Westeros

For those who missed the news as it coursed over the social web, George R.R. Martin revealed that the last of the major roles for the series had been cast in a post discussing both Rose Leslie’s casting as Ygritte and his announcement that actor Simon Armstrong was cast in the role of a legendary ranger of the Night’s Watch, Qhorin Halfhand.

Armstrong has been in a number of productions for film, television, and theater, including playing Claudius in the The Globe’s 2011 production of Hamlet and in the BBC Films The Edge of Love. Looking over his CV, Game of Thrones seems to be his first work in the fantasy genre.

Not one, but two acclaimed TV comedies made references to Game of Thrones last night, showing that the writers out there appear to be fans of HBO’s series. And best of all, we’ve got some clips to prove it thanks to fans on the interweb! See below for the video links to the Parks and Recreation and Big Bang Theory clips.

Hot on the heels of George R.R. Martin confirming that John Stahl is playing Lord Rickard Karstark, a significant northern lord, we have a bunch of confirmations of some of those smaller roles (though as they say, there are no small roles—only small actors). All of these have leaked over the last weeks, but until now HBO has not given official confirmation. So, here we go:

George has updated his post to confirm our speculation: Scottish actor John Stahl is now Lord Rickard Karstark. Lines for Lord Rickard were given guest actor Steven Blount last season, but it appears Karstark has been upgrade to being a “major role” this season. Stahl is a veteran of stage and screen, and should do very admirably in the role.

And speaking of major roles? George reveals that “the major roles” for this season are now all cast, with various “smaller roles” still being cast in London, Belfast, and Dublin. What’s left? Qhorin Halfhand, certainly. Beyond that, I couldn’t say, but I’m starting to worry about the Tullys being excised entirely this season (not just the Blackfish, who seems to be a goner for sure, but also Hoster and Edmure), and ... when are we going to hear about a certain smelly servant?

We recently noted the fact that Valyrian Stee  had learned that their authorized replica of Jon Snow’s sword, Longclaw, was going to appear on the October 13th episode of Big Bang Theory...

And as it happens, one of the newly-released sneak previews of that episodes? Features the sword itself, although in this case it’s being treated as the replica of ... well, “a sword on pay-cable”, but it’s unclear if they will actually name Game of Thrones. In fact, Valyrian Steel’s sword is based on the description as given in “A Song of Ice and Fire”, and has Martin’s direct input, much as their Needle, Ice, and King Robert’s Warhammer have.

See the clip below, as Sheldon and Leonard barely keep from drooling all over the weapon!

It’s been awhile, but as Martin writes, “once more into the breach”! Here’s the clue:

So, a Scottish actor, a list of roles, and I’m guessing some hints as to what that particular role is. Have at it!

UPDATED: Linda and I have done some sleuthing, and we think it’s John Stahl. Been in Loch Ness, in a play based on Frankenstein, “The Kingdom of Bones”, “The Slipper Slope”, and “The Malingerer” are episodes of various TV shows he’s appeared on, he’s Scottish, has played an inspector, and a fisherman (in Loch Ness), and a minister as well. As to the role, bits of the clue make me wonder if they haven’t bumped Lord Karstark up to a full-on role… but otherwise, the only other character that really comes to mind at the moment is Qhorin Halfhand.

When the news broke revealing Rose Leslie (formerly of Downton Abbey) had been cast in the role of Ygritte, I had made an effort—as I usually do with the casting announcements—to try and find a nice clip online of the actor, whether in a role or in an interview, but I had to do without for Ms. Leslie. Yesterday, however, Leicster Square TV released just the thing: an interview with the actress, filmed during a premiere of the Ewan MacGregor-Eve Green film, Perfect Sense.

And not just any interview… one from October 4th, nearly a week before the announcement, in which she spoke rather extensively about her involvement in HBO’s Game of Thrones.

I’ll note that there’s an implied spoiler in the interview, so if you haven’t read the books, I’d strongly suggest not watching the interview. We’ll provide a spoiler-free recap after the video:

EW has the scoop: British actress Rose Leslie is playing the role of Ygritte, a red-haired wildling spear wife who’ll meet Jon Snow when he joins Lord Mormont in ranging north beyond the Wall. Ygritte is one of the last major roles to be officially announced, we believe.

Leslie is a graduate of LAMDA, and may be recognized by fans of the hit British mini-series Downton Abbey due to her role as Gwen, one of the housemaids, in the first series. The coincidence of her involvement in that show leaves us hopeful that next season (*knock on wood*) Dame Maggie Smith might be wooed over from the show to play the Queen of Thorns…

A fine photo of the actress in her role as May in Nell Leyshon’s Bedlam which we think might give a nice sense of how she might look with wilder, more unkempt hair, which we’d expect for Ygritte. Ygritte’s red hair is considered lucky among the wildlings, who say it’s “kissed by fire.”

Swedish fans—you’ll be interested in this, I’m pretty sure. Stockholm’s famed Nalen night club is playing host to the Nalen TV Club’s second themed party, and—you guessed it—this time around the theme is HBO’s Game of Thrones!

Not just by one artist, but by two! First off, Tommy F. Patterson—the penciler for Dynamite’s A Game of Thrones series—has pages from A Game of Thrones #1 up for sale over at Cadence Comic Art. These are all original pencils, uninked and uncolored.

Also involved with Dynamite’s Cover is Mike S. Miller, best known by fans for his exceptional work on the adaptations of “The Hedge Knight” and “The Sworn Sword” (and, we hope, “The Mystery Knight” in the next year or two). At his Facebook page, Miller offers both original art and prints of his cover work for A Game of Thrones, as well as other “A Song of Ice and Fire” related work.

Make sure to check them both out!

After many years of hoping and praying, fans in the UK are finally getting their wish: Voyager is re-releasing the first four novels in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series in matching hardcovers.

The U.K. hasn’t seen a wide-release hardcover of A Game of Thrones since the book was first published in 1996. The same can be said for the lack of re-release of A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords.  Unlike in the U.S., the U.K. market meant that it did not make sense for Voyager to re-release hardcovers on a wide scale, even as Martin hit #1 on both sides of the pond with A Feast for Crows.

The new editions are due to hit shelves on November 11 for the first two volumes, and December 5 for the last two (just in time for the holidays, one notes!)

We should add that these are not, technically, the first hardcover re-releases from Voyager. That belongs to the “special edition”, slip-cased copies of the books that Voyager quietly began to release shortly after A Dance with Dragons: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, and A Dance with Dragons. These special editions are more limited runs, however, and may only be available for purchase on-line, so far as we’ve been able to discover. And, while slip-cased, they lack cover art beyond a stamped sigil for each book.

What can we say? The production’s decision to be quite open with local press has paid dividends for fans—to the point where some fans are feeling like the proverbial kid in the candy shop who’s sick to the stomach. We can’t say if this is too much of a good thing, all this photography and film of the Game of Thrones filming in Dubrovnik, so we’ll let you decide by sharing a few more pieces… including an excellent 1080p video showing some filming from pretty close up.

Author Peter Orullian has been interviewing some of his fellow fantasists, and thanks to Tor.com we have a new interview added to the So Spake Martin collection.

The first of two parts (the second has not yet been posted), the interview discusses A Dance with Dragons, the purpose of fantasy, and the old adage of “writing what you know”.

George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois have once more teamed up as editors to put together a new, themed anthology, and it’s hit shelves today!

Down These Strange Streets (US Hardcover, UK Hardcover, US Kindle) features more than a dozen authors writing urban fantasy short stories, including such notables as Carrie Vaughn, Patricia Briggs, Diana Gabaldon, and Martin’s fellow HBO-adapted author, Charlaine Harris. Other contributors include Melinda Snodgrass, M.L.N. Hanover, Simon R. Green, and Lisa Tuttle.

A complete table of contents can be found below:

Dubrovnik continues to be a leaky sieve, as far as photographs go—the production just doesn’t seem too bothered by it, when they’re shooting in public locations often frequented by tourists. There are some interesting—and spoiliery—photos to be found below, and we’ll provide a bit of context for them based on the second novel, A Clash of Kings.