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!

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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!

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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!

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Game of Thrones Season Four Book Comparison - Episodes 1 & 2

As we plunge headlong into the new season of Game of Thrones I’m interested to see how the story contorts and develops between the sprawling and intricate chess game in A Song of Ice and Fire and the much more visual and limited medium of the HBO series.

Thus far, this season has done a much more adept job at telling the right kinds of stories from the book and developing a more legible plotline. The characters have been well developed despite their limited screen time and extremely interwoven and complex plotlines have been turned into more digestible stories without sacrificing future stories.

I hope it holds up, but in the mean time, join me under the cut if you want to know more in the way of comparisons to story arcs and plots between Game of Thrones season four and the book series.

Note: this article includes spoilers up to and including Game of Thrones season four episode two. Future book spoilers are not included.

Book Review: The Word Exchange

When it comes to what's new and hot and awesome in dystopian fiction as of late, it usually centers around fascistic governments or a world recovering from a major war or disaster, or simply becoming some sort of post-apocalyptic survival story. Rarely is it one that, instead of attacking people directly, it chooses instead to attack language. Thus Alena Graedon's The Word Exchange.

There are a good deal of books that have been published over the years that deal with language and the written word as a major point, whether it be fantasy like Blake Charlton's Spellwrite trilogy, or the somewhat fantastic/paranoid like The Raw Shark Texts. In The Word Exchange, it's a computer virus that turns real, it's people getting sick (sort of like The Flame Alphabet from a few years ago) from the technology designed to help them communicate. It's technology turning on us.

The Book Was Better Podcast Episode 83: Gremlins! (with guest host Lizzy Unpronounceable!)

This week we break all the rules when we get mischievous with the great George Gipe's novelization of Gremlins! Joining me is fan-favourite guest host Lizzy Unpronounceable who, much like the titular creatures of the books, starts out fuzzy and adorable and becomes increasingly violent and aggressive! Is this another Gipe classic, or a bloated misfire? Find out by wading through our biggest episode yet!

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!