GRRM Discussion Blog

New Updates at the Official Site

2008-01-07T12:13:00.000-05:00

GRRM has posted a new update on ASoFaI over at his official site. He includes a new projected timeline for ADWD and also a new sample chapter from Jon Snow's POV. Chek them out and enjoy!

Update
Sample

ASOFAI Replica Swords

2007-03-22T00:10:00.000-04:00

www.valyrian.com just acquired the license to reproduce swords from the ASOFAI series. These swords are full-size replicas limited to runs of 2500 each and come with a house sigil wall plaque for hanging. GRRM is overseeing the design of each sword. The company is planning to produce all of the Valyrian swords form the novels and also other top weapons, such as Robert's warhammer and Arya's Needle. This is a new company launch that doesn't expect the swords to be available until sometime in 2008. They also have subscription services on their site to keep you informed of all the latest updates. Jon's Longclaw will be the first sword produced, and the design can be seen at www.georgerrmartin.com.

New Enhancement Feature

2007-02-02T07:07:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I've added a new feature to Shawed. Now when you put your cursor on a link outside Shawed, you will get a pop-up preview of the website the link is pointing to. This way you can get an idea of what kind of site you're going to be visiting if you click a link. For anyone wanting to add this to their website (must be able to edit and add "head" attributes), visit snap.com.

I've also been adding labels to help make it easier to find the content you want to see on this blog. Click the labels in the Label Clous (right) to view only posts containing that label. The bigger the label, the more posts that contain that label. Authors, please try to label your posts using the labels available.

Re-issued GRRM Book

2007-01-30T12:44:00.000-05:00

The Armageddon Rag by GRRM is now on sale in Trade Paperback and eBook.

"The best novel concerning the American pop music culture of the 60's I've ever read."—Stephen King

"A wild, melodramatic mystical hallucinatory voyage..."—Timothy Leary

"Full of nostalgia and endless excitement for everyone! Taut, tense, moves like lightning..."—Tony Hillerman

"Vivid, perceptive, and passionate..."—Greg Keyes

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Feast for Crows combines Tolkien lore with 60's culture in this "moving ... comic ... eerie" (The Washington Post) tale of a journalist investigating the bizarre and brutal murder of a rock promoter who made millions with his band, the Nazgûl.

With The Armageddon Rag Martin enters into realm more contemporary then the bestselling series of the Seven Kingdoms, weaving elements of horror, murder mystery, and dark fantasy into the entertainment world.

Read Chapter One here

Source: Random House Author Alert

ASOFAI to become HBO series

2007-01-30T12:27:00.000-05:00

From GRRM's site:

Home Box Office (HBO) has acquired an option on the television and film rights to my fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, in hopes of bringing the story to television as an original, ongoing HBO series. We have been working out the details for months, but the deal is finally done and the pieces are in place, so it's official.

The series is slated to begin in 2009 and they have a projected completion date for the ASOFAI novels - 2011. While this is still years away, knowing the end is in sight has to be a relief to GRRM. Also, knowing that HBO will be wanting the next three books has to give fans a rush, becuase this has to move the series to the top of GRRM's priority list.

Links to this story:
http://www.georgerrmartin.com/news.html
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117957532.html?categoryid=14&cs=1
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/01/18/184100.php

GRRM Podcasts

2006-11-16T15:53:00.000-05:00

GRRM has recently been releasing podcasts. All of these files are in .mp3 format and can be found here:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheGeorgeRRMartinPodcast

You can download them (recommended) for your listening pleasure. You can also subscribe to his RSS feed to be updated when new podcasts are posted.

He's done a great job with the first 7 episodes so far. I'm definitely hooked and will be continuing to listen.

GRRM: AFFC Paperback, Ice Dragon, Signing Tour -- UPDATED!

2006-08-30T12:16:00.000-04:00

Here are some recent updates / events of interest:

A Feast for Crows will be out in paperback in September 2006

Ice Dragon, a children's novel set in the world of ASOFAI, will be released in hardcover October 3, 2006 and is available for pre-order on Amazon.com. The book looks like good reading even for adult ASOFAI fans, since it may contain more lore like the Dunk & Egg stories do.
UPDATE: Just discovered from reading user comments on Amazon today that this novel is actually a reprint of an already published story and does NOT take place in the ASOFAI realm.

GRRM will be making appearances in the Ohio area as part of his Ice Dragon signing tour. Dates are as follows:

Saturday, Sept. 30, 2006
1:00 pm
INDIANAPOLIS
Barnes & Noble # 2933
14709 US Hwy 31
North Carmel, IN 46032

Monday, Oct. 2, 2006
7:00 pm
CINCINNATI
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
2692 Madison Road
Cincinnati, OH 45208

GRRM is still working on A Dance with Dragons but still has not posted any publication date. After his tour with Ice Dragon, and the release of another Dunk & Egg story, we can probably expected a better estimate.

GRRM's site - New Sample

2006-06-01T15:28:00.000-04:00

GRRM has posted a new sample from ADWD on his website. This sample is the first Tyrion chapter. You can read it here:

http://www.georgerrmartin.com/chapter.html

Synopsis of GRRM reading at MARCON - ADWD

2006-06-01T15:24:00.000-04:00

CAUTION: This post contains spoilers for the upcoming novel A Dance with Dragons. If you try to avoid spoilers, then skip this post. You have been warned.

*****

Sorry if this is kind of jumbled, but I’m typing from memory the reading from MARCON in Columbus on 5/27/06. This is the first Jon chapter in ADWD, and has been re-written several times since it was last read (according to GRRM). It takes place very soon after the last Jon chapter in ASOS. I didn’t take notes so this is all from memory.

The chapter starts with Jon having wolf dreams about Ghost. Ghost is reminiscing about his pack brother and sisters. He knows that Summer is on the other side of the Wall. He also knows that Grey Wind was killed.

Jon wakes up thinking that the wolf dreams are getting worse. He admonishes himself to remember that he is a man and will not be a wolf. Dolorous Edd comes in to ask him what he would like for breakfast as Jon is scolding the Old Bear’s raven. The raven answers, “Corn, Corn Corn”, and Jon says “Roasted raven”. (Many laughs by the audience at this).

Jon tells Dolorous Edd that he won’t have time for breakfast because he needs to talk to Stannis. Jon toys with a piece of parchment that would make him Lord Stark of Winterfell. Jon goes through the training yard on his way to see Stannis. A knight called Gadre (sp?) asks Jon to go a round with him. We learn that Gadre slayed a giant in the battle under the wall. Jon tells him he fears he has other matters to attend to and the knight taunts him by saying “Yes, you fear”. Jon ignores him and continues on to Stannis.

Jon passes Sam on his way to see Stannis. Sam is relaying a message for Stannis and tells Jon he’s not supposed to tell anyone what it says. Jon says he shouldn’t then and continues on.

Jon and Stannis have a long conversation: Stannis mentions that Jon has refused his offer to become Lord Stark and warns him that Winterfell will go to the Lannisters through Sansa (of course we know Jon has refused, but he still has the paper that would make it happen). Stannis then talks about the northern lords that have refused to acknowledge him as their rightful king. Only the Karstarks have agreed to join Stannis. Jon thinks this is because they have nowhere else to turn since Robb killed Lord Rickard and they slew Lannisters. Jon warns Stannis not to push the northern lords since they are just trying to protect their smallfolk from more bloodshed.

Stannis then tries to get Jon to give him the unmanned castles along the Wall for his own lords and knights as rewards for fighting Mance. Jon refuses and says that he has given them clothes, food and shelter. Stannis counters that the entire force at Castle Black would have been slain if he hadn’t arrived. Jon tells Stannis he knew that he was going to ask for the castles. Stannis asks him how, and Jon thinks because Stannis’s knights were boasting about it, but tells him he heard it from Gilly. Stannis says that maybe he should get rid of Gilly’s tongue since he only needs her teats, not her talk. Jon says that he is planning on sending her away anyway, and Stannis questions this since Mance’s son still needs the milk. Jon explains that Gilly’s son is too greedy and Mance’s son isn’t getting much anyway because of this, he also mentions that Gilly’s son is Craster’s son and that Craster was greedy. Stannis gets confused about Gilly’s son being Craster’s and Jon explains that Craster married his daughters and got children on them. Stannis tells him to go ahead and send Gilly away since he didn’t need those kinds of abominations around. He remarks, “This isn’t King’s Landing after all” (More laughter from the audience at this.

Jon still resists giving Stannis the castles and tells Stannis that he will man the castles again and requests that Stannis give him men to do so. Stannis says that his men won’t take the black. Jon says they can just take commands from his appointed officers and help. Stannis says that they won’t take orders from murderers, poachers, and thieves. Stannis threatens to take Jon’s head and see if the new Lord Commander will be more willing to give him what he wants. Jon said that he thought Stannis wanted the truth and mentions the Onion Knight. Stannis says that he took Davis’s fingers for being a smuggler. He says he would rather Jon tell him goods news than the truth (but we can tell that that’s not what Stannis really wants).

They start talking about Mance’s son and Dalla. Stannis is convinced that by holding them, the wildlings will do what he wants. Jon explains that wildlings do not consider the sons of kings as kings, only men strong enough to get them to follow. Stannis tells Jon he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Jon thinks of Ygritte saying “You know nothing, Jon Snow,” and thinks “Not then, but I learned”. He doesn’t respond to this comment by Stannis out loud. Stannis was hoping to give Rattleshirt and the Magnar a couple of the Wall’s castles. Eventually Stannis gets mad enough to tell Jon to get out. Melisandre asks him if she can escort Jon back to his quarters. Stannis says that he knows the way, but she can do what she likes.

Mel tells Jon that she thinks Stannis is starting to like him, and he replies, “Yes. He only threatened to have my head twice”. Mel tells him that he shouldn’t worry about Stannis talking to him about that, it’s a silent Stannis he should worry about. She asks him not to be harsh with her since she is trying to be his friend. She then tells him he has other enemies she’s seen in the flames. He tells her he knows his enemies and she says that it’s not the ones he knows, it’s the ones he counts as friends that he should worry about. Jon doesn’t want to know who she is talking about, and starts asking her why she can’t see more useful things in the flames. She tells him that she has seen him cold and surrounded by enemies on all sides in the snow. He says he knows what it’s like to be cold, and she says “You know nothing Jon Snow”.

GRRM at MARCON

2006-05-01T17:59:00.000-04:00

GRRM will be appearing at MARCON this month in Columbus, Ohio. MARCON has just released the following publication detailing the weekend's guests:

COLUMBUS – MARCON, Central Ohio’s premier science fiction and fantasy convention will be held Memorial Day Weekend, May 26-28, 2006, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Convention Center.

Guests for MARCON 41, which has the theme of "The Roddenberry Universe", include but are not limited to:

Eugene Roddenberry, Jr, who continues his father’s philosophies
director and writer, Michael DeMeritt (Enterprise, Voyager)
author, George R. R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire)
editor, David G. Hartwell (Tor/Forge Books, Dragon Press)
artist, Jody Lee (DAW Books covers, incl. Mercedes Lackey, Kate Elliot, Tanya Huff)
actor David Franklin (Farscape, Xena, The Matrix Reloaded)
costumer Chris Kramer (12+ "Best in" awards, including 3 from the 2003 and 2004 Worldcons)
scientist, Steve Lee(Molecular Geneticist, builds medical nanotech devices)
musicians, Dave and Judith Hayman (FilkOntario, too many filksongs to count!)
game creators Pieramyd Productions LTD (3rd Age, Nightmare Enemy)
Electronic Gaming entity EB Games/GameStop (Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider series for all boxes)
Fan, Columbus’ own B. J. Mitias (Starbase Columbus)
Toastmaster, Bill Roper (Conrunner, Filker, Fan)

www.marcon.org will allow reviewers to see the accomplishments of our Guests of Honor and also see the list of our many talented panelists that will also contribute to Marcon.

Among those panelists are special guests such as David Drake and Eric Flint, authors of many fine works of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Please see the website for schedules and more panelists.

Also at Marcon on Memorial Day weekend there will be a 17' by 25' Lego Exhibit. There will be an extensive exhibit of the costumes of our Costuming Guest of Honor, Chris Kramer. We are expecting to have a NASA Exploration of Space exhibit as well. Look for the TriKing Pyramid in front of the Dealers Room – Marcon will host the State of Ohio Anachronism championships in Gaming! Michael "Moonwulf" Longcor will provide Intermission music for the Marcon Masquerade Saturday night. Our Saturday Dance will be a Champions Ball, with prizes for best costumes. Don’t miss the Elvira Special in Video on Friday, which also includes a costume contest. There are expected to be several release parties from several different aspects of SF fandom at Marcon.

MARCON offers a wide variety of programming including writing workshops, Masquerade, Art Show, concerts, children’s activities, and seminars on literature, science, art, film and TV, plus costuming, makeup and special effects. Each year MARCON holds a charity auction; last year more than $1000 was raised for the charity. This year’s designated charity is the Perkins Observatory north of Columbus, which has extended the appreciation of Astronomy to many people through its’ many years of public service in Central Ohio.

Prices for weekend memberships to MARCON 41 are $35 for adults until May 10, 2006 and $50 at the door plus $25 for children up to 12 years of age until May 10, 2006 and $30 at the door. Children under 7 are free if accompanied by an adult at all times. Currently, Single-Day Adult Memberships are Friday $25, Saturday $35 and Sunday $25. Single-Day Children's Memberships are Friday $15, Saturday $25 and Sunday $10. For further information visit www.marcon.org or email marpub@cshellsweb.com or call 614-890-6104 after 7:00 PM weekdays, take your chances on weekends!

A Dance with Dragons Update

2006-01-26T23:18:00.000-05:00

Taken from GRRM's official site:

"As of this writing, A DANCE WITH DRAGONS consists of some twenty-two finished chapters totalling 542 manuscript pages, plus another 100 to 150 pages of partial chapters, early drafts, scenes, and fragments. Some of that material will need to be revised, and of course much more remains to be written. My hope is to bring the book in at around 1200 to 1300 pages.

And before anyone writes me asking, yes, there is a third Dunk and Egg novella in the works as well. It's maybe three-quarters done, and sometime soon I want to find the time to finish that one too. Anyway, that's how things stand at the end of January.

I will try and update again around the beginning of April."

There's more on the official site, but I am extremely excited about the information posted above. Let's hope that now that the Feast is over, Martin's muse will return and he'll be back to the writing flowing from his fingertips.

DANCE! DANCE! DANCE!

Arya - Spoilers (if you haven't read AFFC)

2006-01-11T07:53:00.000-05:00

So, Arya ends up blind... here's the question: Do you think she will regain her sight, or become the next blind wonder like Maester Aemon?

Weird that we lose one blind character and gain another.... it makes me suspicious of Martin's motives toward Arya....

Discussion can FINALLY be opened

2005-12-16T02:14:00.000-05:00

Pregremlin has finally finished AFFC, so now we can discuss the entire novel. Blog's open folks!!

Meeting the Man

2005-11-16T11:39:00.000-05:00

Well, it took a 3 hour trip and and lot of searching for parking, but we did it. We met the man in person in Ann Arbor, MI on 11/13/2005. He was very cool, and kept a sense of humor throughout the grueling signing process. We scored autographs for our AFFC books, and an autograph for a Game of Thrones collectible card game poster.

Day of the Feast

2005-11-08T10:26:00.000-05:00

A Feast for Crows hit the stores today, so very shortly the discussion should begin. Let's just hope they printed enough copies!!

Blog Opened

2005-11-04T02:17:00.000-05:00

This blog is open for business! Discuss AFFC here... well at least up to the book club chapters.