Westeros

It’s just two weeks to the Dublin 2019 Worldcon, and three weeks to Titancon, Eurocon 2019, and there’s a lot of things to see as both conventions have now published their schedules. Below, we’re going to list appearances, events, panels, and so on featuring George (who actually has one public event taking place before Worldcon) as well as Linda and I, and others who have worked with him in adapting or illustrating his work at one time or another, or otherwise have some connection to the larger universe of Martin’s work. Among these others are the artists John Picacio, Charles Vess, and Raya Golden, actor Miltos Yerolemou

Two new collections of A Song of Ice and Fire artwork have come out this month, and we highly recommend them as they come from two of the greatest living artists to work in the fantasy genre.

First, the A Song of Ice and Fire 2020 Calendar illustrated by the legendary John Howe (recently revealed to be part of the creative team behind Amazon’s forthcoming 2nd Age Middle-earth series) is out today. Focused on the mystical side of the series, it primarily features the strange and exotic creates of Westeros and beyond, including giant krakens, mammoths, direwolves, and ice spiders(!) But it also has a surprise or two waiting within its covers. It looks spectacular.

Back in March, Adidas released a series of Game of Thrones-inspired Ultraboost sneakers in collaboration with HBO, and those six designs sold like hotcakes with many of the more in-demand sizes being entirely sold out at retailers and being sold with significant markups in the aftermarket. These shoes had been highly anticipated by fans of the show and sneakerheads alike, with teasers appearing months in advance…

... and then Adidas surprised many (even some dedicated followers of Adidas’s release schedules) by unveiling a seventh (of course) design, one that was not only distinct from the rest but also based on an entirely different model. HBO kindly arranged a review copy, though as it fell right during our vacation we’ve only had a chance to give them a good look now.

The Speedfactory AM4 The Throne shoe is described as a running shoe design, using a very comfortable knit and Adidas’s Responsive Boost midsole (somewhat different in feel and design to the Ultraboost material of the other shoes).

HBO has revealed that the Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection Blu-ray set will have what looks to be one of the most stylish, interesting collector’s boxes out there thanks to clever use of Robert Ball‘s signature artwork. A couple of videos have been released along with the announcement, as well as a detailed press release concerning the exclusive extras that are a part of the set, which is due to be released on December 3rd alongside the season 8 stand-alone collection sets (4K and regular Bluray/DVD) and a full complete collection without the limited edition packaging featured below.

“Bloodmoon”—the likely-temporary title for the Game of Thrones prequel headed by Jane Goldman—has officially begun filming, according to a report from James Hibberd at EW. There were rumors filming in fact started last month, but those flew in the face of Casey Bloys and others indicating that June was the start date.

George R. R. Martin‘s involvement in FromSoftware‘s newly-announced Elden Ring has created a lot of excitement, as well as questions about his contributions to what promises to be a highly-anticiapted, open world action RPG from the famed developer of Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and more. Now some of those questions are answered in an interview with Hidetaka Miyazaki, who reveals he’s been a fan of GRRM’s work going back to Fevre Dream and Tuf Voyaging.

At the XBox E3 briefing, where Microsoft highlights many games coming to their console as well as to PC, the rumored announcement of Elden Ring—a brand new fantasy game from From Software (Dark Souls, Sekiro)—came to pass. The company’s famed president, Hidetaka Miyazaki, is cited as creator of the world ... as is none other than George R.R. Martin, who recently revealed that he was consulting on a game out of Japan.

We haven’t seen an official press release as of yet (other than a vague, leaked one), but THR reports that “the new action role-playing game centers on Viking warriors in a fantastical reimagining of Norse mythology.”

No release date exists for the game, but it will reportedly release on PS4 as well as XBox and Windows PCs.

Linda has roped me into discussing the final season of Game of Thrones, with an eye to discussing what the choices of the showrunners mean (or don’t) regarding George’s plans for A Song of Ice and Fire. We think it’s a lot murkier than some have taken it, but see the epic, near-2 hours video (with handy timestamps in the description to jump to particular characters of interest) to learn more:

Over at Not a Blog, George R.R. Martin has shared thoughts on the close of Game of Thrones, how it might be compared to his plans for the final two novels in A Song of Ice and Fire, and more. Well worth a read as a reminiscence and commentary for those who wonder about these things. It’s been a long road for George, for everyone who worked on or covered the show, and for the tens (hundreds?) of millions around the world who’ve watched it.

I had the great privilege to accompany George and Parris to a visit to the set as the first season filmed (the image above comes from that visit, George and I moving down a dark hallway in the Paint Hall studio, led by Bryan Cogman to one of the several sets in that colossal space).

The episode guide for “The Iron Throne”, the 6th and final episode of Game of Thrones, has been updated with Linda’s review (currently livestreaming). We’ll embed it below:

HBO has yet to release it’s behind-the-scenes extras, but once they are they’ll be added to the guide!

The episode guide for “The Bells”, the 5th and penultimate episode of Game of Thrones, has been updated with the “Inside the Episode” from HBO—more extras sure to come—and Linda’s review (currently livestreaming).

Fire & Blood, George R.R. Martin’s history of the Targaryen dynasty that grew out of The World of Ice and Fire, is among the finalists for the 2019 Locus Award. Hosted by the venerable Locus Magazine, the award has a large body of voters between its subscribers (whose votes are given extra weight) and the public who also take part in the vote, and is considered one of the three most significant awards in the genre alongside the Hugo and the Nebula.

The episode guide for the fourth episode—titled “The Last of the Starks”, according to HBO—has been updated with Linda’s post-episode livestream as well as the “Inside the Episode” for the episode. You can see the livestream below:

In his most recent Not a Blog entry, GRRM ran over various items of note—including Fire and Blood in getting back into the NYT bestseller list, the successful release of Starport (and the possibility that follow-ups may indeed be a possibility, which we noted  in our review of the graphic novel), and even a touch of politics at the end—but for the Game of Thrones fans what must have turned out was his update on the status of various Game of Thrones successor shows.

The latest episode, titled “The Long Night”, has aired and our episode guide will collect some Linda’s commentary and HBO’s extras as they come out. However, for those who can’t wait to see the review, as usual for this final season Linda is livestreaming her commentary: