Graphic Novel Review – A Game of Thrones

It seemed fitting to do a review of this just before the premiere of Season 2 of the show on HBO. I loved my recent foray into graphic novel adaptations of books (with Uglies: Shay’s Story) and A Game of Thrones is the perfect follow up to that. In this case it’s a book series that I’m just never going to be able to read – 800+ pages in book 1, 900+ pages in book 2 – I struggle to get through a 300-400 page novel in a few weeks. I’d spend half my year trying to read these two books alone. And the TV series didn’t really interest my wife, and since we’re usually watching together, there just hasn’t been much opportunity to me to see more than the first few episodes.



So I come to this comic adaptation with a little knowledge from the series, but little else in terms of expectations. I’m not going to do my familiar summary of the story, at this point I’m guessing most people (unlike me) have read the books or seen the show. I’m going to talk about specific parts of this adaptation instead, to give you an idea of what I liked and to see if those same things might be appealing to you.



It should come as no surprise that this adaptation has some differences from the HBO series, and those sometimes subtle differences are mostly for the better. Scenes are expanded or extra bits of dialog are included in this graphic novel that just helped me understand the story that much better. Daenerys marriage to Drogo isn’t quite as smooth at first as it’s portrayed in the TV show, though eventually they both get to the same place of peace. But because of the limitations of budget on TV and the lack thereof when drawing, here we get to see Daenerys visions of Dragons and a wickedly wonderful Iron Throne that just needs to be seen to be believed.



There’s something about the format that just worked better for me as well. It adds a visual layer to the original manuscript, it’s an adaptation sure, but closer to the original than I think a TV show can capture. Still, if there’s something I have to give to HBO, the Others (the creatures of Winter) are much spookier on the show than how they were presented in the graphic novel. The only other thing that I felt didn't quite live up to my expectations was The Wall, I expected it to be even more impressive than it was on the show (because the sky's the limit in a comic) but there's only one small scene in this book featuring it, and we may get a better view in the next volume.



In all ways though, I was blown away by the artwork. I’ve never heard of Tommy Patterson before, but with a style very reminiscent of Michael Turner, I’ll be looking out for more work from him in the future. There is a substantive look at the making of this comic at the end of the book, which is a very worthwhile read. There were things I didn’t notice about the art until after reading this section – and it made me appreciate all the work going into the detailed backgrounds that the reader just takes for granted when reading the story. Most comics don’t look like this, and most artists aren’t drawing with this kind of attention to detail. It puts A Game of Thrones at a whole different level from everything else.



I finished this volume and immediately wanted to be able to pick up the next (which isn’t coming out until Dec) which should be telling enough on its own. I didn’t particularly care about catching up on the TV series, or reading these books, but if the comic continues to be as engaging as Volume 1 was, I can’t wait to read more. If you’re a fan of the show but don’t have the time to read the books, I can say this adaptation is worth your time – you’ll get more than what you’ve seen in the episodes, and the behind the scenes information will give you a better appreciation for what George RR Martin’s vision for this series really is.

Graphic Novel Review – A Game of Thrones

It seemed fitting to do a review of this just before the premiere of Season 2 of the show on HBO. I loved my recent foray into graphic novel adaptations of books (with Uglies: Shay’s Story) and A Game of Thrones is the perfect follow up to that. In this case it’s a book series that I’m just never going to be able to read – 800+ pages in book 1, 900+ pages in book 2 – I struggle to get through a 300-400 page novel in a few weeks. I’d spend half my year trying to read these two books alone. And the TV series didn’t really interest my wife, and since we’re usually watching together, there just hasn’t been much opportunity to me to see more than the first few episodes.



So I come to this comic adaptation with a little knowledge from the series, but little else in terms of expectations. I’m not going to do my familiar summary of the story, at this point I’m guessing most people (unlike me) have read the books or seen the show. I’m going to talk about specific parts of this adaptation instead, to give you an idea of what I liked and to see if those same things might be appealing to you.



It should come as no surprise that this adaptation has some differences from the HBO series, and those sometimes subtle differences are mostly for the better. Scenes are expanded or extra bits of dialog are included in this graphic novel that just helped me understand the story that much better. Daenerys marriage to Drogo isn’t quite as smooth at first as it’s portrayed in the TV show, though eventually they both get to the same place of peace. But because of the limitations of budget on TV and the lack thereof when drawing, here we get to see Daenerys visions of Dragons and a wickedly wonderful Iron Throne that just needs to be seen to be believed.



There’s something about the format that just worked better for me as well. It adds a visual layer to the original manuscript, it’s an adaptation sure, but closer to the original than I think a TV show can capture. Still, if there’s something I have to give to HBO, the Others (the creatures of Winter) are much spookier on the show than how they were presented in the graphic novel. The only other thing that I felt didn't quite live up to my expectations was The Wall, I expected it to be even more impressive than it was on the show (because the sky's the limit in a comic) but there's only one small scene in this book featuring it, and we may get a better view in the next volume.



In all ways though, I was blown away by the artwork. I’ve never heard of Tommy Patterson before, but with a style very reminiscent of Michael Turner, I’ll be looking out for more work from him in the future. There is a substantive look at the making of this comic at the end of the book, which is a very worthwhile read. There were things I didn’t notice about the art until after reading this section – and it made me appreciate all the work going into the detailed backgrounds that the reader just takes for granted when reading the story. Most comics don’t look like this, and most artists aren’t drawing with this kind of attention to detail. It puts A Game of Thrones at a whole different level from everything else.



I finished this volume and immediately wanted to be able to pick up the next (which isn’t coming out until Dec) which should be telling enough on its own. I didn’t particularly care about catching up on the TV series, or reading these books, but if the comic continues to be as engaging as Volume 1 was, I can’t wait to read more. If you’re a fan of the show but don’t have the time to read the books, I can say this adaptation is worth your time – you’ll get more than what you’ve seen in the episodes, and the behind the scenes information will give you a better appreciation for what George RR Martin’s vision for this series really is.

03 March 12

The Book Club-- Year One

I love it when I stumble across new blogs, especially ones that belong to interesting and insightful people. One post on discussion groups by a blogger who goes by the name Snowbrush resonated with me as his experience reminds me a lot of the book club I have belonged to for the last year.



In Snowbrush's post he muses on group dynamics and how often, from one group to another, the behaviors among people don't really change. Oh sure, people are different, by and large, but when we group ourselves together there are always the talkers and the wallflowers. Not to mention the interactions that come from multiple people trying to be polite (some of the time) and trying to get a word in edgewise from the alpha dogs that always seem to dominate the conversation.



I was ambivalent when I joined my book club for a variety of reasons. Obviously I'm a book lover, but my tastes are not very similar to that of my peers. I was invited into the group by a friend with whom I had swapped books- with some success. She's a love story kind of person, which is low on my list of necessary plot points, and doesn't much care for anything violent (she still won't read "The Hunger Games.") I didn't know the other members of the group before joining and I remember scrolling through the list of books on the bestseller lists and tried to decide whether or not I could stand to read the popular-literature I was sure someone would end up picking. Only one book stood out as too cliché in the unfortunate woman with a horrible life kind of way (the favorite pick of housewives everywhere in my limited experience) so I thought I'd take a chance on reading books picked by people who are nothing like me.



When the group first got together I started breaking the group down. The extrovert of our group made herself known quickly, as extroverts do, while the rest of us diffidently tried to figure out where we'd fit in the pecking order. We had our career woman, our teacher (the extrovert's mom), the part-time working mothers and the stay-at-home moms (my group). We assiduously avoided anything controversial like politics and talked about our kids. I noticed right away that no one shared my taste in books, though I did find a few "Twilight" fans (which did not give me any comfort whatsoever).



My friend was the first to pick a book and I soon found myself reading Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghase. I was sure I'd hate the book when I read the description about twin orphans born of a pregnant nun. (A pregnant nun? Really?) But was shocked to absolutely love the book. I think I liked it more than anyone else in the group. At this point I was feeling hopeful about this whole thing.



We went on to read books like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein and The Good Daughter by Jasmin Darznik and I liked them well enough. Then someone picked the book I dreaded (it had to happen) and, well, I'm not proud of it, but I lied and said I couldn't make it that month. Then it was my turn and I mulled over my choices. I couldn't pick a standard fantasy because no one would enjoy it-- trust me on that. So, knowing we had some "Twilight" fans in the group I went for the YA dystopia Divergent by Veronica Roth. I was sure the group would think I was nuts-- to my surprise it was a hit. They loved it and have been reminding me that the sequel will be out just in time for my next pick.



Wow. This was turning out much better than I had anticipated. Not too long after that I read Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor and fell in love with it so much that I raved to my group that they had to read it-- and got three of them to read it outside of being an "official" pick and they loved that too! Look at me-- influencing the group and everything. But I knew I had made an impact when one of the moms toyed with the idea of picking Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith. Whoa!



We still avoid politics in our discussions. The only time the topic has come up was when it was revealed that Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered a love child-- and really, politics was not the main point of that conversation. Though I guess our conversations about the seamy underbelly of the school's PTC (parent teacher club) could count as political in nature- who knew we had our own version of "Desperate Housewives" around here? I didn't until I joined the gossip fest book club.



Our extrovert still has the tendency to dominate the group, but as the sole book reviewer I get more than my fair share of good points in (it's what I do after all). The teacher, who is basically the wise woman of the group, has turned out to be one of my favorite people in the world. She's a world traveler who knows a little bit about everything-- it does my heart good to know she's teaching. The friend who brought me into the group has started to hint that she might be interested in reading some erotica (who knew?) and the neat-freak of the group (her house is spotless) has shared some interesting stories about her crazy in-laws (let's just say that it involves Megan's Law and leave it at that.)



If I've learned anything in the last year, I've learned that I'm not as different from the other moms as I thought I was. It sounds trite, but I don't make friends easily and since I'm not a joiner, who sits on every council or organizes every fund-raiser, I don't tend to be in the "in-crowd." I'm a class volunteer-- in and out in an hour. I'll donate money, but please don't make me sit on a committee. But after a year of still-tentative conversations I've learned that I'm lugging around the same insecurities as everyone else. We all dart in-and-out of the conversation, trying hard not to step on each other's toes, and fret over what we say after we leave. I've also learned that I like it when some people are absent from the group because it allows me the opportunity to really get to know the other members rather than just having two hours of polite chit-chat. I've also learned that I kind of resent it when the host doesn't serve wine- I like my social lubricant thankyouverymuch. I've realized that getting together with a group of women on a monthly basis completely satisfies my urge for girl-talk. Sometimes I even consider skipping a month because I find it a little overwhelming.



Mostly I've come to the conclusion that joining the book club was a very good thing. It makes me venture into the world, whether I want to or not, and it doesn't allow me to hold on to my assumptions about the suburban moms I see everyday. I still think I'm a different breed that most of the women I know- but I'm learning to integrate.

The Book Club-- Year One

I love it when I stumble across new blogs, especially ones that belong to interesting and insightful people. One post on discussion groups by a blogger who goes by the name Snowbrush resonated with me as his experience reminds me a lot of the book club I have belonged to for the last year.



In Snowbrush's post he muses on group dynamics and how often, from one group to another, the behaviors among people don't really change. Oh sure, people are different, by and large, but when we group ourselves together there are always the talkers and the wallflowers. Not to mention the interactions that come from multiple people trying to be polite (some of the time) and trying to get a word in edgewise from the alpha dogs that always seem to dominate the conversation.



I was ambivalent when I joined my book club for a variety of reasons. Obviously I'm a book lover, but my tastes are not very similar to that of my peers. I was invited into the group by a friend with whom I had swapped books- with some success. She's a love story kind of person, which is low on my list of necessary plot points, and doesn't much care for anything violent (she still won't read "The Hunger Games.") I didn't know the other members of the group before joining and I remember scrolling through the list of books on the bestseller lists and tried to decide whether or not I could stand to read the popular-literature I was sure someone would end up picking. Only one book stood out as too cliché in the unfortunate woman with a horrible life kind of way (the favorite pick of housewives everywhere in my limited experience) so I thought I'd take a chance on reading books picked by people who are nothing like me.



When the group first got together I started breaking the group down. The extrovert of our group made herself known quickly, as extroverts do, while the rest of us diffidently tried to figure out where we'd fit in the pecking order. We had our career woman, our teacher (the extrovert's mom), the part-time working mothers and the stay-at-home moms (my group). We assiduously avoided anything controversial like politics and talked about our kids. I noticed right away that no one shared my taste in books, though I did find a few "Twilight" fans (which did not give me any comfort whatsoever).



My friend was the first to pick a book and I soon found myself reading Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghase. I was sure I'd hate the book when I read the description about twin orphans born of a pregnant nun. (A pregnant nun? Really?) But was shocked to absolutely love the book. I think I liked it more than anyone else in the group. At this point I was feeling hopeful about this whole thing.



We went on to read books like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein and The Good Daughter by Jasmin Darznik and I liked them well enough. Then someone picked the book I dreaded (it had to happen) and, well, I'm not proud of it, but I lied and said I couldn't make it that month. Then it was my turn and I mulled over my choices. I couldn't pick a standard fantasy because no one would enjoy it-- trust me on that. So, knowing we had some "Twilight" fans in the group I went for the YA dystopia Divergent by Veronica Roth. I was sure the group would think I was nuts-- to my surprise it was a hit. They loved it and have been reminding me that the sequel will be out just in time for my next pick.



Wow. This was turning out much better than I had anticipated. Not too long after that I read Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor and fell in love with it so much that I raved to my group that they had to read it-- and got three of them to read it outside of being an "official" pick and they loved that too! Look at me-- influencing the group and everything. But I knew I had made an impact when one of the moms toyed with the idea of picking Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith. Whoa!



We still avoid politics in our discussions. The only time the topic has come up was when it was revealed that Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered a love child-- and really, politics was not the main point of that conversation. Though I guess our conversations about the seamy underbelly of the school's PTC (parent teacher club) could count as political in nature- who knew we had our own version of "Desperate Housewives" around here? I didn't until I joined the gossip fest book club.



Our extrovert still has the tendency to dominate the group, but as the sole book reviewer I get more than my fair share of good points in (it's what I do after all). The teacher, who is basically the wise woman of the group, has turned out to be one of my favorite people in the world. She's a world traveler who knows a little bit about everything-- it does my heart good to know she's teaching. The friend who brought me into the group has started to hint that she might be interested in reading some erotica (who knew?) and the neat-freak of the group (her house is spotless) has shared some interesting stories about her crazy in-laws (let's just say that it involves Megan's Law and leave it at that.)



If I've learned anything in the last year, I've learned that I'm not as different from the other moms as I thought I was. It sounds trite, but I don't make friends easily and since I'm not a joiner, who sits on every council or organizes every fund-raiser, I don't tend to be in the "in-crowd." I'm a class volunteer-- in and out in an hour. I'll donate money, but please don't make me sit on a committee. But after a year of still-tentative conversations I've learned that I'm lugging around the same insecurities as everyone else. We all dart in-and-out of the conversation, trying hard not to step on each other's toes, and fret over what we say after we leave. I've also learned that I like it when some people are absent from the group because it allows me the opportunity to really get to know the other members rather than just having two hours of polite chit-chat. I've also learned that I kind of resent it when the host doesn't serve wine- I like my social lubricant thankyouverymuch. I've realized that getting together with a group of women on a monthly basis completely satisfies my urge for girl-talk. Sometimes I even consider skipping a month because I find it a little overwhelming.



Mostly I've come to the conclusion that joining the book club was a very good thing. It makes me venture into the world, whether I want to or not, and it doesn't allow me to hold on to my assumptions about the suburban moms I see everyday. I still think I'm a different breed that most of the women I know- but I'm learning to integrate.

Waiting on Wednesday

This is a blog meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming books. This week we're featuring picks chosen by SQT and Jim.



SQT's can't wait to read selection is:

Velveteen by Daniel Marks

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Date: October 9, 2012

Pages: 304 pages





A delightfully dark fantasy of justice and the afterlife.



Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem.



The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.

 

Bonesaw.



Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days.

It’ll be brutal…and awesome.



But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.



Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules…or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.



The main reason I've got "Velveteen" on my WoW list is because it's written by Mark Henry (under the pseudonym Daniel Marks). Henry's Amanda Feral series is off center, funny and more than slightly demented. It doesn't surprise me that he'd choose to write a teen revenge fantasy and I expect it'll be incredibly entertaining. I am really looking forward to this one.





Jim's can't wait to read selection is:

Hush by James Maxey

Publisher: Solaris

Date: June 26, 2012

Pages: 512



The invulnerable, super-strong warrior Infidel has a secret: she’s lost her magical powers right at the moment when she needs them most. To keep a promise to a fallen friend, she must journey to the frozen wastelands of the north. Her quest leads her through the abstract realms of the Sea of Wine, where she uncovers a conspiracy that threatens all life. Hush, the primal dragon of cold, has formed an alliance with the ghost of a vengeful witch to murder Glorious, the dragon of the sun, plunging the world into an unending winter night. Without her magical strength, can Infidel possibly survive her battle with Hush? If she fails to save Glorious, will the world see another morning?



It wasn't all that long ago that I was putting the first book in this Dragon Apocalypse series (Greatshadow) up as my Waiting on Wednesday book - which I actually think is wise of the publisher, by putting out the series in short order I think it tends to keep the attention of readers better. I love the cover of this one, that dragon looks great perched as it is with it's tail wrapped around the rock and it's tattered wings outstretched.

Waiting on Wednesday

This is a blog meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming books. This week we're featuring picks chosen by SQT and Jim.



SQT's can't wait to read selection is:

Velveteen by Daniel Marks

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Date: October 9, 2012

Pages: 304 pages





A delightfully dark fantasy of justice and the afterlife.



Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem.



The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.

 

Bonesaw.



Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days.

It’ll be brutal…and awesome.



But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.



Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules…or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.



The main reason I've got "Velveteen" on my WoW list is because it's written by Mark Henry (under the pseudonym Daniel Marks). Henry's Amanda Feral series is off center, funny and more than slightly demented. It doesn't surprise me that he'd choose to write a teen revenge fantasy and I expect it'll be incredibly entertaining. I am really looking forward to this one.





Jim's can't wait to read selection is:

Hush by James Maxey

Publisher: Solaris

Date: June 26, 2012

Pages: 512



The invulnerable, super-strong warrior Infidel has a secret: she’s lost her magical powers right at the moment when she needs them most. To keep a promise to a fallen friend, she must journey to the frozen wastelands of the north. Her quest leads her through the abstract realms of the Sea of Wine, where she uncovers a conspiracy that threatens all life. Hush, the primal dragon of cold, has formed an alliance with the ghost of a vengeful witch to murder Glorious, the dragon of the sun, plunging the world into an unending winter night. Without her magical strength, can Infidel possibly survive her battle with Hush? If she fails to save Glorious, will the world see another morning?



It wasn't all that long ago that I was putting the first book in this Dragon Apocalypse series (Greatshadow) up as my Waiting on Wednesday book - which I actually think is wise of the publisher, by putting out the series in short order I think it tends to keep the attention of readers better. I love the cover of this one, that dragon looks great perched as it is with it's tail wrapped around the rock and it's tattered wings outstretched.