Race for the Iron Throne Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup

Hey folks, time to check in once again. So the Patreon is officially in its second month – it’s still a bit short of its first stretch goal of an extra essay per month, so if you have a few bucks to spare and would like to see more Race for the Iron Throne content, every little bit helps.

More importantly, work has started on Arya VI, once of my favorite chapters in all of ASOS. This essay is going to be a long one, but I think a good one.

In the mean-time, we’ve got Tumblrs:

ASOIAF:

• Was Jon Arryn a bad judge of character?
• Why didn’t Bronze Yohn bring a daughter with him to Winterfell?
• Why do royals stick to a few names?
• On Aegon’s two coronations and royal styles.
• Follow up on Dany’s dragons.
• Early modern economic development and standing armies.
• Robb/Asha marriage in a Greyjoy/Stark alliance.
• Why wasn’t High Tide rebuilt?
• Why are the red priests of Volantis backing Dany?
• What happens when borders shift during the Great Game?
• Ten questions on Euron and the Eldritch Apocalypse.

Non-ASOIAF:

• PHOMU #15.

 

I’d like to thank my Patrons: Beth Becker, Anonymous, Steven Xue, Gabriel Nichols, Casso King of Seals, Stephan Priddy, Sister Winter, Alistair, Aweseeds, Quinn Albaugh, James Tuttle, Hedrigal, Jeremy Alexander, Dan Kohn, Donald Newell, joannalannister, Abel Savard, Quinn Radich, Emmett Booth, Leonard Wise, Kelly, Courtney Simpson, Will Pepperman, Angus Niven, Lauren Combs, Amanda Marie Ford, Danil Koryabkin, John Pharo, Darby Veeck, History of Westeros, Joshua Imboden, Imriel, Adam Blackwood, Greg Sanders, Alex Chiang, William Griese, NotAPodcast,, Chris Reid, tomsevenstrings, Timothy Upton, Willie Frolik, Micah Bouchard, Lucas Fyten, Gabriel Mallows, Paul Connolly, Brett, Michael Aaronson, Nina Friel, Christine Higgins, Jason Reilly Arends, Jim Tripp, Eric Benjamin, Sara Michener, Dave, and James Keene.

If you’d like to become a Patron and support Race for the Iron Throne, see here.

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Non-ASOIAF Content: A People’s History of the Marvel Universe Going Strong

Despite spending the weekend on a mini-vacation, the flow was with me sufficiently that I was able to write a brand-new People’s History of the Marvel Universe essay from beginning to end.

Check it out!

Talking Deconstruction and Fantasy at Lawyers, Guns, and Money

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Hey folks! So a couple weeks ago, Robert Farley (my colleague at Lawyers, Guns, and Money) and I sat down and talked about what the end of Game of Thrones means about George R.R Martin’s larger project.

Now before you all run for the hills, let me say that the focus is much less on the minutiae of the finale episode and more on the overall project of adaptation, what the broader purpose of deconstruction and reconstruction are in genre fiction, and similar topics.

Check it out! (or hit the blue #2 at the top left…)

Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Sam II, ASOS

“And then the world went mad.”

Synopsis: Gilly gives birth (Mazeltov?), Sam tries to do the right thing, Craster gets hit with a negative review bomb on Yelp, and Jeor discovers the limits of discipline.

SPOILER WARNING: This chapter analysis, and all following, will contain spoilers for all Song of Ice and Fire novels and Game of Thrones episodes. Caveat lector.

RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup

Hey folks! So the Patreon is two weeks old, and already it’s almost to the first goal of an extra essay per month! Just as importantly, the show is now done, which means that all of the time and effort that went into watching, taking notes on, and writing up each episode can now go into writing about A Storm of Swords…which I’ll be announcing something exciting about soon.

In the mean-time, we’ve got some good stuff on the Tumblrs.

ASOIAF:

• How useful is a Valyrian steel sword?
• Jon’s existential dilemma.
• Did Euron go to Valyria?
• My theory about Young Grift the Dragonrider.
• Why didn’t Varys expose Littlefinger?
• Treatment for the poor in the North.
• Robb’s plan for the Riverlands.
• On the different kinds of ships in Westerosi navies:
  • Part I
  • Part II
• Could Tytos and/or Tywin have been removed by Aegon V?
• How to uncover Littlefinger’s crimes?
• Medieval theory of just siegecraft and Westeros.
• A long discussion of Harry the Heir (“the new “Renly-is-good” question”):
  • Part I
  • Part II
  • Part III
  • Part IV
• The Starks as good guys in a bad system.
• The smallfolk’s view of Aerys II.

Non-ASOIAF:

• Policy announcement re: show-only asks.
• Thoughts on Hickman’s upcoming X-Men run.

Patron Asks:

• Anon asks: “How much do you think Joffrey was inspired by Richard II?”
  • Not that much? It’s not that they don’t have some things in common: they both come to the throne rather early, they face a popular uprising, they both rule in a somewhat tyrannical fashion. However, Joffrey isn’t deposed, the Lords Appelant were moved over to the Vale, and Joffrey’s death is more similar to that of Prince Eustace during the Anarchy. Personality-wise and in terms of the rest of his backstory, he’s more akin to Edward of Lancaster.
• Hedrigal asks: “If a medieval or ancient person makes a purchase involving millions of gold coins, how does that actually work? Like if Crassus (chosen as the richest man in Rome) wanted to make a major acquisition worth a million gold, how did the told actually change hands. ”
  • This is a great question! In addition to letters of credit and similar financial instruments, one of the ways that ancient and medieval people conducted large-scale transactions was to leave coins behind and just deal with precious metals. For the ancient Mediterranean, you had talents; throughout much of Asia, you had the lakh. These were bars or plaques or discs of (as pure as they could get) precious metals, which would be put into chests and very carefully transported in well-guarded caravans.

I’d like to thank my Patrons: Beth Becker, Anonymous, Steven Xue, Gabriel Nichols, Casso King of Seals, Stephan Priddy, Sister Winter, Alistair, Aweseeds, James Tuttle, Hedrigal, Jeremy Alexander, Dan Kohn, Donald Newell, joannalannister, Abel Savard, Quinn Radich, Leonard Wise, Kelly, Courtney Simpson, Will Pepperman, Angus Niven, Lauren Combs, Amanda Marie Ford, Danil Koryabkin, John Pharo, Darby Veeck, History of Westeros, Joshua Imboden, Imriel, Adam Blackwood, Greg Sanders, NotAPodcast,, Chris Reid, Lucas Fyten, Gabriel Mallows, Paul Connolly, Brett, Michael Aaronson, Nina Friel, Christine Higgins, Jim Tripp, Eric Benjamin, Sara Michener, Dave, and James Keene.

If you’d like to become a Patron and support Race for the Iron Throne, see here.

Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Tyrion IV, ASOS

“For hands of gold are always cold, but a woman’s hands are warm…”

Synopsis: Tyrion takes a meeting with a singer, and a meeting with his dad. Neither go well.

SPOILER WARNING: This chapter analysis, and all following, will contain spoilers for all Song of Ice and Fire novels and Game of Thrones episodes. Caveat lector.

TALKING GAME OF THRONES, SEASON 8 EPISODE 6 ON GRAPHIC POLICY RADIO

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For those of you who haven’t gotten their fill of talking about the finale of Game of Thrones, I made an appearance over at Graphic Policy Radio with Elana Levin, Dothraki expert Tihi Hayslett, and Shakespeare-ologist Sarah Rasher.

Check it out!

Thoughts on Game of Thrones, Season 8 Episode 6

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Always look on the bright side of life…

RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup

Ok, the Patreon is launched and the show’s almost done, let’s do this! But before that… some announcements about what’s next after the show recaps are no longer a burden I must toil under. I’m quite eager to get back to writing ASOS chapter essays, with Tyrion IV being the first on the docket. I’ve also got to finish some loose ends, with Part III of Hour of the Wolf and redoing my edit of the True Life of the Spider on the list. And then I’d like to get into Dunk and Egg Part I.

And somewhere in the middle of that, I’ve got some PHOMUs to write.

But in the mean-time, we’ve got Tumblrs.

ASOIAF:

• Cersei’s pregnancy in the books.
• Septon Barth and the seasons.
• A discussion about Rhaenrya’s kids’ legitimacy.
  • Part II
• Why wouldn’t Tywin foster Jon Snow?
• Pigeon pies and other culinary surprises.
• In what order do the Stark kids reunite?
• Should Dany have landed on Dragonstone or Dorne?
• What could have happened if the Great Council at the Tourney of Harrenhal had gone ahead?
• More on King’s Landing and population growth.
• A discussion of what to do about Harrenhal.
• Medieval laws of war and sieges.
• Why didn’t Varys try his perfect prince plan in Essos?
• What places will we see in Winds?
• Easiest way to have a Stark-Lannister alliance?

Non-ASOIAF:

• On the MCU becoming Earth-616.
• Marvel horror comics.

Race for the Iron Throne: The Patreon!

I need a new headshot…

After several delays and a good deal of consideration, I’ve finally taken the plunge and started a Patreon campaign. Initially, I wanted to wait until the bulk of Kickstarter rewards were fulfilled, because I don’t like double-dipping on people. And then life got in the way…

Anyway, the goal for the Patreon is to help me shift from writing about the intersection of history, politics, and pop culture (including but not limited to ASOIAF) mostly for a hobby towards writing about it for a living.

So if you can chip in a little bit per month to help me achieve that goal (or can help spread the word on social media about the campaign), it would be greatly appreciated. I want to promise off the bat that the heart of this blog – regular essays about ASOIAF and comics and the like – will not be pay-gated. There’s some great Patreon reward levels, but they all involve getting to read stuff early and getting access to bonus stuff and the like. My intention is that Race for the Iron Throne and my other endeavors continue to be fun and accessible for supporters and casual readers alike.

Either way, I’ve had a great time writing and chatting with you all for these past several years, and hope to keep the conversation going for many years to come.