Game of Thrones Season 4 Book Comparison and Review – Episode 5

After episode 4’s dismal display, episode 5 brought some of the best scenes in the show thus far, although it ended less well than it could have.

Follow me under the jump for a look at this week’s episode.

The Dresden Readthrough: White Night

We continue our readthrough of Jim Butcher's uber-popular urban fantasy series The Dresden Files today with book nine, White Night. The continuing plan is to do a book a month on the first Tuesday of each month, and with 16 books on the publication schedule between now and when our readthrough is over, our reading list should be pretty full for the foreseeable future.

We're now officially past the publication halfway point, and while I'm not sure whether this was my favorite entry in the series so far, it has given me a much broader appreciation for what Jim Butcher is accomplishing.

First and foremost, I appreciate that Butcher, time and time again, wastes no time jumping into the overall plot. Within the first few pages, we're right in the thick of it with some good action and a quick reminder as to where we're at. Yes, White Night like the book before it is absolutely another supernatural murder mystery (now with more serial killing), but we are getting somewhere with this in part as a result of the prior books as opposed to what felt like a diversion in the previous entry.

We get a lot of the old faves, from Harry's brother to a healthy helping of Murphy, and some of the most compelling scenes, for me, were with Harry's new ward, Molly. Both an annoying young girl and a precocious individual, she brought a lot of extras to the story both from a plot standpoint and as a way to fill in gaps in the story and setting organically as opposed to how the traditional stories went about it with Harry's random asides.

Also great? Butcher knows how to write the last quarter of a book. Without giving anything away, the final act of this book felt a lot bigger, broader, and badder than anything that's come before it, and while we've been conditioned at this point to know that Harry will somehow pull it off, that sense of danger has simply been transferred to his friends and collaborators now. It's a deft change of pace.

There really hasn't been a bad book in the series yet, but I really feel like the story is hitting its stride in a significant way. We've got a broad cast of characters that are being used for specific reasons, being introduced as meaningful and then having roles to play in harm's way, and there's no feeling of dangling plotlines or missing information as things come in and out of Dresden's world fairly regularly. There are a few things from the early books that I'm waiting on a payoff for, and I don't doubt I'll get them. That's good writing. Is the series along the lines of more epic fare? Of course not, but it also (and perhaps most importantly) isn't trying to be. It's a great sale with a lot behind it.

I am outright forcing myself to pace the reading of these a bit rather than dive right in on the next book. That's how good things have gotten. Ah well, months go by rather quickly, I suppose...

A fun note: if you're looking to five into the series, Dead Beat, the first novel, is under $3 for Kindle right now. Worth checking out!

FPcast! The Fruitless Pursuits Podcast for May 5th 2014! Free Comic Book Day vs Star Wars Day!

This week we celebrate both Free Comic Book Day and Star Wars Day! We review our favourite (and not-so-favourite) free comics, plus we talk about the casting of Episode Seven. We also review the Art of Winter Soldier, and catch up on Game of Thrones. Seriously! This is all the stuff you like! Shove it in your head holes!

Download here! (Click to stream, right-click to save)

And be sure to SUBSCRIBE to us on iTunes because we do this every week!

Game of Thrones Season 4 Book Comparison and Review - Episodes 3 and 4

Has everyone recovered from episode two yet? Are we good? Episodes 3 and 4 provide some very important groundwork for the rest of the season. Follow me under the jump for more of an analysis and comparison to the Song of Ice and Fire book series and some speculation on what is to come. Any spoilers for future plot lines will be clearly labelled, spoilers up to and including episode 4 of season 4 of Game of Thrones.

Thursday Threesome: Three Comics I'm Really Into Right Now

I know we haven't talked as much about comics lately as we used to, so I figured I'd use my Thursday Threesome this cycle to talk about some comics I'm loving. Come on down!

The Book Was Better Podcast Episode 85: Sargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band! (with guest host Tim!)

This week guest host Tim (the Stats Man) makes his triumphant debut as we read the epically long and confusing novelization of Sargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. You remember that one from the late seventies, right? It's the animated - no wait... LIVE ACTION... movie starring the Beatles... no wait... starring the Bee Gees. What? Wait... Wait... WTF did I just read and watch??

You can download it right now from the official site!

Or why not subscribe to us on iTunes and join the discussion in our friendly Facebook group!

FPcast! The Fruitless Pursuits Podcast for April 28th 2014! Movie Nudity.

This week, in honour of Saint Scarlett of Johansson, we delve into our thoughts on movie nudity! Is it necessary? When does it work? When does it not? What is that thing flapping around there anyway? Also, we review John Turturro's directorial debut Fading Gigolo, Tom Hiddleston vampire fest Only Lovers Left Alive, and talk about that controversial episode of Game of Thrones. Listen to it!

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In the Flesh Review

It’s interesting how many good zombie related movies, books and television shows are around now. Usually, a good zombie story has more than just headshots and gore, although those can be enjoyable too. The fairly recent influx of strongly written, moral explorations through the backdrop of the walking dead is some of my favourite television to watch.

The BBC’s In The Flesh is no exception. It takes on the age-old zombie story with a fresh perspective; looking at the reform of the un-dead and their lives after they have risen. In the Flesh follows the story of Kieren Walker, a recently risen zombie who has been medicated and is in recovery from so-called Partially Deceased Syndrome.

In the Flesh is at times a heart rending and emotionally charged exploration of life, relationships and the human experience, rather than about the zombie horde itself. It focuses more on the characters whose lives are affected by the complete change of the world over and above the terror of brain eating monsters; because sometimes the real monsters live inside our homes and inside us.

Follow me under the jump for more.

The Book Was Better Podcast Episode 84: Karate Kid Part II with Jessica McLeod!

This week the amazing Jessica Fricken' McLeod returns as we delve into the luxuriously thin novelization of the completely insane Karate Kid II! HAI! POW! KICK! ETC! Jess is back, you guys, that's all you need to know!

You can download it right now from the official site!

Or why not subscribe to us on iTunes and join the discussion in our friendly Facebook group!

FPcast! The Fruitless Pursuits Podcast for April 21st 2014: Alternative Mythologies for Easter!

This week we celebrate Easter with alternative mythologies! What crazy crap where the Norse and Greek gods up to that put our own bland mythologies to shame? Plus we review The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and gross-out rom-com The Other Woman. Oh, and at the end of the episode we recap Episode 2 of Season 4 of Game of Thrones! And you know what that means! Check it out!

Download here! (Click to stream, right-click to save)

And be sure to SUBSCRIBE to us on iTunes because we do this every week!