Blood, Boobs & Carnage Blogfest

Hosted by

Ninja Captain Alex J Cavanaugh & Heather Gardner

I just finished watching Season 5, Episode 6 "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken," and it's funny, because it's probably one of the only episodes that doesn't fully fit with the theme of this blogfest. But almost every other episode epitomizes the the theme of "Blood, Boobs & Carnage."

The HBO original series, Game of Thrones, as with the book series it is based on, A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin, are the first things I thought of when I learned about this blogfest. Martin created an expansive, brutal world and HBO vividly brought it to life. It combines the violence of The Walking Dead, the sex and dysfunctional shock value of Californication, and the superb acting and production value of Breaking Bad. What more could anyone possibly want?

The show is so awesome it that it has the best opening credits (which doesn't have any blood, boobs, or carnage, but it's still Star Wars caliber awesome) of any show out there. I typically fast forward through opening credits, but not for Game of Thrones.

There are so many twists and turns, so many secondary characters, so much detail put into the world, the history, and the storyline that you need to watch it numerous times (and even then, you won't catch everything). It's easy to get distracted by the blood and boobs, but you need to concentrate if you want to keep up with the multiple interwoven storylines. And don't expect the good guys to prevail. All men must die.

Below is the Honest Trailer of Games of Thrones and shows exactly why it is perfect for this blogfest. But be warned, it does include spoilers from seasons 1-3. If you don't mind the spoilers, the trailer is pretty hilarious, especially for people that know exactly what the narrator's talking about. Enjoy!

Thank you to Alex and Heather for setting this up and use the list of links below to visit other people participating in this blogfest.

Game of Thrones is Back with a Vengence

I just watched the newly released Game of Thrones trailer this morning and was giddy by the end of it (the 15-minute behind the scenes of Season 4 that came out last week was also exciting)--little kid at Christmastime giddy. I'm so looking forward to what they do with the second half of Storm of Swords. Besides the stunning visuals in the trailer, the song gives it extra emotion and fits very well with the title track. It's cover of a Siouxsie & the Banshees song called "Cities in Dust," by the band The Everlove.

I just finished reading the fourth book in the series, A Feast for Crows, and I can now understand all the negative reviews. I love the world and characters Martin has created, but the book was 90% setup, or filler (it's hard to say at this point). The events of Books 4 and 5 are happening simultaneously, and Martin split the POV characters between the two books. That was a gutsy move, and I didn't mind it so much. I just wish the story felt like it was progressing.

Since A Dance with Dragons (Book 5) is 49 hours long listening to it on audiobook, I'm going to hold off for a little while. It won't be relevant until Season 5 and the 6th book most likely won't be out until 2016, so I think I've got a little time. For now, I can't wait for Season 4 to begin in April. So enjoy the trailer, and if you haven't watched the first three seasons, it's a good time to catch up!