Tuesday, December 7, 2010

A Game of Thrones (HBO)

Hey Everyone

Hope you all are doing well and enjoying the hobby we all share :) I love fantasy and sci-fi, which either makes me a geek or a Games Workshop/Star Wars cash cow lol. Winter is coming where I am at, and I am not a big fan of the cold...I really hope JQ is having an awesome time right now!

Anyway, have you heard of George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series? If not, you should read it! It's a dark fantasy series that some have compared to Tolkien, with quite a lot of gore, sex and betrayals. The basic plot goes like this: there's 7 kingdoms ruled by the King (who originally ursurped the throne), his rule is unsteady and forces around him are moving to secure the King's throne...the geographical range is great, as it spans from medieval settings to oriental environments.

Fan-made map of the world in the Game of Thrones

The books are written from the perspective of the many characters in the book. All the characters are really complex and you may start hating one character...but once you read through his/her perspective...you'll get to appreciate who they are. I did read it since last summer (under influence from JQ) and I have to say it's one of the most compelling reads I have picked up. There are a total of 5 books, with 4 published so far...and I am reading the 4th one right now.

Ned Stark and his greatsword, Ice...he's played by Sean Bean who was also LoTR's Boromir. The tree is some sort of totem the northerners pray to, and have faces inscribed on them.

Jaime Lannister sitting on the contested Iron Throne, which is a mass of swords/blades molded together to form a throne. The intention was that the king had to be vigilant all the time, and if he slipped, he'll be cut by the throne..

Well, HBO is in the process of making a TV series of the books and it's slated for an April '11 screening. HBO is pretty much known to be kick-ass when it comes to making series (eg. Band of Brothers, Pacific). It really looks like a lot of good work has been put into this, such as the artistic effort to ensure the world looked authentic, and having the author on board for the production (which is unfortunately rare in book to film adaptations).

At the bottom of this post are some teaser trailers and a behind-the-scenes feature...which makes a very compelling trailer itself for the HBO series. If you have read the books, you'll be close to crying when you watch the feature as it brings to life the scenes from the book. Personally, I am excited about this new series coming up, and it'll be a treat for all fantasy fans alike...especially if you're looking for a gritty and artful treatment of fantasy.

In the meantime, I am about 2+ weeks away from coming back home, which means that the WFB battles we promised are indeed coming up on the horizon. I am still in the process of getting my tripod together as I am missing a tripod head...and would be able to take some pics soon (explaining why my past few posts aren't about my minis). Plus, we have JQ coming back soon from his adventures in Japan...so I guess there's quite a bit of stuff to look forward too in the near future!

Thanks for your loyal support, JQ and I really appreciate the time and color you all add to this tiny space on the internet. It is always a pleasure to read the stuff you guys write on this blog!

Till next time, do take care and stay geeky my friends.
Joshua

Teasers:





Behind-the-Scenes Feature

10 comments:

  1. Josh, THis looks totally wicked...
    Omg i can't believe it is finally up. The last I heard of its developments were a year back or more.

    Gonna start reading again!

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  2. Looks brilliant!
    Read George R R Martin not to long ago and seriously a novel of unique identity and exceptionally great thriller!

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  3. This is a brilliant trailer for such a great novel!
    I can't wait to see how it goes!!

    Eddard Stark is just an awesome noble figure!

    But like as the teasers have shown, each character has its own intrigue.

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  4. Wow.. looks like great cast.
    Many of them from Former Fantasy movies..
    HAHA Sean Bean aka Boromir as Eddard Stark seems like a sound choice!

    Looks like a good show.. though I haven't really read the book.

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  5. This show seems like something out of Robert Jordan's -Wheel of Time series novel

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  6. Trust me hawaiiwarhammerfan, its way better than Robert Jordan's novels..

    It is a one of its kind and It seems like after reading it, Fantasy never seem as much grittier as this.

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  7. George R R Martin is da bomb guys.. Seriously.. Rocking Dark Fantasy like no other.

    Winter is Coming

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  8. GOt me interested in reading.. But I'm sure that this is just like many dark fantasy novels.. though you guys describe it as one of its kind..

    Will check out the book soon though :)

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  9. Great blog and Neat Excerpt on the Song of Ice and Fire.

    New here but I like the style of ya blog! Keep going!

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  10. Trust me Desolater.. This book and its dark fantasy is really really great.

    It doesn't really follow a typical journey of fantasy. there are many twist and turns and real shockers in the novel.. So its really enjoyable!

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