Game of Thrones Gossip #44 The Tyrells

Welcome to my Game of Thrones Gossip, where us fanatics get the chance to discuss everything we love about this amazing TV series. I decided to do a whole series of these discussion posts that let us say everything we want and enjoy every second of it! Please feel free to comment fully and without restriction!

I have to warn you that it is important that you have seen all six seasons before reading any of these posts because these posts and blogger comments will be exploding spoilers all over the place. If you haven't watched the series and plan to, be warned that it's a bad idea to be here right now! I take no responsibility if you read on and things are spoiled for you.

Now I'm looking at the main characters introduced in season three, what our season two characters were doing and looking at all the bests bits. Enjoy the season three posts! This week it's The Tyrells!

She was born Olenna Redwyne, and expected to marry a Targaryen but did not take to that idea. She actually married Luther Tyrell who has been set to marry her sister Viola, until Olenna seduced him, showing that even as a young woman, nothing deflected her from achieving her goals. They had a single son, Mace Tyrell. Since his death, she has been the undisputed head of House Tyrell, nicknamed The Queen of Thorns for her ruthless and controlling personality, and barbed tongue. She is loyal to her house and devoted to her grandchildren, determined to promote the interests of House Tyrell at every step which brings her into conflict with House Lannister most of the time.

We meet her for the first time in season three when she arrives at King's Landing in the aftermath of The Battle of the Blackwater. She is not impressed with her son's determination to marry Margaery to Joffrey but now that it has been arranged, she is determined to take control of the situation. Her first act is to meet Sansa Stark to get the lowdown on Joffrey. It is the power of her persuasion that forces Sansa to admit that Joffrey is a monster who murdered her father. This comes as no surprise to Olenna, who has already heard disturbing tales of Joffrey but the wedding between him and Margaery will go ahead as planned. Olenna has great faith in her granddaughter's ability to control her new husband.

Olenna has other plans and joins forces with Varys and Tyrion in a plot to keep Sansa out of the clutches of Littlefinger by planning to marry Sansa instead to Loras. This would take place after the royal wedding when Margaery has suitable control over Joffrey. Sansa would be safe in Highgarden away from the Lannisters and Loras would be in a position to claim Winterfell for their children should Robb die childless. Despite a warning from Varys about how dangerous Littlefinger is, he is underestimated and hears of this plot, telling it to the Lannisters. A furious Tywin spoils things by deciding to marry Sansa to Tyrion and betrothing Loras to Cersei, which pleases nobody but Tywin. Olenna attempts to thwart Loras fate but Tywin suggests putting him in the Kingsguard instead which would prevent him marrying and end the line of House Tyrell. Olenna has no choice but to concede but she is far from defeated.

Mace Tyrell is the pompous son of Olenna but has none of her personality traits. His House was always loyal to the Targaryens in the past and were rewarded for their loyalty with lands that have been disputed by others with a better claim. Indeed, during Robert's Rebellion, the only battle lost by the future King was at the hands of the Tyrell army at Ashford, led by Randyll Tarly. For a year, Mace Tyrell and his army held siege to Storm's End, almost killing Stannis Baratheon and his people. The siege prevented Mace from helping the Targaryens when King's Landing was sacked and the war was lost. He surrendered peacefully to Ned Stark's forces and was pardoned and allowed to keep his lands and titles.

Mace quickly rallies House Tyrell and their bannermen in support of Renly Baratheon's claim to the Iron Throne, and marries his daughter Margaery to him in the hope that she will be Queen if Renly wins. He ignores the legitimate claim of Stannis and enters into open rebellion against both Stannis and Joffrey. This is something that Olenna believed to be stupid and ill thought out. When Stannis kills Renly, the Tyrells see the bannermen flock to Stannis and their own army retreats to Highgarden to plan their next move. Having no love for Stannis, the only logical choice is to let Littlefinger broker an alliance between the Tyrells and the Lannisters, something that he hinted at previously. Mace now agrees to support Joffrey's claim if he will agree to marry Margaery and make her Queen, allowing Loras to avenge Renly by leading an army against Stannis. His plans may not always meet his mother's approval but it does show that he has her ambition and is capable of plotting.

Loras settles into life at King's Landing without Renly in season three. He sings the praises of his sister to Joffrey to help cemment that relationship when Cersei tries to cause trouble. He is agreeable to being betrothed to Sansa, knowing that he has a duty to marry and have children despite his preference for men. He treats Sansa with respect and causes her to fall for his charm in a big way.

Loras is not very smart. He begins a relationship with his new squire and Littlefinger spy Olyvar and tells him about getting married. This information goes straight to Littlefinger who tells the Lannisters, messing up all of Olenna's plans. Being forced into a betrothal instead to Cersei, he tries to be nice to her but she won't even talk to him. Perhaps Loras should have kept quiet and maybe gained Sansa as a bride instead!

Can't Wait Wednesday

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at http://www.wishfulendings.com/ to spotlight and discuss books we're excited about but haven't read, which may not even be released yet. 

NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account.   

This week-Keith Taylor

How will you survive when the lights go out?

Jim Shepherd had always known the EMP was coming. For years his father had warned him that someone would eventually push the button and plunge the US into the darkness. He thought he was prepared for the chaos to come.

He was wrong.

Abi Ross had no idea when she boarded her train from D.C. to Charlotte that her July 4th was about to go off the rails. She had no clue that she'd soon find herself stranded in rural Virginia, injured and alone, awaiting a rescue that would never come.

Could you survive with nothing but the contents of your pockets?

When the lights flicker out for the last time Jim and Abi need to discover if they have what it takes to survive, stripped of the bubble wrap and cotton wool of modern society. How far will they go to keep breathing? Who will they save? Who will they leave behind?

And what will they do when they learn that the attack has only just begun?

PULSE is the opening novel of the Little Rocket Man series, a thrilling tale of survival against a very real enemy the United States is woefully ill-prepared to face. 

Heh, love the series title! Not hard to work out where that idea came from! Anyway it sounds like a good apocalypse book and I want to read this and another couple by the author. The book was released in October so it is ready to grab!

Around The Blogs With Chuckles

We all enjoy snooping and lurking on other people's blogs right? Why not share those entertaining things you found with other readers and bloggers too! Welcome to Around the Blogs with Chuckles, where I take time out to show you some of my favourite blog posts from the previous seven days and link you up so you can check them out.

This Week! I'm a day late with this and it is short but better late than never...

1) Bloggers I'm Thankful For
Barb shares another list of blogs you might want to check out...
http://bookertsfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/ttt-new-bloggers-i-am-thankful-for-this.html 

2) Book Review: Touching the Void by Joe Simpson
Could you survive a mountain disaster like this? Check out AJ's review.

http://ajsterkel.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/review-touching-void-harrowing-first.html 

3) Prepper Christmas Gift Guide
What to buy the person who panics about everything apocalyptic!

http://readynutrition.com/resources/ready-nutrition-holiday-2017-gift-guide_26112017/ 

4) Book Review: Being Human by Patricia Lynne
Check out the Bite Into Books review!

http://www.biteintobooks.com/2017/11/review-being-human.html 

A Lack of Chuckles!

Sorry for my lack of interaction with you guys this week. I've been suffering from massive pain in my ear, jaw and head which has been driving me mad, destroying my concentation and causing lack of sleep. With the doctor being busy at this time of year, I've been reluctant to go and have been self treating for two miserable weeks without success. Even painkillers seemed to make little difference.

Yesterday I hit upon the possibility that it might be sinusitus and I got something from the chemist for it. Armed with nasal spray and muscle relaxants, I got my first good night's sleep in ages and the pain is a bit reduced today. Fingers crossed that I might have hit on the solution but it'll be a week before I really know for sure. I'll update progress on my Saturday post.

Anyway, due to all this, I'm way behind on all things bloggy. I still hope to get Around The Blogs With Chuckles up today as I didn't get it done yesterday, and catch up with comments and blog visits in the next day or two. I hope to be back on track by the weekend!

Thanks for your patience guys! 

Top Ten Tuesday-Winter TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!  http://www.brokeandbookish.com/   

NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account. 

This week is Top Ten Books on my Winter TBR. This I can do! I've had a bad couple of months with ongoing reading slumps but there are some that I really need to get to before the winter ends (hopefully!) With the slump comes indecision, so I'm choosing a few specific books and some genres I hope to delve into.

1) Rachel Caine-Daylighters (Morganville Vampires #15)
This is the last book in the series and it's time I finished it and the short stories connected to it in the Midnight Bites anthology. It's been a good series overall so I hope this is a good ending to it. It would fulfill a series catchup challenge task too.

2) George RR Martin-A Feast For Crows 
Ideally, I'd like to catch up with the rest of the books in this series before the end of the year but that might be hoping for too much! I do want them read by the end of winter though. I'm looking forward to The Winds of Winter too *guffaws*

3) Jack Kilborn-Endurance
I've read the first two books and they were great so now I want to read this. Women taking part in an endurance race stay at a motel and wake up to discover they cannot leave...sounds creepy and the ideal horror story. I want to get this one read soon.

4) Ben Reeder-Zompoc
I've read the first book in this zombie trilogy so I really want to read the other two books now and complete the set. It has those scary road trip moments and loved ones being seperated things that I always enjoy!

5) Matthew D Mark-Dark Days Troubled Times
I read and loved the first in this two book series so if I read this it's a series completed! The first one Dark Days Rough Roads, had the road trip from hell, betrayed by friends and a war against a local militia-all set after the apocalypse comes! Well recommended. I can't wait to see what was happening in book two.

6) Hunter Shea-Savage Jungle
I didn't like the twin MC characters in Loch Ness Revenge so I'd like to get this one out of the way. I'm more looking forward to Megalodon in Paradise, Montauk Monster and The Jersey Devil. And I need to catch up on the mail order novellas too.

7) True Crime/Disaster Catch Up
I've got books on various disasters like Hillsborough, Bradford Fire, Zebrugge Ferry, The Chile Mine, a few on serial killers. I'd like to get a few looked at this winter.

8) Tudor Catch Up
I have a pile of Tudor fiction and non fiction so I need to try and get a few looked at this winter. I haven't decided which to read first but Henry's wives could be high on the list! I have a few that I can't fit onto my Tudor shelf so if I can deal with them over the winter I'll be happy.

9) Politics Catch Up
I need to clear some space on my shelves so I need to tackle a few political books this winter. I enjoy these books but usually read them once and send them to charity shops. I have books written by Tories, Labour, Liberal and UKIP politicians, books about Brexit and elections. Lots of non fiction fun!

10) YA Catch Up
OK so this is not an actual book but a pile of books! I used to read a lot of YA books but gradually got tired of the same tropes and plots. It's left a pile of YA on my shelves and less motivation to get to them even though I enjoyed the first in each series. So this winter I want to finish the books by the likes of David Estes and Suzy Turner, along with new-to-me authors like Elizabeth Briggs.

Chuckles Goes Sampling

Seeing Kermit surrounded and almost buried in leaves kind of reminds me of my relationship with books. I'm pretty much buried in them too! I have no more space in my house for the books I buy and piles are sitting on the floor which isn't good and I can't read them quick enough because I keep buying!!! I've battled to reduce the tbr without success this year but now Kermit and I are embarking on a new plan to reduce the book buying and give me a chance to reduce the tbr at last. The Plan? Download samples and read them and only go on to buy those I liked instead of grabbing everything!

This is what I read last week:

1) Paul Crilley-Department Zero
Harry is a biohazard remediation worker-cleaning up crime scenes. He's been doing it ten years and is now working with the boss son Jorge. They are at a nasty crime scene in a motel that seems to be fresh with no sign of police around, when an agency Harry has never heard of-ICD-throws them off the scene just after he finds a silver bullet in the carnage. That was the gist of the sample. 

My issue here is that I don't like any of the characters. Harry is moaning because he's stuck in the same dead end job babysitting Jorge. He has a poor relationship with his ex Megan and custody issues over his daughter Susan. In the sample, Harry and Megan are already fighting, which I found annoying and I felt no connection to him as an MC. Jorge is a lazy idiot who threatens Harry with his father when he is rightly pulled up over wandering around filming the crime scene. He is a total loser and I already hate him. The men at the crime scene are obnoxious. Not liking anyone in the sample means I won't be reading on with this one. 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28587696-department-zero 

2) OL Eggert-Vincent, Survivor 
Vincent's brother Dante has just been released from prison so he persuades him to stick around as both are reformed characters. Their grandma is concerned about the rising crime and multiple missing persons report but Vincent ignores it until he sees paranoid people on the streets behaving strange. His old contact comes to his door claiming he wants to save them both and they must leave with him but they won't and then they witness Roach and another man kidnapping their neighbour. They follow Roach and witness an strange shifter kill the man...and seal a contract through a portal with a minotaur.

I didn't really feel that I got to know the brothers in the sample enough to care about their story. Vincent isn't greatly exciting and Dante is pretty bland. Grandma is the only one with any real charisma. I'm not saying there was anything wrong with this one but it just didn't grab me in any way or make me want to read the full book. The sort of alien and mythology plot was ok but I didn't feel excited by it because I had no connection to the characters I think. It's just not for me.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30071743-vincent-survivor 

3) William R Hunt-Brothers 
The apocalypse has come and Victor and Dante are living out in a rural area, trying to keep to themselves until they stumble across another man on their land. Victor is instantly suspicious of Walker and his intentions but Dante happily invites him into their home. Walker tells Dante that he was pursued by men on horses at the place he was hiding which is why he came onto their land. Despite Victor telling him to leave, Dante tells Walker to stay. 

It wasn't a greatly exciting sample for a book that sounded so interesting. I don't get any character development from the brothers. Dante is too dumb to understand that you can't just trust random people with knives that you meet on your land during the apocalypse! I feel like knocking his head off a wall. Victor's behaviour doesn't make sense. He doesn't trust Walker, he thinks Walker means them harm and tries to get him to leave but then sits and does nothing when Dante tells Walker to stay. I'm not sure what Victor is trying to do but it makes little sense to let this guy wander around seeing your land and food when you don't trust him. I feel no connection to the characters and nothing in the sample would make me want to read on. With no reviews of the book to change my mind, I won't risk reading on with this one.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35688841-brothers 

4) Mike Sheridan-No Direction Home 
Three days after the vPox hits, Cody's roomates get sick and quickly die, leaving him alone, fearing his sick mother and brother are also dead. Brendan and his prepper book addicted wife Colleen are on holiday in Orlando, stuck in a grotty motel when the sickness spreads.

I prefer witnessing the apocalypse starting as that helps you get right into the story and feel empathy with the characters. This book starts after the apocalypse has begun and we get told what happens to Joe and Chrissie and that Cody's family are sick but we don't know them so there is no effect with their death. There is too much tell in the sample. I don't really feel the panic and fear of this spreading plague as we are told about it rather emotionlessly. Cody seems to drift along and we are told of each thing that happens like the power going out but there is no tension or excitement from it and Cody barely seems ruffled in any way. I don't like Brendan at all. People in the motel around him are dying and he yells at them to shut up and stop disturbing him. Really nice guy. Colleen might be more interesting with her interest in prepper books but Brendan drives me mad. This book might have possibilities but I'm just not sure I'll read on with it.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35341164-no-direction-home

Chuckles Cover Love #53

If there is one thing that makes a great book even better, it is when it has a cover that we love! The cover design is what catches the eye as we browse through a bookstore shelf or check out the Amazon or Goodreads recommendations. The right cover makes me look closer at a book, to read the blurb and maybe make a purchase. A poor cover might mean I never look at the blurb at all.

This week-Jenna Nelson

Just one book cover to share with you in this series but it is pretty!

Chuckles Weekend Roundup

Welcome to my new feature Chuckles Weekend Roundup where I will be looking at what books I've received, anything interesting I've done or bought or watched and other random stuff. I'll be taking a look back at what happened in my blogging world too, sort of like The Sunday Post that some of you do! 

Please note that I'll be visiting your STS/SP as normal, but I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow DISQUS to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I am the only one who does that on my social media! I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account. Sometimes, I have problems leaving messages on blogs hosted by Wordpress-they try to block me because I deleted my account with them but I will persevere as it only happens the odd time!

****************

 It's the end of another week. I haven't had much time online at all as I've been out getting those final things stocked up to do me over the festive period. I now have all the food, toiletries and essentials ie loo paper!, to ensure I don't need to venture to any supermarkets until after the January sales! I just hate crowded shops and Christmas music! I'm now getting last minute stuff around the house sorted before the sofa arrives on December 8th. Things are moving along on the home front so that is something!

 

I read a book! Yes I completed one book this week which is something I guess. I'm not out of this mega slump yet so I plan to pick up a series I liked to get me back into the reading swing. The slump didn't stop me downloading samples and books and grabbing a few paperbacks though! Well, you have to treat yourself! *ahem* As those of you who saw my shopping post will know I grabbed cheap dvd box sets in the Amazon sales and stocked up on some chocolate too! I've got plenty to graze on over the festives!

 

DOWNLOADS:

 

  

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36318319-edge-of-collapse

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34809441-bunker-book-1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36263771-the-off-grid-survivor 

 

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31367209-hunger

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18746153-salechii

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35450206-monster-born

Chuckles Blogging World

The other thing that stuffed me up this week was the stupid computer going haywire. At the start of the week Firefox and Windows both did a new automatic update which caused the computer to run slow andstick and not upload pages quickly enough. It was driving me mad and took me three days of browsing online to find a fix that worked. I didn't know that when Windows updates, it takes your computer off high performance mode and switches to a lesser power saving thing which can cause everything to stick and slow down. Helpful of them NOT to tell me! I sorted that and everything is running ok now. As always, there is a link beside each post from last week if you want to check it out!

 

 Book Reviews

I finally got a few done but with the reading slump I'm running out of a backlog of reviews! Looks like I'll be writing the last of them this week! On the one hand it's nice to be caught up but on the other, where am I going to find all the reviews to post? Guess I better solve the reading slump!

 

Wilson Harp-EMP

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/book-review-emp-by-wilson-harp.html 

JD McKenna-The Fractioned People (Winterhaven #3)

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/book-review-fractioned-people-by-jd.html

 

 Regular Posts

This week I went sampling and went around the blogs. Chuckles Cover Love featured Juliana Haygert, Top Ten Tuesday was about ten topics I love reading about and watching on TV and Can't Wait Wednesday showcased .

 

Chuckles Goes Sampling

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/chuckles-goes-sampling_20.html 

 

Chuckles Cover Love

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/chuckles-cover-love-52.html 

Around The Blogs With Chuckles

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/around-blogs-with-chuckles_20.html

 

Top Ten Tuesday

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/top-ten-tuesday_21.html 

Can't Wait Wednesday

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/cant-wait-wednesday_22.html

 

Discussion Posts 

This week on Chuckles Chat I looked at Authors We Don't Read and Game of Thrones Gossip was all about The Greyjoys.

 

Chuckles Chat

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/chuckles-chat-44.html 

 

Game of Thrones Gossip

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/game-of-thrones-gossip-43-greyjoys.html 

Film Reviews

none this week

 

Special Posts 

I took a look at why I'm running out of reviews to write and what I grabbed in the Black Friday Sales!

 

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/black-friday-sales-and-lack-of-reviews.html 

Book Tags/Blog Awards

 none this week

Book Challenge Updates

 

My Goodreads Challenge 197/200

 

TBR books I own but haven't read-818

 

Currently Reading/Next Up

I did read Savage Jungle which was a start I guess but I'm still in a slump. Next up is going to be the final Morganville Vampires book Daylighters which lets me get a series finished.

 

 

Next Week On The Blog 

There will be a full sampling post along with a trip around the blogs. Cover Love features Jenna Nelson, Top Ten Tuesday looks at my Winter TBR, Can't Wait Wednesday features Keith Taylor, Chuckles Chat is about Book Tags and Game of Thrones Gossip is Mace and Olenna Tyrell. Hope you can join me for all that! 

FOLLOW ME:

https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/chuckles-book-cave-9910183 
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3426724-chucklesthescot 
https://twitter.com/chucklesthescot 
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/chucklesthescot/

Black Friday Sales and a lack of reviews...

 

I haven't been reading much over the last couple of months and that was kind of brought to a head this week when I was doing a few book reviews to post...and I have only EIGHT sets of notes for books to be reviewed left. Three are Game of Thrones novels, the horror book I just finished, a thriller and 3 political memoirs. That was a bit of a shock really as usually I have two months of reviews to choose from! If I want to keep doing review posts I guess I better get moving on the reading! Erk! 

On the bright side, I have been trolling on Amazon for Black Friday deals and found a nice pile of cheap dvd box sets which I just had to grab...Elementary 4, Scandal 5, House of Cards 4, Grimm 6, Gold Rush 7, Madam Secretary 3, Blacklist 3 & 4, Bering Sea Gold 5. No spoilers about any of these please as I'm not caught up on them!

Plus, getting a few more essential things in for the festive season! You can't scrimp on the chocolate!

 









Have you grabbed anything in the sales yet? I've got a few books but those will be in my Saturday Roundup!

Chuckles Chat #44

Welcome to Chuckles Chat where great blogging minds unite to discuss the topics of the day mainly in the book and blogging world. I'll be sharing my thoughts on a topic and then inviting you all to share your thoughts. It's ok to disagree but PLEASE be respectful of each other's views! All of the comments on my blog are moderated and offensive posts ie racist, bigoted will not be published! 

NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account.  

I've changed the planned topic this week and decided instead to do a post about the authors we don't read.

I'm always looking at recommendations on Amazon and they always tell me about a ton of new apocalypse books by Indie and self published authors that I haven't discovered. The down side is that they continue offering me books by authors I don't like! Now surely if I've clicked 'I'm not interested in this item' for the first four in a book series, they should get that I won't want book five!!! I think there should be an 'I'm not interested in this author' option for rejecting a recommendation. Then we could eliminate the need to individually reject every future book those authors do. It would make life a lot easier! I spend way too much time rejecting books in long running series by authors I don't like.

Moving on, lets take a look at the author we don't like. If an author writes a book where I give it 1 or 2 stars, I don't automatically write off the author. If I didn't like their zombie series, for example, I will still try their urban fantasy or apocalypse series to see if I like that. It has worked out well in some cases. I suppose that is logical...I mean I don't like everything that Stephen King or Richard Laymon wrote but it didn't stop me reading more of their stuff. y'know? I think in general authors deserve a second chance unless I really really hated their writing style. If it is just plot or character that put me off, I usually give the author another try. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I hated the two fiction books by Alice Sebold but I read her non-fiction memoir and thought it was a great read so that's an example of a different type of book by an author working out better for me.

But sometimes you just find that you don't like anything a particular author publishes. If I've tried maybe two or three 'first books in a series' and not liked any of them, I then call it a day on the author. There is only so much time I can devote to an author whose work is just not appealing to me, for whatever reason, not with so many other books out there waiting for me to try them. There can be many reasons for it...they might have a habit of having whiny or idiot MCs that I just don't care about, it could take too long for them to get to the point of the story, it might be unrealistic dialogue or each book has the same plot hashed out with different characters. For example I read three books by Ryan Casey and each of them started with an idiot MC failing badly at a job interview. This annoyed me as I felt the author was showing no imagination in his plots, just re-doing the same plot with different MC and different reason for the bad interview. The author's actual skills as a writer were fine but there just needs to me more to his writing than failed job interview plots! That gets boring!

Do you give authors a second chance if you didn't like or didn't finish the first one? How many different series by that author are you willing to try before you stop looking at their books? Or will you try each new series and keep trying in the hope that you will find one that you do like? Would you like an Amazon option to reject an author completely?

Game of Thrones Gossip #43 The Greyjoys

Welcome to my Game of Thrones Gossip, where us fanatics get the chance to discuss everything we love about this amazing TV series. I decided to do a whole series of these discussion posts that let us say everything we want and enjoy every second of it! Please feel free to comment fully and without restriction!

I have to warn you that it is important that you have seen all six seasons before reading any of these posts because these posts and blogger comments will be exploding spoilers all over the place. If you haven't watched the series and plan to, be warned that it's a bad idea to be here right now! I take no responsibility if you read on and things are spoiled for you.

Now I'm looking at the main characters introduced in season three, what our season two characters were doing and looking at all the bests bits. Enjoy the season three posts! This week it's The Greyjoys!

 
Balon Greyjoy is Lord of the Iron Islands, father of Yara and Theon Greyjoy. His rebellion against King Robert led to the death of his older sons Rodrik and Maron, and the removal of son Theon as a hostage to his loyalty in the future. Left with his daughter Yara, he groomed her to rule as a man would have done, raising her in the ways of the Iron Born. The return of Theon to Pyke is a difficult time for all of the Greyjoys.

In season two, Balon is disgusted to see Theon covered in bling and looking more like a Stark than a Greyjoy. He thinks that his son has become soft and forgotten what a Greyjoy is. He mocks Theon for being Robb's mouthpiece and wearing gold that he did not take from a dead foe, as is the Iron Way. He is unwilling to be kind to Theon in any way and seems to enjoy taking his boy apart. Balon also takes pleasure in singing Yara's praises to her brother to get him angry. He refuses to accept Robb's terms, indicating that he will never be given a crown but will take anything that he wants when he wants it. He decides to launch an attack on the North while Robb is busy with the Lannisters, declaring that Yara will lead the attack,while Theon has to prove himself on a lesser task. However there is one moment of emotion from Balon when Theon bitterly reminds him that he let Ned Stark take Theon away from his family.

In season three Balon receives a box from the Boltons with part of Theon in it and declares that Theon disobeyed his orders and must face his punishment, and that he now has no son, disgusting Yara. Ramsay tells him to withdraw all troops from the North or get more pieces of Theon posted to him. Balon ignores the threats.

Yara Greyjoy was the only child left to her father after his rebellion against King Robert killed two sons and saw another taken away. She had to be tougher than everyone else to earn her role as her father's heir, and command of her own ship. Yara decides to find out what Theon is like by concealing her identity from him when she meets him off the ship. She finds him to be vain, arrogant and more concerned about women than anything else. She allows him to grope her so he can be shamed when her true identity is revealed to Theon by their father. Yara is pleased to get the praise from her father which is used to belittle Theon, and is to be trusted by leading the attack on the North. She watches with her father as Theon is baptised again to dedicate himself to his father and the Drowned God.

Yara is to take her fleet of 30 ships and capture Deepwood Motte, home of House Glover while Theon is given a very minor role. She is amused by his manner and how his crew have no respect for him, unlike her men. The next time she sees Theon is when he has taken Winterfell and she mocks him again for killing the Stark children and disobeying his orders. However, she does soften and asks Theon to come back to Pyke with her while he still can, knowing that he can't hold Winterfell for long and will likely be taken by a furious Robb Stark.

When the Boltons take over the North, Yara is horrified to see what is in the box that they are sent and is furious that her father is just giving up on Theon in his hour of need. Getting nowhere with Balon, she declares that she will take her people to the Dreadfort and rescue her little brother herself.

Theon has been taken captive by Ramsay Bolton in the aftermath of his men betraying him at Winterfell. He is unaware that he is at the Dreadfort, thinking he is being held and tortured by Northmen loyal to Robb. He is helped to escape by a young man who appears to be a servant, and is helping Yara. After the escape the boy appears again to save him when the armed men catch up with him. An emotionally drained Theon starts to talk about his regret at betraying Robb as the Starks were the only family he had ever known. He confesses that he killed two orphans and passed them off as the Stark boys to fool his men. Moments later he realises he is back in his prison cell and the boy has betrayed him in some way.

The boy is now in charge of the torture and he asks Theon to play a game, guessing where he is and why they are being tortured. Theon believes he is in the North being held by the Umbers or Karstarks but he gets tortured again and loses the game. The next time they meet, Ramsay castrates him. Theon is broken and begs for death but is told that he is too valuable to kill. Ramsay decides to rename him Reek because he smells so bad. Theon is forced to agree to his new name and all hope is gone from him. He is probably well aware that taking Winterfell was a bad mistake as was not going home with Yara when he was able to.

Can't Wait Wednesday

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at http://www.wishfulendings.com/ to spotlight and discuss books we're excited about but haven't read, which may not even be released yet. 

NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account.  

This Week-Melanie Karsak

Every day, I pray my sister survived the wasteland--and that the bond between us will be enough for me to find her.

One hundred and sixty-seven years ago, a solar coronal mass ejection devastated civilization. In the blink of an eye, technology died. Destroying the grid might not have brought about our end, but the solar superstorm blighted the land and made us sick. After the crisis, lawlessness ruled, and societies fell. This is the hellish world my sister Ash and I grew up in. If it's not the landscape trying to kill you, the wailers who roam the wasteland at night will.

Now our home, The Park, teeters on the brink of extinction. When the annual shipment of supplies from Low Tide outpost failed to arrive, my sister led a small scouting party to find out what happened. But she never came back. No one did.

I can either hope for a miracle or mourn her for dead. I can't live with either option. The elders won't let me leave. But nothing will keep me from Ash. The unexpected arrival of The Dead Troupe--part-nomads, part-performers--offers an unexpected opportunity to find her. Now I just need to survive the sunburnt earth where the wailers roam and none but the Dead Troupe survive.

I loved The Harvesting series by this author and though I'm not totally sold on this story, I plan to at least try a sample of this to see what it is like, based on liking the author. It came out on October 18th so I'll grab a sample soon!

Book Review: The Fractioned People by JD McKenna (Winterhaven #3)

It’s been six months since the world was wrecked and shattered by the sudden, inescapable violence of The End. Three months after a violent excursion into the town of Bemidji, the warriors of Winterhaven have decided that the time to seek out other, farther-flung survivors, has arrived. With peace and mercy intended, brave Wolven are preparing to set out into the region, ready to provide assistance and begin the process of rebuilding. 

In the Deep South, the forces of rebellion have begun to gather, and the Mad King Lucas will soon discover that the men and woman beneath his rule will not so easily succumb to his evil machinations. Our allies have begun to strike back, and a long awaited reunion may soon draw near. 

My Review: 
At Winterhaven, work continues on expanding education and work opportunities for everyone while diplomatic talks with other settlements begin. Admiral Bullsworth's Navy are facing off against the forces of self appointed President David Hightower and other world powers are about to make themselves known in this new world. In the South the rebellion heats up with attacks on Lucas and his followers. 

Gretchen is put in charge of education and apprentice training at Winterhaven to get more of a structure into place to prepare the kids and the young adults for working life at the compound. I must admit that I didn't understand the explaining of these guilds that were being talked about. It went right over my head. Jack continues to debate his future relationship with Liz while Elizabeth feels humiliated by her own attempts to get together with Jack, in the light of the time he spends with Liz.

Bear watches with concern as an armed militia march on St Cloud. He decides that he must risk getting word to the Colonel about what is coming if there is any chance of an alliance between them. But will the Colonel accept the help of the Wolven in defence of the town? Lynn and Elizabeth go to Grand Forks to speak to the three factions-The Mayor who runs the area, the self sufficient army base and the students who were abandoned and had their supplies taken by the Mayor. The diplomacy is going to be tricky when none of the factions trust each other or want to work with each other.    

John decides to take his chance to escape but is immediately grabbed by the Underground who reunite him with Junior. Now they have to get word to Olivia who is up to her neck in rebel activity as hatred of Lucas and his regime grows in her. She leaves on her latest mission before John can get in touch with her but he gets information that her mission has been compromised and he and Junior lead a group to go and help her. Admiral Bullsworth is about to find out exactly what resources President Hightower has behind him and is unaware that his enemy is consorting with the Chinese in an international crime syndicate.

There is some action in the form of the St Cloud attack, the hunting of the traitor and the Navy battle but not as much hair-raising tension as the first two books. I liked the excitement of the road trip and the drama of the student rescue in those. There is a lot of the conversations on the diplomatic missions of Lynn and Bear, and chat about the systems that need to be set up at Winterhaven. I get why these things are there and I don't dislike them but I do like action! However, I don't like the David Hightower parts of the plot at all. This plot didn't really interest me at all I'm afraid as he feels like a mockery of a James Bond bad guy.  

My biggest issue though was the murder committed by the traitor. I was really mad when this person was killed as this is one of my favourites. Now I can cope when a character I love is killed off if the reason for it is good ie saving someone etc but I hate seeing a character killed off when I feel it is just being done to solve a plot problem, which is how it feels in this case. I'm also a bit unhappy that characters who featured heavily in book one like Reyes have just been abandoned from the plot. That is disappointing.

While it was still a decent read, this book lacks the entertainment of the first two books. I feel that there is a heavy focus on diplomatic talks and personal issues, and as a result there is less action which is what I loved in the earlier books. What concerned me more is that at the end of this book it says the next book will have more on President Hightower and his 'allies' and frankly I don't enjoy that storyline at all so I'm unsure if I'll continue with this series.

Read October 2017.
3 stars