George R.R. Martin's Blog, page 223

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

Well, all good things must come to an end.

The Jets mounted a great playoff run this year, but it ended today in Indy the way all the Jets playoff runs have ended since Superbowl III... with a painful loss, and elimination. They played a great first half, and for a while I thought they might pull it off, but that TD drive that Eli's Big Brother led just before halftime was an ominous sign, and in the second half it all fell in... just as it did in Denver the last time Gang Green played in an ...

You Can't Go Rome Again

I still miss HBO's wonderful series ROME, and my weekly dose of Titus Pullo, Lucius Vorenus, Octavian, Anthony, Atia, and the rest of that wacky gang.

So much so that last night I watched the debut of SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND on Starz.

Learn from my mistake, boys and girls. Don't go where I went.

Starz is not HBO, and this SPARTACUS is not ROME. Hell, it is not even SPARTACUS. Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, and Laurence Olivier are nowhere in sight. The writing and acting here are pretty ...

The Future of Air Travel

We're moving rapidly toward this, after the over-reaction to the guy who set fire to his pants.

America is a free country. Except at its airports.

Here's Brienne

And on the miniature front, here's a beautiful new painted version of the Maid of Tarth. The figure was sculpted by the incomparable Tom Meier, and painted by the fabulous Marike Reimer.



Brienne is also available in a version w/ helm. She... and the rest of the Ice and Fire miniatures... is available from the OnLine store at http://darkswordminiatures.com/

The Return of Dunk and Egg

March 16 is the official publication date for WARRIORS, the big crossgenre anthology that I edited with Gardner Dozois.

A few early reviews are already starting to pop up on the internet. Check 'em out:

http://onlythebestscifi.blogspot.com/2010/01/anthology-review-warriors-edited-by.html

http://www.suvudu.com/2010/01/the-mystery-knight-by-grrm.html

http://www.alternative-worlds.com/2010/01/19/warriors-george-rr-martin-and-gardner-dozois/



There's all kinds of great stuff in WARRIORS: an all-star ...

Tor Blogging

Daniel Abraham is a guest blogger on Tor.com, talking about Wild Cards and other collaborations. Check out what he has to say at:

http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=58634

Green Sale

The Jets are going to the AFC Championship, and in honor of their magical run I am going to discount all of my signed books for as long as Gang Green keeps rolling.

Effective immediately, all of the titles on the Signed Books page of my website are on sale. For a list of available titles and prices, check here:

http://www.georgerrmartin.com/books.html

Those are the listed prices. For the sale prices, take $5.00 off the price of any listed hardcover, and $3 off the price of any listed paperback...

Sweet, Sweet Sunday!

Talk about flying high.

I mean, what a day. Aside from a Superbowl victory, the only thing that could possibly be sweeter than the Cowboys' humiliating loss in the morning game is the impossible win by the Jets in the late game... and getting both... well, there are no words.

A great day for Brett Favre and all the hornheads up in Minnesota. Jerry Jones and the Cowboys were not merely beaten, they were really most sincerely beaten. Spanked. The Purple Gang outplayed them on offense, defense...

One and One

Well, the Ravens had their wings pulled off by Eli's Big Brother. So much for great defense trumping great offense. Mistakes and penalties compounded Baltimore's problem, and a defeat turned into a rout, but the Colts would have won anyway. So there will be no final game in the Meadowlands to see off Giants Stadium. Sob.

On the other hand, it was splendid to see the Saints romp. Somewhere in Pottsville the ghosts of the Maroons are having a party, and toasting the strength of Drew Brees' ...

Needle Is Here!

Got a big package from the good folks at Valyrian Steel t'other day, with my very own copies of Needle. The sword is back from the foundry and now shipping... so if any of you have a friend, foe, or relative you'd like to stick with the pointy end, this is your chance!

Needle was especially made for Arya Stark, as a child's version of a bravo's blade. Our replica has a 24" inch long blade (30" overall) of high carbon steel with full tang. The hilt is cast metal with antique nickel plate and l...