Tagged: game of thrones
The Best and Worst of June 2014
I can’t believe it’s July 6th already, but then again when you have tech problems time seems to fly. So yes, it’s a little late for my Best and Worst of article but I guess it’s better late than never. Other than my ridiculous tech problems June was actually pretty good. Work is picking up as the tourists flow into town and the weather is finally, finally starting to smarten up. Luckily I’m not in the part of Saskatchewan that’s flooded or has experienced tornadoes.
Anyway, here are the best five articles of June 2014:
1. Why Girls Hate Game of Thrones—A Rebuttal
2. How to Read 100 Pages in an Hour
3. The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome
4. Your Open Book Promotion Thread
5. I’ve Been Invaded by Gremlins!
For the fourth month in a row, I have broken my monthly stats record! Instead of the 13,316 views of May, in June I received 14,198 views. As with the previous months, I have the TV show Game of Thrones to thank for that as my rebuttal article received 8,581 views or about 60% of my total traffic for that month. I have the hugely popular season 4 finale to thank for that, I think.
So what were the worst articles in this record-breaking month?
1. Graphic Novel Review: Batgirl Volume II: Knightfall Descends by Gail Simone
2. Discussion: Romance in YA Novels
4. I am More Than Just a Chronic Pain Statistic
5. The Best and Worst of April 2014
Meh, none of these are surprising or worrying. The only real trend I’ve noticed among the five worst articles is that Scott Westerfeld’s books seem to pop up a lot. It’s not because he’s not a popular author but maybe because I actually liked the books. I seem to get a lot more traffic from reviews where I didn’t like the book.
So how was your June?
A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance — beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.
Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys’s claim to Westeros forever.
Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone — a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.
From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.
After loving the first four books, I’ll admit that I really wanted to love A Dance with Dragons. I really, really tried. But it was such slow-going. It took me over a month to finish this book which should be a warning sign right there.
The problem, I think, at this point in the series is a little something called character bloat. There are too many characters. There are so many different houses and players entering into the war for Westeros that it’s simply become ridiculous. I can hardly keep track of them all and I’m not bragging when I say I have a good memory when it comes to books. Some points of view could have been cut from the book entirely. Did Quentyn Martell really have to have his say? Arya’s story barely went anywhere.
If it was just a slow plot I could handle it but it feels like the characters are going in totally different directions. Daenerys is an indecisive, idealistic moron compared to the strong, sure young woman she was in previous books. Jon Snow keeps swinging between rigidly sticking to his oath as a man of the Night’s Watch and totally violating it by siding with a king. Tyrion…well I don’t know what to think of him anymore. It’s okay that characters change and explore themselves. That’s what makes a story good! But it’s not okay that they randomly go in a whole different direction with pretty much zero explanation.
Despite all this, when I actually sat down to read A Dance with Dragons I didn’t mind it all that much. Some parts were pretty darn good. Although George R. R. Martin lost some of the things that made his series great in the beginning (his ability to kill off main characters ruthlessly, for one) he still has that amazing world-building. We learn so much about Westeros and the rest of Martin’s world that it almost makes up for everything else. The history of all Seven Kingdoms and the impact on people and other places was fascinating. I loved learning more about the world’s history! It added more depth to Martin’s world.
Yes, I will read The Winds of Winter when it finally does get published. Will I be looking forward to it as much as I did this book? Probably not. I’m just hoping that the next book will be better and that we’ll go back to that magical spark George R. R. Martin had in A Game of Thrones.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
The Best and Worst of November 2013
I can’t believe it’s December already. Where did November go? Obviously it was in a sick, flu-filled haze for me but it still seemed irregularly short. Now I have to start thinking about holiday shopping. Ugh.
On a slightly more cheerful note, the good news is that yesterday (November 30th) The Mad Reviewer got its 100,000th view since January 13, 2012. I almost did a happy dance at that news because it hasn’t even been two years of blogging yet! In addition to that, in November I received 5,827 views, which includes 3,865 unique views. That’s significantly up from September, the last month where my stats weren’t inflated by a controversial post.
So what were the best articles this month?
1. Why Girls Hate Game of Thrones—A Rebuttal
2. The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome
3. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
4. How to Read 100 Pages in an Hour
Meh, none of these are a surprise. With the popularity of The Hunger Games as a novel study book as well as the popularity of Game of Thrones, it’s not that shocking that these two were vying for the #1 spot all month. I mean, the Game of Thrones article only beat The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome by 10 hits. That’s pretty good.
So what were my worst posts this month?
3. The King’s Man by Pauline Gedge
4. Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
5. The Scourge by A. G. Henley
All of these listed here as the worst posts are all about pretty darn good books, especially Black Ships and The Scourge. It’s not that surprising how such good books get ignored in favour of novel study books or popular TV shows (since the GoT hits come mostly from show-related search terms). That’s just how the internet is, but it doesn’t make me any less proud of these reviews.
Other than being miserable for two weeks, November was a pretty good month for me. How was it for you? Are you excited about the upcoming holidays in December?
Why Girls Hate Game of Thrones—A Rebuttal
After I found this highly sexist article called Why Girls Hate Game Of Thrones I’ve been on what I like to call a “slow burn”. I’ve been stewing about it for two weeks now, biding my time until I got into full rant mode and now I’m ready to explode. Maybe it’s because I’m feeling crankier than usual due to a strep throat, but either way I couldn’t resist the urge to refute this sexist, idiotic excuse for an article.
Because I’m feeling particularly rant-y I will now dissect the article piece by piece, but be warned that the original article contains coarse language you do not normally find on my blog. No, there’s no swearing but there are terms I would not use in polite conversation.
So here is why Renata Sellitti thinks all girls hate Game of Thrones the TV series (which can also apply to the books):
Point #1: “We hate gross things. Know what’s gross? Screwing your sibling.” Continue reading
A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
(Cover picture courtesy of TV Tropes.)
With A Feast for Crows, Martin delivers the long-awaited fourth volume of the landmark series that has redefined imaginative fiction and stands as a modern masterpiece in the making.
After centuries of bitter strife, the seven powers dividing the land have beaten one another into an uneasy truce. But it’s not long before the survivors, outlaws, renegades, and carrion eaters of the Seven Kingdoms gather. Now, as the human crows assemble over a banquet of ashes, daring new plots and dangerous new alliances are formed while surprising faces—some familiar, others only just appearing—emerge from an ominous twilight of past struggles and chaos to take up the challenges of the terrible times ahead. Nobles and commoners, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and sages, are coming together to stake their fortunes…and their lives. For at a feast for crows, many are the guests—but only a few are the survivors.
Wow, whatever I was expecting out of A Feast for Crows definitely didn’t happen. You can say whatever you like about George R. R. Martin, but you can’t claim he’s predictable.
You know the tension between the Faith (the traditional seven gods) and the religion of the Lord of Light that was starting in the last book? Well, it’s definitely cranked up a notch in this one and I really want to see where it goes in the next few books. Without giving too much away, I think Cersei created a pretty disastrous situation for herself there. This increasing tension as well as the growing tension between the factions competing for control of Westeros just shows how well Martin really does understand politics. There are subtle plays for power, hidden alliances and outside factors that influence the politics as well.
Although I understand his reasons for doing it, I wish he would have included the points of view of Daenerys, Tyrion and Jon Snow. I’m incredibly biased since two of the three are my favourite characters, but I’m also curious about how their stories are playing out in the scheme of things. However, as a sort of consolation prize, getting the points of view of both Cersei and Jaime as well as new points of view from Dorne were great. Not only does it give you a far better understanding of said characters, it also allowed for a different perspective on the current political situation. Jaime’s disgust with Cersei, Cersei’s increasing instability and the power politics in Dorne centering around Myrcella were all fascinating.
For a book that’s nearly a thousand pages long, there weren’t that many places where the plot dragged along. Of course I got a little bored dealing with some of my least favourite characters, but the plot never crawled to a halt as it sometimes does in fantasy novels with multiple viewpoints. In typical George R. R. Martin fashion, there’s a heck of a cliffhanger at the end of the novel from pretty much every single viewpoint and I’m actually scared of reading A Dance with Dragons because then I’ll have to wait years for the next book. I am not necessarily the most patient person in the world when it comes to awesome series like this, that’s for sure.
If you haven’t started A Song of Ice and Fire you need to read the series from the beginning. Ignore the fact that there’s a TV show and enjoy the books before you decide whether or not you want to watch the show. Ignore the hype and judge the books on their own merit. And most of all, if you just finished reading A Storm of Swords you’ll love A Feast for Crows.
I give this book 5/5 stars.