… here’s a two-part interview I did with fantasy novelist Peter Orullian, while passing through Seattle.
part one
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part two
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Thanks to Peter, and to Shawn Speakman of The Signed Page, who hosted the interview.
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Finally at home again, and able to enjoy both of my football games on my own TV.
Except “enjoy” might not be the operative word for what I saw today.
The Jets game was a horror. Maybe it was two great defenses tearing at each other. Or maybe two awful offenses stinking up the joint. Probably a bit of both. Ack. Fumbles, interceptions, missed tackles, more fumbles… there were a few exciting moments, but the Jets plainly did not want this one, since they kept giving it away. (I don’t think Joe Flacco wanted it either, since he kept trying to give it back). Rex said this was going to be Gang Green’s year, but after last week’s loss to the Raiders and this nightmare, I’m not so sure. And next week they have to go to Foxboro to face the Patriots. That could be ugly. Nick Mangold better heal fast.
The Giants… well, the Giants pulled out a miraculous win, though not without a little help from the refs. Eli played well, as did Hakeem Nicks, and it was great to see Osi back in action and wreaking havoc in the backfield. But the game turned on the Victor Cruz reception just before the last of Big Blue’s TDs, when he caught the ball, broke a tackle, then went down (untouched) and popped back up again… leaving the ball behind, on the belief the play was over. The Cardinals pounced on the abandoned ball, claiming a fumble. The refs ruled no, Cruz had given himself up. That ruling was not reviewable, so the G-men kept the ball and Eli promptly threw the game-winning TD to Nicks (a great catch by Nicks, by the way, a pity it is getting lost in the controversy over the Cruz play).
Needless to say, lots of controversy over the Cruz ruling, with detailed discussions on all the postgame shows. Even Eli said after the game that he thought the G-men caught a break there. That’s certainly true. Bottom line seems to me it all comes down to a judgement. The rules do allow a player to give himself up, at which point the ball is dead. Cruz was on the ground, and had plainly stopped trying to advance. He did not “fumble” the ball. He had it, he fell on it, and then he popped back to his feet for the next play, figuring that this play was over. That’s good enough for me.
I really like Cruz, by the way. He’s an undrafted free agent. Joined the team last year, had a sensational camp, then got hurt in the last preseason game and was out for the season. But this year he’s back and making the most of his opportunities. He seems to have great hands, and he fights for the ball and makes the tough catches. It would not surprise me to see him beat out Mario Manningham for a starting job by year’s end. So I’m certainly glad that his mistake did not cost the Giants the game. Something like that can weigh badly on a kid still trying to make his mark.
All in all… four games in, the G-Men are 3-1 and the Jets 2-2. Not at all what I would have predicted before the season. But that’s why they play the games, as Chris Berman likes to say.
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Congratulations to Chelsea and Sarianne, the lovely ladies and demon cooks behind the Ice & Fire themed food blog, THE INN AT THE CROSSROADS, who have been busily cooking up all the dishes mentioned in my novels for the better part of a year, and blogging about it… with recipes and mouth-watering photographs that never fail to make me hungry.
They have just signed a deal with Random House for a Westerosi cookbook. It will be called A FEAST OF ICE AND FIRE.
But I’ll let them tell you about it, here:
http://innatthecrossroads.com/2011/09/30/cookbook-of-ice-and-fire/
Read all about it… and check out their blog while you’re at it, and you may be baking lemocakes in no time.
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The wait is over. Yesterday Focus Home Interactive and Cyanide Studios released the first officially licensed Ice & Fire videogame — A GAME OF THRONES: GENESIS.
Here’s a brief teaser :
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And here a longer trailer:
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This is a RTS game. That’s Real Time Strategy, for those whose experience with videogames is limited (like mine). I’ve never actually played a RTS myself; my own videogaming was largely with older turn-based strategy games like MASTER OF ORION, RAILROAD TYCOON, and ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS. Those of you who have played other RTS games will find this one a bit different, I think… it’s not a clickfest, like some, and it features some innovative game design and original features. While there is combat in it, it is not a game that can be won simply by gathering resources, building armies, and winning battles. Much of the game revolves around intrigue, alliances, and betrayals. Envoys and spies and assassins are just as important as fighters, maybe more so. In some ways, A GAME OF THRONES: GENESIS is as much a board game as a RTS. The developers at Cyanide tell me that it’s easy to learn, but hard to master. The game is available in both French and English, and can be played solo or in a multi-player format.
Here’s an early review from one gaming blog:
http://deltagamer.com/17433/early-thoughts-on-a-game-of-thrones-genesis
A GAME OF THRONES: GENESIS retails for $39.99 and is available by download or from retail stores, including Amazon.UK, where it debuted as the #1 bestselling game upon release. Places to buy:
http://us-focushop.gamesplanet.com/shop/a-game-of-thrones-genesis/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Game-Thrones-Genesis-PC-DVD/dp/B00524V0ZI/ref=sr_1_1?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1317450239&sr=1-1
I have yet to get my own copies of the game, but I’m looking forward to them. Though I had better not play often. I have a history of being swallowed whole by videogames, which is why I don’t play much these days. (I swear, I lost a novel to MASTER OF ORION, and at least a novella to BANDIT KINGS OF ANCIENT CHINA and HOMEWORLD).
A GAME OF THRONES: GENESIS was the work of the designers and developers at Cyanide’s Montreal studio. Please do not confuse this game with the RPG that Cyanide is working on. That’s a completely different beast, still in development at Cyanide’s studio outside Paris, and will offer a very different sort of a gaming experience. No firm date for the release of the RPG has been set yet, but we’re probably looking at a release sometime next year.
To find out more about GENESIS, discuss the game, and link up with other gamers, visit the official website at:
http://www.agot-genesis.com/
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Sorry, Portugal.
When I put up the post about my Portuguese publisher winning the gold medal for being the first to release a translation of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS (see below), a number of readers in Croatia wrote me to say, no, the Croatian edition was out first. I had not seen the Croatian edition, or even a jpeg of its cover… but now I have.
They were right. Croatia was first. Portugal was second. Croatia gets the gold, Portugal the silver. (The bronze remains to be determined, so far as I know). Both Croatia and Portugal split the book into two volumes, and have thusfar released only the first half.
Here’s the Croatian cover for volume one of DANCE:
And here’s their cover for the second part, which is not yet published, but is in the pipeline and should be out soon:
Meanwhile, filming of the second season of the HBO series in currently underway in Dubrovnik, so Croatia is doubly blessed. A lot of Croatians have been hired as extras and crew, and a few have speaking roles as well.
Portugal, on the other hand, gets a visit from me next spring.
So everybody wins. I hope.
Enjoy the read, whatever language you may be reading in.
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I’ve done a lot of interviews this past year, but this was the only one that touched on the profound (and hitherto unexplored) influence that Wonder Man and the Avengers have had on my work:
http://www.maximumfun.org/sound-young-america/george-r-r-martin-author-song-ice-and-fire-series-interview-sound-young-america
It was great fun being interviewed by John Hodgman (he’s a PC). Even if he does think my Not A Blog is medieval. I also got to talk with him a little more at HBO’s big post Emmy bash.
((And yes, I am looking forward next year’s AVENGERS movie. Even though I think it’s an outrage that they left out Ant-Man and the Wasp).
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For all you funny book collectors out there… the first issue of GAME OF THRONES, from Dynamite and Random House, is now on sale in your favorite local comic book shop, bookstore, or spinner rack.
(Or at least it WAS on sale. I’m sorry, too much on my plate, I am way behind in posting here. GOT #1 went on sale last week, I gather, and is already sold out in many places. Dynamite has gone back to press for a second printing, but those copies will not have made it to the retailers yet ).
The first issue is available with two variant covers, one by Alex Ross and one by Mike S. Miller.
ROSS cover
MILLER cover
You pays your money and you takes your choice. Or you can just buy both, if you’re that kind of collector.
Inside, the artwork is by Tommy Patterson, the script and adaptation by Daniel Abraham. The original story, of course, is by me.
In other comic-related news, Comic Book Resources has published an interview with Daniel at:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=34496
There’s also a preview available on Newsarama at:
http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=44285
My hat is off to Daniel, Tommy, Alex, Mike, and the rest of the good folks at Dynamite and Random House, who have brought Westeros and its denizens to the world of comics.
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Season two is presently filming in Belfast and Dubrovnik.
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With all my travel, I never got the chance to hoot about my induction as the newest member of the Kindle Million Club.
So here’s my hoot, a little late.
Read all about it:
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1607936
That’s some cool company. Or some hot company, as the case may be.
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