Game of Thrones: The Mountain and the Viper for Bookies (Spoilers!)

Good day, everyone! I hope you’ve seen the latest episode of Game of Thrones from June 1st, since this post contains all sorts of spoilers for it. You’ve been warned.

If you are a book reader like I am, you knew what was coming, but that in no way destroyed the tension for you. I honestly hoped against everything that the Red Viper might somehow make it out alive where so many other characters have not. I know I couldn’t have been alone in that hope. I suppose the best any of us can do is remember the character for how great he was.

Comic artist Jeff McComsey has taken things a step further and illustrated the duel based upon descriptions in the original novel, A Storm of Swords—the third installment in A Song of Ice and Fire.

This art is by Jeff McComsy, and it is too good not to share.

Check out his 12-page effort.

As a lover of comics books, especially bold work in a unique style, I am elated to see one of my favorite moments from one of my favorite novels illustrated so faithfully. If someone hasn’t considered it already, McComsey should be contacted about the ongoing project to turn Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas into comic books. I’m sure he could contribute quite a bit to that.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tweet me @quaintjeremy.

image by Jeff McComsey. Check out his awesome blog, Sequential Killustrations. You can even buy his stuff on Etsy. Via the incomparable Geeks of Doom.

10 Memorable Fantasy Books and Series: Top Ten Tuesday

The great folks at The Broke and The Bookish have a feature they call Top Ten Tuesdays. I’ve wanted to join in for a couple of weeks, and since today’s theme is “Choose Your Own Topic,” I decided to whip something up. These are the ten fantasy books/series that I find most memorable.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. Hands-down my favorite fantasy book of all time.  It’s packed with beauty, tragedy, altruism, and hubris. It’s the book that made me want to write fantasy.

Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series.  It’s a series of stories about Dream of the Endless, known to some cultures as Morpheus 😉 Dream has six siblings: Destiny, Death, Destruction, Despair, Desire and Delirium. Destiny’s as old as the universe, and the rest are only slightly younger. As you might imagine, their family dramas can be intense.

George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire doesn’t need much of an introduction. I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment. I like the intrigue and the elements of realism he brings in, such as having a lot of maimed and disfigured characters. You’d totally expect that in a world that’s wracked by war and plague, but not all fantasy is this well-drawn.

Who’s ready for some Game of Thrones?

by Jeremy DeFatta

Good afternoon, everyone! It’s only 3 days until the season four premiere of Game of Thrones. I thought a little music to help get everyone in the mood might be in order. Here is a video of Cosplay Piano’s version of the opening theme from the series, with special bonus Lyanna Stark cosplay included.

Hopefully you are all duly pumped now. What is everyone looking forward to this season? (Book-readers, let’s keep the spoilers to a minimum, please.) What are you hoping for this season? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Tweet me @quaintjeremy.

“Did you pay the iron price for that?”

I’ll be out of pocket most of the day. Since we haven’t talked about Game of Thrones much, and it’s starting back up soon, here’s a nice rendition of my favorite house sigil and motto. You can find several more at Mwar’s Deviant Art page.

I’m ready for the season to begin. I’m even more ready for Martin to publish the next book. I’m beginning to think the series might catch up to the books.