The Fireside

Because next weekend is the season 4 premiere of Game of Thrones, I'd thought I'd get you all excited by recommending some of the merchandise that's come out. This is for mostly the HBO series (because there are simply more items), although I will mention a few book related items listed herein.

I was never all that familiar with comic books, or graphic novels, growing up. I knew the characters thanks to TV cartoons, movies etc, but I missed comics as a kid. It wasn't until I saw the first X-Men film that I thought, "This was movie was pretty good! Looking forward to the second one...which means I have to wait."  Being a fan of reading and books (and reading books based on movies before I see the movie, if possible) I relaized that X-Men was based on (a lot of) comics. So, I started with Marvel's Ultimate X-Men, and likewise with Ultimate Spider-Man . By about between the first and and second Spider-Man film, I was at least knowledgeable of some comics, graphic novels, as well as Comic Book Stores (which didn't have as many sexy girls in them as they do these days...what happened?!). I followed likewise with Batman after seeing how good Batman Begins was, and exploring some Batman trades and graphic novels.  Before I progress, let me lay so...

At long last, I've finished reading Wheel of Time book 10. 

So what have been reading lately, you ask? Well, for the past while I've been working my way through the fantasy series Wheel of Time . It's been part of my life for a while now - first heard of and started getting the books as far back as '03. I'm about to finish Book 10, then it's onto 11-14. After that, I'm taking a break from series / big books by reading Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl (also want to read that before the movie comes out). For the next series, I'm undecided on reading Daniel Abraham's Dagger and Coin, or Stephen King's Dark Tower . I'll read both, but which first?  I have quite a few books to last me a while. My next purchases tho, will be Maurice Druon's Accursed Kings series. I'll buy all seven in paperback the day the seventh is released, all at once. I'm also getting George R.R. Martin's material. Winds of Winter is a given, as well as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms .  I also like some good YA...

I am by no means a Tolkien scholar. There most likely have been better articles and selections of words used to express The Hobbit (Part 2) , as well as the idea of a Hobbit trilogy, and how it 'destroys' Tolkien's work, and "isn't The Hobbit ". This article will examine the 'problem's with The Hobbit films, many of which came to light in the second film, according to the detractors.

There's a new Tolkien book coming May 22nd. That's great news, but please note, it is not related to his 'Realm' ( The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, etc.) but rather his 1926 translation of Beowulf. 

Elio, Linda, and George have completed The World of Ice and Fire .

Not long ago, I finished watching Breaking Bad All of it. Here are my thoughts.

The following information is based on this blog post by George R.R. Martin: http://grrm.livejournal.com/ 360936.html   It seems that in this post George tells us quite a bit about what will most likely be a post Ice and Fire publication, but details the history and Houses long before Book One, A Game of Thrones, begins. I also consider Tales of Dunk and Egg to be a part of the 'Lost Lore' (not officially 'lost' but it has a cool sound to it. So cool, in fact, my own history will be titled The Lost Lore )   Anyway here's what we've learnt: - The 'GRRMarillion' has a new official title: "Fire and Blood".   - since the blog post is about the Rogues anthology, George mentions that the "Fire and Blood" release will see a longer version of "The Rogue Prince", and will be more like a novelette rather than a novella (neither version is as long as "The Princess and the Queen", the shorter ver...

After a tasty yet slightly expensive month, Beau's feBREWary has drawn to a close.

On  April 8 ,  The Hobbit (Part 2)  is coming out to own on DVD, blu-ray, etc... but don't buy it!   Much like  Part 1 , as well as the  Lord of the Rings  films, the theatrical version is being released first, followed by an extended edition, later in the year. The extended edition features much more comprehensive special features, as well as a longer version of the film, which will breathe more life into Tolkien's world.  Return of the King  was almost an all-new film, whereas the  The Two Towers  explained and elaborated on some of the changes made by Peter Jackson, as well as why they were made.   I haven't seen the extended edition of  The Hobbit (Part 1)  yet, as I'm holding out for an extended edition trilogy set of all  The Hobbit  films, which will most likely be all three extended editions that exist (then) merely boxed up together. Should it be released. If for whatever reason ...

This post examines a film series I enjoy, and would like to see continue right til the end.

    Good news everyone!   Yes, I will start 'announcement' posts in that fashion from now on...anyway, I was browsing Chapters, a national bookstore / book seller up here in Canada, when I noticed that George R.R. Martin's Ice Dragon book is being republished (a new edition?) in October of this year. I know nothing of the release, other than ISBN and release date, which is on the 21st.   The Ice Dragon is a great story, and worthwhile 'companion' to A Song of Ice and Fire , much the same way that The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a great companion to the Harry Potter series (especially Deathly Hallows ); or Tales of the Perilous Realm to some of Tolkien's tales. Great as a bed time story for close to when children begin to move on from being read to before bed, to when they begin to read books on their own accord. Of course, the book isn't just for children. I did a review of it [last December??] and used that book as a g...

The second book in Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight series is out today, in some formats such as ebook. Paperback editions will most likely follow about a year from now. Actually, speaking of paperback, the first book, Way of Kings , got released in an attractive larger-trim paperback today also. In addition to the massive sampling I did a while ago (collected all the sample chapters that were released into one blog post, linked below), here are all the "Glimpses of Radiance" released up to the book's launch as a tease. I believe that this series will be among the next big epic fantasy series. Enjoy! All the samples: http://insurrbution.blogspot.ca/2014/01/words-of-radiance-excerpt-galore.html

I'm a big fan of movies and 'cinema' though I don't blog about it often. I'm dedicating a post to 'Memorable Movie Moments'.