Some interesting stuff, including our first proper look at a Colonial warship that isn't a battlestar. However, Blood and Chrome's insistence on reusing existing BSG actors is getting a little bit silly: the Osiris jump officer is played by Ty Olsson, who had a recurring role on BSG itself as Captain Kelly, the Galactica's third-in-command. And the commander he's reporting to was Gunnery Sergeant Hadrian in the first season of BSG. I know Vancouver doesn't have an infinite supply of actors to draw upon, but the constant re-use of the same actors in different roles supposedly showing up forty years part is not helping to suspend disbelief.
Friday, 16 November 2012
Episodes 3-4 of BSG: BLOOD AND CHROME
The third and fourth episodes of the Blood and Chrome pilot have been officially released to YouTube:
Some interesting stuff, including our first proper look at a Colonial warship that isn't a battlestar. However, Blood and Chrome's insistence on reusing existing BSG actors is getting a little bit silly: the Osiris jump officer is played by Ty Olsson, who had a recurring role on BSG itself as Captain Kelly, the Galactica's third-in-command. And the commander he's reporting to was Gunnery Sergeant Hadrian in the first season of BSG. I know Vancouver doesn't have an infinite supply of actors to draw upon, but the constant re-use of the same actors in different roles supposedly showing up forty years part is not helping to suspend disbelief.
Some interesting stuff, including our first proper look at a Colonial warship that isn't a battlestar. However, Blood and Chrome's insistence on reusing existing BSG actors is getting a little bit silly: the Osiris jump officer is played by Ty Olsson, who had a recurring role on BSG itself as Captain Kelly, the Galactica's third-in-command. And the commander he's reporting to was Gunnery Sergeant Hadrian in the first season of BSG. I know Vancouver doesn't have an infinite supply of actors to draw upon, but the constant re-use of the same actors in different roles supposedly showing up forty years part is not helping to suspend disbelief.
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
HBO unveils GAME OF THRONES Season 3 poster
Early days, so not much info so far apart from the already-confirmed airing date:
The image has a few nice features to it. The three swords are clearly a reference to it being the third season and the reason for the swords as a motif is because the season is based on A Storm of Swords (or rather, the first two-thirds of it or so). The backdrop might also be a reference to the Wall, which will figure prominently as a destination this season (at least, if it goes by the book).
As for when we'll see the first footage, I'd put my money on a teaser of some kind after the finale of the third season of Boardwalk Empire, which airs in the USA on 2 December.
Terry Pratchett to pass DISCWORLD onto his daughter
In an interview with The New Statesman, Terry Pratchett has confirmed that his daughter Rhianna has received his blessing to work on additional Discworld projects after he passes away or is no longer capable (he is suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's). He has already made her a producer and writer on The Watch, a new TV series based on his City Watch Discworld novels, and has give her permission to write new Discworld books once he has hung up his pen.
Rhianna Pratchett already has writing form. She has worked in the computer game industry for many years, originally as a writer for PC Zone magazine and The Guardian's computer games section before penning the storyline for the Overlord series and Mirror's Edge. Most recently she has worked on the new Tomb Raider game. This is appropriate as Terry Pratchett is a noted fan of the original games, once even considering writing a game called Tomb Stocker which would centre on the hapless minions who stock those tombs fall of traps and puzzles.
When this transfer would take place is not certain, with Pratchett noting that when he has to stop writing he'll be "incredibly angry." Pratchett also revealed that he suffered from a cardiac emergency whilst in New York on a signing tour last month, requiring CPR from his assistant to survive. He brushes off the incident, noting that, "I once heard it mentioned that signing tours can kill you quicker than drugs, booze and fast women. Some of which I haven’t tried."
The interview also hints at major news on The Watch to be revealed soon, as casting is now underway for the series.
Rhianna Pratchett already has writing form. She has worked in the computer game industry for many years, originally as a writer for PC Zone magazine and The Guardian's computer games section before penning the storyline for the Overlord series and Mirror's Edge. Most recently she has worked on the new Tomb Raider game. This is appropriate as Terry Pratchett is a noted fan of the original games, once even considering writing a game called Tomb Stocker which would centre on the hapless minions who stock those tombs fall of traps and puzzles.
When this transfer would take place is not certain, with Pratchett noting that when he has to stop writing he'll be "incredibly angry." Pratchett also revealed that he suffered from a cardiac emergency whilst in New York on a signing tour last month, requiring CPR from his assistant to survive. He brushes off the incident, noting that, "I once heard it mentioned that signing tours can kill you quicker than drugs, booze and fast women. Some of which I haven’t tried."
The interview also hints at major news on The Watch to be revealed soon, as casting is now underway for the series.
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
STARCRAFT 2: HEART OF THE SWARM gets a release date
Heart of the Swarm, the first of two expansions for StarCraft II, has had its release date confirmed. The Zerg will attack in force on 12 March 2013.
Staggeringly, this is almost three years after the release date of StarCraft II itself, which seems rather extreme for an expansion. The game will feature at least 20 new missions, with the storyline picking up some two years after the events of Wings of Liberty. The focus of the game will be on the character of Kerrigan and her attempts to regain control of the Zerg following her defeat at the end of StarCraft II itself.
Blizzard had previously claimed that Heart of the Swarm would be 'expansion pack-priced', which in the UK is about £19.99. However, the price currently listed for the title is £32.99, or about £3 more expensive than the typical cost of a full-price game in the UK. Blizzard have so far not explained the rather excessive discrepancy.
Staggeringly, this is almost three years after the release date of StarCraft II itself, which seems rather extreme for an expansion. The game will feature at least 20 new missions, with the storyline picking up some two years after the events of Wings of Liberty. The focus of the game will be on the character of Kerrigan and her attempts to regain control of the Zerg following her defeat at the end of StarCraft II itself.
Blizzard had previously claimed that Heart of the Swarm would be 'expansion pack-priced', which in the UK is about £19.99. However, the price currently listed for the title is £32.99, or about £3 more expensive than the typical cost of a full-price game in the UK. Blizzard have so far not explained the rather excessive discrepancy.
Ice and Fire by David Wingrove
2201. Chung Kuo, the world-girdling city ruled by the Seven T'angs, is caught in a struggle between two ideologies. The T'angs favour stability and stasis. The House, the bureaucratic body that rules City Europe in the T'angs' name, advocates change and progress, exemplified in their construction of a generation starship. The Seven are now faced with the choice of allowing their Empire of Ice to be swept away by progress or by launching a pre-emptive strike to win back control of the situation...but risk triggering a civil war.
Ice and Fire is the fourth volume in the 'new' version of the Chung Kuo series, picking up shortly after the events of The Middle Kingdom. As well as being a continuation of that novel (understandably, as Ice and Fire was originally published in 1988 as part of the original Middle Kingdom), it also contains a number of self-contained character and story arcs standing against the epic events unfolding from previously.
If Ice and Fire does have a self-contained theme, it's the hope of the young to bring a brighter future than what their elders have achieved, only for that hope to be eroded by cynicism and, in some cases, cruelty. The novel focuses on characters such as Li Yuan, the heir of one of the T'angs, who hopes to be an intelligent and fair ruler but is distracted by his love for his murdered brother's widow. Ben Shepherd is a highly intelligent, gifted artist who is also ruthlessly intelligent and able to see what others cannot. Kim Ward is a young boy from the Clay, the darkest, lowest levels of the world city, who has shown an aptitude for science and engineering. However, Kim has also discovered the Aristotle File, a document which exposes the lie that Chung Kuo is built upon.
Wingrove manages the character development of these individuals with surprising effectiveness, given the slimness of the volume (under 300 pages) and the large number of storylines that are in motion. There are also complex political machinations between the Seven and the House, whilst Howard DeVore (the series' main antagonist) is manipulating both sides to his own ends. It's a busy novel, somewhat less relaxed than its immediate predecessor, and is a fast-paced read.
The book suffers from two distinct weaknesses. The first is a result of Corvus, a small (-ish) publisher, picking up the series. Rather than publishing the series as ten 600-800-page novels (still a lot shorter than the individual volumes of many epic fantasy series) over three years, they have chosen to publish it as twenty 300-400 page ones over six. This has its benefits (each book is a concise and fast read), but it also risks frustration as each book stops just as it is getting going. There are also cost issues (buying twenty hardcovers, paperbacks or ebooks is simply more expensive than buying ten, whichever way you cut it). Ice and Fire is the first book in the series where it feels like this is a bit more of an issue, and it may well become more of one as the series continues to progress.
The other is a notable rise in the amount of sex and violence in the book, including a torture sequence which recalls the more gratuitous excesses of Terry Goodkind (fortunately this torture sequence only lasts five pages, not the forty plus of a Goodkind novel). The sudden increase in such scenes feels a bit jarring after the first three books, which certainly were not for children but did not contain as many scenes. Probably not an issue for some readers, but definitely an element of concern (and, based, on how the original series unfolded, something that might become more notable in later volumes).
Ice and Fire (****) is a well-written, fast-paced and page-turning read. It suffers a little from its shortness, with the story cutting off just as it's getting going, but otherwise this is another solid instalment in what is turning out to be an impressive SF epic. The novel will be published on 1 December in the UK, and American readers will be able to get copies from the Book Depository.
Ice and Fire is the fourth volume in the 'new' version of the Chung Kuo series, picking up shortly after the events of The Middle Kingdom. As well as being a continuation of that novel (understandably, as Ice and Fire was originally published in 1988 as part of the original Middle Kingdom), it also contains a number of self-contained character and story arcs standing against the epic events unfolding from previously.
If Ice and Fire does have a self-contained theme, it's the hope of the young to bring a brighter future than what their elders have achieved, only for that hope to be eroded by cynicism and, in some cases, cruelty. The novel focuses on characters such as Li Yuan, the heir of one of the T'angs, who hopes to be an intelligent and fair ruler but is distracted by his love for his murdered brother's widow. Ben Shepherd is a highly intelligent, gifted artist who is also ruthlessly intelligent and able to see what others cannot. Kim Ward is a young boy from the Clay, the darkest, lowest levels of the world city, who has shown an aptitude for science and engineering. However, Kim has also discovered the Aristotle File, a document which exposes the lie that Chung Kuo is built upon.
Wingrove manages the character development of these individuals with surprising effectiveness, given the slimness of the volume (under 300 pages) and the large number of storylines that are in motion. There are also complex political machinations between the Seven and the House, whilst Howard DeVore (the series' main antagonist) is manipulating both sides to his own ends. It's a busy novel, somewhat less relaxed than its immediate predecessor, and is a fast-paced read.
The book suffers from two distinct weaknesses. The first is a result of Corvus, a small (-ish) publisher, picking up the series. Rather than publishing the series as ten 600-800-page novels (still a lot shorter than the individual volumes of many epic fantasy series) over three years, they have chosen to publish it as twenty 300-400 page ones over six. This has its benefits (each book is a concise and fast read), but it also risks frustration as each book stops just as it is getting going. There are also cost issues (buying twenty hardcovers, paperbacks or ebooks is simply more expensive than buying ten, whichever way you cut it). Ice and Fire is the first book in the series where it feels like this is a bit more of an issue, and it may well become more of one as the series continues to progress.
The other is a notable rise in the amount of sex and violence in the book, including a torture sequence which recalls the more gratuitous excesses of Terry Goodkind (fortunately this torture sequence only lasts five pages, not the forty plus of a Goodkind novel). The sudden increase in such scenes feels a bit jarring after the first three books, which certainly were not for children but did not contain as many scenes. Probably not an issue for some readers, but definitely an element of concern (and, based, on how the original series unfolded, something that might become more notable in later volumes).
Ice and Fire (****) is a well-written, fast-paced and page-turning read. It suffers a little from its shortness, with the story cutting off just as it's getting going, but otherwise this is another solid instalment in what is turning out to be an impressive SF epic. The novel will be published on 1 December in the UK, and American readers will be able to get copies from the Book Depository.
Monday, 12 November 2012
Fundraiser for the American Heart Association
Some of the guys at Westeros.org are organising a fundraiser auction for the American Heart Association and are looking for donations. These do not have to be ASoIaF or even SFF-related and anything will be considered.
You can drop a comment on the thread there or here if you don't have a Westeros account: if you include contact information it will not be published and I will pass it on to the organisers. This is a cool idea, as it is being held in memory of two valued contributors to the Westeros forums who passed away recently, both quite young, due to associated health issues.
You can drop a comment on the thread there or here if you don't have a Westeros account: if you include contact information it will not be published and I will pass it on to the organisers. This is a cool idea, as it is being held in memory of two valued contributors to the Westeros forums who passed away recently, both quite young, due to associated health issues.
Sunday, 11 November 2012
Command and Conquer 4: Tiberium Twilight
2077. Fifteen years ago, after multiple lengthy, bloody wars, the GDI and the Brotherhood of Nod have formed an alliance to bring the spread of Tiberium under control. The plan was successful and the 'Tiberium Control Network' has made Tiberium a cheap source of energy. However, a Nod splinter group led by the enigmatic Gideon has turned against Kane and is trying to spark a fresh war. This is not helped by the emergence of GDI splinter groups convinced that Kane will betray them. A new commander is recruited to lead GDI's fight against the Nod splinter cell, even as Kane's sixty-year plan reaches fruition...
Tiberium Twilight is the fourth and concluding game in the Command and Conquer 'core' franchise, the Tiberium Saga. Released in 2010, fifteen years after the original Command and Conquer, it had to tie up a lot of outstanding plot points and conclude the storyline whilst also being a solid and enjoyable game in its own right. It would be fair to say it was not a great success on either front.
On the story side of things, Tiberium Twilight's designers decided that, rather than bring a sense of closure to things, they would come up with an enigmatic and strange ending which would leave the player free to interpret what happened. Suffice to say, given this is a fairly schlock action SF story with some very cheesy acting, not Twin Peaks, this was not the right decision. To have the story end in this way after a decade and a half felt half-arsed and, even worse, potentially sequel-baiting: despite some sense of resolution, a C&C5 is eminently possible. The storyline is also cliched and formulaic, even by this series's standards, with the acting being cheesier than normal, apparently due to people trying to take it all seriously (apart from Joseph D. Kucan, who as normal hits the right note of entertaining camp as Kane).
In gameplay terms, Tiberium Twilight is a bit of a disaster. The previous game in the franchise, 2007's Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, was unexpectedly great. It was a successful distillation of the game's traditional format and concepts combined with more modern RTS developments to create a compelling game experience. It wasn't the best RTS of all time or anything, but it was very solid. C&C4, on the other hand, appears to have been designed by people who have never played a C&C game before. Base-building is out. Instead, at the start of every mission you deploy a 'crawler', essentially a mobile construction yard. All of your units are built from the crawler, which can deploy and redeploy at will. This, in itself, is not a huge problem as it does introduce some fresh tactical options and considerations to the game. However, what is a problem is that there are three types of crawler, and you can only use one at a time. An offensive crawler builds tanks, walkers and heavy combat units. A defensive one builds missile and gun turrets, as well as infantry. A support crawler deploys aircraft and superweapons.
In practice what this means is that you can't build men and tanks at the same time, and if you want to build turrets to defend your crawler, you can't if you also want an offensive army. If you want to mix-and-match units, you have to literally blow up your existing crawler and deploy a second one (and you can only do this a few times per mission). This is a deeply stupid decision, as it prevents you from building a mixed army and forces you to jump through ludicrous hoops to do anything on the battlefield, a problem not experienced by any of the previous eight games in the overall franchise and their numerous expansions.
However, as stupid as it is, it ends up not mattering very much. It takes a couple of missions to hit on a very straightforward winning formula: build an offensive crawler, deploy some Hunter tanks and Titan walkers with a couple of Engineers to repair them (maybe a couple of anti-air units in the last couple of missions as well), destroy the offensive crawler and replace it with a defensive one, and have it wander behind the main army, dropping turrets to help in firefights whilst your main army fights on. As long as you have 2-3 Engineers and a modicum of common sense, your army is pretty much invulnerable (and all three crawlers can build Engineers to replace any lost in battle). The removal of Tiberium harvesting (you can now simply build up to your unit limit with no hindrance) also removes a large amount of tactical planning from the game.
There are moments when Tiberium Twilight (**½) does come to life: the assault on GDI HQ and the final battle at the Scrin Tower are both entertaining, and show how a 'baseless' C&C game might work a bit better. But for the most part the game is repetitive and formulaic, shackled to a cliched storyline and cursed with an unsatisfying ending (not to mention some ridiculous DRM). For one of strategy gaming's most venerable and famous franchises, this is not the ending it deserved. The game is available now on the PC in the UK and USA.
Tiberium Twilight is the fourth and concluding game in the Command and Conquer 'core' franchise, the Tiberium Saga. Released in 2010, fifteen years after the original Command and Conquer, it had to tie up a lot of outstanding plot points and conclude the storyline whilst also being a solid and enjoyable game in its own right. It would be fair to say it was not a great success on either front.
On the story side of things, Tiberium Twilight's designers decided that, rather than bring a sense of closure to things, they would come up with an enigmatic and strange ending which would leave the player free to interpret what happened. Suffice to say, given this is a fairly schlock action SF story with some very cheesy acting, not Twin Peaks, this was not the right decision. To have the story end in this way after a decade and a half felt half-arsed and, even worse, potentially sequel-baiting: despite some sense of resolution, a C&C5 is eminently possible. The storyline is also cliched and formulaic, even by this series's standards, with the acting being cheesier than normal, apparently due to people trying to take it all seriously (apart from Joseph D. Kucan, who as normal hits the right note of entertaining camp as Kane).
In gameplay terms, Tiberium Twilight is a bit of a disaster. The previous game in the franchise, 2007's Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, was unexpectedly great. It was a successful distillation of the game's traditional format and concepts combined with more modern RTS developments to create a compelling game experience. It wasn't the best RTS of all time or anything, but it was very solid. C&C4, on the other hand, appears to have been designed by people who have never played a C&C game before. Base-building is out. Instead, at the start of every mission you deploy a 'crawler', essentially a mobile construction yard. All of your units are built from the crawler, which can deploy and redeploy at will. This, in itself, is not a huge problem as it does introduce some fresh tactical options and considerations to the game. However, what is a problem is that there are three types of crawler, and you can only use one at a time. An offensive crawler builds tanks, walkers and heavy combat units. A defensive one builds missile and gun turrets, as well as infantry. A support crawler deploys aircraft and superweapons.
In practice what this means is that you can't build men and tanks at the same time, and if you want to build turrets to defend your crawler, you can't if you also want an offensive army. If you want to mix-and-match units, you have to literally blow up your existing crawler and deploy a second one (and you can only do this a few times per mission). This is a deeply stupid decision, as it prevents you from building a mixed army and forces you to jump through ludicrous hoops to do anything on the battlefield, a problem not experienced by any of the previous eight games in the overall franchise and their numerous expansions.
However, as stupid as it is, it ends up not mattering very much. It takes a couple of missions to hit on a very straightforward winning formula: build an offensive crawler, deploy some Hunter tanks and Titan walkers with a couple of Engineers to repair them (maybe a couple of anti-air units in the last couple of missions as well), destroy the offensive crawler and replace it with a defensive one, and have it wander behind the main army, dropping turrets to help in firefights whilst your main army fights on. As long as you have 2-3 Engineers and a modicum of common sense, your army is pretty much invulnerable (and all three crawlers can build Engineers to replace any lost in battle). The removal of Tiberium harvesting (you can now simply build up to your unit limit with no hindrance) also removes a large amount of tactical planning from the game.
There are moments when Tiberium Twilight (**½) does come to life: the assault on GDI HQ and the final battle at the Scrin Tower are both entertaining, and show how a 'baseless' C&C game might work a bit better. But for the most part the game is repetitive and formulaic, shackled to a cliched storyline and cursed with an unsatisfying ending (not to mention some ridiculous DRM). For one of strategy gaming's most venerable and famous franchises, this is not the ending it deserved. The game is available now on the PC in the UK and USA.
Saturday, 10 November 2012
The Lands of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin & Jonathan Roberts
Okay, this is going to be a bit of a non-review because you probably already know if you are going to be getting this or not. Basically, it's a collection of full-colour maps of Westeros and Essos, the two continents which form the setting for the Song of Ice and Fire novels by George R.R. Martin. Either you're going to go, "Hey, awesome! I'm all in!" or be running away screaming for fear of being infected with Nerditis.
The map collection comes in a smart but somewhat non-durable folder. Don't put anything on top of it for long, as it really cannot support much in the way of weight. There's a single pull-out piece of paper with marketing speak on it (more or less the same as the blurb on the back ) and that's it for any kind of textual accompaniment. Those familiar with John Howe's excellent Tolkien maps, or the maps accompanying Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, will likely find this disappointing as those maps were accompanied by small booklets packed with geographical information (and in the Pratchett case, new canon material on geography). As it stands, we will have to wait another year for The World of Ice and Fire to clarify some of the new locations on these maps, and even then only some will be covered.
There are twelve maps drawn by Jonathan Roberts, each measuring 61cm x 92cm in size. There is a large map of the known world, which then has three larger, blown-up versions accompanying it, dubbed 'The West', 'Central Essos' and 'The East'. There are then larger-scaled-still maps of Westeros, Beyond the Wall, the Free Cities, Slaver's Bay and the Dothraki Sea. There are city maps of King's Landing and Braavos, and rounding off the set is a map called 'Journeys', which tracks the movements of the major POV characters across the five novels published to date.
In general terms, the art design for the world and continent maps is decent, falling between the aesthetically-pleasing and the informative. A selling-point of the set is the brand-new maps of central and eastern Essos, including the far east. This is the first time that Ibben, Qarth, Asshai, the Shadow Lands, Yi Ti, the Jade Sea, the Summer Islands and other oft-mentioned lands and cities have been depicted on a canon map: the map accompanying the HBO website for the TV series is canon only for the TV series and is based on early drafts that George R.R. Martin later substantially revised. There are also new lands and locations not previously mentioned in the novels, such as a newly-revealed fourth continent (named Ulthos) and a new, huge island just off Qarth named Great Moraq which seems to be a centre of trade. This stuff is interesting, but also highlights a problem with the map set: Martin seems so keen to provide new information about Essos that Westeros feels slightly neglected. But since Daenerys has apparently already reached the eastern-most part of her journey (in Qarth), showing these eastern lands is nice but ultimately irrelevant for the books themselves.
Westeros itself is mapped much as in the novels, with little or new information of note. Indeed, it's even less well-fleshed-out than the maps and info in the books: the castles and towns on the Iron Islands apart from Pyke are not mentioned, and whilst the Quiet Isle is shown, the Whispers (also from Brienne's storyline) are not. Long-standing fan questions, such as where Stone Hedge and Raventree Hall (the seats of Houses Bracken and Blackwood) are located, remain unanswered, whilst the huge tributary of the Mander (which is almost as big as the Mander itself) remains resolutely unnamed. The map is nice - although not quite as nice as the infamous map by forum-member 'Tear' on the Cartographer's Guild website - but not particularly useful compared to the maps in the books or available for free online. Also, given the fact that we have a fairly reliable scale bar with the Wall (which is almost exactly 300 miles long), the refusal to put a scale bar on the maps is strange.
Of the city maps, King's Landing is curiously lacklustre. The mapmaker was going for a sort-of 3D depiction but seems to have given up at some point, with lots of the buildings being rendered as 2D squares sitting alongside more pictoral 3D depictions, which doesn't really make sense. It's the weakest map in the collection, though fortunately also the least essential: Green Ronin's far superior colour map of the city (for the roleplaying game) is easily findable online, as is the handsome black-and-white map from the Meisha Merlin limited edition of A Clash of Kings. The city map of Braavos, on the other hand, is pretty good and definitely worth keeping a hold of during future reads of Arya and Sam's adventures in the city. However, the decision to map Braavos and not, say, the more vital locations of Winterfell, Harrenhal, Dragonstone, Castle Black or Meereen is curious.
The journeys map is a nice idea, but ultimately impractical with just one image. Maybe one map for each book would have worked, but showing the journeys of some twenty characters across five novels simultaneously on one chart results in an image that is overloaded. It particularly breaks down in the Riverlands, which ends up almost buried under multiple layers of arrows and lines. Still, a nice idea and it does clarify the immense distances that Daenerys has travelled compared to other characters.
The quality of the paper used to print the maps on has come under some fire, with good reason. Unfolding and refolding the maps results in noticeable wear on the creases, with white lines and cracking noticeable after just a few viewings. This encourages keeping the maps on permanent wall display (that is, if you have enough space). However, the pre-folded nature of the maps means that they show visible creases which makes that not an altogether satisfactory solution either. Some fans have reported success in getting rid of the creases, though the results are apparently variable.
Is The Lands of Ice and Fire worth getting? Despite the problems, it's still a fairly handsome collection of maps. If fantasy cartography is your thing and you're a fan of ASoIaF, then it's a reasonable purchase. However, if you're more interesting in hard information about the setting you're better off waiting a year or so for The World of Ice and Fire instead. As it stands it's more of a curiosity and a gift idea for people who are fans of the books than anything essential.
The map collection comes in a smart but somewhat non-durable folder. Don't put anything on top of it for long, as it really cannot support much in the way of weight. There's a single pull-out piece of paper with marketing speak on it (more or less the same as the blurb on the back ) and that's it for any kind of textual accompaniment. Those familiar with John Howe's excellent Tolkien maps, or the maps accompanying Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, will likely find this disappointing as those maps were accompanied by small booklets packed with geographical information (and in the Pratchett case, new canon material on geography). As it stands, we will have to wait another year for The World of Ice and Fire to clarify some of the new locations on these maps, and even then only some will be covered.
There are twelve maps drawn by Jonathan Roberts, each measuring 61cm x 92cm in size. There is a large map of the known world, which then has three larger, blown-up versions accompanying it, dubbed 'The West', 'Central Essos' and 'The East'. There are then larger-scaled-still maps of Westeros, Beyond the Wall, the Free Cities, Slaver's Bay and the Dothraki Sea. There are city maps of King's Landing and Braavos, and rounding off the set is a map called 'Journeys', which tracks the movements of the major POV characters across the five novels published to date.
In general terms, the art design for the world and continent maps is decent, falling between the aesthetically-pleasing and the informative. A selling-point of the set is the brand-new maps of central and eastern Essos, including the far east. This is the first time that Ibben, Qarth, Asshai, the Shadow Lands, Yi Ti, the Jade Sea, the Summer Islands and other oft-mentioned lands and cities have been depicted on a canon map: the map accompanying the HBO website for the TV series is canon only for the TV series and is based on early drafts that George R.R. Martin later substantially revised. There are also new lands and locations not previously mentioned in the novels, such as a newly-revealed fourth continent (named Ulthos) and a new, huge island just off Qarth named Great Moraq which seems to be a centre of trade. This stuff is interesting, but also highlights a problem with the map set: Martin seems so keen to provide new information about Essos that Westeros feels slightly neglected. But since Daenerys has apparently already reached the eastern-most part of her journey (in Qarth), showing these eastern lands is nice but ultimately irrelevant for the books themselves.
Westeros itself is mapped much as in the novels, with little or new information of note. Indeed, it's even less well-fleshed-out than the maps and info in the books: the castles and towns on the Iron Islands apart from Pyke are not mentioned, and whilst the Quiet Isle is shown, the Whispers (also from Brienne's storyline) are not. Long-standing fan questions, such as where Stone Hedge and Raventree Hall (the seats of Houses Bracken and Blackwood) are located, remain unanswered, whilst the huge tributary of the Mander (which is almost as big as the Mander itself) remains resolutely unnamed. The map is nice - although not quite as nice as the infamous map by forum-member 'Tear' on the Cartographer's Guild website - but not particularly useful compared to the maps in the books or available for free online. Also, given the fact that we have a fairly reliable scale bar with the Wall (which is almost exactly 300 miles long), the refusal to put a scale bar on the maps is strange.
Of the city maps, King's Landing is curiously lacklustre. The mapmaker was going for a sort-of 3D depiction but seems to have given up at some point, with lots of the buildings being rendered as 2D squares sitting alongside more pictoral 3D depictions, which doesn't really make sense. It's the weakest map in the collection, though fortunately also the least essential: Green Ronin's far superior colour map of the city (for the roleplaying game) is easily findable online, as is the handsome black-and-white map from the Meisha Merlin limited edition of A Clash of Kings. The city map of Braavos, on the other hand, is pretty good and definitely worth keeping a hold of during future reads of Arya and Sam's adventures in the city. However, the decision to map Braavos and not, say, the more vital locations of Winterfell, Harrenhal, Dragonstone, Castle Black or Meereen is curious.
The journeys map is a nice idea, but ultimately impractical with just one image. Maybe one map for each book would have worked, but showing the journeys of some twenty characters across five novels simultaneously on one chart results in an image that is overloaded. It particularly breaks down in the Riverlands, which ends up almost buried under multiple layers of arrows and lines. Still, a nice idea and it does clarify the immense distances that Daenerys has travelled compared to other characters.
The quality of the paper used to print the maps on has come under some fire, with good reason. Unfolding and refolding the maps results in noticeable wear on the creases, with white lines and cracking noticeable after just a few viewings. This encourages keeping the maps on permanent wall display (that is, if you have enough space). However, the pre-folded nature of the maps means that they show visible creases which makes that not an altogether satisfactory solution either. Some fans have reported success in getting rid of the creases, though the results are apparently variable.
Is The Lands of Ice and Fire worth getting? Despite the problems, it's still a fairly handsome collection of maps. If fantasy cartography is your thing and you're a fan of ASoIaF, then it's a reasonable purchase. However, if you're more interesting in hard information about the setting you're better off waiting a year or so for The World of Ice and Fire instead. As it stands it's more of a curiosity and a gift idea for people who are fans of the books than anything essential.
A size comparison of fantasy worlds
Something that may be of marginal interest. A size comparison of various fantasy worlds that I created:
At top-left is Westeros/Essos (the HBO version of the latter) from George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Next to it on the top line is J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, with Ansalon from the Dragonlance world next to that. Below them is Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time map (which was tricky to get right, as the distances given in the books are sometimes contradictary). At bottom-right is Raymond E. Feist's Triagia (on the world of Midkemia), the setting for most of his Riftwar fiction. At bottom-left is Faerun, the principal continent of the Forgotten Realms world.
Something that is surprising here is how small Middle-earth is compared to these other, later-created fantasy worlds.
At top-left is Westeros/Essos (the HBO version of the latter) from George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Next to it on the top line is J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, with Ansalon from the Dragonlance world next to that. Below them is Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time map (which was tricky to get right, as the distances given in the books are sometimes contradictary). At bottom-right is Raymond E. Feist's Triagia (on the world of Midkemia), the setting for most of his Riftwar fiction. At bottom-left is Faerun, the principal continent of the Forgotten Realms world.
Something that is surprising here is how small Middle-earth is compared to these other, later-created fantasy worlds.
Friday, 9 November 2012
BSG: BLOOD AND CHROME released on the Internet
The fate of the Battlestar Galactica spin-off series Blood and Chrome has been up in the air for a while, with SyFy passing on the series option but sitting on the pilot episode for ages. The question of when they would air it has now been answered. You can watch it right now, on the Internet for free.
Or rather the first 12 minutes here:
And the next 11 minutes here:
Both vids are viewable in full HD as well.
Blood and Chrome's pilot has been split into ten parts which will be released over the next few weeks. SyFy will then air the whole episode in February. The DVD/Blu-Ray will be released on 19 February.
Or rather the first 12 minutes here:
And the next 11 minutes here:
Both vids are viewable in full HD as well.
Blood and Chrome's pilot has been split into ten parts which will be released over the next few weeks. SyFy will then air the whole episode in February. The DVD/Blu-Ray will be released on 19 February.
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