Game of Thrones, Season 4, Episode 5: First of His Name

Kings Landing Where the Tyrells merrily stomp Lannisters in the first

Tommen is crowned king! Making time to share several smiles with Margaery of course. Cersei drops in for a chat, Margaery tries to be nicely complimentary but Cersei hits with truth – her eldest son was a monster, she knew it, Margaery knew it; Cersei loved him but his acts shocked her. Unlike Tommen who is good and decent – who will need help to be a good king. And does Margaery want to be Queen? Cersei plans to talk to Tywin if Margaery will talk to her father (well, Olenna, let’s be honest). Margaery has a happy little joke about Cersei marrying Loras – oh how close their families are coming

Cersei meets Tywin and they set the dates for the marriages of Tommen and herself. Without the ridiculous parties this time. Tywin, at last, acknowledges that Cersei doesn’t like them, but he didn’t like Robert, Cersei’s husband. It’s about alliances not liking or trust – the only people they can trust are they themselves. They need the Tyrells as the only House that has the same level of resources as the Lannisters, especially since the last Lannister gold mine, the very foundation of Lannister wealth, just ran dry. Aaaand for extra funness, they owe the Iron Bank of Braavos a vast sum of money they can’t pay back and there’s absolutely no way even the Lannisters can wiggle out from under the Iron Bank’s debt. They need the Tyrell weddings – and Cersei accepts that for the good of the family. Unlike her dastardly brothers – especially Tyrion.

Cersei moves to the next judge – Oberyn – and they talk about the loved ones they’ve lost, Tyrion’s guilt, Oberyn’s 8 daughters and Myrcella, Cersei’s daughter, who is in Dorne. Oberyn assures Cersei they don’t hurt girls in Dorne, a wiser and more cynical Cersei is sure they hurt girls everywhere. And she has a ship to give her daughter, because why be a Lannister if you can’t give lavish presents.

Vale of Arryn

Littlefinger leads Sansa to the Eyrie with a little exposition about the place – including how absolutely no-one could possibly conquer the fortress which is almost impossible to reach in the mountains. And Sansa travels incognito, just in case. They arrive in the Eyrie to be greeted by Lysa Arryn (Sansa’s aunt, Catelyn’s sister and Littlefinger’s betrothed) and Robin Arryn (a child, current Lord of Arryn since his dad’s (the Hand of the King before Ned Stark, killed by Cersei) death and not the most well adjusted of kids) who views Littlefinger as a favoured uncle. Lysa greets Sansa warmly, though cautions her against revealing who she is while in the Eyrie. All very good – but Sansa then gets a glimpse of how her cousin isn’t the most reassuring kid out there – and Lysa has a vast bitterness against the Lannisters (calling Tyrion a “filthy troll” – though Sansa defends Tyrion who never touched her and was forced to marry her himself).

Once Sansa is shuffled off with Robin, Lysa passionately kisses Littlefinger – a gesture he doesn’t return with the same enthusiasm. She wants to get married now now now, he wants to wait.  In her passion and eagerness she describes all the things she’d done for Littlefinger – including poisoning her husband and telling Catelyn and the Starks the Lannisters did it. Whether she meant that as a threat or she’s really hat daft, Littlefinger agrees to marry her right away – and she announces, before the Septon et al, just how loud she intends to scream when Littlefinger has sex with her

No pressure there, Petyr.

Which Sansa then has to listen to. Lovely. Later Sansa and Lysa bond with old stories (including the pressure on Catelyn to be beautiful so she could marry well) before Lysa derails into a complete rant about Littlefinger loving Catelyn and protecting Sansa and evil sex and whether Sansa has slept with Petyr – as Lysa becomes more agitated and ranting, Sansa collapses into tears and cries about her own stupidity and inability to lie – until Lysa comforts her. And reveals her plan – as soon as Tyrion is dead and Sansa is a widow they will marry Sansa to Robin.

Oh Sansa, out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Fangs for the Fantasy Podcast: 2014, Episode 17

It's Monday! Time for another episode of Fangs for the Fantasy, the podcast where we examine many of the shows we've been following this week, along with our book of the week and dissect them all from a social justice lens (and see if we can rustle up some mermoose for Renee).

You can join us here and you can listen live on our youtube channel, here, or in our sidebar. All will also carry a recording after the show is finished. As ever all our previous podcasts can be found in the archive

The podcast begins at 7:00pm EST (technology willing)

This week we discuss Mermoose, Game of Thrones (the Lannister's precarious position), The Resurrection (and complex chaarcterisations), Orphan Black (awesome show, but Felix is really offensive), Once Upon a time (awesome Regina!), The 100 (and some deep leadership issues and unncessary angst) Our book of the week is Night Season by Eileen Wilks.

28th April - 5th May: Night Season by Eileen Wilks

5th May - 12th May: The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice

12th May - 19th May: Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

19th May - 26th May: Banishing the Dark by Jenn Bennet

26th May - 2nd June: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

2nd June - 9th June: The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice

9th June - 16th June: Ocean at the End of Lane by Neil Gaiman

16th June - 23rd June: Shattered by Kevin Hearne

Night Season (World of the Lupi #4) by Eileen Wilks

Cynna is a Finder, and a damn good one, able to find almost everything over a vast range. It’s a power that is high in desire – including by the Gnomish rulers of Edge, another realm that is now accessible after the magic flares.

The Realm is in danger – but the ambassadors from Edge are certainly not to be trusted and may have their own agenda.

On top of this, Cynna has to deal with her feelings on another matter – she’s pregnant, and the father is a sorcerer who is essential to their plan for Edge.

What I think is bothering me a little about this series is how out there we have suddenly been thrown. When the first book, Tempting Danger, in this series came along, we had Lily in San Diego, working with supernatural within the world, adapting, learning, revealing the world. Then in book 2, Mortal Danger, Lily is suddenly in a Hell dimension surrounded by demons and she’s split in 2 and it’s all kind of abruptly very new. Then book 3, Blood Lines we switched to Cynna and we’re up to our eyebrows in demons and alternate dimensions and magic waves and the whole world now under threat.

And now we’re travelling to Edge, a different dimension that resembled a high fantasy more than anything. And I kind of want to go back to Tempting Danger.

It’s not that I don’t like this direction of the books – but I need more time. I needed, maybe, 2 or 3 books between Tempting Danger before we reached Mortal Danger so I could spend some time getting to know Lily and werewolves and magic and Cynna – get to know the world before the whole world is dumped into a blender and mixed up so completely. I feel lost, I feel adrift – I needed more of a foundation before I was dragged off into these different world and fae and gnomes and magic and Ahk and whole new political systems. It’s not that this story was bad, by any stretch of the imagination – but I don’t know this world well enough to be read to have this many wrenches thrown into the works and I’m too adrift to keep running with it. I don’t know Cynna well enough for this. I don’t know the world, the magic, the entitles enough for this. Let me catch up!

Ok, the story… ok I was never actually bored reading it, I never wanted to stop and I never found it dull – but it’s a really basic quest story. Cynna, with her magic finding power, has to find the McGuffin (yes, I’m calling it that because it really is irrelevant what it is) which everyone else wants as well. So they head off. Occasionally they’re attacked, occasionally they batter from one person seeking McGuffin to the next, but it’s not really meaningful to our actual characters.

It’s not badly written, it’s not boring, it’s not poorly paced, but nor was it especially exciting with any real twists or deviations and the world it’s revealing through this is Edge – which is a different realm entirely so I’m not even that invested in the world building. The B plot is Cynna and Cullen’s love which, is nice and non-problematic… but also not especially complex or conflict laden (which isn’t a problem – a non-conflict laden romance is excellent) and doesn’t balance the very linear A plot.

Da Vinci's Demons, Season 2, Episode 7: The Vault of Heaven

Riario grieves over Zita, his self-sacrificing slave of terrible tropes, with Nicco to pray along side him. Zoroaster, who has little sense of appropriate time or place, warns Leo that he can’t trust Riario because he’ll kill for the Leafy Book (and Leo won’t?) but Leo points out Riario is also willing to die for it (again, you lot sailed off to a possibly mythical continent – are you saying you won’t?). Zoroaster also wants to know what Leo saw on his visions, not realising the answer is “cryptic bullshit.”

Ina suggests she and Leo going into the vault with her alone but when Riario argues, Ina’s dad insists they all go in together.

To get into the Vault of Heaven needs them to go into a cave behind a waterfall, each of which has a “threshold” which, I think translates to “Leonardo Da Vinci and the Last Crusade”. Trap 1 involves pushing a very high button but anyone heavier than a 5 year old gets super-duper squished. Leo throws his genius at it and at least credits the Incan’s for their incredible engineering skill – and speed (Ina has a whole empire at her command – because no-one has anything better to do?) He creates a little cart to buzz across the floor and push the button. Priesty dude isn’t happy but Ima does ask why gods would create doors you aren’t meant to open? Personally I can think of a few from various pantheons who would but that’s an aside.

Next room is a chasm with a thin bridge over it.

This scene remind me of something....

Leo insert the key into one of 100 keyholes and turns it – which is a ridiculously bad idea and gets a red shirt killed when the bridge retracts. Ima grabs the key and jumps to safety, being intelligent but Leo is sure he can solve the puzzle (btw is there a reason no-one’s noticed the really blatant constellations around each hole?) in time. He finds the hidden lock he knows is there for GENIUS and they open the door and stop the bridge. But Ima & co have to go find something to help them bridge the gap – she asks them to wait.

Of course they don’t (it’s not like they’ll need any cultural clues to the puzzles or anything, is it?) and they come to a room with a disco ball in it and 2 keyholes. The key splits in 2, Riario is sure this will be easy. Riario can’t be that stupid. Zoroaster grabs him to stop activating the obvious trap and Riario pulls a knife (Zoroaster responds with an anti-gay slur, of course). Nico tries to talk Riario down, into trusting people. He gives the knife to Nico.

Zoroaster, as a thief and master of picking locks, examine the keys and tells Leo which goes in which hole (they don’t consider if they have to be turned at the same time, in a certain order etc etc. They’re bad at these deadly traps). Or the significance of the disco ball (is it there in case of emergency need to boogie on down?). Needless to say, merely turning the keys doesn’t work. Leo throws genius at it and, while they have to leave Zoroaster and Nico behind to hold the door open, they go forwards.

Book of the Week

It's another Monday which means it's time for our next podcast - episode 10 of 2014 where we will talk about all of the shows we've been following this week (or as many as we can get to), our book of the week and whether Renee manages to carve through the permafrost to her home or not - all through our social justice lens. Feel free to join us, listen, ask questions or make suggestions

Like all  the Fangs for the Fantasy podcasts (archives here) we read a book and discuss it on the show. 

To give people a chance to read along with us we include a list of our planned books of the week for the next few shows, so people can get the books, read them and join in the conversation.

28th April - 5th May: Night Season by Eileen Wilks

5th May - 12th May: The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice

12th May - 19th May: Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

19th May - 26th May: Banishing the Dark by Jenn Bennet

26th May - 2nd June: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

2nd June - 9th June: The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice

9th June - 16th June: Ocean at the End of Lane by Neil Gaiman

16th June - 23rd June: Shattered by Kevin Hearne

Orphan Black Season 2, Episode 3: Mingling Its Own Nature With It

Sarah and Felix wake up in the truck where they’ve driven out in the country (Felix calls this camping – or “being homeless in the country”) they briefly discuss the shock of the revelations of Mrs. S their stepmother but that’s massively overruled by Felix stepping in a cowpat, because his shoes are far more important to him.

Daniel, Dyad’s pit bull, follows the trail to the not-even-slightly safe house and finds the bodies Mrs. S left round and about; he hides when the Prolethean farmers arrive to do some clean up.

Back to Sarah & co and Kira’s already bright and aware enough to realise they can’t use credit cards or they’ll be tracked. They steal breakfast instead, using Kira as a distraction while Felix does the stealing. Afterwards (after an anecdote from Felix about how mussy hair is his nightmare, of course), Sarah explains to Kira that stealing is a last resort thing. She knows the area and tells Felix they need to find an abandoned cabin so Kira can sleep in a bed

They find a cabin and Kira, this oh-so-serious child asks about Mrs. S who did protect them, despite the lies. That child is creepy and perceptive. Their good night sleep is interrupted by the home owner coming home, Felix panics and tries to wake Sarah – and gets slammed against a wall by said home owner. Called Cal. Who Sarah knows. He’s actually one of the men she previously conned. Cal wants rid of them all until Kira arrives attracted by the noise, Sarah reassures her and Kira asks (with freaky brain child insight) if Cal is her dad. Sarah doesn’t say no.

Cal and Sarah discuss this outside privately and, yes, he is Kira’s dad. But she doesn’t want a dad for her or anything, just needed a place to stay for the night, now they’re leaving. Of course, Cal’s not kicking Kira of the sad eyes out on the street. Sarah tries to explain things to Kira – who has her usual cutting insight- and why she brought him to see Cal, so she can know part of herself.

Felix, meanwhile questions Cal out of concern for Kira – he wants to know who Cal is and what he does. He created bee-drones (pollinators) that his business partners sold to the military which left him bitter – he got out when they weaponised his invention.

After which Felix confronts Sarah for dragging them there for Kira to meet her father without telling him anything, after lying about Kira’s dad for 8 years. Kira needs this. Felix agrees – but he doesn’t need it, he needs to go back to where Allison needs him, since there’s no need for him there. He says goodbye to Kira and hitchhikes back to town.

Cal and Sarah have a moment in which Sarah admits she could have run off with a lot more money but he made it “hard” to do so, making it clear there’s something feeling there. Gooshy feelings are interrupted by the arrival of a local cop. Thankfully he’s enough of a friend of Cal’s to take his word for it the shop lifters and abandoned truck having nothing to do with him (and to ignore his weed patch).

Sarah is worried and hates that she put Cal in a position to lie to the police, she plans to run. But he wants her to stay, to trust him, to stop running for a little while – and he kisses her. She is mesmerised by the power of the sexy beard. She wakes up in his bed the next morning (curse the sexy beard)

But Daniel is stills searching for them – he finds them, grabs Kira and holds Sarah and Cal at gunpoint. Kira tackles him and wrestles with him – when the friendly policeman who just told Daniel to move on drives up. Daniel shoots the cop. Cal has a rifle and will adamantly not give up Kira. He drags Sarah into his car, making her drive. While he’s searching her, he finds the Project Leda photograph which he considers a problem.

And then a big truck rams into them… the passenger side.

In the city Angie goes to see Art to tell him that Helena has disappeared, been wheeled out by someone unknown. And, again, Art tries to order Angie to leave the whole thing alone. Which doesn’t work

New Releases 4th May - 11th May

What follows is a list of books which will be released between May 04 - May 10.  It can be tough  keeping up with ongoing stories and often, we miss the latest new release, unless the book/series is the beneficiary of a big round of publicity . That is why we are committed to sharing with you books that are the first in their series every week.  Please check out the list and let us know what books you are interested in checking out and why.

Camelot Burning by Kathryn Rose

By day, Vivienne is Guinevere's lady-in-waiting. By night, she's Merlin's secret apprentice, indulging in the new mechanical arts and science of alchemy. It's a preferred distraction from Camelot’s gossipy nobility, roguish knights, and Lancelot’s athletic new squire, Marcus, who will follow in all knights’ footsteps by taking a rather inconvenient vow of chastity.

More than anything, Vivienne longs to escape Camelot for a future that wouldn't include needlework or marriage to a boorish lord or dandy. But when King Arthur's sorceress sister, Morgan le Fay, threatens Camelot, Vivienne must stay to help Merlin build a steam-powered weapon to defeat the dark magic machine Morgan will set upon the castle. Because if Camelot falls, Morgan would be that much closer to finding the elusive Holy Grail. Time is running out and Morgan draws near, and if Vivienne doesn't have Merlin's weapon ready soon, lives would pay the price, including that of Marcus, the only one fast enough to activate it on the battlefield

Our Review for this Book Appears Here

Midnight Crossroad (Midnight, Texas #1) by Charlaine Harris

FIRST IN A NEW TRILOGY

From Charlaine Harris, the bestselling author who created Sookie Stackhouse and her world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, comes a darker locale—populated by more strangers than friends. But then, that’s how the locals prefer it…

Welcome to Midnight, Texas, a town with many boarded-up windows and few full-time inhabitants, located at the crossing of Witch Light Road and Davy Road. It’s a pretty standard dried-up western town.

There’s a pawnshop (someone lives in the basement and is seen only at night). There’s a diner (people who are just passing through tend not to linger). And there’s new resident Manfred Bernardo, who thinks he’s found the perfect place to work in private (and who has secrets of his own).

Stop at the one traffic light in town, and everything looks normal. Stay awhile, and learn the truth…

(Our Review for this book is going up on Tuesday 6th May)

Magic City: Recent Spells: by Paula Guran (Editor), Holly Black, Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green, Charles de.Lint, Carrie Vaughn

Bright lights, big city... magic spells, witchcraft, wizardry, fairies, devilry, and more. Urban living, at least in fantasy fiction, is full of both magical wonder and dark enchantment. Street kids may have supernatural beings to protect them or have such powers themselves. Brujeria may be part of your way of life. Crimes can be caused (and solved) with occult arts and even a losing sports team's "curse" can be lifted with wizardry. And be careful of what cab you call - it might take you on a journey beyond belief! Some of the best stories of urban enchantment from the last few years is gathered in one volume full of hex appeal and arcane arts.

Our review for this book will appear this week

Grimm, Season 3, Episode 20: My Fair Wesen

“No longer a dark, grey bird,

Ugly and disagreeable to look at,

But a graceful and beautiful swan.”

Picking up where we left off last week, Juliette gets the news they’re playing host for “Truble” for a little while. Juliette may be a living saint. She asks to speak to Nick about the whole multiple-murdering young Grimm Nick wants her to play host to at no notice, especially since she’s already done that with Mummy Grimm and the woman who put her in a coma – complete with magic creepy baby. Also Truble has forgotten the usage of a fork.

Juliette plays ideal and super-patient hostess, even when Truble comments that it’s good they’re not married because they can escape any time (reasonable viewpoint from someone who has spent her life running). That night, Truble tries to sneak out and runs into Nick who convinces her to stay – and adds that he kind of likes having another Grimm around.

The next day he recruits Monroe and Rosalie to help woge at Truble so she can learn that not all Wesen are bad. Rosalie and Monroe agree – though Rosalie looks like she wants to take it back when she hears that Truble has a machete.

Time to visit Rosalie and Monroe for awkward introductions and some great reminder information on the woge and when they can be seen by people, Grimm or not. They woge and also tell her about the super-black-scary eyes that Grimm get (which she likes). Rosalie, who is always the sensible one, also makes an important point about how this matters to them since most Grimm are of the kill-on-sight variety but also why Truble has to be careful… because so are many Wesen.

Now to the Wesen of the week – several women in a wealth store engage in some clever shoplifting after creating a distraction in the shop’s terrible lay out (serves them right for the cheap glass or using mannequins made of granite). Security tries to stop one of them, but she claws his neck and runs. The women go back to their lair where the goods they’ve stolen are checked out by a man; the three fearful women who got clear tell him that Cami, the missing woman, was noticed and ran away

When they eat upstairs, he has a whole ritual prayer about family unity when Cami returns, fearful and tearful. The man takes her aside, he throws in another family unity speech then woges into… a lamprey? And he bites her – she screams and the other women cower outside.

A body is found – which means Nick and Hank are called in, taking Truble as a “ride-along” criminology student. Which means when they take her to see the blood drained body of Cami, complete with lamprey-puncture wounds, she blurts out all kinds of ridiculous things because being undercover and on the run has left her zero ability to control her tongue, apparently.

We have a brief interlude from the man and his abused thieves who he demands find him another victim.