cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1449127

Damn, a friend of mine was just regaling me of how good this movie is and showed me this trailer.

And now I want to see it for myself!

And yes, it reminds me of A Song of Ice and Fire and makes me wish that we got an adaptation of the A Song of Ice and Fire book series (and not the "based off of" story or silliness that was Game of Thrones from season 2 onward and especially after season 4 was done and over with).

It kinda reminds me of the first Assassin's Creed video game (in contrast to the second Assassin's Creed II game which was much more flowery and funny and colorful). The first Assassin's Creed game was a lot more like A Song of Ice and Fire in how dark and philosophical it could be at times and, in general, just the atmosphere was oppressive and heavy; you kinda felt like you'd be suffocated within it.

I really should watch House of the Dragon but, again, it seems like the atmosphere and aesthetics are too much like Game of Thrones and not enough like A Song of Ice and Fire (or this movie called The Green Knight).

Also:

Recommend me some good or great movies from the last 10 years or so (and yes, I think "or so" is going to be used very casually here).

Another thing:

Read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; it's a great tale.

Lastly:

Maybe a TV show or two or three could be recommended to me (I've been bored lately).

kthnxbai

kim-salute

      • Pluto [he/him, he/him]
        hexagon
        ·
        11 months ago

        A Song of Ice and Fire is only related in that it uses the same universe, but was diverging since season 2 and fully diverges from season 5 onward.

        In addition: House of the Dragon has several missing characters, though I may end up watching it anyway.

        • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml
          ·
          11 months ago

          But seriously, do people expected a TV show to be completely exactly the same with book? I never once seen any show which would do that, not to mention the book is still not even finished. it was written on the wall that if Martin don't finish books the ending will be massively different than people imagined. What's more, i think he's not ending the book because the show recieved such heavy roasting and he did intended it to end like that.

          House of Dragon does indeed iirc have some missing characters, but since the book is based on generally have less of them than GoT the loss is barely visible, unlike when they killed off literally half of the cast in sept explosion because it's a fucking TV show and it was too wide. On a plus side, something that i very much liked in the GoT show, they also cut off the worst bush wandering parts of the book - entire Brienne expedition from book 4, and most of Bran, Arya and Daenerys random nonsense.

          Also i know the book ending would be disappointing too for me, since what i love there is the politics and intrigue, and not the prophecy and adventure, for that i have thousands of other fantasy books, and it unfortunately come more and more to the front in books 4 and 5.

          • Pluto [he/him, he/him]
            hexagon
            ·
            11 months ago

            "People" may not. I would prefer that it does. This is just my hope, I'm not demanding or anything. Also, there are a couple things wrong they did throughout the series that ruined the impact of the ending, such as Daenerys' arc.

            Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire are two different entities, as D&D themselves have said, the creators of Game of Thrones.

            Also, the Brienne expedition from A Feast of Crows was great; you should read the books again. They're better-read a second time.

            Book 5 is my favorite.

            • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml
              ·
              edit-2
              11 months ago

              such as Daenerys’ arc.

              This is actually the part i feel the most canon in entire last seasons, her going on the bad side of the coin was hanging in the air from at least book 2. Ending was actually pretty decent imo though Bran the king was pretty cringy if funny, most faults was rather in setup, like needless extermination of everyone not absolutely necessary for it and cutting up basically entire book 5. And fucking Stannis, not only they made him a monster for no reason but they also just thrown him away easily.

              Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire are two different entities

              Yes, the adaptation of incomplete book was bound to be risky as hell, i guess many people expected books would be finished before the show would catch with them.

              Also i would like to cut myself from the public outrage too if i was him. Which don't change the fact that he, despite not even being burned out, fail to deliver the next books and maybe putting his pen where his mouth is. He sang entirely other song where the first seasons were welcomed enthusiastically.

              Also, the Brienne expedition from A Feast of Crows was great, you should read the books again. They’re better-read a second time.

              No, full stop. It wasn't the worst part of books, but what set it apart of even the boring part of Arya and Bran wanderings is that it was incredibly pointless filler which could be easily cut off and presented as separate story. And it's my second-most read books ever, only after Dune.

              Book 5 is my favorite.

              It's not bad, but 2 and 3 are much better. Overall i think it's 3 > 2 > 5 > 4 > 1.

              • Pluto [he/him, he/him]
                hexagon
                ·
                11 months ago

                I'm not talking about whether or not Daenerys' arc was canon, I'm talking about how it was done in the show (which is practically non-existent and has no lead-up unlike the books, where you see her lose it by the end of book 5, at least). And yes, Stannis Baratheon is my favorite character in the series along with Davos Seaworth.

                And yes, I agree that many people expected the books to be finished and that's Martin's fault in this case. And yeah, he over-promised.

                I happened to like the fight with Biter at the end so I disagree; best fight since the Viper vs. the Mountain. Never mind the in-between fight between her and the four knights (where she takes out all four of them despite being outnumbered).

                I feel that Book 2 is overrated as nothing seems to happen beyond the Battle of Blackwater (I know that's not true, but it's how the book feels to me). Book 5 is my favorite, but that's my opinion.

                I'm doing a re-read of the books right now in 2023 (after having originally read them in 2008 or something) so a lot of things that were missed in the show are coming back to me; we can do a re-read together, if you want; you can sync up with me, idk.

                • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml
                  ·
                  11 months ago

                  has no lead-up unlike the books

                  Fair enough, i was totally expecting it because i'm a nerd for that, but people only relying on show could had few dots missed.

                  fight with Biter

                  It was pretty surprising, biting off body parts of girl warriors is pretty rare, i think only second book something like that happened, and the first is absolute shit (Achaja series by polish author Ziemiański, not only it's bad writing, but it had so many needless CW's it's hard to imagine). Definitely not close to Viper vs Mountain though, that was thrilling to read.

                  I feel that Book 2 is overrated as nothing seems to happen beyond the Battle of Blackwater

                  Depend what you want, for me it was a feast of what would love to see more, and the battle was climax where all the setup is thrown to the oven to bake (or burn). Well i do like adventure somewhat too, but good adventure books are dime for dozen, good political and intrigue books, especially in a fantasy world (where historical materialism don't turn on all the time and don't ruin my fun) are very rare.

                  we can do a re-read together

                  Thanks, but i still have 61 books on my reading list before i do any re-reads :(

                  • Pluto [he/him, he/him]
                    hexagon
                    ·
                    11 months ago

                    "It was pretty surprising, biting off body parts of girl warriors is pretty rare"

                    The fight involving Shagwell was also a great lead-up. First, one against four. Then, one against seven. I agree that the Viper vs. Mountain is still the top and I loved the comic-book they made of the fight (well, one person's work, I believe, that was done awhile back; it's worth looking through it just once).

                    I'll say this about Book 2: I feel bad for Theon Greyjoy every time and I love his arc in Book 5 (which was done poorly in the show and it didn't help that Ramsay was bloviated into a complete Villain Sue even though he's not supposed to be that important). But yeah, Theon possibly killing his own children always gets me. I do wish they had the chain in the Battle of Blackwater (and the brief naval battle that lead-up to the chain part starring Davos Seaworth). Also, goddamn, the floating building gets me (where Tyrion gets his nose cut off). Seriously, I loved the actual fighting that didn't happen on the beach (in the burnt towns and parts of the city itself).

                    "Thanks, but i still have 61 books on my reading list before i do any re-reads :("

                    61?!

                    Well, you may have to cut down or winnow your list eventually like I often do, but I imagine you'll still have books to get through.

                    Usually, I don't actually follow my book lists (even the winnowed down version) to the T.

                    We should at least do a Dune read-through together, idk; never read the books before.

                    • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml
                      ·
                      edit-2
                      11 months ago

                      I feel bad for Theon Greyjoy every time and I love his arc in Book 5

                      Yup, he's the beating bag of the book. I remember the most sorry i ever was for a fictional character was the assassin from Robin Hobb cycle, i remember reading that and he was kicked in the teeth or groin by the universe ever 10 pages or so for most of three books.

                      Well, you may have to cut down or winnow your list eventually like I often do, but I imagine you’ll still have books to get through.

                      I read pretty fast actually, but i add new books to the list as fast as i read, also i personally blame Lenin, i actually did read entire collected works of 55 books but it took me a year and since then i had this list on me.

                      We should at least do a Dune read-through together, idk; never read the books before.

                      I recently read the 2 of 3 books of newest Kaladan trilogy by Brian and listened to audiobook of 6 original books and half of Hunters before fucking youtube took down the channel.

                      Dune are super worth it, truly the best sci-fi series of all times, especially first 4 books. 5-6 are worse, and the Brian books are variable, some are pretty good, some are so-so, and two of them are utter trash. Most are at least readable though more adventury and less wordy than Frank originals, also with super heavy prequel curse so beware if you don't like prequels.

                      • Pluto [he/him, he/him]
                        hexagon
                        ·
                        11 months ago

                        Yeah, I read 52 books this year to beat Goodreads' "52 book challenge" (same can be found on Reddit). I'm not sure I can go past 52 books; it can be exhausting, depending on the length of the books as well. Also, Hunters? Kaladan? What?

                        But yeah, if you ever want to do a re-read of Dune let me know so I can start my read-through of the Dune books then.

                        • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml
                          ·
                          edit-2
                          11 months ago

                          Also, Hunters? Kaladan? What?

                          Well prepare for a ride:

                          First we got 6 books by Frank Herbert, in 3 blocks i would say:

                          1. Dune, Messiah of Dune, Children of Dune, the book that started it all and its two continuations, pretty straightforward story of Paul Atreides.
                          2. God Emperor of Dune, time jump 3000 years forward, main character is Paul's son, Leto, though not from his PoV. Imo best book in series and thus best sci-fi book ever. Do require reading of previous ones.
                          3. Heretics of Dune and Dune: Chapterhouse, again timejump 1500 years past GEoD. Definitely weaker than previous books and unfinished

                          Then there is Dune Encyclopedia, noncanon, but was accepted by Frank, nowadays pretty forgotten and impossible to get in paper form. Somebody made the pdf though so it's accessible. Highly incompatible with all Brian books.

                          And finally the Brian books, though i seen there are some comics sidestories too, which i didn't read, so there are the books only here. I would group them by the trilogies, since he write them as such (except two), in suggested order of reading after the original Dune:

                          1. Dune 7: Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune - they do include some parts of lore from Butlerian Jihad trilogy, but it's not necessary to read that first. Those are actually kinda fitting end for Dune, on par with last two books of Frank.
                          2. Legends of Dune: The Butlerian Jihad, The Machine Crusade, The Battle of Corrin - the foundational event of entire setting, 10000 years before the original Dune. First book of three is filled with too much nonsense and body horror but it gets better later. That is, i still lament how the suggested magnificent Greek tragedy of the original Butlerian Jihad is turned into yet another skynet war.
                          3. The Great Schools trilogy: Sisterhood of Dune, The Mentats of Dune, Navigators of Dune - closing up of the Jihad trilogy. Actually quite good.
                          4. Prelude to Dune trilogy: House Atreides, House Harkonnen and House Corrino - prequel of original Dune. Pretty pulpy but not bad.
                          5. The Caladan Trilogy: Dune: The Duke of Caladan, Dune: The Lady of Caladan, Dune: The Heir of Caladan - follow up for the prelude, books trying to fill the inconsistencies between Prelude and old Dune and those in the old Dune itself (mainly how is that the honorable and straightforward duke Leto so greatly feared by emperor). Not bad, though emperor is presented as the lousiest and most annoying piece of shit this side of Ramsay Bolton.
                          6. Heroes of Dune: Paul of Dune and The Winds of Dune. No, just no. It's remarkable just how much trash are those two books compared to all the others. They were so shitty even authors stopped after two books and only just released the third after i assume complete rewrite since it took them 14 years.
                          • Pluto [he/him, he/him]
                            hexagon
                            ·
                            11 months ago

                            Oh God

                            Putting a star on this comment so I can save it for later.

                            But goddamn, I do sometimes like "Legendariums" (my definition for those are that they're basically canon works that sometimes-kinda-sorta contradict each other and may not jive well with each other).

                            Also, "Butlerian Jihad." I recognize this reference.

                            • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml
                              ·
                              edit-2
                              11 months ago

                              Also, “Butlerian Jihad.” I recognize this reference.

                              Yeah it came from Dune but became somewhat widespread for "war against machines", interestingly enough it was never specified in anything but a few scraps of lore before Brian wrote books about it. It's also probably the most controversial topic in entire Dune. it was deciding and forming event for entire Dune setting, and original books hints on a fight between humans for the future shape of humanity (and the wrong side won which resulted in eons of feudalism, slavery, caste system and primitivism) while the last two books of Frank hints something that Brian later based on, just a skynet rebellion and simple and absolutely justifies fight for biological survival.

                              • Pluto [he/him, he/him]
                                hexagon
                                ·
                                11 months ago

                                Ah, I see.

                                Not sure what else to say, but I could use a reading partner so if you're up for it later, let me know.