What Game of Thrones Season Two does better than a Clash of kings

1) That doctor-girl from Volantis

One of the best things about the TV show is that, since the seasons were shot after the first books had already been published, the writers had a chance to see the entire story before addapting it... That means that the season's don't correspond exactly to the books, that is, season 2 is not mad exclusively of book 2 material... Also, we get to see scenes that are not in the books... There are no chapters for Robb for instance, in any of the books, and most of what happens to the king in the North is stuff we see through Catelyn's eyes or things people talk about in Kings Landing and other distant places . But in the show he had to have a little more space... He is a king, after all... And in the second season they add an interesting character, a character who is completely absent untill book three... His wife, Talisa.

Actually Talisa Maegyr doesn't exist in the books. The wife of the young wolf in the books is Jeyne Westerling (daughter of an impovireshed bannermen of Casterly Rock). But Talisa,  a strong-willed girl from the free cites whose first appearance include her amputating a limb, is far more interesting, and the way Robb falls in love with her is far more logical, and more believable - which is important, considering the developments of this love affair... And it's nice that they introduced this character on season two, and had time to build things up for the events at the end of season three (the middle of book 3).

Yeah, I know this is actually a season 3 scene, but no spoilers in the two of them sharing a meal, right?

2) Brienne of Tarth

Brienne is perfect... I know the descriptions of her phisical appearance in the books can be rather cruel and even grotesque sometimes, but I believe that that is due to the fact that we don't see her own POV untill book 4 and untill then we only see her through the eyes of men who have no reason to be gentle... She is very tall and very strong and kinda awkward, and that's enough to maximize some traits in the most cruel descriptions - the way most men would think of her, or talk about her with others... Be that as it may, the Brienne in the show is awesome... She is this amazing woman, who is also extremely uncomfortable in her own skin, and so, so lonely... A lot of what happens towards the end of season two does not happen untill book three, but her scenes with Jaime are among the best and it's certainly the beginning of the change... The scene in which she meets three Stark men in the road never happened in the books but it's a great scene. We - and Jaime - get to see just how great a fighter she is... Also we get to see a little of her relationship with Jaime, which will only get better and better...



3) Tywin and Arya

In the books, Lord Tywin and Arya Stark happen to be at Harrenhal at the same time, but they never interact... The TV show however does not miss this oportunity... There are several scenes depicting the interactions between the two of them, and it's amazing. We get to know both characters much better - like when Arya talks with admiration of the Targaryen princesses who rode dragons, or when Tywin talks of his father of tells her about how he taight Jaime how to read... There is chemistry between both characters... Arya hates the head of house Lannister, but she is curious about him, and Tywin certainly seems to have a certain admiration for that unusual kid...

Tywin: "Most girls are interested in songs about pretty maidens."

Arya: "Most girls are idiots."



Trek Guest: One of the members of Tywin's small concill is Sor Amory Locke. Sor Amory can't read properly, and he almost endangers Tywin's whole strategy by sending words of their battle plans to an enemy instead of a friend.

The thing is that sor Armory is played by Fintan McKeown who is also a Star Trek actor... He played Michael Sullivan in Star Trek Voyager, the hollographic irishman Janeway falls in love with. The curious thing is that Michael can't read also. Well,... before Janeway decides to tamper with his program that is.

4) I don't think we've ever had a cruel idot for a king

In season two, Westeros is at war... There are five kings fighting for the iron throne, there are battles devastating the realm from King's Landing to the wall, and the common people are starving. The kingdom is bleeding. It needs a strong king. It's got Joffrey instead, a sadistic out-of-control child with a thing for forcing men to fight to the death for his own amusement.

At some point, when he's walking back to the read keep - after being exceedingly rude to his little brother - Joffrey has to walk among the peasants. He ignores their complains about starvation and poverty, and eventually someone throws a cow pie at him. In his stupidity, he demands their heads, all of their heads, and madness ensues... The whole scene is fantastic, but Tyrion's reaction, and the things he says and does to Joffrey are out of this world...

Joffrey: "Traitors! I'll have all their heads!"

Tyrion Lannister: "Oh you blind, bloody fool!"

Joffrey: "You can't insult me!"

Tyrion: "We've had vicious kings, and we've had idiot kings...but I don't know if we've ever been cursed with a vicious idiot for a king!"

Joffrey: "You, you can't!"

Tyrion: "I can, I am!"

Joffrey: "They attacked me!"

Tyrion: "They threw a cowpie at you! So you decide to kill them all?! They're starving, you fool! All because of a war you started!"

Joffrey: "You're talking to a king!"

[Tyrion slaps Joffrey across the face, sending him sprawling]

Tyrion: "And now I've struck a king! Did my hand fall from my wrist?!"

[To the guards] "Where is the Stark girl?!"

Joffrey: [growling] "Let them have her!"

Tyrion: "If she dies you'll never get your uncle Jaime back! You owe him quite a bit, you know!"

Also, I can't not mention the scene in which Tyrion rescues Sansa from Joffrey's cruelty, in a demonstration of the type of chivarly and gentlemanliness which his nephew will never have. His kindness to Sansa is outstanding, as is the way he talks to the kingsguard

"I'm not threatening the king, I am educating my nephew"

His nephew sure needs an education

It's no surprise that once again, Tyrion is one of the best things of the TV show, and something the show does a lot better than the books... The many scenes in which he is whistling The Rains of Castamere are an added bonus...

5) Blackwater

Most of the things that happen on the blackwater battle in the book are in the TV show, but they are presented differently, and that makes the whole thing a lot better... The special effects for the fires of the pyromancer are cool enough, but the way in which they linked Joffrey's exit with Tyrion's move was amazing - it puts the whole thing in a much more interesting light... Even Tyrion's speech... Much like in the books, it's not an extraordinary speech, but precisely because of that, it feels more genuine. Tyrion didn't have time to come up with anything inspiring, and the first thing he says is the first thing that comes up in his mind: "You call me half a man, what does that make you?"... He doesn't have experience with battle speeches. But it works... Precisely because it's genuine...

Ah... And that person whose name I won't say riding into the throne room in a tall battle horse once its all over... Amazing

Books (Book Haul) | July 2016

I don't usually make book hauls on the blog... For some reason, it always made more sense to me to talk about books I have read, than to talk about books that I've bought or traded for and so on. But I know book hauls are common and popular posts on book blogs and booktube channels and so on, so I thought I might give it a try...

1) To kill a mocking bird, by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird had been on my wish list ever since I first read The perks of being a wallflower (it's the first book on Charlie's reading list). I got it because I don't usually find English-written books in such a good price around here... There was a time - not that long ago - when there was only one place I could find books in English around here: a lonely shelf in a second hand bookshelf downtown. The price was great, but all they had were penguin versions of Austen, Dickens and Shakespeare, which was all I read when I first started reading English... Now however, you can find them anywhere. And not just classics either. Almost anything from Harry Potter to Ben Bova.

That being said, there was an oportunity to get my hands on Harper Lee's masterpiece and I took it. Started reading the book a few weeks ago,... It's nice (I kind of imagine a southern accent while I'm reading it), but it is not a quick read (not for me at least)... I should post a review about it when I'm done with it...

2) Dragões do Eter, by Raphael Draccon

Dragões do Eter...

The first thing to understand here is that there are not that many books of fantastic fiction written by Brazilian authors - at least, there didn't use to be. There has been a surge of such books lately  - several of the authors have been to nerdcast to talk about it - and it made me curious. Dragons of Ether is one of such books. In fact, this kind of literature was so unusual, the first book of this series was first published in Portugal!



The first book (Which Hunters) is set in a fictional land called New Ether, a world protected by powerful avatars... The synopsis at the back of the book doesn't really say much more about the story... I have read the first few pages, and I have an opinion about the book but I'll refrain from going on and on about it now... Let's wait for the review post.

The series with one of my favorite cups on top of them...

3) Espadachim de Carvão, by Affonso Solano

This is another book series of fantastic fiction written by a national author... I traded another book for it, and I'm told the first book at least is really good...

4) Fables of Aesop, by Aesop



Aesop was an ancient Greek story teller credited with a number of fables collectivelly known as Aesop's fables and collected in this book. It's a beautiful book by  Cosac Naify, a publisher which no longer exists (which is perhaps, the main reason why I got this). The book is beautifully bound. It certainly looks great on my shelf...

5) Fathers and Sons, by Ivan Turgenev



Yet another book published by Cosac Naify, Fathers and Sons, by Turgenev, tells the story of Arkadi Kisanov, a young man who returns home freshly after university, along with a friend, Bazarov. His father, Nikolai, gladly welcomes them both to his home, where Arkadi's brother Pavel lives, as well as his father's new wife and baby son. But Arkadi has changed while he was at the University of Petersburg, as his family soon notices. Pavel becomes upset at his strange new nihilist philosophy, and Nikolai feels his own opinions to be dated next to that of his learned son.

This book was a recommendation of one of my high school teachers (one of two reccomendations I am yet to follow, I should say)... If I remember correctly, he was trying to warn me against the shortcomings of nihilism... It's been several years, and, for some reason, I didn't get around to reading the book yet, but now I finally have in in my shelves I will. In fact, seeing as it's the story of a young man who recently graduated from university, I dare say it will be an even more fitting read now than it would have been in high school.

Some of the books on the "classics" section of my library...