Remember a few weeks ago, when I was reading The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson? Remember when I said I would probably be reading it for several weeks, because it was over a thousand pages long? Well, guess what I’m still reading?
As 2017 came to a close, so too did our getting caught up on all of the available seasons of “Game of Thrones”. It only took us about five months to get through them, because that’s how we binge around here: At a deliberate pace. Sort of like how long it takes the Night King to move south from Hardhome while everyone else flits around the continent on Air Westeros, or however they do it.
Since my wife got hooked by the show, she’s been staying awake for pretty much the entire episode each time — at least until season 7, when the episode lengths started to approach the running times of short movies, which is pushing it on how long she can stay awake even when watching something she likes. But she never stopped with the pithy observations about what’s transpiring on-screen, and I never stopped scurrying off to write them down for later use******, helpfully arranging them by season, so that those who may not be caught up will know when to stop. Because …
So this week (or rather, last week, by the time this appears), I am (or rather, was) reading Six-Gun Snow White, by Catherynne M. Valente. As one may guess, this is a retelling of the “Snow White” story as a Western, in which Snow White is a half-Crow gunslinger, the Evil Queen (known only as Mrs. H) is the second wife of a robber baron, the Huntsman is a Pinkerton agent, the Seven Dwarves are outlaws, and Charming is a horse. And yes, it’s still written as a fable.
This week I’m reading The Towers of Sunset, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr., in which a young prince (sort-of — I haven’t quite figured out the exact nature of royal roles in this book) decides to skip town instead of allowing himself to be married off to a nearby ruler’s daughter. Because the “town” in question is a castle that’s basically situated in the middle of an arctic plateau, skipping it is a pretty major undertaking.
This week I’m still reading The Hole Behind Midnight, by the aptly-named Clinton J. Boomer (apt because he has made a lot of things go “boom” in the book by this point).
As I’ve mentioned previously, and to no one’s surprise, I used to be quite a fan of the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” television show, as well as the board game tie-in from Hasbro. The game only had scenarios for the first four seasons, with one “Big Bad” from each:
Naturally, being an old D&D Dungeon Master from way back in the day, I eventually made some of my own scenarios. I’ve previously posted the ones I did for Angelus (who―spoiler alert—was the actual Big Bad of season two), Ethan Rayne (for the “Halloween” eposide), the Gentlemen (from “Hush”), and Dracula (“Buffy vs. Dracula”). When I posted the Dracula scenario, I mentioned that the next one would be for Glorificus, AKA Glory, the biggest Big Bad from the show.
Because “Game of Thrones” is only available on disc from Netflix, the arrival of new episodes is subject to the vagaries of timing and the postal service, which means that there are occasions when no “GoT” is available. I’ve tried to fill those gaps with streaming series, without much success so far.
So we’re still watching “Game of Thrones”, and since we’re only partway through Season 3, will be for a while longer. At this point, I’m pretty sure that my wife has gotten into the show. How can I tell, you ask?
Me (discovering my wife on the sofa in the living room at nearly 10 o’clock, after getting home from the studio): “What are you doing?”
Wife: “I thought you* were going to watch ‘Game of Thrones’.”
Me: (looks pointedly at clock) Wife (disappointed): “Oh, I guess it’s kind of late.”
Me: “Yeah it is. I’m glad you like the show though.”
Wife: “I do, but they could have made it with half the violence.”
Me: “Well HBO wants to make sure we get our money’s worth. Anyway we could watch an episode but you’ll be asleep in ten minutes.”
Wife: “No, I’m awake.”
Me: “Then I’ll be asleep in ten minutes.”
If my wife is asking about watching TV at 9:50pm, that must mean something.