ask me if I'm even using Infestors any more.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Starcraft HotS beta
Okay, you might have noticed the lack of a GoldenEye review yesterday. This wasn't a case of me being lazy all day, honest. It was a case of me spending the morning in the emergency room and then being lazy in the afternoon.
Apparently I'm fine, thank you very much.
Anyway I have about half an hour left in the movie to actually review, as well as screencaps to stick in... and I'm abusing my aunt's hospitality while my GoldenEye DVD sits back at my place. So I'm going to talk about HotS now, and maybe have the review up tonight.
First of all, I am by no means a professional player. Hell, the last level of the campaign on Normal gave me conniptions (and I recently re-played the campaign and tried to brute-force my way through the last level with nothing but Banshees... while playing at the "faster" speed. Whoops). Secondly, I keep flipping back and forth between protoss and zerg, mainly because I only know one way to win as terran (mass Vikings and Banshees) and that gets old fast.
So let's just jump in and complain about all the new units.
Terran
First off, the Medivac gets a speed boost so as to... give terran an advantage in combat drops, I guess. Now, this kind of makes sense because the zerg can Nydus and the protoss can warp. But both of those strategies involve buildings, and buildings are easy enough to kill if you, you know, pay attention. I always thought that the Nydus Worm and Warp Gate technologies were there to counter the terran ability to move their buildings and thus have less risky proxies. (Of course, Warp Gate is basically what protoss get now instead of Recall from the first game, which was probably OP if I ever learned how to play the first game... I think the only hotkey I ever used in StarCraft was "A" for attack.) Anyway, the devs said that it was hard coming up with new stuff for terran because they already have the coolest toys, soooo...
The Reaper is almost an entirely different monster now. They can still go up and down cliffs, but there's no speed boost upgrade and no anti-building grenades. And they regenerate health "outside of combat" which actually means "so long as they haven't been shot in the last five seconds." And they don't require a tech lab. So basically now they're there for worker harassment as opposed to demolition, which makes the Hellions kind of pointless...
The Hellion can now transform into a Hellbat which does short-range splash damage. Good for blocking ramps, and guarding Siege Tanks and generally forcing your opponent to go air.
F*cking OP Hell God King Emperor Death N00bpwner Widow Mines are another means of forcing your opponent to immediately go air. Which is funny because as you can see, terran gets absolutely nothing to counter Mass Muta. Except for F*cking OP Hell God King Emperor Death N00bpwner Widow Mines. For the price of a Baneling, terran gets a mine that homes, does splash damage, can target air units, and oh yeah doesn't freaking die once exploded. Oh, and you can unbury then and rebury them at will. Enemy players will need detectors and long-range units by the truckload. Why didn't terran just get the Perdition Flamethrowers from the WoL campaign? Heck, you could let them target air units and they still wouldn't be OP because they can't sodding move around the map.
Protoss
Protoss now gets a Mothership Core, which functions exactly the same as a Mothership except is moves faster and doesn't cloak friendlies. The Recall ability now sucks (instead of Recalling all the units in a given area to where the Mothership is, it takes the Mothership and all nearby units back to a Nexus), and instead of Vortex you now have Time Warp. The thing's available as soon as you have a Cyber, so you could take a map like Scrap Station, fly the Core over to the enemy base as soon as possible, and drop a Time Warp in the enemy mineral line. Boom you're ahead. Oh, and then it can stick a Cannon on your Nexus for a bit. So now Toss can Planetary Nexus rush.
The Oracle is basically gets a variation of the Parasite ability from the first game. It can also function as a detector or give itself a weak laser for a while. Haven't really figured out how to make it useful yet. Heck, the mineral disruption is really the only useful trick I've learned for the Mothership Core so far. However...
The Tempest is a flying siege tank. That can target air units as well as ground units. So now Toss have two of the longest-ranged units in the game. Huzzah.
Zerg
Let's start with the good because there's a lot of ugly. First off, you can research Burrow and the Overlord speed upgrade without a Lair. Second, the Hydralisk speed upgrade from the first game is finally back.
Third, they have an awesome new caster called the Viper, which goes a long way towards countering enemy Siege Tanks and Colossi because it can either blind those units so they can't attack long-range, or drag those units right into the middle of the zergling swarm. Oh, and the Viper flies. So zerg have a flying caster again.
Which is a good thing because the Infestor's Fungal Growth ability got nerfed to hell. I probably shouldn't be complaining that much, because I only just learned how to use it effectively when I switched to HotS, but come on, I had only just learned how to use it effectively and then it got nerfed.
The zerg also have a unit called the Swarm Host which is effing useless because any competent enemy will have detectors in his army. The purpose is to give the zerg a siege unit, but, uh, we already have one. It's called the Brood Lord.
Apparently I'm fine, thank you very much.
Anyway I have about half an hour left in the movie to actually review, as well as screencaps to stick in... and I'm abusing my aunt's hospitality while my GoldenEye DVD sits back at my place. So I'm going to talk about HotS now, and maybe have the review up tonight.
First of all, I am by no means a professional player. Hell, the last level of the campaign on Normal gave me conniptions (and I recently re-played the campaign and tried to brute-force my way through the last level with nothing but Banshees... while playing at the "faster" speed. Whoops). Secondly, I keep flipping back and forth between protoss and zerg, mainly because I only know one way to win as terran (mass Vikings and Banshees) and that gets old fast.
So let's just jump in and complain about all the new units.
Terran
First off, the Medivac gets a speed boost so as to... give terran an advantage in combat drops, I guess. Now, this kind of makes sense because the zerg can Nydus and the protoss can warp. But both of those strategies involve buildings, and buildings are easy enough to kill if you, you know, pay attention. I always thought that the Nydus Worm and Warp Gate technologies were there to counter the terran ability to move their buildings and thus have less risky proxies. (Of course, Warp Gate is basically what protoss get now instead of Recall from the first game, which was probably OP if I ever learned how to play the first game... I think the only hotkey I ever used in StarCraft was "A" for attack.) Anyway, the devs said that it was hard coming up with new stuff for terran because they already have the coolest toys, soooo...
The Reaper is almost an entirely different monster now. They can still go up and down cliffs, but there's no speed boost upgrade and no anti-building grenades. And they regenerate health "outside of combat" which actually means "so long as they haven't been shot in the last five seconds." And they don't require a tech lab. So basically now they're there for worker harassment as opposed to demolition, which makes the Hellions kind of pointless...
The Hellion can now transform into a Hellbat which does short-range splash damage. Good for blocking ramps, and guarding Siege Tanks and generally forcing your opponent to go air.
Protoss
Protoss now gets a Mothership Core, which functions exactly the same as a Mothership except is moves faster and doesn't cloak friendlies. The Recall ability now sucks (instead of Recalling all the units in a given area to where the Mothership is, it takes the Mothership and all nearby units back to a Nexus), and instead of Vortex you now have Time Warp. The thing's available as soon as you have a Cyber, so you could take a map like Scrap Station, fly the Core over to the enemy base as soon as possible, and drop a Time Warp in the enemy mineral line. Boom you're ahead. Oh, and then it can stick a Cannon on your Nexus for a bit. So now Toss can Planetary Nexus rush.
The Oracle is basically gets a variation of the Parasite ability from the first game. It can also function as a detector or give itself a weak laser for a while. Haven't really figured out how to make it useful yet. Heck, the mineral disruption is really the only useful trick I've learned for the Mothership Core so far. However...
The Tempest is a flying siege tank. That can target air units as well as ground units. So now Toss have two of the longest-ranged units in the game. Huzzah.
Zerg
Let's start with the good because there's a lot of ugly. First off, you can research Burrow and the Overlord speed upgrade without a Lair. Second, the Hydralisk speed upgrade from the first game is finally back.
Third, they have an awesome new caster called the Viper, which goes a long way towards countering enemy Siege Tanks and Colossi because it can either blind those units so they can't attack long-range, or drag those units right into the middle of the zergling swarm. Oh, and the Viper flies. So zerg have a flying caster again.
Which is a good thing because the Infestor's Fungal Growth ability got nerfed to hell. I probably shouldn't be complaining that much, because I only just learned how to use it effectively when I switched to HotS, but come on, I had only just learned how to use it effectively and then it got nerfed.
The zerg also have a unit called the Swarm Host which is effing useless because any competent enemy will have detectors in his army. The purpose is to give the zerg a siege unit, but, uh, we already have one. It's called the Brood Lord.
Friday, February 22, 2013
B5: The Coming of Shadows
This Season 2 episode is where the story really starts to pick up the pace. Really, B5 has an even slower burn than Game of Thrones, and that took an entire season to get to the war. With B5 we're eight episodes into Season 2, and it's obvious that war is on the horizon... but who's going to start it?
The Centauri Emperor is going to pay Babylon 5 a visit, even though he's old and doesn't think he'll survive the entire trip (at least judging by the way he says good-bye to hisHand Lord Chancellor). G'Kar of the Narn is naturally pissed about this, seeing as how the Centauri enslaved his people and the Emperor's father killed "over a hundred million Narn."
...yeah, sci-fi writers have no sense of scale. Anyway Sheridan correctly points out that the current Emperor's hands are clean. G'Kar doesn't care. He decides to assassinate the Emperor, apparently for kicks and giggles, because he records a message saying (falsely) that he's acting without the knowledge or permission of his government. So, uh, if they do believe him, all he's done is throw his life away in a pointless symbolic gesture. And if they don't believe him, it'll mean all-out war between the Narn and Centauri...
Speaking of all-out war between the Narn and the Centauri, Londo's new associate Lord Refa wants to send some sort of message while the Emperor is on-station. Londo is at first reluctant but decides that this is another opportunity for advancement, and if a Narn colony has to die for him to get ahead in life, so be it. And you thought Game of Thrones was full of jerks, petty rivalries, and magnificent schemers. So Londo has Vir get in touch with Morden, but we don't actually get to see Morden in this episode because the guest cast list is already quite long...
Garibaldi arrests a guy for following him, because in addition to the coming of Shadows, we're watching EarthGov slide into fascism and he thought he'd just get a head start on things. Okay, I kid. It's time for the Emperor's speech and he's the head of security, so naturally he's on high alert. Especially because about eight weeks ago (from his perspective) he failed to save President Santiago. Anyway, it eventually turns out that the guy following him is a Ranger (yes, named after the guys in that other really famous fantasy series, the same one that gave us Za'Ha'Dum) working for Ambassador Sinclair. So he's still in this game. And now Garibaldi knows about the Shadows.
Which is good, because the Shadows just went ahead and knocked out a Narn colony. Centauri ships came by to make sure the job was done, and some Narn ships caught them in the act, and now... yup, war.
But before news of the unprovoked attack reaches the station, there's still time for G'Kar to make his unprovoked attack on the Emperor. Unfortunately for him, the Emperor is inconsiderate enough to suffer a heart attack and die before G'Kar can kill him. Or rather, the Emperor suffers a heart attack, reveals that he came to apologize to G'Kar, and then dies. What follows is an amusing scene where Londo and G'Kar have a drink. Londo already knows that the news and the war are on their way, but G'Kar - who, again, was ready to throw his life away a few hours ago - is all happy for the future for pretty much the first time on the show. It's especially great because Londo's just had a dream showing exactly where all of this is going to lead: the Shadows will eventually swarm over Centauri Prime, Londo will become Emperor, and then he and a one-eyed G'Kar will strangle each other to death. He mentioned this dream all the way back in the first episode (the mutual kill with G'Kar part), but this is the first time we see it.
Well, then the news hits. G'Kar is pissed, naturally, but again this was a guy who was going to kill the Emperor. Now, yes, killing one guy is a bit different from obliterating a colony. Oh, wait, hang on. Despite the Shadows raining plasma death on the colony, apparently a lot of people are still alive down there. The Centauri intend to use them as slave labor, but Sheridan, acting on information from Garibaldi that the Centauri must have had help, says he'll be sending observers both to make sure the Narn civilians are well-treated and to investigate exactly how the Centauri were able to subdue the colony. Londo backs off. Garibaldi allows the Rangers to use B5 as a base of operations, and we learn that Delenn is going to get involved in their operation as well.
And there we go. The ante has been rather significantly upped. Great episode.
The Centauri Emperor is going to pay Babylon 5 a visit, even though he's old and doesn't think he'll survive the entire trip (at least judging by the way he says good-bye to his
...yeah, sci-fi writers have no sense of scale. Anyway Sheridan correctly points out that the current Emperor's hands are clean. G'Kar doesn't care. He decides to assassinate the Emperor, apparently for kicks and giggles, because he records a message saying (falsely) that he's acting without the knowledge or permission of his government. So, uh, if they do believe him, all he's done is throw his life away in a pointless symbolic gesture. And if they don't believe him, it'll mean all-out war between the Narn and Centauri...
Speaking of all-out war between the Narn and the Centauri, Londo's new associate Lord Refa wants to send some sort of message while the Emperor is on-station. Londo is at first reluctant but decides that this is another opportunity for advancement, and if a Narn colony has to die for him to get ahead in life, so be it. And you thought Game of Thrones was full of jerks, petty rivalries, and magnificent schemers. So Londo has Vir get in touch with Morden, but we don't actually get to see Morden in this episode because the guest cast list is already quite long...
Garibaldi arrests a guy for following him, because in addition to the coming of Shadows, we're watching EarthGov slide into fascism and he thought he'd just get a head start on things. Okay, I kid. It's time for the Emperor's speech and he's the head of security, so naturally he's on high alert. Especially because about eight weeks ago (from his perspective) he failed to save President Santiago. Anyway, it eventually turns out that the guy following him is a Ranger (yes, named after the guys in that other really famous fantasy series, the same one that gave us Za'Ha'Dum) working for Ambassador Sinclair. So he's still in this game. And now Garibaldi knows about the Shadows.
Which is good, because the Shadows just went ahead and knocked out a Narn colony. Centauri ships came by to make sure the job was done, and some Narn ships caught them in the act, and now... yup, war.
But before news of the unprovoked attack reaches the station, there's still time for G'Kar to make his unprovoked attack on the Emperor. Unfortunately for him, the Emperor is inconsiderate enough to suffer a heart attack and die before G'Kar can kill him. Or rather, the Emperor suffers a heart attack, reveals that he came to apologize to G'Kar, and then dies. What follows is an amusing scene where Londo and G'Kar have a drink. Londo already knows that the news and the war are on their way, but G'Kar - who, again, was ready to throw his life away a few hours ago - is all happy for the future for pretty much the first time on the show. It's especially great because Londo's just had a dream showing exactly where all of this is going to lead: the Shadows will eventually swarm over Centauri Prime, Londo will become Emperor, and then he and a one-eyed G'Kar will strangle each other to death. He mentioned this dream all the way back in the first episode (the mutual kill with G'Kar part), but this is the first time we see it.
Well, then the news hits. G'Kar is pissed, naturally, but again this was a guy who was going to kill the Emperor. Now, yes, killing one guy is a bit different from obliterating a colony. Oh, wait, hang on. Despite the Shadows raining plasma death on the colony, apparently a lot of people are still alive down there. The Centauri intend to use them as slave labor, but Sheridan, acting on information from Garibaldi that the Centauri must have had help, says he'll be sending observers both to make sure the Narn civilians are well-treated and to investigate exactly how the Centauri were able to subdue the colony. Londo backs off. Garibaldi allows the Rangers to use B5 as a base of operations, and we learn that Delenn is going to get involved in their operation as well.
And there we go. The ante has been rather significantly upped. Great episode.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
The top five James Bond title songs
Honorary mention: On Her Majesty's Secret Service, which trumps everything you're about to hear, but is disqualified because it is not "a song." The only thing stopping me to call it an audio orgasm is that ridiculous synth.
ADWD Reek I, Bran II
Good news and bad news, everyone. The bad news is that Theon Greyjoy's still alive.
The Citadel
is going to be the subject and setting of the final Mass Effect DLC. Pretty much everybody is going to be in it. Yes, including Zaeed. But probably not Thane. (And thus probably not Mordin either.) It's going to be expensive, but also about as big as Lair of the Shadow Broker.
And it drops basically a year to the day after Mass Effect 3 did, and a year minus one week before everybody started hating on the ending. ...and about a week before StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, so I have to ask, what is it with sci-fi video games and March?
The other thing, of course, is figuring out when the right time is, story-wise, for this DLC, which I won't be able to do until I've played it obviously, but I still like to wonder...
With Mass Effect 1, I only have Bring Down the Sky (and I've heard Pinnacle Station is awful, so...), and really I don't have a set time that I like to play that one, although I do have some criteria...
As for Mass Effect 3, I like doing From Ashes near the beginning, to give Mordin time to work on his genophage cure. Also to get Javik and not miss out on too many of his lines (getting him after the salarian homeworld mission means missing out on the line about a certain Prothean delicacy... oh well. It also preserves the integrity of giving the Atlas its own cutscene on Sur'Kesh but not on Eden Prime). I really like to spread Leviathan way the hell out over the entire game, because the tone is just a tad schizo. At the beginning of the game you've still got the time to get bogged down in Dr. Bryson's hobby, which doesn't seem to work near the end of the game. Near the end of the game there's more urgency, and it's more reasonable to accept Anne's willingness to get herself mind-raped to find Leviathan. Don't get me wrong, I love that scene, but she seems a tad too eager to volunteer. Omega is, if nothing else, a great diversion from the tedious Act 2.
Now, knowing nothing else about Citadel, I'm going to go ahead and play it... hrm. My first instinct was to play it during Shepard's trip to the Citadel at the beginning of Act 3, since that's the last time he has to go there... but there have been hints that not doing it right before the point of no return means that a certain character won't show up because their fate hasn't been determined yet.
We'll see.
And it drops basically a year to the day after Mass Effect 3 did, and a year minus one week before everybody started hating on the ending. ...and about a week before StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, so I have to ask, what is it with sci-fi video games and March?
The other thing, of course, is figuring out when the right time is, story-wise, for this DLC, which I won't be able to do until I've played it obviously, but I still like to wonder...
With Mass Effect 1, I only have Bring Down the Sky (and I've heard Pinnacle Station is awful, so...), and really I don't have a set time that I like to play that one, although I do have some criteria...
- Before Virmire. It doesn't make sense for Shepard to go off to save one colony when the entire galaxy is at stake.
- After the Heart of Darkness "Father Kyle" mission. Usually after Feros as well.
- If Shepard is a Colonist, either before or after the encounter with the escaped slave back on the Citadel, depending on whether or not Shepard's going to sacrifice the colonists to kill Balak. (See, once I know the variations on the story, I like to mold it as much as I can. This is why the series doesn't feel stale yet.)
As for Mass Effect 3, I like doing From Ashes near the beginning, to give Mordin time to work on his genophage cure. Also to get Javik and not miss out on too many of his lines (getting him after the salarian homeworld mission means missing out on the line about a certain Prothean delicacy... oh well. It also preserves the integrity of giving the Atlas its own cutscene on Sur'Kesh but not on Eden Prime). I really like to spread Leviathan way the hell out over the entire game, because the tone is just a tad schizo. At the beginning of the game you've still got the time to get bogged down in Dr. Bryson's hobby, which doesn't seem to work near the end of the game. Near the end of the game there's more urgency, and it's more reasonable to accept Anne's willingness to get herself mind-raped to find Leviathan. Don't get me wrong, I love that scene, but she seems a tad too eager to volunteer. Omega is, if nothing else, a great diversion from the tedious Act 2.
Now, knowing nothing else about Citadel, I'm going to go ahead and play it... hrm. My first instinct was to play it during Shepard's trip to the Citadel at the beginning of Act 3, since that's the last time he has to go there... but there have been hints that not doing it right before the point of no return means that a certain character won't show up because their fate hasn't been determined yet.
We'll see.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Amended schedule (UPDATED AND AMENDED AGAIN!!)
2/21: Reek I, Bran II
2/22: B5: The Coming of Shadows
2/23: GoldenEye
2/24: StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm beta notes
2/25: Tyrion IV, Davos II
The 22nd is the 20th anniversary of the Babylon 5 pilot movie. Hence the schedule change. I don't actually have the movie, but I do have the first episode to win a Hugo, and to my surprise I haven't reviewed it yet.
ADWD Jon III, Daenerys II
Up in the frozen northern wasteland, the nice priestess Melisandre has lit a fire to help the poor, desolate wildlings keep warm.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
ADWD Tyrion III, Davos I
Tyrion and Illyrio part ways. Still don't know what the cheesemonger's ultimate goal was, considering that he can't imagine Daenerys owes him squat at this point. Tyrion meets Duck, alias Ser Rolly Duckfield, the Unimaginative Knight. Y'see he was knighted in a field and there were some ducks nearby. He's traveling with Griff. Tyrion adopts the alias of Hugor Hill, because let's face it, when you're on your way to meet the Dragon Queen, you really don't want to mention, "Oh by the way I'm the son of the guy who had your niece and nephew murdered and also the brother of the guy who killed your father. Yeah, I hate them all now, but... no, nice dragon, nice yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrhrhrhghghghghhgghhgghghgh!"
Griff has a son, Young Griff. His hair is dyed blue because Essos is Japan. (There I go again with my ethnocentrism. Last time it was calling a half-Jamaican half-Trinidadian English actress "black," now I'm saying everyone in Japan has Anime Hair.) He's in roughly the same age bracket as Daenerys, so I think her suitors are piling up rather rapidly. Griff himself doesn't take much of a liking to Tyrion and basically keeps him alive just so he can write down all he knows about dragons. Hey, remember those books Tyrion was reading back in A Game of Thrones? Good job on that.
Davos wound up on the Sisters (a trio of islands near White Harbor) after Salla finally got tired of waiting for payment. Really not a lot happens here. Lord Manderly has pledged his allegiance to the Iron Throne, so Davos's mission to recruit him for Stannis seems doomed to failure before it even began. And we already know from Feast that Davos is going to end up on a spike (or do we?), but if he does, I'm going to be annoyed, because GRRM already jerked us around pointlessly with another character in the last book.
Griff has a son, Young Griff. His hair is dyed blue because Essos is Japan. (There I go again with my ethnocentrism. Last time it was calling a half-Jamaican half-Trinidadian English actress "black," now I'm saying everyone in Japan has Anime Hair.) He's in roughly the same age bracket as Daenerys, so I think her suitors are piling up rather rapidly. Griff himself doesn't take much of a liking to Tyrion and basically keeps him alive just so he can write down all he knows about dragons. Hey, remember those books Tyrion was reading back in A Game of Thrones? Good job on that.
Davos wound up on the Sisters (a trio of islands near White Harbor) after Salla finally got tired of waiting for payment. Really not a lot happens here. Lord Manderly has pledged his allegiance to the Iron Throne, so Davos's mission to recruit him for Stannis seems doomed to failure before it even began. And we already know from Feast that Davos is going to end up on a spike (or do we?), but if he does, I'm going to be annoyed, because GRRM already jerked us around pointlessly with another character in the last book.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Schedule
Tuesday: Tyrion III, Davos I
Wednesday: Jon III, Daenerys II
Thursday: GoldenEye
Friday: Bran II, Tyrion IV
Saturday: Davos II, Daenerys III, Jon IV
Sunday: Tyrion V, Davos III, Reek II
Monday: B5. I haven't decided what yet.
Tuesday: Jon V, Tyrion VI
Wednesday: From Russia With Love
After that... we'll see.
Wednesday: Jon III, Daenerys II
Thursday: GoldenEye
Friday: Bran II, Tyrion IV
Saturday: Davos II, Daenerys III, Jon IV
Sunday: Tyrion V, Davos III, Reek II
Monday: B5. I haven't decided what yet.
Tuesday: Jon V, Tyrion VI
Wednesday: From Russia With Love
After that... we'll see.
Skyfall review
I could go through and narrate every single element of the plot, or I could just say "it's GoldenEye with some parts done slightly better and some parts done slightly worse, with elements from The World is Not Enough and On Her Majesty's Secret Service chucked in. It has some good moments and the last 45 minutes are probably the best thing the series has done in more than twenty years, but on the whole nothing felt developed enough for the Serious Bond Film it obviously tried so hard to be."
Okay that's my review! Leave a comment below and tell me which Bond film you wanna see next.
Oh fine. Full recap with snark below the jump.
Okay that's my review! Leave a comment below and tell me which Bond film you wanna see next.
Oh fine. Full recap with snark below the jump.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Still in Love With You
So it's been about two years since we lost Gary Moore. This feels appropriate.
Moore was a temporary member of Thin Lizzy while they were looking for a permanent second guitarist at the time they recorded this song. He did the solo, then the new guy came in. New guy refused to re-record a note of the solo.
Skyfall review tomorrow. GoldenEye review Thursday. Rest of the week: A Blog With Dragons catchup.
Moore was a temporary member of Thin Lizzy while they were looking for a permanent second guitarist at the time they recorded this song. He did the solo, then the new guy came in. New guy refused to re-record a note of the solo.
Skyfall review tomorrow. GoldenEye review Thursday. Rest of the week: A Blog With Dragons catchup.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
ADWD Jon II
I just finished Davos I. Gave myself a bit of padding there. Hopefully I can cover Tyrion III and Davos I in one post tomorrow (when I read Jon III) and then do Jon III and whatever comes next on Friday and then I'll be all caught up. On the one hand I like having padding in my schedule just in case I have a heavy reading assignment some night and can't give as much time as I'd like to reading and posting for pleasure. On the other hand, I'm trying to remember stuff I read on Monday.
Fortunately, I have A Feast For Crows and Sam I to help job my memory a bit. Yes, we're five books in and only now does George finally pull a Rashomon on us. But I'll get to that in a moment.
Fortunately, I have A Feast For Crows and Sam I to help job my memory a bit. Yes, we're five books in and only now does George finally pull a Rashomon on us. But I'll get to that in a moment.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
ADWD Tyrion II, The Merchant's Man
Tyrion II
Tyrion is journeying to meet up with Illyrio's friend Griff. Illyrio is going along for the ride primarily to give Tyrion someone to talk to and be infodumped on. Important things to note here:
I'm giving it the short shrift, I know, but what I do here is gripe and there's not much to gripe about. I would offer praise - in the form of saying "I'm hearing all of Tyrion's dialogue in Peter Dinklage's voice" - but that's probably praise more of the casting department or Dinklage himself than of Martin's writing.
The Merchant's Man
Quentyn gets off to a great start by complaining about how the ship he's thinking of buying passage on stinks. Now it turns out that he actually has a point, in that the ship is actually a slave ship, but yeah, the guy starts off by complaining. There's some funny stuff about how he sucks at acting, hence why he's playing the role of "The Merchant's Man," because his friend makes a more convincing merchant than he does. His companion is the sort of comic relief character you know is going to die, probably very suddenly and horribly, just because it's GRRM writing it. So they wander around a bit and get mocked by some sellswords they'll have to end up fighting eventually because said sellswords are going to war against Meereen, and then Archibald Yronwood, probably the smartest guy left alive on Team Quentyn (they were ambushed by pirates earlier on), tells them some sort of secret path that they'll be taking to get to Meereen faster than the road and safer than the slave ship. We don't get to figure out what it is because the chapter ends.
Tyrion is journeying to meet up with Illyrio's friend Griff. Illyrio is going along for the ride primarily to give Tyrion someone to talk to and be infodumped on. Important things to note here:
- Viserys tried to rape Daenerys on the night of her wedding. I take back what I said in the prologue about Varamyr Sixskins being less sympathetic than Viserys.
- The Golden Company used to fight against the Targaryens. Not during Robert's Rebellion but back in the good old days when some bastard son of one of the Aegons claimed the throne. And then someone else in his family did the same thing. Oh hell, the wiki of ice and fire has an entire page on it, just go there. Anyway so Griff's team fought against the Targs way back when, so Tyrion is naturally suspicious of their motives in wanting to help Daenerys. Then again, Jorah was pretty suspicious of Illyrio's motives in wanting to help Daenerys too, and anybody who wants to question Ser Jorah's suspicions... well, two words. "Wine merchant." Point is, this entire thing is sketchy as hell and Tyrion's smart to not trust Griff as readily as Illyrio would like him to.
- Barristan Selmy is about as useful politically to Dany as Ned Stark was to Robert. Though it's Illyrio who says this, it's probably still true.
- Speaking of Ser Barristan, he's the guy who extinguished the Blackfyre line (the rebels that the Golden Company fought for). (I don't think that's actually in the chapter but it is on the wiki page I linked to. Oops.) Can't wait to see what he thinks of the Golden Company.
- The Golden Company always pay their debts. No wait that's not it. The Golden Company always keep their word. Only now they've broken it. For some reason. Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnn...
I'm giving it the short shrift, I know, but what I do here is gripe and there's not much to gripe about. I would offer praise - in the form of saying "I'm hearing all of Tyrion's dialogue in Peter Dinklage's voice" - but that's probably praise more of the casting department or Dinklage himself than of Martin's writing.
The Merchant's Man
Quentyn gets off to a great start by complaining about how the ship he's thinking of buying passage on stinks. Now it turns out that he actually has a point, in that the ship is actually a slave ship, but yeah, the guy starts off by complaining. There's some funny stuff about how he sucks at acting, hence why he's playing the role of "The Merchant's Man," because his friend makes a more convincing merchant than he does. His companion is the sort of comic relief character you know is going to die, probably very suddenly and horribly, just because it's GRRM writing it. So they wander around a bit and get mocked by some sellswords they'll have to end up fighting eventually because said sellswords are going to war against Meereen, and then Archibald Yronwood, probably the smartest guy left alive on Team Quentyn (they were ambushed by pirates earlier on), tells them some sort of secret path that they'll be taking to get to Meereen faster than the road and safer than the slave ship. We don't get to figure out what it is because the chapter ends.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
The Wolf and the Lion
A man must again beg a pardon for the slow update schedule. It's easier to read 12 pages than it is to watch an hour or so of television.
Ned Stark and Ser Barristan Selmy reminisce about that time they almost killed each other. Then they reminisce about dead folks like Ned's father and Ser Hugh, the guy who got his throat slit open by a giant freaking lance.
But nothing comes of that conversation so we go to a comedy scene where Ned tells his king that the king is a fatass. They laugh about it because they're old friends, and Robert sends Lancel Lannister off on a snipe hunt. Then he almost walks out belly-first.
Next up at the jousts, the Mountain versus the Knight of the Flowers, Ser Loras Tyrell. He rides in, all the pretty-boy, and exchanges a Meaningful Glance with Lord Renly. Hmm. Sansa asks Ned not to let the Mountain hurt Loras, because let's face it, Loras is wearing poncy armor and the Mountain is actually dressed for battle. The Mountain has trouble controlling his horse, because Loras is riding a mare in heat. Sansa whines about this being trickery and not honorable combat. Because Sansa is an airhead. Littlefinger tells Renly he knows Renly and Loras are "friends." Then the Mountain decapitates his horse because he's evil.
Tyrion discovers that he's not on the road to Winterfell. Then he starts talking about shadowcats and hill-tribes, and only then deduces that they're heading to the Vale of Arryn. Are shadowcats and hill-tribes everywhere in Westeros? The pacing of this scene is bizarre.
Anyway credit where credit is due. Cat isn't taking Tyrion to Winterfell. Oh, no, that'd be too obvious. She's taking him to her sister Lysa, who, as Tyrion points out, is insane.
They're attacked by hill-tribes. Cat has an amusingly small knife, which she uses to cut Tyrion's bonds. He thinks about making a run for it, but stays and freaking kills a barbarian by bashing the guy's head in with his freaking shield. Most of the party is massacred, and one of the few guys left is Bronn. He's a sellsword who gave Tyrion an Important Look when he said that Lannisters always pay their debts.
Back at Winterfell, Bran is studying the great houses while Theon is showing off his archery skills. (I'm sure he'll be given an opportunity to use those skills in Season Two, right?) Bran is mopey because his mother went south. I think I ragged on Bran's actor a bit in an earlier post, but honestly I just don't like his character that much. The actor's fine. It's just the one stupid dream sequence.
Next up Theon plows Roz while - damn, pick that camera angle up a bit! Anyway, Roz has a new necklace, which will come up in Season Two. Tyrion gave it to her. Theon exposits a bit an his backstory - he's Ned Stark's hostage because his father tried to pull a rebellion some years back.
In King's Landing, Arya chases cats. Varys reminds Ned that he's a eunuch and then tells him that he needs to save King Robert because Robert's stupid. Man, I can see why you're the master of spies. Varys tells him that Jon Arryn was poisoned, and soon the poisoner will strike the king as well. Varys posits that Ser Hugh might have poisoned Arryn, but Hugh's dead now. Well, okay, but who paid him? "Someone who could afford it." Why kill Arryn? "He started asking questions." Hey Ned, stop asking questions!
Remember how I said that this scene opened with Arya chasing cats? Well she's chased a cat down into a dungeon where Varys and Illyrio are conspiring. Unfortunately Arya never met either of them so all she can say when asked to describe them is "one was fat." In the books she's obviously referring to Illyrio. Not sure which one she meant in the show.
Next up in his magic teleporting act, Varys arrives in the throne room and has a conversation with Littlefinger. Littlefinger mocks Varys's sexuality (and lack of the tools) and Varys points out that he knows all the perverse sexual habits of the guys who frequent Littlefinger's brothels. They both threaten each other with the possibility that they might reveal that the other is working too closely with Ned Stark, and by extension against Tywin Lannister. Renly shows up and drags them to a Small Council meeting that Robert will be attending.
Arya ends up outside the city, somehow, and has to mouth her way past the guards to get back in. It's not clear if they arrest her and drag her to Ned or if she just swans past them. Anyway, Arya's present when Yoren from the Night's Watch shows up. This will be important later. Yoren's here now to tell Ned that Catelyn took Tyrion hostage. And that means other people are going to know very soon.
Cately arrives at the Vale and is met by Ser Vardis (and not by Brynden Blackfish... boo). Bronn makes a joke. He and Tyrion are getting on.
Ned finally makes it to the Small Council meeting that Varys, Littlefinger and Renly were headed to earlier. This episode is so bizarrely edited. Anyway Daenerys is pregnant and Robert wants he dead. Ned can't abide killing innocent children (important character trait for him), so he resigns. Oh by the way, Ser Jorah is spying on Daenerys for King Robert. Also by the way, there's an empty seat at the council table. It's for Stannis Baratheon, Robert's middle brother, who fled to Dragonstone after Jon Arryn died.
Anyway Ned's about to leave King's Landing when Littlefinger shows up and snares him back by promising to take Ned to the last man Jon Arryn spoke to before falling ill.
Lysa Arryn, Jon's widow, meets her sister Catelyn while breastfeeding her son. By the way her son is eight. Whugh. Catelyn tries to make it clear that Tyrion is her prisoner, not Lysa's, but he's thrown down in the dungeon and from here on out, Vale law applies. (I'm going to continue to use the Vale as much as possible because I have a brain fart every time I try to spell Eyrie.)
So those Significant Glances Renly and Loras were exchanging? And that quip Littlefinger made? Yeah it turns out Loras and Renly are gay. And Renly is spilling court secrets to his lover. And Loras is encouraging Renly to be more ambitious, because Joff's a monster, Tommen is young, and Stannis is unlikeable. So he should be king. By the way, I gotta point out since they're both shirtless: Loras is supposed to be one of the best fighters in the realm, but he's skinnier than Theon.
Cersei and Robert have a funny scene together. Remember last episode where Jorah said Robert was stupid enough to meet the Dothraki in an open field? Robert: "Only a fool would meet the Dothraki in an open field." Anyway, Robert and Cersei. I think they'd be a lot happier if she was his advisor instead of his wife.
Ned's found Robert's youngest bastard, the daughter of a whore. The kid has black hair, just like Gendry, Robert's other known bastard, and just like Robert himself, but not any of Robert's legitimate children. Anyway this is a brothel, so Jory gets distracted by a topless chick. HBO!
Well now news of Tyrion's arrest has spread among the city. Jaime Lannister arrives, kills Jory, and has a duel with Ned. Man, what skill with a sword. (I'm sure he'll be given an opportunity to use those skills in Season Two, right?) Anyway this is a bit more epic than what's in the books, probably because the producers cast someone who could actually sword-fight as Ned Stark and wanted to let him show off a bit. So instead of falling off his horse and breaking his leg that way, Ned gets a spear shoved through his thigh. Not quite an arrow in the knee. Anyway, then Jaime runs off, having done his job of really upping the ante.
Ned Stark and Ser Barristan Selmy reminisce about that time they almost killed each other. Then they reminisce about dead folks like Ned's father and Ser Hugh, the guy who got his throat slit open by a giant freaking lance.
But nothing comes of that conversation so we go to a comedy scene where Ned tells his king that the king is a fatass. They laugh about it because they're old friends, and Robert sends Lancel Lannister off on a snipe hunt. Then he almost walks out belly-first.
Next up at the jousts, the Mountain versus the Knight of the Flowers, Ser Loras Tyrell. He rides in, all the pretty-boy, and exchanges a Meaningful Glance with Lord Renly. Hmm. Sansa asks Ned not to let the Mountain hurt Loras, because let's face it, Loras is wearing poncy armor and the Mountain is actually dressed for battle. The Mountain has trouble controlling his horse, because Loras is riding a mare in heat. Sansa whines about this being trickery and not honorable combat. Because Sansa is an airhead. Littlefinger tells Renly he knows Renly and Loras are "friends." Then the Mountain decapitates his horse because he's evil.
Tyrion discovers that he's not on the road to Winterfell. Then he starts talking about shadowcats and hill-tribes, and only then deduces that they're heading to the Vale of Arryn. Are shadowcats and hill-tribes everywhere in Westeros? The pacing of this scene is bizarre.
Anyway credit where credit is due. Cat isn't taking Tyrion to Winterfell. Oh, no, that'd be too obvious. She's taking him to her sister Lysa, who, as Tyrion points out, is insane.
They're attacked by hill-tribes. Cat has an amusingly small knife, which she uses to cut Tyrion's bonds. He thinks about making a run for it, but stays and freaking kills a barbarian by bashing the guy's head in with his freaking shield. Most of the party is massacred, and one of the few guys left is Bronn. He's a sellsword who gave Tyrion an Important Look when he said that Lannisters always pay their debts.
Back at Winterfell, Bran is studying the great houses while Theon is showing off his archery skills. (I'm sure he'll be given an opportunity to use those skills in Season Two, right?) Bran is mopey because his mother went south. I think I ragged on Bran's actor a bit in an earlier post, but honestly I just don't like his character that much. The actor's fine. It's just the one stupid dream sequence.
Next up Theon plows Roz while - damn, pick that camera angle up a bit! Anyway, Roz has a new necklace, which will come up in Season Two. Tyrion gave it to her. Theon exposits a bit an his backstory - he's Ned Stark's hostage because his father tried to pull a rebellion some years back.
In King's Landing, Arya chases cats. Varys reminds Ned that he's a eunuch and then tells him that he needs to save King Robert because Robert's stupid. Man, I can see why you're the master of spies. Varys tells him that Jon Arryn was poisoned, and soon the poisoner will strike the king as well. Varys posits that Ser Hugh might have poisoned Arryn, but Hugh's dead now. Well, okay, but who paid him? "Someone who could afford it." Why kill Arryn? "He started asking questions." Hey Ned, stop asking questions!
Remember how I said that this scene opened with Arya chasing cats? Well she's chased a cat down into a dungeon where Varys and Illyrio are conspiring. Unfortunately Arya never met either of them so all she can say when asked to describe them is "one was fat." In the books she's obviously referring to Illyrio. Not sure which one she meant in the show.
Next up in his magic teleporting act, Varys arrives in the throne room and has a conversation with Littlefinger. Littlefinger mocks Varys's sexuality (and lack of the tools) and Varys points out that he knows all the perverse sexual habits of the guys who frequent Littlefinger's brothels. They both threaten each other with the possibility that they might reveal that the other is working too closely with Ned Stark, and by extension against Tywin Lannister. Renly shows up and drags them to a Small Council meeting that Robert will be attending.
Arya ends up outside the city, somehow, and has to mouth her way past the guards to get back in. It's not clear if they arrest her and drag her to Ned or if she just swans past them. Anyway, Arya's present when Yoren from the Night's Watch shows up. This will be important later. Yoren's here now to tell Ned that Catelyn took Tyrion hostage. And that means other people are going to know very soon.
Cately arrives at the Vale and is met by Ser Vardis (and not by Brynden Blackfish... boo). Bronn makes a joke. He and Tyrion are getting on.
Ned finally makes it to the Small Council meeting that Varys, Littlefinger and Renly were headed to earlier. This episode is so bizarrely edited. Anyway Daenerys is pregnant and Robert wants he dead. Ned can't abide killing innocent children (important character trait for him), so he resigns. Oh by the way, Ser Jorah is spying on Daenerys for King Robert. Also by the way, there's an empty seat at the council table. It's for Stannis Baratheon, Robert's middle brother, who fled to Dragonstone after Jon Arryn died.
Anyway Ned's about to leave King's Landing when Littlefinger shows up and snares him back by promising to take Ned to the last man Jon Arryn spoke to before falling ill.
Lysa Arryn, Jon's widow, meets her sister Catelyn while breastfeeding her son. By the way her son is eight. Whugh. Catelyn tries to make it clear that Tyrion is her prisoner, not Lysa's, but he's thrown down in the dungeon and from here on out, Vale law applies. (I'm going to continue to use the Vale as much as possible because I have a brain fart every time I try to spell Eyrie.)
So those Significant Glances Renly and Loras were exchanging? And that quip Littlefinger made? Yeah it turns out Loras and Renly are gay. And Renly is spilling court secrets to his lover. And Loras is encouraging Renly to be more ambitious, because Joff's a monster, Tommen is young, and Stannis is unlikeable. So he should be king. By the way, I gotta point out since they're both shirtless: Loras is supposed to be one of the best fighters in the realm, but he's skinnier than Theon.
Cersei and Robert have a funny scene together. Remember last episode where Jorah said Robert was stupid enough to meet the Dothraki in an open field? Robert: "Only a fool would meet the Dothraki in an open field." Anyway, Robert and Cersei. I think they'd be a lot happier if she was his advisor instead of his wife.
Ned's found Robert's youngest bastard, the daughter of a whore. The kid has black hair, just like Gendry, Robert's other known bastard, and just like Robert himself, but not any of Robert's legitimate children. Anyway this is a brothel, so Jory gets distracted by a topless chick. HBO!
Well now news of Tyrion's arrest has spread among the city. Jaime Lannister arrives, kills Jory, and has a duel with Ned. Man, what skill with a sword. (I'm sure he'll be given an opportunity to use those skills in Season Two, right?) Anyway this is a bit more epic than what's in the books, probably because the producers cast someone who could actually sword-fight as Ned Stark and wanted to let him show off a bit. So instead of falling off his horse and breaking his leg that way, Ned gets a spear shoved through his thigh. Not quite an arrow in the knee. Anyway, then Jaime runs off, having done his job of really upping the ante.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Dirty tricks on POV
So having read a chapter in which someone other than Davos has to interact with Stannis for a long period of time, my opinion of Stannis has begun to drop sharply.
The thing is, this is in stark contrast (pun not intended) to Tywin Lannister. Tywin is pretty much exclusively seen through the eyes of Tyrion, with whom he has a mutually antagonistic relationship. But because Tywin is an able commander, a strong administrator, and a shrewd diplomat, (and, well, a magnificent SOB) I can't really hate on him that much just because his children all turned out to be massive disappointments.
Yeah I'm incorporating a bit of Show!Tywin into this, but I don't care.
But the real king of this treatment is Tywin's son. No, not Jaime, Tyrion. We almost always see him through his own eyes, and when we don't it's through the eyes of someone who can't think straight (Catelyn) or is herself totally useless (Sansa). (Note: I am exaggerating. I do that a lot here.) But let's be honest here. In the first and third books, basically all Tyrion does is mouth off at people and spend Daddy's money. In the second book, yes he's the Hand of the King and is a pretty badass politician, but are we forgetting the savage mountain tribes he brought right into the capitol?
The thing is, this is in stark contrast (pun not intended) to Tywin Lannister. Tywin is pretty much exclusively seen through the eyes of Tyrion, with whom he has a mutually antagonistic relationship. But because Tywin is an able commander, a strong administrator, and a shrewd diplomat, (and, well, a magnificent SOB) I can't really hate on him that much just because his children all turned out to be massive disappointments.
Yeah I'm incorporating a bit of Show!Tywin into this, but I don't care.
But the real king of this treatment is Tywin's son. No, not Jaime, Tyrion. We almost always see him through his own eyes, and when we don't it's through the eyes of someone who can't think straight (Catelyn) or is herself totally useless (Sansa). (Note: I am exaggerating. I do that a lot here.) But let's be honest here. In the first and third books, basically all Tyrion does is mouth off at people and spend Daddy's money. In the second book, yes he's the Hand of the King and is a pretty badass politician, but are we forgetting the savage mountain tribes he brought right into the capitol?
ADWD Bran I
In which Bran runs across a still-alive one-eyed wolf. Hey what? I thought Prologue characters actually freaking died at the end of the freaking prologue. I want my money back.
So as somebody on the internets was kind enough to point out, the odd-numbered books begin with someone north of the Wall getting killed by Others/wights, and the even-numbered books begin with a maester (or apprentice maester) in the south being poisoned. Again I'm not sure if that's entirely deliberate due to the trilogy creep and the fact that Feast and Dance would have been one book if GRRM had found a binding thick enough, but it's worth mentioning.
It's also worth mentioning that despite the massive snark in the previous posts (and the epic hate you're about to witness), I actually do love this series. Look at the column on your right. It says "I criticize because I care."
So as somebody on the internets was kind enough to point out, the odd-numbered books begin with someone north of the Wall getting killed by Others/wights, and the even-numbered books begin with a maester (or apprentice maester) in the south being poisoned. Again I'm not sure if that's entirely deliberate due to the trilogy creep and the fact that Feast and Dance would have been one book if GRRM had found a binding thick enough, but it's worth mentioning.
It's also worth mentioning that despite the massive snark in the previous posts (and the epic hate you're about to witness), I actually do love this series. Look at the column on your right. It says "I criticize because I care."
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
ADWD Jon I
So in my mad quest to penny-pinch, I have the international trade paperback version of A Dance With Dragons, whereas I have the US paperback versions of all the other books. So I don't know if Dance has a different map, or if the international versions have had different maps this whole time.
But I hate the style of the new map, is what I'm getting at. I'm almost at the point where I'll flip to the map in A Storm of Swords because I'm so used to the old style.
But I hate the style of the new map, is what I'm getting at. I'm almost at the point where I'll flip to the map in A Storm of Swords because I'm so used to the old style.
In the "it just irrationally bugs me" category...
Eddard Stark is almost always referred to as Ned in his own chapters, but his chapters are still titled "Eddard."
Daenerys Targaryen is almost always referred to as Dany in her chapters, but her chapters are still titled "Daenerys"
Brandon Stark is universally referred to as Bran, even in his own chapters, and his chapters are titled "Bran." How come he's the only one who gets his nickname?
Daenerys Targaryen is almost always referred to as Dany in her chapters, but her chapters are still titled "Daenerys"
Brandon Stark is universally referred to as Bran, even in his own chapters, and his chapters are titled "Bran." How come he's the only one who gets his nickname?
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
ADWD Daenerys I
I was most of the way through this chapter before I realized that there wasn't a five-year gap between books 3 and 4/5. I just need to get that out of the way, because Dany's suddenly a world-weary queen who skipped school on the day she was supposed to teach her dragons not to roast children. Because they taste better lightly seared! Hoyo!
That's this chapter in a nutshell, folks, but for those who want more, read on...
That's this chapter in a nutshell, folks, but for those who want more, read on...
Monday, February 4, 2013
ADWD: Prologue, Tyrion I
Introducing a new feature from the "why didn't I think of this sooner" department, I will be blogging my way through my first read-through of A Dance With Dragons, one or two chapters at a time.
Sploilers, obviously.
Sploilers, obviously.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Apropos nothing at all
I present you with the overture to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
Horribly underrated, both the film and the score.
Horribly underrated, both the film and the score.
I have to get this off my chest.
Massive sploilers for Game of Thrones season 3/ A Storm of Swords
Honestly, the last Samwell chapter in A Feast For Crows was more of a surprise to me than the last Catelyn chapter in A Storm of Swords.
Honestly, the last Samwell chapter in A Feast For Crows was more of a surprise to me than the last Catelyn chapter in A Storm of Swords.
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