Tag Archives: Valkyrist

VoK 97: KrakenKast – “The Laws of Gods and Men” (S04E06 Review)

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Valkyrist | 2 comments

THE KRAKEN RAGES AHEAD! Aussie & Asia-Pacific vassals Duncan (Valkyrist), Bing (Shoeshiner), Joseph (Ciao_Gamer), and Tanja (Scilens) review the sixth episode of Game of Thrones’ fourth season, entitled “The Laws of Gods and Men.”

Warning: Contains spoilers for all published books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist

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KrakenKast typically records on Tuesday at 7:00pm (AEST) / 10:00am (GMT).

This time is meant to cater for Australian and Asian-Pacific fans, but everyone is welcome. Just let us know on the “Call to Arms” thread HERE, if you’d like to join us for an episode.

2 Comments

Posted in A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones, Podcast, TV Shows

Tagged Ciao_Gamer, Scilens, Shoeshiner, Valkyrist

VoK 94: KrakenKast – “First of His Name” (S04E05 Review)

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Valkyrist | 8 comments

THE KRAKEN STRIKES BACK! Aussie & Asia-Pacific vassals Duncan (Valkyrist), Jessica (jesicka309), Bing (Shoeshiner), Tony (The Reader), Joseph (Ciao_Gamer), and Tanja (Scilens) review the fifth episode of Game of Thrones’ fourth season, entitled “First of His Name.”

Warning: Contains spoilers for all published books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist

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KrakenKast typically records on Tuesday at 7:00pm (AEST) / 10:00am (GMT).

This time is meant to cater for Australian and Asian-Pacific fans, but everyone is welcome. Just let us know on the “Call to Arms” thread HERE, if you’d like to join us for an episode.

8 Comments

Posted in A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones, Podcast, TV Shows

Tagged Ciao_Gamer, jesicka309, Scilens, Shoeshiner, The Reader, Valkyrist

VoK 88: KrakenKast – “Breaker of Chains” (S04E03 Review)

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Valkyrist | Leave a comment

THE KRAKEN SURGES ON! Aussie & Asia-Pacific vassals Duncan (Valkyrist), Jessica (jesicka309) and Bing (Shoeshiner) review the third episode of Game of Thrones’ fourth season, entitled “Breaker of Chains.”

Warning: Contains spoilers for all published books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist

[MP3] Download or play this episode directly
[Archive] View this episode’s page on Archive.org
[Forum] Episode Thread
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KrakenKast records every Tuesday at 7:00pm (AEST) / 10:00am (GMT).

This time is meant to cater for Australian and Asian-Pacific fans, but everyone is welcome. Just let us know on the “Call to Arms” thread HERE, if you’d like to join us for an episode.

Leave a comment

Posted in A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones, Podcast, TV Shows

Tagged jesicka309, Shoeshiner, Valkyrist

VoK 85: KrakenKast – “The Lion and the Rose” (S04E02 Review)

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Valkyrist | 1 comment

THE KRAKEN RISES …a week late, and a tentacle short, but still. Aussie & Asia-Pacific vassals Duncan (Valkyrist), Jessica (jesicka309), Tony (The Reader), and Bing (Shoeshiner) review the second episode of Game of Thrones’ fourth season, entitled “The Lion and the Rose.”

Warning: Contains spoilers for all published books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire

Disclaimer: Please note that VOK does not condone the illegal downloading of television shows. The discussion of piracy in this episode was meant to be light-hearted rant regarding the lack of available options for Australian and Asian viewers. Thanks 🙂

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist

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KrakenKast records every Tuesday at 7:00pm (AEST) / 10:00am (GMT).

This time is meant to cater for Australian and Asian-Pacific fans, but everyone is welcome. Just let us know on the “Call to Arms” thread HERE, if you’d like to join us for an episode.

1 Comment

Posted in A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones, Podcast, TV Shows

Tagged jesicka309, Shoeshiner, The Reader, Valkyrist

VoK 79: Mercy (The Winds of Winter – Sample Chapter)

Posted on March 28, 2014 by bina007 | 10 comments

Join the Vassals for a spoiler-filled discussion of the latest teaser chapter from George R.R. Martin’s The Winds of Winter: Mercy. Duncan (Valkyrist), Bina (Bina007), Zach (Alias), Eddie (Teddard), Michal (inkasrain), and Nadia (in all worlds!) discuss bleeding out, aging up, moral culpability, psychotic breakdown and other cheerful happy endings.

Credits:
Edited by Bina007 and Valkyrist, with music excerpts from the amazeballs Elvis Costello and Talking Heads.

Update: A cleaner version of the audio has been uploaded 🙂

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Links:
Mercy (chapter text)
VoK 61: The Winds of Winter (Preview Chapters)

10 Comments

Posted in A Song of Ice and Fire, Podcast

Tagged Alias, Bina007, inkasrain, Nadia, Teddard, Valkyrist

VoK 76: Metanarrative in the Game of Thrones (Part 2) – Martin and Tolkien (audio essay)

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Valkyrist | Leave a comment

In this followup episode to VoK 23, Valkyrist continues to look at postmodern theory in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. However, where part 1 dealt with the story and characters, part 2 focuses on structure, and how Martin’s fantasy texts contrast with the more traditional writing of J. R. R. Tolkien.

Contains spoilers for all published books in A Song of Ice and Fire

Credits:
Written and Edited by Valkyrist
Music from HBO’s Game of Thrones soundtrack

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Links:
The Postmodern Condition: A Report on the Understanding of Knowledge (by Jean-François Lyotard)
VoK 23: Metanarrative in A Game of Thrones (Part 1)

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Posted in A Song of Ice and Fire, Books & Novellas, Philosophy, Podcast, The Lord of the Rings

Tagged Valkyrist

VoK 72: Interview with Remy J. Verhoeve (author of “Waiting for Winter”)

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Valkyrist | 5 comments

In this episode, Valkyrist interviews author and blogger, Remy J. Verhoeve, about his new book – Waiting for Winter: Re-Reading “A Clash of Kings,” Part I. Topics covered include: the politics of the A Song of Ice and Fire fandom; fresh insights and lingering mysteries in book 2; and the culture of “fan theorizing” that Martin’s series has inspired.

Due to equipment problems, the audio quality is not the best, but it has been cleaned up as much as possible. The episode also features several cameo appearance’s from Remy’s infant son.

Warning: Contains #SPOILERS# for all published books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, as well as the 2005 film Oldboy (???)

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist

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Links:
Waiting for Winter: Re-Reading “A Clash of Kings,” Part I (Amazon)
Stormsongs (Remy’s Blog)
Jaime, Azor Ahai & the God of War

5 Comments

Posted in A Song of Ice and Fire, Books & Novellas, Fandom, Podcast

Tagged Remy, Valkyrist

VoK 70: Frozen [2013] (Review)

Posted on March 9, 2014 by bina007 | 4 comments

Join our (whatever the collective noun is for snowmen) of Vassals and special guest host Amin from A Podcast of Ice and Fire, to discuss Disney’s super-hit, the Oscar winning Frozen. We take a semi-serious look at the issues of feminism, LGBT rights and depictions of race in Disney. We also take a not very serious look at whether Hans is gay, whether A Song of Ice and Fire could have a happy fairytale ending, and what kind of protection one might need in dating Elsa.

Naturally this is full of spoilers for Frozen, but also Mulan, Pocahontas, Brave and assorted other Disney princess movies.

Podcasters: Amin; Nadia; Bina; Duncan (Valkyrist); Julia (No True Lady); Michal (Inkasrain); Saad (Saad164); Zach (Alias) and Elena (Lady Grey).

Edited by Bina007 using excerpts of music from the wonderful, and now Oscar-winning, original soundtrack to the movie.

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4 Comments

Posted in LGBT+, Movies, Podcast

Tagged Alias, Amin, Bina007, inkasrain, Lady_Grey, Nadia, No True Lady, saad164, Valkyrist

VoK 63: Writer’s Workshop

Posted on February 7, 2014 by vokadmin | 1 comment

Five Vassals sit down to discuss the craft of writing and share some of their own work. Join Steven (SJLee), Michal (inkasrain), Zach (Alias), Duncan (Valkyrist), and Ace (SomeNewGuy), as they share their insights into writing, offer feedback to one another, and discuss their latest projects.

Ace shares an inspired-by-real-life comedy of life overseas in the Peace Corps. Zach and Duncan discuss their early foray into fantasy fiction. Michal’s unique cop drama, set in a world of drug-addicted dragons, captures the interest of her fellow hosts. And Steven describes his post-apocalyptic novel, which is nearing completion. The conversation covers many areas of writing:

1:55 – Part 1: General Discussion on Writing
23:15 – Part 2: Roundtable Conversation on Work [Gardeners vs. Architects; Breaking down the Fantasy Genre; Plot vs. Character; Female Characters and “Unlikeable” Protagonists; World-building; Writing Post-Apocalyptic Fiction; Publishing your Work]
1:58:10 – Part 3: Advice to Fellow Writers [including a defense for Fan Fiction]

Credits:
Edited by SJLee

Links:
The Anxiety of Writers
Year of the Dragon by inkasrain (extract)
Quincy’s Tale by SomeNewGuy
The Knight of Leafport by Valkyrist (extract)
A Shattered World by SJLee (extract)

1 Comment

Posted in Books & Novellas, Podcast, Science Fiction

Tagged Alias, inkasrain, SJLee, SomeNewGuy, Valkyrist

VoK 61: The Winds of Winter – Preview Chapters (by George R. R. Martin)

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Valkyrist | 6 comments

Cold winds rise as the Vassals dive into the first 8 preview chapters of George R. R. Martin’s The Winds of Winter. Jon Vikram (fortytwo), Bina, Duncan (Valkyrist), Nadia and Zach (Alias) as they discuss the Battle of Winterfell, the Siege of Meereen, and Aegon’s Second Landing.

Before going through the chapters, however, the hosts have a general debate over what constitutes a spoiler in contemporary culture. After that, its wild, unmitigated book 6 speculation (and the occasional bit of intelligent analysis).

Due to the episode’s length, each segment has been time-stamped with a short musical cue:

3:23 – “Spoilers” in Pop Culture
32:15 – Theon I
1:00:23 – Tyrion I & II
1:12:25 – Victarion I
1:37:52 – Barristan I & II
2:13:58 – Arianne I & II
3:00:55 – ????

Warning: This episode contains spoilers for the sixth (unpublished) book in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist
Various tracks owned by The Walt Disney Company, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment.

Links:
Theon I (full reading) [released Dec 2011]
Victarion I (partial reading) [recorded Mar 2012]
Arianne I (full reading) [released Jan 2013]
Barristan I (full reading) [published Oct 2013]
Summaries for Unreleased Chapters

6 Comments

Posted in A Song of Ice and Fire, Books & Novellas, Podcast

Tagged Alias, Bina007, fortytwo, Nadia, Valkyrist

VoK 59: Full Cast(le) Recording #1 – We Need to Talk About Kevan

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Valkyrist | 3 comments

In the inaugural episode of the “Full Cast(le) Recording” series, the Vassals of Kingsgrave don their mummer’s masks to perform a dramatic reading of the Epilogue from A Dance with Dragons.

And don’t forget to hang around backstage, as the vassals discuss the chapter, debate the morality of Kevan Lannister, and agree that Varys is hella creepy.

1:40 – Chapter Reading
39:53 – Aftershow Discussion

The Cast:
Michal (inkasrain) – Narrator
Leigh (LordManderBlee) – Ronnet Connington / Randyll Tarly
Duncan (Valkyrist) – Kevan Lannister / Tywin Lannister
Peter (Shellfish) – Mace Tyrell
Steven (SJ Lee) – Maester Pycelle
Paul (Pod’s Plight) – Harys Swyft
Brooke (Asha Greatjoy) – Cersei Lannister
Elena (Lady_Grey) – Novice / Varys
Chloe (Lady_Grey’s daughter) – Tommen Baratheon

The Crew:
Michal (inkasrain) – Host
Duncan (Valkyrist) – Editor

3 Comments

Posted in A Song of Ice and Fire, Books & Novellas, Full Cast(le) Recording, Podcast

Tagged Asha Greatjoy, inkasrain, Lady_Grey, LordManderBlee, Pod's Plight, Shellfish, SJLee, Valkyrist

VoK 58: Blade Runner [1982] (DVD Commentary)

Posted on January 23, 2014 by vokadmin | Leave a comment

The Vassals dream of electric sheep in this audio commentary for Ridley Scott’s 1982 science-fiction classic Blade Runner (The Final Cut). Join Katie (Lady Griffin), Bina (Bina007), and Duncan (Valkyrist) as they debate whether or not Deckard is a replicant and (maybe) drive off into the mountains for a happy ending.

The movie should be synced from 7:00 to 2:05:00, and the commentary itself will begin exactly 1 minute into the movie, due to minor recording issues.

Credits:
Edited by Katie
Audio clips owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment.

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Posted in DVD Commentary, Movies, Podcast, Science Fiction

Tagged Bina007, Lady Griffin, Valkyrist

VoK 57: Theories of Ice and Fire (Vol.1)

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Valkyrist | Leave a comment

The Vassals gather around the fabled roundtable of Kingsgrave, this time to discuss theories both serious and crackpot. Join Michal (inkasrain), Nadia, Duncan (Valkyrist), Peter (Shellfish), and Dan (witless chum) for a fiery debate over what is really going on in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. This is hopefully the first of many episodes on House Manwoody’s “Theories of Ice and Fire”.

Because of the episode’s length, each segment has been time-stamped with a short musical cue:

2:25 – Stannis is the Third Head of the Dragon [concerning Stannis Baratheon’s destiny, and why he doesn’t even get to be the star of his own theory]
19:08 – Arya is Batman [concerning the character development of Arya Stark, and the true function of the Faceless Men]
47:38 – Brandon + Ashara [concerning the relationship between Brandon Stark and Ashara Dayne, and the child who never was]
1:16:32 – House Stark is descendent from the Others [concerning the arcane origins of the Kings of Winter, and their knowledge of ice magic]
1:54:54 – I(lyrio)+S(erra)=A(egon)B(lackfyre) [concerning the ancestry of Aegon-called-Targaryen, and the source of Ilyrio Mopatis’ “western ambitions”]

Warning: Contains spoilers for all published works in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist
Various tracks owned by Song Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group.

Leave a comment

Posted in A Song of Ice and Fire, Books & Novellas, Podcast

Tagged inkasrain, Nadia, Shellfish, Valkyrist, witless chum

VoK 56: Amadeus [1984] (DVD Commentary)

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Valkyrist | Leave a comment

The Vassals soak up some culture with an audio commentary for the 1984 period drama Amadeus (Director’s Cut). Join Bina (Bina007) and Duncan (Valkyrist) as they dissect the tragic rivalry between Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The movie should be synced from 1:50 to 3:02:07, and the commentary itself will begin around 50 seconds into the movie. This was due to some slight audio wrinkles, which thankfully iron out after the first few minutes. Also, don’t forget to nominate this episode for the “Most Niche VoK” award 😉

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist
Audio Clips owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment

Leave a comment

Posted in DVD Commentary, History, Movies, Music, Podcast

Tagged Bina007, Valkyrist

VoK 55: A Flight of Sorrows – Collector’s Edition

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Valkyrist | 3 comments

Duncan (Valkyrist) welcomes the newest member of the VoK family, Silvana (silvaubrey), for an in-depth discussion of Westerosi justice, vengeance, ethnicity and conspiracy. This episode focuses on the fabled “Collector’s Edition” of A Flight of Sorrows, specifically the four new essays added to the compendium:

7:02 – Savouring the Taste? On the role of revenge in songs of ice and fire (by Stefan Sasse)
24:09 – The Prince is Riding: Rebutting the identity of—and the aim of the conspiracy around—Aegon Targaryen (by Miles Schniederman)
36:13 – A Feast of Vipers: Ethnic diversity, personal identification, and fandom theories in Dorne (by Amin Javadi)
58:27 – The King’s Justice is Mute, Not Blind: Why trials in Westeros are not what they seem (by John Jasmin)
1:12:43 – Other Essays in A Flight of Sorrows (edited by Marc N. Kleinhenz)
1:24:27 – Game of Thrones news and discussion
1:36:28 – ????

Warning: Contains spoilers for all published books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist

Links:
Follow “Westeros Indonesia” on Twitter
Tower of the Hand: A Flight of Sorrows
The World of Ice and Fire: The Official History of Westeros and The World of A Game of Thrones (released October 28, 2014)
A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook
Tower of the Hand: A Hymn for Spring (released June 14, 2014)

3 Comments

Posted in A Song of Ice and Fire, Books & Novellas, Fandom, Podcast

Tagged silvaubrey, Valkyrist

VoK 51: FeastDance (Part 6) – Dornish Drawls and Northern Conspiracies

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Valkyrist | Leave a comment

The Vassals ring in the New Year with the thrilling conclusion to their FeastDance reread series. Join Duncan (Valkyrist), Bina, Nadia, and Zach (Alias) as they delve into Pate’s prologue in Oldtown, Ser Kevan’s epilogue in King’s Landing, and all of the chapters that take place in Dorne.

And make sure to stick around for the Aftershow where they wrap-up FeastDance with an in-depth discussion of the Grand Northern Conspiracy. Unfortunately, the most important question of the night remains glaringly unanswered: who would win in a fight, Darkstar or Ser Pounce? Have your say below! 😉

1:46 – Pate
20:14 – Kevan Lannister
46:07 – Areo Hotah, Arys Oakheart and Arianne Martell
1:28:48 – The Grand Northern Conspiracy
2:12:02 – ????

Warning: Contains spoilers for all published books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist
Various tracks owned by Sony Music Entertainment, the Warner Music Group and Karliene Reynolds

Links:
The Grand Northern Conspiracy
FeastDance ReRead (Part 1)
FeastDance (Part 2): Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things
FeastDance (Part 3): All Roads Lead to Essos
FeastDance (Part 4): Another Brick in the Wall
FeastDance (Part 5): We Remember the North

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Posted in A Song of Ice and Fire, Books & Novellas, Podcast

Tagged Alias, Bina007, Nadia, Valkyrist

VoK 46: The Princess and the Queen (by George R. R. Martin)

Posted on December 15, 2013 by vokadmin | 4 comments

Vikram (fortytwo) is joined by Bina (Bina007), Nadia, Michal (inkasrain), Thomas (FTWard), Leigh (LordManderBlee), and Duncan (Valkyrist) to review and discuss George R. R. Martin’s latest novella “The Princess and the Queen”.

Beware of Spoilers: This podcast discusses the novella in detail.

Credits:
Edited by Fortytwo

[MP3] Download or play this episode directly.
[Archive.org] View this episode’s page on Archive.org.
[Mirror] Download from mega.co.nz
[iTunes] Subscribe to us on iTunes
[RSS] Podcast only feed.
[Forum] Podcast Forums.

Links:
King Stephen and Matilda of Boulogne

4 Comments

Posted in A Song of Ice and Fire, Books & Novellas, Podcast

Tagged Bina007, fortytwo, FTWard, inkasrain, LordManderBlee, Nadia, Valkyrist

VoK 45: Alien [1979] (DVD Commentary)

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Valkyrist | Leave a comment

Have you been dreaming of a Red Christmas? Join vassals Duncan (aka Valkyrist) and Katie (aka Lady Griffin) as they delve into the blood-splattered, chest-bursting masterpiece that is Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979). This is the third entry in a potential “Sci-Fi Classics” audio commentary series.

The commentary itself runs from 6:36 to 2:01:26, and the opening production logos will be played at full volume in order for the listener to sync up their copy of the movie correctly. We used the Director’s Cut edition of the movie, released in 2003.

Warning: Contains plot spoilers for Alien, Aliens, and Alien 3.

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist
Audio Clips owned by 20^th Century Fox

Links:
Alien (1979): All Deleted Scenes
Original 1976 Screenplay (by Dan O’Bannon)
Dan O’Bannon and The Origins of Alien (by David Konow)
Alien and the Monstrous-Feminine (by Barabara Creed)

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Posted in DVD Commentary, Movies, Podcast, Science Fiction

Tagged Lady Griffin, Valkyrist

VoK 44: Fight Club [1999] and Truth-Procedures (audio essay)

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Valkyrist | 3 comments

In this mini-episode, Valkyrist discusses the philosophy of ethics within David Fincher’s Fight Club. Specifically, how Alain Badiou’s theory of the “truth-procedure” is manifested by the characters.

Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Fight Club, and some explicit language.

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist

Links:
Ethics: An Essay on the Understanding of Evil (by Alain Badiou)

3 Comments

Posted in Movies, Philosophy, Podcast

Tagged Valkyrist

VoK 40: The Terminator [1984] (DVD Commentary)

Posted on November 21, 2013 by vokadmin | Leave a comment

Join the Vassals for their second in a series of film fan commentary tracks. In this episode hosts Duncan (aka Valkyrist) and Glen (aka Dagos_Rivers) discuss and dissect James Cameron’s 1984 sci-fi classic – The Terminator.

The audio commentary itself runs from 3:30 to 1:51:02, and the opening production logos will be played at full volume in order for the listener to sync up their copy of the movie correctly.

Warning: Contains explicit language and plot spoilers for The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist
Audio Clips owned by MGM Studios