A to Z Challenge Day 20: Tyrion Lannister (the Exceptionally Clever Imp)

I can remember when the first book in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series first came out. I remember, not because I read it, but because a favorite web-comic writer of mine did, and he subsequently ranted to the world about how George R.R. Martin is an evil creature who spends hundreds of pages building up a character, making you love them with all your heart and soul, before mercilessly murdering them as though they were the absolute least important of characters. These days, what with the hit HBO show, the fact that Mr. Martin is a vicious heart-breaker who likes to torture his readers unrelentingly is pretty common knowledge. But, at the time I remember thinking, “Well then…I guess I’ll stay away from those books because it sounds like the author is a bit of an arse.”

And I did – stay away from the books that is – for well over a decade. The first book came out in 1996 and I didn’t go anywhere near the series until somewhere in the area of 2010. I’d watched, every so often, as my web-comic writer fav cried over the books, praising them in one sentence and damning them in another, but I never jumped on the books myself until the HBO show was announced. Even then it wasn’t of my own will; my husband had read about the upcoming show and thought the books sounded like something I might enjoy, and so he gifted me the set of four novels that were available at the time.

Of the five books that I’ve now read, I’ve loved four (I’m sorry, Mr. Martin, but I had to really force myself through “A Feast for Crows”), and of the three seasons of the HBO show that have aired thus far I’ve loved every second, but if I’m totally honest neither the books nor the show would be even half as great if it weren’t for the character they call “the Imp”, Tyrion Lannister. His quick wit, cunning, and flair for being a mouthy little creature make him an absolute joy to read about or watch (and come on, does Peter Dinklage not portray the character flawlessly?), and he’s the excellent sort of character that pulls you back and forth and in a dozen different directions. Throughout the story you can never quite decide if he’s a good guy or a bad guy, or a good guy who does bad things, or a bad guy who happens to have a few morals. All you know is that while there are characters you love and characters you hate, in the entire world that George R.R. Martin has created, this is the character who you are constantly rooting for. Trust me on this one.

A to Z Challenge Day 5: Eric Northman (the Viking Vampire)

Before we go any further, I’m going to ask you not to judge me. The fact that he’s a vampire and he’s sexy as hell should not dissuade you from reading the rest of this post. Please, continue on.

A lot of people are probably apt to include the Sookie Sackhouse novels (which spawned the HBO television show, True Blood) on the long list of “Vampire Romance Novels that I Would Not Touch With a Fifty-Foot Pole”, but I think that’s an unfair assessment. I understand entirely if you’ve developed a bad taste in your mouth for anything involving vampires, and yes, there is an outrageously large quantity of god-awful vampire literature out there these days, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be willing to give something a chance every now and then.

I gave the Sookie Stackhouse novels a fair chance because I genuinely enjoyed the first season of True Blood, and I’m glad that I allowed both versions of this story into my life because they have – in my opinion – a very healthy mixture of sexy romance and “Holy crap, these vampires are crazy, heartless, evil monsters!” One of the characters who exemplifies this is Eric Northman, the thousand year old vampire who was turned back when he was still a viking prince. He’s my favorite character in the series for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he is played on the show by the extremely handsome Alexander Skarsgård. Depending on which medium you partake in – the books or the show – things are a little different, but in both versions Eric can be a deliciously sexy romantic one moment and a vicious, torturous killer the next. That, if I’m being perfectly honest, is exactly how I like my vampires. I won’t hang my head in shame and try to hide the fact that I enjoy the sexy vampire trope, but I also like my monsters to be monsters, so I thoroughly enjoy this mixture that author Charlaine Harris has put together. Many of the characters in the books/show (not just the vampires, but the other supernaturals as well) fall into this sexy/psychopath category, but Eric is my favorite amongst them because of the extremes in his personality. There are moments during which he seems to be the most loving, protective, emotional individual in the Universe, and then the next moment he’s tearing apart an entire room full of people. He is an amazing blend of swoon-worthy and frightening-to-the-core.

Regardless of your feelings toward the “new” generations of vampires, I would definitely suggest both the books and the show. Give them a try…you might be pleasantly surprised.

“What I’m Currently…”

Since yesterday was such a serious topic, I though I’d be a little more lighthearted today. I think it’s time for an installment of “What I’m Currently…”

“What I’m Currently Watching…”
At the moment I’m about halfway through season five of True Blood, with intentions of watching season six. I’ve already seen season five, but I’m re-watching it in order to rekindle my memories of what happened since I recently read a slew of the books that the show is based on (the Sookie Stackhouse novels). The two mediums take very different paths, so it’s hard to keep track of both at once.

That said, I love the show as much as I love the books. Whereas the books are written entirely from Sookie’s point of view, the show tells the stories of all of the characters – the humans, the vampires, the shifters and weres, and everything in between. There are several completely unnecessary characters in the books who have their own whole subplots in the show. There’s even one character who dies in the first book, but in the show he’s a very important character and is, in fact, one of my favorites. It all works out very nicely.

I realize that vampires and other supernatural creatures are not for everyone, but this show is worth giving it a try, in my opinion. For one thing the vampires are not flighty, sparkly, perfect examples of sex gods and goddesses who can do no wrong. Yes, there’s some romance involved in the show, but the vampires are also cruel, dangerous, and occasionally downright evil. Even the vampires that we’re meant to like regularly plot, kill, and torture, amongst other things. It’s a nice change of pace to have vampires who are protagonists but are also still monsters.

The show has a lot of other good points, but I don’t need to list them all here (*cough*incredibly hot actors*cough*). Just trust me on this one. Give the show a chance if you haven’t already.

“What I’m Currently Playing…”
I’ve finally gotten around to playing Soul Sacrifice for the Playstation Vita, and I have to say that I’m hooked. At first I was a bit confused because it’s one of those games that just throws you into the fray without explaining anything, but bit by bit you get filled in and everything starts to make sense.

At the core the game actually has a very simple premise: kill monsters and either save or sacrifice their souls to affect your character’s health and defense, or magic and attack power. Adding to that are a whole host of “offerings” (which boil down to your magic spells), “sigils” that you can equip to affect your stats, and the ability to sacrifice your own flesh (in the form of stat losses and the like) in exchange for one-time bursts of power to defeat difficult enemies. The whole thing is wrapped up in a strange but very interesting story.

To evidence just how interesting, I spent over two hours just reading all the background info on how each of the monsters became monsters in the first place. Two hours.

“What I’m Currently Reading…”
Make way for the Queen of all nerds. Though I haven’t touched it in two weeks because it’s too clunky to bring out West with me, I’ve been working my way through Marvel Avengers: The Ultimate Character Guide. My husband got me a whole slew of these kinds of books for Christmas because I indicated that I’d like to learn more about different superheroes because I’m an enormous nerd.

Evidence!

The “Avengers” edition of these books gives bios and short histories of any Marvel character – hero or villain – who has ever been involved with any of the Avengers storylines. It really is quite interesting (if you’re an enormous nerd) but I have to say that the best part of reading this book is when my three-year-old daughter plunks down next to me and starts exclaiming, “Look! It’s IronMan! Look! It’s Hulk! Look! It’s Thor!”

And finally,
“What I’m Currently Thinking…”
…is that I’ll have plenty of time to watch, play, and read, now that I’m unemployed again. Ha ha ah ha ha ha…*sob sob*

(Just kidding, I’m not actually sobbing, don’t worry!)