The waiting game...

There are several really cool projects that I am waiting for, and they fall into 2 categories:  Books and TV shows.  Let's start with the books.

I am a big George R.R. Martin fan, but I am totally hacked off that the man can't seem to finish A Dance with Dragons.  The wait has been nearly 5 years!!  CRIMINAL!!  A Game of Thrones is truly one of my favorite books of all times; I love the characterization, and the fact that nothing (as in real life) is black and white.  That was the first book in a long time that I can remember wanting to throw across the room because I was mad at what happened.  Then came A Clash of Kings - just as good, and A Storm of Swords, which although quite a bit longer than the other two (and of dubious binding) was riveting despite the fact the fact that the plot and the character list grew by leaps and bounds.  Then came the pronouncement that the 4th book was to be split into two parts.  I was okay with that at a certain level.  Storm was big, and the binding was not good, so I thought okay, 2 books, better binding, more chance to tell the tale.  WRONG!!! A Feast for Crows was quite a bit weaker than the other 3, had half the characters and advanced the plot, well, not at all.  I was so bored with Brienne's endless wandering...and my favorite character (Tyrion) was non-existent.  Not to mention the fact that Cersi seems to have gone right over the edge.  The only redeeming quality was the change Jamie seems to be going through - I know a lot of people don't like it and think it detracts from his character, but I found it quite believable.  Now HBO is getting ready to air A Game of Thrones in April, and we still have no 5th book.  At this rate, and with as old as Martin is, I don't see that we will ever get to the end!

A Game of Thrones at Amazon

Now for the TV Series.  First, A Game of Thrones on HBO.  This is going to be absolutely stunning.  If you liked Lord of the Rings, I think that this will be right up there with the beauty of those films.  Fortunately, this airs April 17, unfortunately, I don't have HBO.

Another series I am looking forward to is Downton Abbey from Britain's ITV network.  It premiered on PBS in the States in January, and WOW!  I haven't watched a PBS series in a long time - in high school, PBS seemed to be in its heyday with Brideshead Revisited, The Jewel in the Crown, Mountbatten:  The Last Viceroy, and others.  But Downton Abbey has revived my interest in PBS.  It's sort of an Upstairs, Downstairs lite version, but very addicting!  The season ended with the beginning of the First World War, and they start filming Season Two in a month or so, but it will be next year before I know what happens!!

In this age of technology, overnight shipping, and immediate gratification, I have to relearn the waiting game!