The Grey Wolf Strikes Back

I think the problem is that GRRM simply didn't write proper travel distances into the narrative. Westeros is a big continent. It ought to, for example, take Catelyn months to travel from Riverrun to Storm's End and back. If he'd made the time jumps between chapters longer then the characters would be old enough without having to change the overall sequence of events. That or just age everyone up by extending Robert's reign by two years and having AGOT start in 300 AC. (The idea that Westerosi years don't entirely align to RL years was floated around at some point but thoroughly shot down if I recall correctly.)

@Lord Varys Re Vaemond: The way that line reads to me it doesn't sound like there was much of a trial, if any. Maybe @Ran could clarify for us? Re Mysaria: You don't become known as "Lady Misery, the White Worm" and have people in the future comparing Bloodraven to you in a negative way without being someone of dubious morality. Plus, we never see or hear of her doing anything remotely good. Arranging Blood & Cheese, telling Helaena of Maelor's death (in one version), arranging the Brothel Queens (again, only in one version, though it must be said if people are willing to even entertain such a thing about you, clearly you're not seen as a remotely pleasant person), setting Rhaenyra against Daemon, sleeping with Daemon despite him being married to Rhaenyra (she appears to approve of it but the fact she turns to food for comfort makes me think that first bit isn't entirely true, and who knows what Rhea Royce thought), running a spy network (see the fate of Thoron True and Denys Woodwright for an example of her effectiveness in that role), none of that can be remotely construed as good in any traditional sense of the word, and you know what? That's fine! Part of good storytelling (and good representation) is that characters don't have to be pigeonholed. There's room for dark, ambitious, dare I say, evil, female characters. Anyway, your ideas for show!Mysaria could have merit...if the dialogue wasn't so bad and the accent so weird its sometimes hard to make out what she's even saying. None of that is the fault of the actress though and for that she has my sympathies. As for Alicent, I wasn't denying the show made her more likable and nuanced. I was saying that it did so in certain ways and some of those ways involved making her a victim (Viserys, Larys) or superficially appear more neurotic as opposed to the more confident femme fatale (for lack of a better word) vibe I got from F & B. @The Bard of Banefort I like your idea for how they could have adapted an older Alicent. Reminds me of the premise for a horror adaptation of Snow White starring Sigourney Weaver. @Annara Snow I'm pretty sure that bit with Vaemond was in TRP, long before F & B came out (and most of what GRRM expanded upon for that concerned TSOTD, not TRP, to the dismay of myself and many others). Most of what was cut from TRP concerned the GC of 101 AC. Anyway, what I liked about the book version of that particular event is, again, Rhaenyra being more proactive in solving the problem presented to her. If they could have found a way to do that while dialing down the OTP horribleness as you put it I would have been quite content but as presented to us Rhaenyra couldn't count on her father bailing her out at the last second and yet had no failsafe for a trial she knew from the start was rigged against her. As for the topic of Helaena and trauma, when one character is written to react a certain way, that's an acceptable decision. When multiple, specifically female, characters are written to react the same way, its a problem. And in the case of Helaena specifically the issue is that her grief renders her into an object by the narrative, which defeats the purpose because then we can't relate to her trauma.

@Lord Varys I have to disagree with you about Mysaria. In F & B she's one of the few genuinely loathsome members of the Black faction. Making her a champion of the smallfolk does not mesh well with that at all. Similarly, that speech she gives Otto annoys me to no end because it sounds like something out of Monty Python. No one in-setting would think that way, much less talk that way to the Hand of the King. The atrocious accent they've saddled the actress with is just the salt on an open wound.

While Bran is in a coma, Catelyn neglects her duties to the point Robb complains to her about it. Indeed, it isn't until the attempt on Bran's life that she snaps out of it. When Luke is murdered, Rhaenyra breaks down, forcing Corlys and Jace to step up in terms of leadership. Similarly to Catelyn, Jace's death is what makes Rhaenyra snap out of her funk. I never said anything about Alicent being passive. I said she's more victimized and reactionary in the show, which is different. That being said, you see something similar with Rhaenyra in episode 8. In F & B Rhaenyra orders Vaemond extrajudicially murdered and his corpse fed to Syrax. Pleasant? Hardly. Proactive? Yes. In the show, she banks on her father bailing her out. Similarly, I said I like book!Alicent more specifically with regards to the Green Council scene, where she is much more of a confident leader. If you think I'm in favor of a "Blacks=Good, Greens=Evil" narrative you're sadly mistaken. Just ask Lord Varys, Ran, The Bard of Banefort, or anyone else I've discussed the Dance with on this board. From the beginning, I've wanted more ambiguity and nuance, not less.

It also happens in the books to a degree with Catelyn, Lysa, Alannys, etc. Honestly, Helaena is one of my biggest disappointments with the Dance. She's just...there. More prop than character. To expand on your point, the issue is that when GRRM has female characters go "mad" because their children die its always to render them passive and/or inactive in a way he doesn't make his male characters. Men get to rant and rage and actually do things. Rhaenyra, Helaena, Catelyn, etc. don't. They retreat inside themselves and let others take over. And yeah, I feel like a lot of their attempts to make Alicent more "likable" boil down to 1) Making other characters worse (Viserys I), 2) Making her a victim in situations her book counterpart never would have been (Larys), and 3) Making her less proactive (meaning reactionary) than said book counterpart. (I, for one, vastly prefer the version of the Green Council we got in F & B, at least as far as the personalities involved are depicted.) She's nowhere near the flaming dumpster fire that is Mysaria though thankfully.

I agree with the bold but Alicent is in King's Landing when Aegon II feeds Rhaenyra to Sunfyre on Dragonstone (assuming they stick to the book).

I really don't see how B & C can be diluted without literally ruining the whole scene.

Case in point re artwork: I now have covers for my next 6 books.

The Aegon II page needs to be updated. It still says he could no longer walk after he jumped off Sunfyre but as F & B revealed, he actually could towards the end of his life with the help of a cane, dragging one (withered?) leg behind him.

Got another review on Amazon and Goodreads recently. Also resumed work on my next short story, another piece of Arthuriana set in the modern day. (Oh, to be consistently productive!) Still waiting on that print file sadly. (In the meantime, more artwork!)

I wrote a bunch of poetry in high school, most of which is pure garbage. I've only ever published one poem (as part of my first anthology) but recently I did write a few senryus/haikus (mainly to push myself out of my comfort zone) as well as a pseudo-ballad my friend tells me reads more like a Blind Guardian song.

Here's the theme song for the protagonist of Scotland's Heir:

If anyone is looking to get a little extra exposure, I've received two reviews from this site as well as two additional requests for reader copies: https://sandrasbookclub.blogspot.com/2020/08/submit-your-book.html

Got another review on Amazon and Goodreads, which was a nice surprise. Been working on a longform vignette I hope to be done with this weekend. Goal is to finish one short story a month going forward. Also tried my hand at writing a two-sentence horror story. Oh, and I hired a formatter to prepare a print file for Volume I. Commissions (art + music) are starting to trickle in as well.

No worries.

@The hairy bear Daenora was the younger (but only surviving) daughter of Prince Rhaegel and Alys Arryn. Aerys I was (probably) asexual (to Aelinor Penrose's detriment).

@Centrist Simon Steele Finished reading the prologue. If you want, I can share my thoughts via DM.

The worst part of med school for sure. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. And feel free to share the artwork on your other socials, etc. Incidentally, if all goes according to plan, a print version should be available for purchase within the next two to four weeks. I'll try to read your book as soon as possible btw.

Louis XIV and Louis XV were both well into the early modern era so not quite the same thing.

@The Bard of Banefort Only if Stannis burns Shireen for the same reasons as in the show. Burning Shireen to stop the Others, however horrific, is a bit different. Anyway, I agree with @SeanF that Stannis is RL Richard and Tyrion is Shakespeare's Richard though I'd add Ned is, in some ways, the Ricardian view mixed with Hastings. Alas, we won't know the truth until Judgment Day, at which point we'll all be a bit preoccupied. P.S. The pedant in me insists that the word "barren" be reserved for women who don't conceive, let alone give birth to a live child. Also, child monarchs are ALWAYS bad news.

Heh. Might take me a while though. Time's limited and I've become a slow reader since HS. Thankfully, the chapters are short.

I recently got a (signed) copy of Islam and the English Enlightenment: The Untold Story (2022) by Zulfiqar Ali Shah. Will report back once I've read it.

@The Bard of Banefort I think you're mixing up a few details. 1) Anne Neville was not barren (unless you're talking about the play version?) 2) Richard wasn't the one who started the Blaybourne rumor, that was George (a real weathervane by all accounts) and Warwick 3) If I remember correctly, in that time period there was this concept known as "precontract", which meant if you were betrothed to someone it was effectively the same as being married to them, and thus marrying someone else constituted bigamy So if Edward IV really had been precontracted to Eleanor Butler then, by law, his kids were all illegitimate and few would have argued against that 4) Multiple different parties had cause to want the two princes dead (Richard III, Henry VII, Buckingham) 5) One reason the Wars of the Roses started, which Richard would be keenly aware of, was the fact that Henry VI became king when he was just a baby I'm by no means a Ricardian but I don't think its a stretch of the imagination to say Richard III's reputation is a case of "history is written by the winners." Case in point, the first thing Henry VII did upon winning Bosworth was declare that his reign started the day BEFORE the battle and latter he had so many copies of Titulus Regius destroyed that until a SINGE copy was found by mere chance people generally assumed it was Ricardian propaganda.

@Ran Damn, that is ambitious! I'll definitely be checking out the Geographiae whenever it comes out though now I'm reminded of the fact I haven't touched my own epic fantasy setting in over a year. Sigh. P.S. The early modern era is criminally underused. Seriously, how has someone NOT turned the Italian Wars into an award-winning TV show I'll never figure out.

I'm honestly amazed at how detailed his worldbuilding is. Maybe even a little jealous too.