Starr Z. Davies's Blog, page 6

Rebel is an inspired conclusion to Reboot

I have to say it’s been a while since I’ve found a series of books I read as quickly as Amy Tintera’s Reboot series. The conclusion was just epic enough in Rebel to keep me turning the pages, but not so much that I was overwhelmed by everything that happened. Rebel struck a perfect balance between action and pacing.

Let me kick things off by saying that this series has a bad rep. Not because it’s bad, but because some people are just overly critical. Yes, there is a lot of kissing and handholding (as I often find there are in such YA books). Yes, some of the tropes were predictable (again, as YA often is). But these are things I’ve come to expect from the genre, particularly when the protagonist is female.

So sorry, haters, but Reboot and Rebel do not belong on the DNF list. I don’t care what you say. 

I’ve read some bad YA fiction (really bad, see this review if you need proof), and this series was nowhere near that!

Rebel, by Amy Tintera, is about how Wren and Callum are forced into a series of situations they are grossly ill-equipped for. They don’t have the knowledge of what’s going on in the world. They don’t have the weapons they need to fight back. All they have are the hope that their escape to the Reboot reservation will give them the freedom they seek.

Which (spoiler) it doesn’t.

Okay, so this isn’t really a spoiler either. If you read the back of the book, it says as much. The real question the two of them face is, “What do we do when we know that reboots and humans are about to go to war against each other again?” The first time the war devastated the world. Callum — the more human of the two of them — insists that they need to help both sides. He wants the humans to survive. He wants the reboots to be free. And if I’m being totally honest, he was more interesting as a protagonist.

Callum really shines in this book.

He isn’t fawning over Wren (well, not completely). He struggles to find his place, as the weakest of all reboots, while also asserting his influence.

Callum is the underdog we love reading about.

In the end, as one would expect from any YA dystopian series, the protagonist(s) rise up, organize the rebellion, and take down the big bad guys.

I just have to note, my favorite moments from this book completely belonged to Callum.

I pulled my gun out and raised it as I heard the Reboots stop behind me. I fixed my eyes on Kyle’s.

“You’re going to want to get out of my way.”

Few books have given me the chills, and fewer still with just one line. I actually had to put the book down because I really wanted — needed — to absorb that moment. I wasn’t ready to move away from it. In fact, I haven’t felt a chill like that since The Wheel of Time: Fires of Heaven. “Kneel, or be knelt.”

The next moment comes when Callum emerges from a fog of chaos with a young boy on his back. I don’t want to give away anything else about this moment so you can experience it for yourself, but I smiled because this was the Callum I wanted to see. Where Wren was an unstoppable machine (much like a Terminator), Callum was more of an unsung hero — until that moment.

The two really big issues I had with this book were probably not really that big, but they stood out to me.

First, I’m not a fan of authors deciding later in a series to use switching perspectives. It feels inconsistent and a bit like cheating. I would rather see it right from book one or not at all. But please, authors everywhere, don’t do it in the middle of a series. To me, it’s akin to padding a college paper with ramblings or extra spaces between sentences, like you’re just trying to fill the page. Divergent did it in the final book and I hated it there as well.

Second, the fight against Micah — the Reboot reservation leader — was extremely anti-climactic and felt like it ended almost as soon as it began. I felt a little cheated and really wanted to see him put up a bigger fight.

With all of this aside, if I were to rate this series, I would give it four stars — and that’s only because the second book changes the way the story is told. Keep it consistent!

I’ve started something new…

Being an author is hard. It isn’t just about writing books, but connecting with the audience and focusing on marketing.

But I know very little about marketing.

So I joined a community of writers with more experience in these things than me. They’re fantastic people, and they keep telling me that I can’t just have an email list. I need to send out regular updates. But I don’t want to be one of those spammy authors who is always saying “Buy my book!”.

They said, “Email your blog posts.” But I didn’t know how to do that without adding a ton of extra steps. So I avoided it because it seemed too hard.

Today, I attempted to set up an automatic email that you will get whenever I post new content to my blog. It looks like it will be a success. Hopefully, none of you get frustrated and leave me. I appreciate every one of you and want to keep you updated with my content. Hopefully that’s what you want too.

Do you like this change? Leave a comment or email me.

Reboot “Rebooted” My Love for YA Dystopian Fiction

It’s been a while since I found a book I wanted to review. I’ve read five books in the time since my last review, and none of them stood out to me in any way that inspired me to write about them. Then along came Reboot, by Amy Tintera.

Honestly, the book was completely an impulse buy. I was scanning the shelves at my local B&N looking for a good YA sci-fi or dystopian fiction that had some similar themes to what I’m currently writing. While I did find one that I had been eyeing for a while, I continued to scan the shelves for something that stood out.

And Reboot certainly did.

On a shelf full of colorful, elaborate spines and covers, Reboot stood out with its simple black spine, red barcode, and title. Then I read the cover, “5 years ago, I died. 178 minutes later, I woke up.” I didn’t even bother reading the back of the book. That was enough to hook me.

As impulse purchases go, Reboot proved to be among the best.

Reboot is zombie fiction with a twist, and I absolutely loved it. Wren died at the age of 12, and like many children who die young, she came back as a Reboot — probably better known to us as a zombie. But unlike traditional zombies, these Reboots are faster, stronger, and can heal from wounds anywhere on their body. To kill a Reboot, you have to shoot them in the head.

The longer a Reboot is dead before rebooting, the less their human connection remains. Wren holds a record 178 minutes. No one else even comes close to her time, which makes even fellow Reboots give her distance and respect.

But Wren 178 meets Callum 22 and everything changes. She begins feeling emotions she isn’t familiar with and impulses that would get her in trouble with the HARC team that guards Reboots — if not get her killed. Desperate to save a very human Callum, Wren does something completely unexpected and unlike her.

Not only did I love the characters and the way they change each other, but the fresh take on zombies served as a nice change of pace. The story starts with Wren being distant and cold. By the end, Callum has changed her completely in a way that is both believable and, yes I’ll say it, adorable.

If you haven’t read this book yet, you absolutely need to. It’s fast-paced, fresh, and brilliantly written.

Configured Review: A Celebration of Indie Success

As a fellow indie author, it’s always a thrill to find another indie author with a book I’m actually interested in reading. My current playlist is firmly set to Dystopian teen fiction, and when I stumbled across Configured, by Jenetta Penner, I had no idea what just happened.

That’s not to say this was a bad thing. I finished reading a really terrible dystopian by a NY Times Bestseller and was pretty jaded. So I was much more careful about my next selection. I can’t even tell you what book I was looking at, but it didn’t excite me. It was interesting, but I just didn’t feel compelled.

And Amazon decided to tell me what else I might like. Unsure if I should trust their judgment — after all, their last suggestion did me so wrong — I figured I would check out the cover and read the blurb.

And Configured had me intrigued — something none of the other books had done so far. But I still wasn’t convinced, so I went to the reviews. They were so fantastic I figured I was an idiot if I passed up.

Boy, am I glad I didn’t!

Yet, it wasn’t until I received the book that I realized it was by an indie author. I was shocked and a little bit worried. There are some real gems out there, but I’m also honestly well aware of the fact that there are some seriously unvetted books as well.

One chapter into the book, I was hooked. It was like a drug, and I wanted more. You know those books you can’t put down because you just HAVE to know what happens next? Yeah, it was in my hands.

Configured is about a society where everyone has learned to suppress emotions. They’re too risky and increase the likelihood of crime, war, and more. At the age of seventeen, everyone is configured into society. They are outfitted with a job and optimal marriage matches.

Avlyn isn’t like everyone else though. She actually feels something and tries so hard to hide her emotions behind an ordinary mask. But as the truth of what’s going on in her city — and in the government — begins working its way into her life, she has no choice but to stand up and fight.

So Avlyn is recruited by a rebellion that is — quite literally — underground. They open her eyes and give her the tools she needs to come into her own.

I don’t want to say much more because I really don’t want to spoil this book. Suffice it to say I was giddy that I found an indie author in my genre who had a very strong handle on how to weave a story. From the beginning to the end I was captivated and couldn’t wait to turn the pages.

If I had to say I was disappointed about anything, it was the formatting of the book. For the most part, the grammar and punctuation were very clean, but some of the justification was off, making paragraphs offset and I found about three pages in the book at the end of a chapter that shouldn’t have been there.

But let’s be honest people. If the worst thing I have to pick about in an indie author’s book is a few formatting issues, I’m really just digging.

Would I recommend this book? Heck yes, I would! Penner does a fantastic job creating relatable and sympathetic characters that I wanted to see win. And I’m already armed with book two.

ORDINARY Needs Your Help to Come to Life! Here’s What You Can Do…

It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a tribe to help a book succeed.

To anyone who has been following my blog or social media feeds, you already know I finished writing ORDINARY. For those who don’t follow me regularly, this book has been a real labor of love. You can read any of my other updates about the process of writing this book on my blog.

I began writing this book in 2015 as a project for an undergraduate Creative Writing course. The first draft was… well it was a first draft.

In 2016, I joined an amazing writing group that helped me smooth out the rough edges and stamp out plot issues. (And there were a few.)

By early 2019, I finally had a completed, revised and edited copy of the book that I felt confident in. My writer’s group loved the final result and called it highly marketable. So, feeling confident, I pursued traditional publishing, but over the last couple of months, I began to wonder what it would be like to do this on my own. So I did a lot of research and planning.

A lot goes into a successful book launch, and no indie author can do it alone. The most popular estimate to throw around is 100 book sales. Not per month. Not per year. Ever. Other popular estimates are somewhere between 300 and 700 in the lifetime of the book.

So I stepped back and reconsidered how I could overcome the hurdles and create a more successful book launch that could help me lead into another, and another.

That’s when I developed my three-step method for success. The reason authors find this struggle for success very real comes down to three things.

Quality of Book Development: This first step is critical to the integrity of the book. It includes cover design that rivals traditionally published books, editing to help find issues that were missed and the setup of a successful and accessible book distributor.
Pre-release promotional efforts: Before those traditionally published books come out, the publisher sends out Advance Reader Copies (commonly called ARC). They create a social media buzz and set up a tour both online and in person that helps the author reach a wider audience when the book is released.
Post-Launch marketing efforts: Post-launch marketing actually begins before the book is launched. Usually about two weeks before. The author promotes the book hard on social media, GoodReads, Amazon, and other popular social spaces for readers. They do interviews and connect with websites that help promote author book releases. This is an ongoing effort. Most successful post-launch efforts last for three months full-steam. After three months, the promotion continues, but the intensity is pulled back so the author can focus on getting another book completed.

Why are these areas a struggle for indie authors? Because this is where authors have to spend money out of their pockets to make their book a success, and if it isn’t done right, the cost will not be recuperated in sales.

I know what you’re probably thinking right now. So how can I help? I can’t do any of that.

No. You can’t — and yet you can.

There are two ways you can help me out. One is free. The other… well it isn’t.

Join The Tribe

Become part of the street team. Join my tribe of readers eager to see this book become a reality. Tribe members will get a wristband, marking them out as an official Hero of Elpis. They will be welcomed into a private Facebook group where everyone can coordinate with me and each other to help promote the book. Any members who want to post a review will receive an ARC.

Keep in mind, I can only accept a limited number of people to the tribe.

What’s expected of tribe members? Glad you asked.

All tribe members are expected to help with the following promotion.

Leaving reviews on Amazon (but only if you buy the book through Amazon — they have strict rules), Goodreads, Bookbub, and their own personal blogs.
Hosting an interview or guest post on their blog.
Sharing others’ reviews and social media posts about the book
Sharing some of my author account social media posts
Posting shoutouts on their own social media channels
Posting Instagram photos of the book
Word-of-mouth promotion – talking about/recommending the book to their family members, friends etc.
Suggesting the book to book clubs and requesting them at libraries or bookstores

You wouldn’t have to do every single thing on the list, but the more you tick off, the better your tribe rank will be. Those who don’t participate will be removed from the tribe and replaced with another applicant.

Ready to join my tribe? Sign up for my newsletter on the top right (on desktop) or at the bottom of the page, and when the application process opens, I will let you know. I expect this will be around October — 6 months before the book is due out.

Donate to My Fundraising Event

As I mentioned before, the cost to successfully launch a book often comes out of pocket. This is why many indie authors fail to make significant sales.

I have developed my 3-phase strategy to help spread out those costs and organize the successful launch of my book. You can read more about each of the strategies and what exactly they entail on the event pages linked below.

Often, authors use crowdfunding sites to do this sort of thing, but they only get their money if they meet their minimum goal. It’s a lot of pressure for the author and the donors. Instead, I am running my fundraising directly through my website, and all transactions are processed securely through PayPal immediately. This helps pay for the cost of producing the book as the costs arise, instead of hoping that I can cover them at the end of a 30-day crowdfunding campaign.

Don’t have a PayPal account? No problem. You can use your credit or debit card securely without the need to sign up.

Anyone who wants to make monthly donations, instead of one larger donation, can simply click the box to do so. All monthly donations are canceled once the book is launched, or you can cancel any time through your PayPal account (and you have to have PayPal to do this).

Yes, I am asking for your money. And trust me, I don’t like doing it. As a reward, all donors will have a character named after them in the sequel — though I make no promises on what kind of character that will be.

Fundraising is operating in 3 phases, each with a tighter budget goal and an expanded reach goal:

Book Development: Budget $359 — Expanded $586
Creating a Buzz: Budget $527 — Expanded $1177
Marketing & Promotion: Budget $1489 — Expanded $3693

What if I don’t reach those goals?

There are always risks to creating and publishing a book. I’m prepared to take some of them on. Whether or not I make the total goal for either the budget or expanded plans, I will still publish the book. I’ve poured too much of my heart and soul into this project to not publish just because I didn’t meet fundraising goals. It just means I will have to be more frugal and creative in how I handle the book launch — which means it will take time away from writing the sequel.

In the end, it will come down to the quality of the book and how much I can afford to promote it for continuing success.

If you have any questions, you can always contact me. I’m more than happy to answer your questions!

YA Novel Pulse Lacks a Pulse

I have spent a fair bit of time reading YA novels lately — particularly books in alternate versions of our world, dystopian, and post-apocalyptic. Not all of them were great. Some of them were phenomenal. But only two of them actually turned me off to the series and the author.

Pulse, by Patrick Carman, is one of those two, joining ranks with Uninvited, but Sophie Jordan. I won’t even write my own summary. Here’s what Amazon says:

“In the year 2051, who has a pulse?

With the help of her mysterious classmate Dylan Gilmore, Faith Daniels discovers that she can move objects with her mind. This telekinetic ability is called a “pulse,” and Dylan has the talent, too.

In riveting action scenes, Faith demonstrates her ability to use her pulse against a group of telekinesis masters so powerful they will flatten their enemies by uprooting streetlights, throwing boulders, and changing the course of a hurtling hammer so that it becomes a deadly weapon. But in order to save the world, Faith will have to harness not only the power of her mind, but the power of her heart, too.

Patrick Carman’s Pulse trilogy is a stunning and epic triumph about the power of the mind—and of love.”

No. The book was neither stunning, epic, triumphant, powerful, or showed any signs of love.

Before I go too far into everything else wrong with the book, I feel it’s important to point out that Pulse is one of the worst point-of-view hopping novels I have EVER read. Literally, from one paragraph to the next we can be in the heads of everyone in the scene — whether that’s two people or five. It also makes me feel like entrenched authors who make the New York Times list (for who knows what after reading this book) can publish books no matter how poor the quality, as if their editors just don’t care anymore because they just want to sell more books. Aspiring authors and those who haven’t made that prestigious list could never get away with writing something this bad. Mini-rant over.

The pacing of this book is so slow I nearly gave up halfway through. Yes, halfway. I pushed myself that far and the plot still wasn’t really going anywhere. I won’t read the other books, but I would bet that they can all be condensed into just one book (assuming they are paced as poorly as this one).

It’s important to understand that a lot of this book just establishes the world and shows Faith hanging out with her friend Liz or getting used by the a-typical slimy jocky-type guy. Nothing about Faith’s character feels compelling or strong. She gets sassy, sure, but much in the way any teenage girl does. Sass doesn’t make a person strong.

Aside from showing a flair for Faith being sassy and full-on rude to people who don’t always deserve it, she has not just one stalker, but three. Two of them — Dylan and Hawk — actually watch her sleeping. And not once, but every single night. They watch her and track her and sleep in her bed (with her permission, sure, but after being caught watching her outside her window, which is creepy and wrong on its own).

The world is interesting and overdeveloped, but the characters fall flat and border on restraining-order level obsession with Faith. And she takes it all in stride, accepting the way they watch her, follow her, and obsess about hanging out with her.

Most importantly — and I mean this from the bottom of my very soul — Pulse glorifies obsessive, poor behavior for men, as well as making it seem like girls should be okay with that behavior.

Everything about this book lacks a pulse. Can I have my money and time back?

Game of Thrones Gave All the Characters Perfect Endings

I have spent the last eight years worshipping this show through ups and downs, shock and delight. Few TV shows have ever made me scream at the TV or cheer out loud during viewing like this one has.

And for someone who loathes endings, I have to say this one was stunningly perfect.  If I took the time to really pick it to pieces, I might find flaws, but honestly, nothing is perfect.

But don’t let me spoil the fallout of this show. Before you read this, you really have to watch the entire thing through to the end, then come back and tell me what you think.

Greyworm of Naath

“Naath. I’d like to see the beaches again.”

Greyworm’s ending is bittersweet and stunningly beautiful. The war is over, and he has lost the woman he loves and the woman he follows without question. With no one left to command his heart or mind, Greyworm takes his Unsullied on the ships to leave King’s Landing.

Before the Long Night, Missandei wanted to return to Naath when everything was over and the wars were done. Sadly she doesn’t survive that long, but Greyworm does, and he fulfills his promise to Missandei.

“My people are not peaceful. We will protect you.”

Though he lost Missandei, he still takes his people to protect Naath, just as he promised he would.

Tyrion Lannister – Hand of the King

“He’s made many mistakes. He’s going to spend the rest of his life fixing them.”

Tyrion has always wanted one thing — to survive and ensure that the people are not mistreated. The burning of King’s Landing acted as a tipping point, and he realizes all of his mistakes have led to this moment. But when Bran is named King, he calls on Tyrion to continue as his Hand. Tyrion says no, refuses, insists that he is unfit for the position. Greyworm agrees, wants to see him dead. But Bran reminds them that he is king, and justice is being served. It’s a great ending for Tyrion — and a great chance to fix his mistakes and start a new beginning as well.

Samwell, Brienne, Bronn, & Davos – King’s Council

First of all, Brienne finishing Jamie’s page objectively with the words — Died protecting his queen — teared me up. How hard it must have been for her to write those words. But her place as the Commander of the King’s Guard makes perfect sense.

Samwell becomes Archmaester in King’s Landing, which is also perfect for him. He left the Night’s Watch to become Maester for the Wall. Now he gets to hold a lofty Maester title in the capital instead, while keeping his life with Gill, Little Sam, and the new baby. A fitting position for his character arc.

Ser Davos becomes Master of Ships. A fitting title for a former smuggler/pirate.

Ser Bronn gets Highgarden and the Master of Coin title. Tyrion did promise him Highgarden in exchange for his services, and it’s nice to see that Bran agreed to carry out Tyrion’s promise. I’m not sure about him as Master of Coin — someone better keep an eye on him.

Bran The Broken – King of the Six Kingdoms

“Why do you think I came all this way?”

Who saw this coming? Bran. In fact, I’m sure he’s known this was his fate for at least two seasons, if not longer.

Bran on the throne made me feel uneasy at first, but I came around quickly for two reasons. First of all, who better to lead the kingdoms than the man who can see everything past, present, and future? No unexpected uprisings. No mistreatment of people anywhere in the kingdoms. Bran knows the mistakes of the past and how to avoid them in the future. Where Jon Snow knew nothing, Bran knows everything. Having someone with that sort of vision and complete lack of favoritism is actually a brilliant idea. So way to go, Tyrion.

Secondly, there are theories that the Three-Eyed-Raven can live an unnaturally long life. Some even believe that the old man who trained him was the future Bran. Perhaps the books explain this better, but the show doesn’t journey far into it. So there is a good chance that Bran could live for a very long time … if not forever.

Long live the King indeed!

Arya Stark – The Explorer

“What’s west of Westeros?”

Arya never would have been happy staying still. From the very beginning she knew that she was never meant to be a Lady, so settling down was never in the cards for her. (Sorry fans of the Arya-Gendry wedding, but it wasn’t in the stars.) Arya has traveled all of Westeros and to Essos. But way back in Season 6: Episode 8 Arya asks the same question. What’s west of Westeros? Now that balance has been restored, traveling across the sea feels like the only logical conclusion for Arya. Will she return? Maybe. Maybe not. We will never know. Though I will admit, I wouldn’t mind watching an Arya the Explorer spinoff.

Sansa Stark – Queen of the North

“Ned Stark’s daughter will speak for them. She’s the best they could ask for.”

Let’s face it, we all knew that Sansa was going to take control somewhere, and there must always be a Stark in Winterfell. It only makes sense that it would be her. There’s also a really rich history of independence in the North, which makes her proclamation — risky as it was — fitting. With Arya leaving, Bran the new King, and Jon a prisoner of war, it only makes sense that Sansa would be the Queen of the North. We all expected it in the 7th season, and it was obvious she wanted it when the Northerners declared Jon their king.

I also think that if the Lords and Ladies of Westeros had chosen her she would have taken the throne and merged the kingdoms. In fact, I think she even suppresses a surge of jealousy when Bran is nominated instead of her. If she were named Queen, she would not have declared the north its own kingdom.

But the North Remembers… and so does Sansa.

Jon Snow – Night’s Watch Beyond the Wall (And Tormund)

“You have the North in you. The TRUE North.”

Jon had a chance to be reunited with Tormund — one of his few remaining best friends — and Ghost. It was a stunning conclusion to his story.

All Jon ever wanted was to serve the realm and become a brother of the Night’s Watch. He said as much several times throughout the series. Jon accomplished so much in the Night’s Watch and saved thousands of Wildling lives. Tormund tells him that he has the true North in him, and it’s only fitting that Jon leads the Wildlings back beyond the wall, thus fulfilling his completed character arc.

Yes, he is a trueborn Targaryen, but Jon never wanted to be. All he wanted was to be accepted as a Stark and to serve in the Watch. By the end of the series, Jon gets both. It’s perfect and beautiful, and I teared up a little watching him ride beyond the wall with Tormund. Looks like we know who will become the next King Beyond the Wall… maybe. Or maybe he’s had enough of the games and will just be happy being.

Danerys Targaryen – Breaker of Chains

“I will break the wheel.”

What a journey this poor girl went on. From a timid little sister being married to a barbarian, to a powerful queen with thousands of troops at her back. All throughout her journey, Danerys promised to take what was hers with fire and blood — which she did — and that she would break the wheel — which her death accomplished. What a stunning story arc. I don’t care what anyone else has to say about it.

Jon was the only one who could kill Dany without raising suspicion from her and Drogon. Tyrion knew it. Varys knew it. Arya knew it. All three of them put Jon on the path that would lead to the inevitable choice. And they were right, Jon had a choice. He was the shield that guarded the realms of men, and killing her was another chink in his shield — for better or worse.

Dany died in the arms of a man she loved, and her vision for the future was brought to full fruition by those who followed her. They broke the wheel like she wanted and eliminated the need for tyrants. The only way her vision could have been realized while sparing the lives of the people from the wheel was with her death. Drogon melting the throne ensured that no one could ever fight for the Iron Throne again.

The Ending and Beginning Merged

I give this point an honorable mention in this post. The first scene we ever get in Game of Thrones is of a group of Rangers beyond the wall. It seems only fitting that it’s also the last scene we get. No more fights with Wildlings. No more Walkers beyond the wall. Where in the beginning there was danger and chaos, now the land beyond the wall is in peace.

The last images brought everything full circle again in an overwhelmingly satisfying way.

To those who are upset by how this story ended, I call shenanigans. A beautiful story with a beautiful ending needs to have character goals realized — even if not in the way we wanted or imagined. Game of Thrones accomplished this with precision.

And now our watch has ended.

Game of Thrones Quotes that Tell Us the End Before We See It

Game of Thrones has thrown some great quotes at us through the years. So many, that it can be hard to sift the important ones from the less important. But some of the quotes — including a few from the last episode — should have told us the ending before we got to it.

Before I carry on, if you haven’t watched the show or the last episode, please, don’t read on. It will ruin everything. I highly encourage you to clear your schedule and just binge watch everything, them come back and read this and tell me what you think. Seriously, it’s worth the time.

I’m not going to stop the wheel, I’m going to break the wheel.

Daenerys had one vision for the world: freedom from those who grind the lesser people beneath their wheels on the path to more power. She vowed to take what was hers with fire and with blood and to free the world from tyrants.

And she did, even if it made her just another spoke on the wheel to do it.

Despite Dany’s fate, her vision is realized. People who followed her loved her right up until she burned innocent people in King’s Landing, and “Love is more powerful than reason.” They believed in her vision. You couldn’t have asked for a more fitting end to the Game of Thrones than what we received.

I know a killer when I see one.

We all wanted Arya to be the one who killed Dany, but the truth is it never really could be. Drogon was too closely tied to Dany’s emotions for Arya to get close enough to do it. But Arya does tell Jon that Dany is a killer, implying that she is no better than anyone else and if Dany takes the throne, she will kill more people. After the speech Dany just gave, Jon knows Arya is right, but he’s still in denial. Stubborn Stark men!

Even Tyrion asks if it really sounded like she was done fighting, something Jon doesn’t want to admit. But when he confronts Dany, he knows that she will never stop, that she won’t listen to reason because she believes she is right, confirming what Tyrion warned Jon of — that they gave her too much power and made her think that she was doing the right thing. At that moment, Jon accepted what Arya told him, even if it might cost him his life.

Like it or not, he knew he was the only one who could get close enough to do what needed done. He stood in the face of Drogon, prepared to accept his fate.

Jon Snow: “You’re a man now.” Bran: “Almost.”

This one interaction baffled all of us. What did Bran mean, almost? Now we know.

Bran knew what was coming. He knew that he had to wait for the Night King so Arya would come and kill the undead leader. He knew that Jon had to know the truth of who he was, and that he would tell Dany and his sisters. He knew what Dany would do to King’s Landing.

Why do you think I came all the way here?

Bran knew that in the end it would be him taking over. He was not a man yet, but he was almost there. Bran has played the game better than anyone else because no one even suspected he was playing — but he’s been playing since he became the Three-Eyed-Raven.

Bran didn’t have battle experience, but he did have experience in extreme circumstances. And he knows everything. Jon had loads of battle experience, but he knows nothing.

And let’s face it, you can’t stage an uprising against someone who can see everything.

I have a soft spot for Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things.

Tyrion said it in the second season, that he has a weakness for cripples, bastards, and broken things. I just have to make a note of this comment, because this is exactly who takes over when the ash settles.

Cripples: Bran the Broken

Bastards: Jon Snow (because he doesn’t take his true name)

Broken Things: Sansa (because let’s face it, everything that happened to her broke her even if it builds her as something stronger). One could also argue that just about all of the survivors are broken things.

The Lone Wolf Dies, But The Pack Survives

The last of the Starks stuck together, working toward the same goal. And together, the pack survives. Robb and Ned worked without another Stark to support them, and we all know how that ended. Sansa, Bran, Arya, and Jon worked together, and all four survived.

What are some of your favorite quotes from the series that stood out to you by the finale as important? Share them in the comments!

Why Game of Thrones Season 8: Episode 5 Almost Turned Me Off to the Series… But Didn’t

It took me a while to formulate my thoughts and write about the latest Game of Thrones episode, The Bells. Not because I needed to analyze what I just watched. It was more like I was trying to digest a really terrible meal that gave me nausea and heartburn, and I needed time to get over the discomfort before I could even consider taking another look.

Before I launch into my review of S8 E5, The Bells, I have to put this disclaimer here for those of you who have yet to watch it. DO NOT read this first.

Not today… or any day. It pretty much sums up how I felt after this episode ended. If I wasn’t the kind of person who sticks things out to the bitter end, I would have quit this show with just one episode left.

But it isn’t my stubborn need to finish what I started that finally changed my mind. No, instead I took time to chew up the episode, get over my disappointment, wallow in my frustration, and get over it. Totally healthy, right?

I read a lot of articles about The Bells, as well as Twitter reactions, and at first, I agreed. Finally, last night I watched caved in and watched the episode again and realized something: the fans weren’t entirely right.

So let’s break down some of the major complaints people had and why I now disagree with the opinions I agreed with only days ago.

Jamie and Cersei’s Fate

Fans have spent 8 seasons waiting to see how Cersei would finally be removed from power. It’s one of the most speculated parts of the show — who will take the Iron Throne from her? I won’t bother getting into that question here.

The fact is, people were disappointed about how Cersei died. At first, I was among them. Why did I just watch all these seasons to see her get bested by a building? But that’s not what happened, is it?

Jamie returned to her because he loves her. He knows how destructive their relationship is and the effect she has on him, but he also understands that their fates are tied together. He always has. I don’t have a doubt in my mind that Jamie knew he would die with her when he left Winterfell.

So many people began forgiving Jamie as the show progressed, and I honestly don’t know why. He promised to see that the Stark girls were set free, but he didn’t do it. He killed men, women, and children for Cersei. Sure, he was more honorable than his sister, but that doesn’t make him a good man. Sometimes he stood up and did what was right, but that doesn’t forgive the horrible things he did. Sure, he helped Brienne, but the hurt he caused her was worse. This was completely his character arc. “The things I do for love.” Did we want to see him redeem himself? Sure. Was it really likely? Probably not.

The two of them attempt escaping, but we know it’s pointless, and they quickly figure it out when they try to slip out through the tunnels and fail. In those final moments, Jamie and Cersei embrace and leave the world the same way they came into it — together.

We also get to see her have a breakdown. The fear that she’s inflicted in others rises to the surface within herself. I don’t think we are supposed to feel bad for her tears and fears. This moment wasn’t meant to tug on our heartstrings and make us feel bad for her. There’s no way we ever would after everything she’s done. The intention was to create that poetic death.

Think about it. Was there really any other way she should have died than broken and vulnerable in her brother’s arms? It was actually sort of perfect.

Was I upset that Arya didn’t get to do it? Sure, but the truth is, Arya would have died if she did try to kill Cersei, and I think that would have upset me more than anything else in the show.

Tyrion Set Jamie Free

I loved the moment Jamie and Tyrion shared with each other. Both knew they were unlikely to live through the end of this, but they accepted their fates and said their goodbyes. I actually cried a little. Despite all the despicable things Jamie did, he really did love his brother and repeatedly went out of his way to help Tyrion. It was one of my favorite scenes in the episode.

What I did have a beef with was Tyrion’s plea to Jamie to get Cersei to give up. And I still do. Tyrion is supposed to be the smart one, and sure his family has always been a bit of a weak spot for him, but he can’t possibly be so dumb as to think that Cersei would actually give up. It wasn’t until the Red Keep literally started falling on people’s heads that she tried to flee after it was clear she had lost. The whole time Tyrion pleaded with Jamie to talk Cersei into being reasonable I just shook my head and said, “You can’t possibly be this stupid.”

Though I suppose it wasn’t as out of character for him as I thought. Despite how terrible his family became, he still loved them.

The Battle

I’ll talk about Danerys in a minute. For now, let’s just focus on the battle — or lack thereof.

We have spent the last eight seasons watching battle after battle. All of them were fantastic in their own unique way. We knew that when the fight finally came to King’s Landing and we had all of the best armies in the world facing off it would truly be something epic…

And then it wasn’t.

The Golden Company got all the hype and none of the fun. We didn’t even get to see them raise a sword. I’m on board with the disappointment here. It felt more like a moment of shock and awe than anything else.

But that’s not the only issue. We saw very little battle in this episode. After years of anticipation, the actual battle itself felt extremely anticlimactic. Dany and Jon’s men breach the city gates, then hold the line as the bells begin to ring. It isn’t until Dany begins burning everything that we see a battle. Yet what we get to see isn’t really a battle. It’s a mad massacre, and I don’t buy for one second that the Northerners would do this to innocents. Lannister soldiers, sure, but not women and children.

The battle was honestly the biggest disappointment of the entire episode. Maybe The Long Night set my expectations too high, but I wanted this to be as grindy as that fight.

The Mad Queen

But was she really? The show will probably set her up as a bit of a megalomaniac. After all, if this was about putting the rightful Targaryen heir on the throne for her and removing the usurpers, she would abdicate her claim to Jon. But it isn’t. She has spent years building to this moment only to have it threatened by someone with a stronger claim than her own. Dany is obsessed with her power now.

But I’m still not convinced she’s gone mad. Let’s look at the evidence.

First: Dany was happy — for the most part — right up until Jon told her the truth about his parents. She smiles, shows her usual compassion and sense of justice. Even Tyrion comments that she truly is a good ruler in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. He hasn’t lost faith in her yet because she hasn’t had to worry about her position.

It wasn’t until Jon told her the truth, then right after that Jorah died, that Dany started sliding into doubt and fear. Jon even has the love of the people, something she hasn’t been able to gain. Then again, Jon has been around for a while and she hasn’t. Dany hasn’t proven herself worthy to the people. Jon has.

This is what makes that moment in King’s Landing so critical for her. If she hadn’t chosen fear, she would have proven to the people that she is worthy of their love by punishing the army that stood against her and liberating the people from Cersei and the Lannister rule.

Second: Before they go to King’s Landing, Dany pleads with Jon, telling him that she needs someone to love her. She’s lost everyone else she loved except him and the people don’t love her. She’s isolated with only Greyworm on her side. Instead of opening up and telling her why he’s uncertain about their relationship, Jon says nothing. Shame on you Jon! Just tell her, “Hey, I do love you, but you’re my aunt and it just feels wrong to me. Give me some time and we can sort this out.” Instead, what does he say? Nothing. Not a word.

At this critical moment, Dany knows the people will never love her the way they love Jon, and the only way to get them to respect or obey her is through fear. “Alright then, let it be fear.” I blame Jon for what happens next.

Third: When Dany sits atop Drogon, listening to the bells, she doesn’t make her decision about what to do next lightly. The bells ring. The battle is won. But she still doesn’t have the people behind her. So as she sits there listening to the bells ring, she struggles with what she knows she has to do. “Let it be fear.”

Just watch this clip. Does she really look mad? Not to me. She looks like someone wounded, struggling to carry on, knowing that what comes next will be far from pleasant. She doesn’t want to burn them all.

https://starrzdavies.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Game-of-Thrones-The-Bells-Danerys.mp4

Fourth: In season two, she told the leaders of Qarth, “I will take what is mine with fire and with blood.” Sure, you can use this argument. But Dany has always been about liberating people from tyrants and helping the innocents. Burn her enemies? Sure! Burn a city full of innocent people? Doubtful.

Need further evidence that she’s not the Mad Queen? If that video didn’t do it, and you aren’t sure you buy that she was struggling with her choice, she flat out said in season seven, “I am not here to be queen of ashes.”

Did she burn King’s Landing? Yes. Was it without mercy? Yes. Did she want to do it? No, but she felt isolated and backed into a corner with no other option. Olenna Tyrell told her that to claim the Iron Throne she would need to be what she is… a dragon. And so she was.

I am not convinced that she’s gone mad like the Twitterverse claims, and I can’t wait to see how she justifies herself to others — or how they will react to her now that the battle is won.

One thing is for certain — Arya is not happy.

Here’s What I Expect from Game of Thrones Going Forward

Only two episodes left! The end of Game of Thrones is nearing, and I find each episode slightly more stressful than the last.

As we approach the end, I thought I would take a stab at making my predictions. Some of my guesses are not as educated as those who actually read the books — that’s right, I, an author of fantasy, have not read the books — but my information is based on what I have noticed as the seasons passed.

Before continuing, brace yourself. Spoilers are coming.

Cleganebowl 2019 & Arya the Faceless Assassin

In The Last of the Starks, we see Arya and Sandor headed to south on the King’s Road together — but not with the army. These two have their own path to follow and it leads them to the same place: King’s Landing. So what will happen when they arrive?

Ever since we watched The Mountain and The Hound fighting at the jousting match, we’ve all been salivating for Cleganebowl. Who will win a fight between these two brothers? We will find out, and my guess is that it will come in Episode 5 (which I am currently referring to as The Last War).

This battle will claim Sandor’s life — but not before he manages to kill his brother as well. And I think that Arya will not leave him to die again. My precise (and possibly very wrong) prediction is that a grievously injured Gregor will deal a deadly blow to Sandor. Sandor will be on the brink of defeat and Arya will swoop in to help end the battle. She will make sure The Mountain stays down and will either help Sandor survive or — if he is beyond help — ease him into death.

Who will kill Cersei?

Because it’s inevitable. We’ve known it, deep down, since season one when Ned was beheaded. Arya will be the one to finish Cersei off. This could go down a number of ways, but the beginning is clearly and obviously the same.

Arya will use the passage she discovered in season one to sneak into the Red Keep with Sandor. There, they will part ways on their own quest, but that quest will bring them back together again (as it often does). After all, where Cersei is, The Mountain is nearby. Sandor will distract Gregor in battle while Arya sneaks by to get to Cersei. And this is where it gets hairy.

In The Long Night, Arya proved that she has some pretty baller stealth skills. She sneaks up on the Night King when no one else could. So yes, it’s possible she could sneak up on Cersei the same way. But that seems too easy and too clean after everything we’ve been through to get to this point. Arya will have to use her Faceless skills to complete her task, which means she can either become Qyburn or Jamie to get close enough. Remember Walder Frey? Yeah, kinda like that.

But to do this, that person has to be dead, which makes Qyburn a more likely candidate and an easier target for Arya. Besides, Jamie is days behind the army in riding south. He won’t be in King’s Landing in time for Arya to plan this assault.

There is a third option, someone on Arya’s list who we haven’t seen die yet. Ilyn Payne. There’s a reason he hasn’t been on the show. The actor was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer years back. Thankfully it was removed and he is now cancer free, but we have yet to see if he will resurface in the show. It is a distant possibility that Arya could use Ilyn Payne’s face to get close to Cersei instead.

BTW, I don’t think that Daenerys will be happy that Arya will be the Hero of the Great War and the Hero of the Last War. This doesn’t bode well for Arya, and she may die before this series is over as a result.

Unless we want a happy ending (as if that’s possible for anyone), in which case, I think Arya will head to Storm’s End to make amends with Gendry. Not likely, though.

Or maybe…

Okay, this is a long shot, but maybe, just maybe, Jamie will kill his sister. He’s seen how much of a monster she’s become. “She’s hateful. And so am I.” He doesn’t once tell Brienne that he’s going to be with his sister. He’s on a path to redemption. He knows that he’s a horrible person who did horrible things, and maybe killing his sister and ending the war is the one good thing he can leave behind. Jamie rides off to his death, and he knows that, but I think he intends to take his sister with him. Maybe. Possibly.

Or it could just be that Jamie Lannister is just a shit who doesn’t deserve a noble death. Yeah. That’s more likely.

Yet I can’t discount the possibility that it could be him who kills Cersei. He is the Kingslayer, after all.

The dragons will all die.

I love dragons, and maybe that’s part of the reason I loved Daenerys so much. Her dragons are fantastic. But she lost one for sure. A second… maybe? We saw him get shot from the sky and fall into the sea, but if you pay attention, she never says her dragon is dead. What she says is, “You saw my child fall from the sky.” Sure, it’s a long shot, and Sansa does get a message that the dragon is dead, but it’s possible… or maybe I’ve watched too many Marvel movies (which this is nothing like; the dead stay dead unless they’re undead).

In Dany’s vision in Season 2, the Great Hall is destroyed, mostly from above, which means her dragons are more than likely the cause of the damage. But to do that damage, they have to get by Cersei’s scorpions, which I expect will deal a fatal blow to any of the remaining dragons. Losing them will mean losing her power, and Dany will be powerless against another person rising to the throne in her place. She just doesn’t have enough backing in Westeros.

Who will sit on the Iron Throne?

We have all wondered the same thing since that first season showed us just how brutal this Game of Thrones can be: Who will sit on the Iron Throne? So I will start with this prediction and justify myself.

And my prediction is… by the end of the final episode, we will see Jon Snow take the throne as Aegon Targaryen.

I hate saying this. I’ve been #TeamDany since the first season when she accepted her role as Khaleesi and the Dothraki began following her, but Season 8 has shown us a side of her that is becoming more and more reminiscent of the Mad King. Will Dany take the throne? Yes. We will see her entitled backside on the Iron Throne before this is over, but she won’t hold it. And there is one reason for that.

Littlefinger Jr. — a.k.a. Sansa Stark. She learned a lot during her captivity with Cersei and her time spent with Peter Balish, and that education gives her an edge to control who sits on the throne far more than people may give her credit. When she turned the tables on Peter in Season 7, we saw a side of Sansa that reveals just how powerful she has become. I fully expect to see more of that before this is over.

In The Last of the Starks, Sansa already set her plans in motion. She had enough time between when Jon and Bran revealed the truth about who his parents were and when she stood on that wall with Tyrion to know just what will happen if the truth comes out. She knows Tyrion is a good man and he just wants the war to end and a good ruler to take the throne — and she makes it clear in a few words just who she thinks that is: Jon.

It’s no secret that Sansa has no love for Daenerys. We’ve watched the two of them go toe-to-toe in just about every episode this season. Sometimes with words. Sometimes with just glances. But the enmity between them is palpable.

Sansa has already put her plans into motion. While we may not understand what those plans are yet, I don’t have a shred of doubt that Littlefinger Jr. is up to something, and it will only end when Jon is on the throne.

But Jon doesn’t want it!

True. But Jon also didn’t want to be Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch or King of the North. Daenerys points this out to him when she pleads with him to say nothing about his lineage. She knows what we know, and she fears it. Jon is the rightful heir to the throne, and he already has the love of the people in the North to support him. Daenerys is smart. She is well aware that everyone else will fall into behind him once Cersei is removed from power. In this, I agree with Dany, especially with Sansa already backing Jon.

What are your thoughts? Am I way off base or do you agree? What predictions do you have for these final two episodes? Sound off in the comments below!