The end of Thanksgiving tonight will mark the beginning of “Black Friday” in the U.S. (and anywhere else that has decided to follow American consumer mania)... but a few locales have, of course, jumped the gun and started their sales now. And as it happens, The World of Ice and Fire has been chosen by the powers that be to be a loss-leader for a couple of major players in the U.S. retail market.
First off, The World of Ice and Fire has been deeply discounted in its Kindle edition at Amazon US (here), bringing it down to $7.81, while Google Play has the book down to under $ (here). Perfect opportunity for those who own the hardcover to add an e-book edition to carry around on heir phone or tablet, right?
And Amazon’s gone a step further with a 30% reduction on its current, already-reduced price by using the special promotion code “HOLIDAY30” (valid on any physical book, by the way, not just TWoIaF) at checkout (here). That code is one-use only, by the by, and the offer runs out on November 30th. Just in time for sorting out gifts for the holidays…
An interesting viral marketing campaign from HBO for next year’s Game of Thrones has hit the web: Three-eyed Raven is a new site that allows users to sign up for Twitter or (in select countries) SMS notifications of “the sight”, short (and by short, we mean very short) teaser videos that provide a brief glimpse at the upcoming season. The first video—which you’ll receive a link to after signing up—features Arya and a hint of a location she’ll be spending a great deal of time at.
Doubtless more teasers will drop in the coming months.
As the title says, Telltales Games has released the first teaser trailer for Game of Thrones: Iron from Ice, an episodic adventure following the lives of members of the northern House Forrester of Ironrath in a sort of side-story that fits along with the continuity of HBO’s Game of Thrones. The game promises to have appearances from notable characters from the series—including Cersei and Tyrion Lannister, and Ramsay Snow—and it seems the actors will be voicing their characters. Here’s the trailer below:
Alongside this, Telltales has sent character images and brief details to a number of gaming and media sites, which have been very helpfully compiled over at IGN. These short profiles reveal thirteen original characters who’ll appear in the game, although there’s no sign which of these will be among the five playable characters.
The first episode is set to release before the end of the year.
The Dangerous Women anthology (US, UK) edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois and containing (among other things) George’s “The Princess and the Queen”, has just been announced as the winning anthology at this year’s World Fantasy Awards. The awards are determined by a jury, drawing from a selection of nominees drawn in part from the jury’s own selections for consideration and by nomination from attendees. With a strong field, including entries by perennial favorites Ellen Datlow (recipient of a Lifetime Achievent Award at the convention) and Terri Windling, Jonathan Strahan, and more, this is a particularly noteworthy win for the anthology.
Many hearty congratulations to George and Gardner, as well as to all the contributors to the anthology!