Westeros

As is traditional, at the end of each year HBO releases a year-in-review video which also then looks ahead to what’s coming next year. This year is no different, as at the 1:38 mark we get four quick glimpses of four of the show’s central characters: Cersei, Jon, Tyrion, and Arya. These are so swift that I’m not sure we’d consider them spoilerish… but just in case, lets just say there are spoilers:

Over at EW, James Hibberd reveals a design for Arya Stark’s brand new costume for the upcoming season of Game of Thrones. With quotes from Maisie Williams, the article notes it’s a radical new design for Arya who has spent most of the past four seasons in androgynous clothing, and now has something a bit more feminine with which to blend in in the Free City of Braavos.

She also teases an upcoming scene, one that has to do with her previous clothing, which sounds like it may be drawn from a sequence in A Feast for Crows.

With the holidays here, it’s time to start considering gifts for friends and family. And what better gift for a fan of George R.R. Martin’s work than something that appeals to their fandom? There’s many options out there, from books to toys to jewelry and more!

To help with some ideas, here’s a curated list of items we think any fan might enjoy:

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  House Plaques: They’re only available in the UK right now, but these house crest plaques from the Noble Collection look amazing: Stark, Lannister, Targaryen.

Over at Deviant Art, Aesara and Thelma—two fans of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels and the artwork that they’ve inspired— have begun a regular series, Illustrating Westeros, in which they talk with artists about their work in the setting. In a very special edition, however, they chose to talk to Linda and I about the artwork in The World of Ice and Fire. It’s a wide-ranging interview, discussing the history of the artwork in the book, the areas where George R.R. Martin was particularly heavily involved in making sure things were as close to his imagination as possible, and our own personal favorite works. It’s a lengthy read, richly illustrated with examples of the art from the world book. You can find it here.

Today marks the release of Telltale Games‘s Game of Thrones game, featuring the company’s well-known focus on story and character combined with the Game of Thrones license and participation from several of the actors from the TV series. We’re looking at getting a review of our own out in the coming days, but here’s a few from the gaming media across the web:

• IGN gives it an 8.0.: “Tough decisions, well-acted original characters in interesting situations, and a strong, provocative ending kick off Telltale’s new Game of Thrones series in a great way. Its nature as a side-story to the HBO show means we won’t get to decide the fate of Westeros, but this introduction is convincing evidence that the future of House Forrester puts enough at stake to make choices matter.”
• Polygon gives it a 6.5: “Which is the problem with “Iron from Ice”: We have no idea how these decisions will pay off or punish us down the road. It feels like a slow episode of the show, and although the story could go into a few interesting directions, as it stands it often feels like you’re simply standing on the periphery of much greater struggles.”
• Total Biscuit shows the first few minutes of the game as he discusses it’s pluses and minuses. He notes that the play time is 2-2.5 hours for this first entry in the episodic series.