Wherein I go on and on about "A Song of Ice and Fire" - slash - "Game of Thrones"

I saw it first on io9. George R.R. Martin is doing a "coffee table book" about the world of "A Song of Ice and Fire".

Because clearly he does not have enough on his plate.

*inhales sharply*

*exhales slowly*

Mr. Martin. I realize that you are not my bitch. Neil Gaiman said so. I get that. Frankly, were I to have a "bitch", you would not be my first choice. You wouldn't make it into the long list, frankly. That said, WOULD YOU PLEASE FOCUS ON FUCKING WRITING THE REST OF THE GODDAMN SERIES AND STOP GETTING DISTRACTED BY THESE RIDICULOUS SIDE-PROJECTS????

You're not getting any younger and HBO is filming faster than you're writing. This series is clearly your opus or whatever. It would be lovely if you'd get the goddamn story done. Preferrably without going off on weird tangents with characters nobody gives a shit about (*cough* Theon *cough*).

There. That felt good. Okay, so HBO's "Game of Thrones". You know, I mostly don't comment on this show 'cause I don't have HBO. I've got the DVDs and watch them when I need a good distraction of crazy shit or just watching Peter Dinklege play Tyrion Lannister owning the screen.

I've felt that the staff for the series have done an absolutely-brilliant job with the casting. My only sense of wariness came from the casting of Kit Harington as Jon Snow, but I have to admit Harington has won me over. Snow is a pretty boring character, all-said, and Harington actually does a pretty awesome job handling that.

What really surprises me is how well the FX department does with Dany's dragons. Damn but they've done a great job making those little (and growing) bastards look realistic.

My only remaining bit of whining is how the Others are portrayed. They just don't have that weird, otherworldly-beauty that Martin describes in the series. I pictured them as cold, homicidal ice-elves, but they look more like pale, prune-skinned cavemen. Kinda weak.

Damn good series. Gives me hope that television can continue to produce good stuff, if they pay attention.

Okay George, back to work. Bitch. *WHIP CRACK!*