Thanks for the artwork links. I agree that Samwell doesn't look quite right to me - too jowly, I think. I picture him being more round-faced, like Neville. And I'm not too sure about the bowl haircut, either. :P
Yes, Sam ought to definitely be more round-faced -- the picture doesn't look like anyone who would be nicknamed Ser Piggy. Walrus, maybe, if anything. (Although I don't know if they have walruses in Westeros...) :P
I also really like how the heraldry is incorporated into the pictures (to the point where the pictures of the commoners and bastards and such look kind of bare). Especially like the way it's done with the Houses Tully and Highgarden -- because the large bears and lions and krakens oh my can overwhelm the picture a bit, but the two-coloured strip and the stained-glass flowers complement the rest of it really nicely.
You haven't yet read Swordspoint? Dear L-rd I've been remiss!
It's fabulous. And yes, Alec is a prick, and you do need to have the set of eyes to show you just how terrified and yet aware he is of everything, and you do get it more in Swordspoint, where there are people who know him better than Katherine. It's no coincidence that he almost becomes a softer person after Highcombe and she gets to see more of him through it.
There are also elements in TPOTS that tie into The Fall of the Kings for your really self-destructive couple needs (but also Alec & Rose's daughter Jessica, who rocks like a completely and totally rocking thing).
You haven't yet read Swordspoint? Dear L-rd I've been remiss!
Heh, well, I've wanted to, but haven't come across it in the library and wasn't actively searching -- now I want to even more, and am determined to obtain it (looks like it's shelved under Fiction rather than SF/F, which is why I haven't encountered it before).
I did notice Alec becoming a bit less... unpleasant after Highcombe, but couldn't quite figure out whether that was an actual change in his behaviour or Kate just getting used to him more.
So, am I right in assuming that, publishing order goes Swordspoint, The Fall of the Kings, TPOTS, while chronological order is Swordspoint, TPOTS, TFOTK? And TPOTS is (at least partly) filling in the holes between Swordspoint and TFOTK? Which would explain why it felt like some plot threads didn't feel like they were going anywhere and certain others just came out of the blue for no apparent reason (like Rose being pregnant by Alec)...
You are right about the published order of things, but Ellen actually began TPOTS soon after Swordspoint was published and shelved it after a hundred pages or so, so the Katherine and Marcus you meet in TFOTK is still a character she knew, though others did suprise her.
There are also three short stories - two in Riverside set prior to the start of Swordspoint, and one titled "The Death of the Duke" set 20 years before TFOTK and maybe ~15ish after TPOTS. The plot is somewhat self-explanatory, and it leads into TFOTK. I think deliasherman also wrote a story entitled "The Tragedy of King Alexander and the Stag" that I've never found, also set in the world but much earlier.
And I found Tithe enjoyable, btw. It's one of the books (A Great and Terrible Beauty was the other) that broke my "I've graduated college and can't for the life of me write anymore" dry spell and pushed me to at least plot out my books.
Oh, interesting, about the order of writing and the short stories -- thanks for mentioning that! Are the stories collected somewhere, by the way?
I'm looking forward to Tithe, as I've seen it praised by lots of people.
broke my "I've graduated college and can't for the life of me write anymore" dry spell
That would be a very nice side effect. I doubt that 7 years can qualify as a "dry spell" -- extended drought, maybe... -- but I've definitely been suffering from the "graduated college and can't write anymore" thing, although in my case it's also been compounded by the "had children and can no longer think more than two hours in either direction or use my imagination at all" tornado for about five years or so... But I feel like I'm on the verge of climbing out of that chasm, maybe. So, yeah...
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Amok also has a good one of Brynden Tully that I really like. I think my favorite part of Amok's portraits is how the heraldry is worked in.
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It's fabulous. And yes, Alec is a prick, and you do need to have the set of eyes to show you just how terrified and yet aware he is of everything, and you do get it more in Swordspoint, where there are people who know him better than Katherine. It's no coincidence that he almost becomes a softer person after Highcombe and she gets to see more of him through it.
There are also elements in TPOTS that tie into The Fall of the Kings for your really self-destructive couple needs (but also Alec & Rose's daughter Jessica, who rocks like a completely and totally rocking thing).
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Heh, well, I've wanted to, but haven't come across it in the library and wasn't actively searching -- now I want to even more, and am determined to obtain it (looks like it's shelved under Fiction rather than SF/F, which is why I haven't encountered it before).
I did notice Alec becoming a bit less... unpleasant after Highcombe, but couldn't quite figure out whether that was an actual change in his behaviour or Kate just getting used to him more.
So, am I right in assuming that, publishing order goes Swordspoint, The Fall of the Kings, TPOTS, while chronological order is Swordspoint, TPOTS, TFOTK? And TPOTS is (at least partly) filling in the holes between Swordspoint and TFOTK? Which would explain why it felt like some plot threads didn't feel like they were going anywhere and certain others just came out of the blue for no apparent reason (like Rose being pregnant by Alec)...
Reply
There are also three short stories - two in Riverside set prior to the start of Swordspoint, and one titled "The Death of the Duke" set 20 years before TFOTK and maybe ~15ish after TPOTS. The plot is somewhat self-explanatory, and it leads into TFOTK. I think deliasherman also wrote a story entitled "The Tragedy of King Alexander and the Stag" that I've never found, also set in the world but much earlier.
And I found Tithe enjoyable, btw. It's one of the books (A Great and Terrible Beauty was the other) that broke my "I've graduated college and can't for the life of me write anymore" dry spell and pushed me to at least plot out my books.
Reply
I'm looking forward to Tithe, as I've seen it praised by lots of people.
broke my "I've graduated college and can't for the life of me write anymore" dry spell
That would be a very nice side effect. I doubt that 7 years can qualify as a "dry spell" -- extended drought, maybe... -- but I've definitely been suffering from the "graduated college and can't write anymore" thing, although in my case it's also been compounded by the "had children and can no longer think more than two hours in either direction or use my imagination at all" tornado for about five years or so... But I feel like I'm on the verge of climbing out of that chasm, maybe. So, yeah...
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