Other worlds: Game of Thrones returns Sunday with S2

The night is dark and full of terrors. The second season of the hit series based on George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire debuts tomorrow! (I’m so excited, even though I can’t actually remember where A Clash of Kings ends and A Storm of Swords begins.) Among the must-reads is this interview with showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss. There’s also been a lot of attention paid to the shows’ female characters. And is the mainstream finally paying attention to fantasy? Well, sort of.

If you want to gorge on more Thrones news, reviews, and interviews ahead of the premiere, head over to the dedicated fan blog Winter is Coming.


Authors behaving badly. Christoper Priest, author of The Prestige, is not very happy with the Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlist. Take it, Cleolinda.


Preach it. I haven’t been much impressed with his books, but I think Patrick Rothfuss hits things right out of the park on how fantasy needs to move past aping the Tolkien elves-and-dwarves formula.


The Hunger Games. Everyone loves it! Except the people who somehow missed that Rue was black in the book, and think that diminishes the character’s impact. (Um, spoilers.) Not enough facepalm in the world. Actress Amandla Stenberg said in a statement: “It was an amazing experience; I am proud of the film and my performance. I want to thank all of my fans and the entire Hunger Games community for their support and loyalty.”

Will The Hunger Games mark a sea change in Hollywood’s willingness to greenlight more female-lead action movies? The experts are skeptical.

And finally, here’s something not-so-serious: Capitol propaganda posters.


The Lame Files. Is 50 Shades of Grey taking fan fiction mainstream? Considering what what I got in my mailbox yesterday… Yes. Yes it is. Here’s a look back at the book’s fanfic past.


Also: Ten books every fantasy author should readWhy the Wheel of Time series is so longHighlights in the history of space operaHarry Potter genderswapStakes in fantasy novelsWhy old books smell so good

3 Replies to “Other worlds: Game of Thrones returns Sunday with S2”

  1. As for GOT, saw Mirror Mirror today and Sean Bean plays Snow White’s father. When he came on screen all dressed up, my brain instantly went Ned Stark LIVES!!! Hahaha!

  2. I love it when authors behave badly. Always giggle worthy.

    And interesting explanation about old book smell. Yum.

  3. The best thing about 50 Shades of Grey (are we going to initials on this one or is it just too notorious?) is that the mainstream press actually has to acknowledge that: 1) fanfic exists; 2) that it can be seriously addictive; and finally 3) that some of it is publishable — if rewritten out of its original context.

    I hear 50 Shades is not really all that good (no I haven’t read it, I haven’t even read Hunger Games yet) but a book doesn’t have to be all that good to sell. Remember, publishers are the opposite of writers: they sell stuff for a living (as opposed to creating just enough stuff to hold down a day job). As long as the story in question makes enough money to cover marketing costs and give a few execs a bonus or two, everyone’s happy. Extra added bonus if you hit the publishing jackpot and end up sitting on a Harry Potter-like goldmine.

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