George R.R. Martin's Blog, page 212

and another

The old maester has lived many lives, brief but numerous. In his youth he fought in the wars that some say inspired all of this. He has been a king and a god, but he'll always be daddy to me.

The Knight of Flowers

I suppose I could still hint around about this... something about holly and oaks and a bill, I guess... but it seems rather pointless, since (1) you guys would solve such hints in about twelve seconds, and (2) the answer has already leaked out on Twitter and has been picked up by some of the fan sites.

So instead I'll just confirm the reports. We have our Knight of Flowers. The part of Ser Loras Tyrell in the HBO series GAME OF THRONES will be played by Finn Jones.



Jones is a talented young B...

Now Shipping

Green Ronin has just released the new Campaign Guide for its SONG OF ICE AND FIRE ROLE-PLAYING GAME. The book is now shipping, and should be available soon at your favorite game store. It can also be ordered directly from:

http://www.greenronin.com/store/product/grr2703.html

The cover, featuring the Kingslayer and the Iron Throne, is another spectacular piece of work from Michael Komarck.



Happy gaming!

Stuff and Nonsense

Busy days.

The reaction to the teaser that HBO ran before TRUE BLOOD has been amazing. Of course, it's turned up all over the internet, and people are analyzing it frame by frame. Makes me wonder what it would have been like in those dark days before Tivo and YouTube, when those fifteen seconds would have flashed by once, with no way to rerun 'em, let alone freeze frame.

Casting continues apace. Mycah, Janos Slynt, Gendry, Tobho Mott, Old Nan, Shagga, Syrio, Marillion, Doreah, Alliser Thor...

A Change in My Policy

I'm glad that you many of you enjoyed last night's teaser on HBO. I did too.

Glancing over some of the comments, however, has made me realize that I need to make a change as to what's allowed and what's not allowed on this Not A Blog.

Up to now, I've pretty much shrugged off spoilers. Even the most recent book came out years ago, after all -- as some of you delight in reminding me -- and the vast majority of the folks who come here have read all four of the published series to date. So I fig...

Missed the Teaser?

Don't worry about it.

Here you go, for everyone in Europe and Asia and Saturn's moons, and those who don't have HBO (yet, I hope), and those who just want to watch it thirty times (hey, I'm way ahead of you):




Enjoy.



And for lagniappe, check out HBO's brand new GAME OF THRONES web page:

http://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones

If you've got HBO...

... be sure and watch the third season premiere of TRUE BLOOD tonight, for a little taste of what's coming on HBO, including (yes) A GAME OF THRONES.

In fact, you might want to tune in fifteen minutes early, to catch the pre-premiere feature. I'm not exactly sure when the GOT teaser will run. Before the pre-show, as part of the pre-show, between the pre-show and premiere... I'll be TIVOing the whole shebang myself.

(And for those of you who DON'T get HBO... sorry. You snooze, you lose).

Iron Guy

SPOILERS abound in what follows. Read at your own risk.

So I saw IRON MAN 2 last night. Well after the rest of the world, yes. What can I say? I've been kind of busy.

I enjoyed the film well enough. The first one was better, but this one kept me entertained from start to finish. Lots of iron action and stuff blowing up. I certainly didn't feel any need to demand my money back or anything.

Which is not to say I don't have some gripes, cavils, and observations. I mean, I know this iron guy...

A Casting We Will Go

Auditions continue in Dublin, Belfast, and London for a whole bunch of parts, both major and minor, on HBO's GAME OF THRONES.

Sometimes it is a very hard job.

I've just reviewed the tapes of twelve young women reading for the part of Shae.

Excuse me. I need to go take a cold shower now.

Ned, Sam, and the Crow's Eye

Dark Sword has posted some great painted versions of their latest trio of Ice & Fire pewter miniatures, and I thought I'd share them.

Here's Lord Eddard Stark. (No, he doesn't look like Sean Bean. We're not allowed to make him look like Sean Bean. These are based on the books, not the TV show). Sculpt by Tom Meier, painting by Matt Verzani.



And here's young Samwell Tarly, Sam the Slayer his own self, with obsidian dagger in hand. Paint by Matt Verzani, sculpt by Tom Meier. (We're casting ...