Slynt

Allright, the last few weeks I've been reading Sharon Kay Penman's novel, When Christ and His Saints Slept. Previously I tried to read another book of hers, The Sunne in Splendour, but it was too dry and I still haven't finished the last half. But this When Christ and His Saints Slept book is a bit of a page turner, as it turns out. My interest in reading novels like this (historical fiction) was, maybe obviously, sparked by George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. I've always liked the middle ages, but it was really George's amazing series that made me look deeper into the subject matter (and now I have a bookshelf full of medieval history, both fact and fiction lulz). But I digress and ramble. What I am trying to get at is that I wonder whether Martin has read Penman as well (or is well versed in the history of the times she writes about). Especially when reading When Christ and His Saints Slept, I keep thinking back to Westeros and see a number of similarities both between characters and events. I don't have the book at hand, but consider the following similarities: - There's a woman (Queen Maude) who struggles to rule a kingdom left to her by her deceased father; but those around her does not see her as fit to rule as she is a woman. She has a son for whom she fights dearly. (Cersei/Joffrey anyone?) - There is an attack on a monastery which is very similar to Ser Amory Lorch's attack on the holdfast in ACoK - The main character in the book has dyrehunds, quite similar to the direwolves of the Starks in the way they are described - Three brothers which are quite different from each other, with black hair - Assault on Winchester with fire is reminiscent of the Assault on King's Landing in ACoK - Characters/real life persons with similar names in both books include Robert, Geoffrey/Joffrey, - The clash for the Crown of England reminds me of the clash for the Iron Throne - There's a secret love between two nobles from different sides of the conflict - Civil war erupts when the King dies - Characters hear about a fabulous, beautiful queen far away (Eleanor / Daenerys) Well this was probably not that convincing, but I don't have the book with me. I remember a few nights ago reading a particular chapter and thinking "I got to add this to that thread about homages/references". In the chapter, there's a sequence very similar to Ser Amory Lorch's attack upon the abandoned holdfast in ACoK, someone gets half his face burned (like the Hound) and I remember there was even a line of dialogue which was exactly as in ASoIAF. I'll come back and edit this post to be more specific.

[quote name='El-ahrairah' post='1708788' date='Mar 5 2009, 06.55']Apparently Westeros is a real place - a town in Sweden goes by the name of [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A4ster%C3%A5s"]Västerås [/url], anglicized [i]Westeros[/i] for example [url="http://books.google.com/books?id=YYoXAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA182&lpg=PA182&dq=westeros+bishop+sweden&source=bl&ots=gqxnOaLh0Q&sig=RCulnVaPj9keUtht7Nndwi9KiXU&hl=en&ei=bmavScbzLYH8tgfsyMXQBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result"]here[/url][/quote] Cool, though a proper translation would be "West Hill" (väster = west, westly, western) (ås = hill)

I'm not sure if I can call this a good thing, as I just peed myself while at work ...

The mere thought of A Game of Thrones on screen..it's hard to breathe... -- my wish (and I know it will remain a wish), my sincere casting wish, is Diane Kruger for Cersei Lannister. It wouldn't make it any easier to breathe, but still... have a peek at this picture - isn't that Cersei in a vulnerable moment? [url="http://www.hollywood-celebrity-pictures.com/Celebrities/Diane-Kruger/Diane-Kruger-28.JPG"]Diane[/url]

[i]'Take him to the wall,' Jon says, 'and hang him.'[/i] Worst plot development ever :thumbsdown: