Tag Archives: Varley

VoK 263: Thrice-Damned Fool aka The Great Linear ASOIAF ReRead (Part 12)


ClansThe Vassals of Kingsgrave continue the epic Linear A Song of Ice and Fire Re-read series.  In part 12 we cover Sansa 5, Ned 15, Catelyn 8, Tyrion 7 & Dany 7 which is the rest of December 298 in the timeline.

Join Greg (claudiusthefool), Adam (Drownedsnow), Brock (BrockTheBlack), David (ServingStarkRealness), Matt (Varley), Nadia (Nadia) & Zack (Alias) as we cover the rest of December 298 and ring in the new year by partying with Ned and Varys in the black cells of the Red Keep.

Contains spoilers for all published books in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire as well as HBO’s Game of Thrones.

Warning: The aftershow contains discussions of the upcoming Season 6 of Game of Thrones including chatting about casting, leaked set photos and episode titles.  Please stop listening at 1hr 31m.

Edited by Greg

Episode Art by Sir Heartsalot

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VoK 258: The Silmarillion ReRead (Part 9) – Of the Third Age and the Rings of Power


One Ring

The Vassals of Kingsgrave conclude their Silmarillion re-read series with Part 9 in which we cover the final section of The Silmarillion, “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age”.  Join Greg (claudiusthefool), Matt (Varley), Shane (Easttexasdirewolf) & lurker extraordinaire Amber (Amberrocks) as we cover thousands of years of history in 50 minutes.

We tackle the tough questions:
– Was Sauron truly redeemable?
– How much power did Sauron wield through the Rings of Power?
– What happens to all those beautiful ships that sail to Valinor on their one-way voyage?
– How long do you roll your “r”s when pronouncing Saurrrrrrron?

Edited by Greg

Episode Art: “Sauron Forging the One Ring” by Ted Nasmith

Audiobook clips are from “The Silmarillion: Unabridged” by J.R.R. Tolkien, read by Martin Shaw, copyright 1998 by Random House Audio.

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VoK 256: H. H. Holmes


H._H._Holmes

Join Matt (Varley), Thomas (FTWard) and Bina007 as they discuss the infamous nineteenth century fraudster, bigamist and serial killer, H. H. Holmes. Music credit:  The Flaming Lips, Bad Days.

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VoK 255: White Raven is all about Horses aka The Great Linear ASOIAF ReRead (Part 11)


chapter_49___a_game_of_thrones_drawing_project_by_apoiaf-d540xuo

Welcome to the eleventh installment of the Great Linear ASOIAF Re-read. In this episode we cover chapters from the first half of December 298 in A Game Of Thrones. These are Jon 5, 6 and 7, Bran 6 and Dany 6, in which news of Ned’s predicament reaches The Wall, The Undead rise, Robb sets off for the South and Dany suffers an attempt on her life.  Listen to the Vassals discuss the dirty sheets of the Lord Commander, the many prophesies of Jon and Sam’s horn, ooh-er missus!  But remember the podcast is dark and full of spoilers for all known works in the Song of Ice and Fire series. Also the aftershow starts at 1hr 55m.

The hosts for this episode are Adam (Drowned Snow); Brett (Whiteraven); Casey (blue-eyed-queen); Matt (Varley on the Forums); Patrick (Ser Patrick the Tall); Peter (PetyrSlaylish15); Scott (Shaggydog); Steve (Steveontheforums); and Tanja (Scilens).

For listeners playing along at home, the next episode will cover the rest of December 298: Sansa 5, Cat 8, Ned 15, Tyrion 7 and Dany 7.

Picture credit: The APOIAF Artbook of Game of Thrones, as drawn by Dani Parla Tor. Edited by Adam.

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VoK 251: The Silmarillion ReRead (Part 8) – Akallabeth


636px-Darrell_Sweet_-_The_Fall_of_Numenor

Join hosts Brett (Whitehaven), Greg (claudiusthefool), Matt (Varley), Matthieu (Beric175) & Shane (Easttexasdirewolf) as they retell the story of the fall of Numenor.

Edited by Bina007

Episode Art: “The Fall of Numenor” by Darrell Sweet.

Song: Akallabeth by Iggy Metall and Samwise the Brave by Howard Shore, available to purchase on iTunes and other  services.

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VoK 250: Mord is the Tom Bombadil of Murder aka The Great Linear ASOIAF ReRead (Part 9)


chapter_41___a_game_of_thrones_drawing_project_by_apoiaf-d53qxih

Maple sceptres, oscillating bidets and feeding Petyr Baelish’s manhood to the goats?  It can only be the VOK Linear Re-read!

In this episode we reach the Eyrie and the Trial of Tyrion and watch Dany eat a horse’s heart.  As usual the podcast is dark and filled with spoilers – not to mention explosions of syrup.

Chapters covered: Dany 5, Tyrion 5, Tyrion 6, Cat 7 and Bran 5.

Hosts: Adam (Drownedsnow), Amber (Amberrocks), Brett (Whiteraven), Bina007, Drew (Wargasm), Jon (ZaneSeven), Matt (Varley), Nadia, Noah (Pops88), Peter (PetyrSlaylish15) and Scott (Shaggydog).

The aftershow starts at 2hr 19m.

For listeners playing along at home, the next episode will cover chapters Ned 12, Ned 13, Sansa 3, Ned 14, Arya 4 and Sansa 4.

Picture credit: The APOIAF Artbook of Game of Thrones, as drawn by Christina Kolb.  Music credits: Alpine Universe and Patch The Pirate – both available on iTunes.

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VoK 249: The Silmarillion ReRead (Part 7) – The End of an Age


Doors_of_NightThe Vassals of Kingsgrave gather to finish The Quenta Silmarillion.  In part 7 of the re-read we cover chapters 22-24 (Of the Ruin of Doriath, Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin & Of the Voyage of Earendil and the War of Wrath).

Join hosts Greg (claudiusthefool), Matt (Varley), Matthieu (Beric175) & Shane (Easttexasdirewolf) as we recap battles between Elves & Dwarves, Beren kicking some Dwarvish ass, many discussions on the Half-elven, ACTUAL WINGED DRAGONS! as well as the epic conclusion of the first age and the (final?) war between Morgoth and The Valar.

Edited by Greg

Audiobook clips are from “The Silmarillion: Unabridged” by J.R.R. Tolkien, read by Martin Shaw, copyright 1998 by Random House Audio.

Episode Art: “The Doors of Night” by John Howe.

Song: “Die Dragons” by Shane, copyright VOK Classics 2015

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VoK 247: The Tower of Coy aka The Great Linear ASOIAF ReRead (Part 8)


chapter_40___a_game_of_thrones_drawing_project_by_apoiaf-d53jq5h

In this episode of the epic linear re-read of Game of Thrones the Vassals cover Cat 6, Ned 10, Ned 11 and Sansa 3, which sees Cat arriving at the Eyrie, Ned’s infamous Tower of Joy reminiscences and Sansa fatefully being told she is being sent away from King’s Landing. The Vassals discussing these chapters are Bina007, Nadia, Matt (Varley), Scott (Shaggydog) and Adam (Drownedsnow).  We also have PetyrSlaylish15 chiming in by the power of Grayskull, I mean the power of pre-recording, as well as the lovely Ballad of the Tower of Joy as written by the Podcast Bard, Jed O’White Hart.

This episode discusses the books in spoiler-y detail but doesn’t give spoilers from the show.  The aftershow starts at 2hrs in. For listeners playing along at home, the next episode will cover chapters Dany 5, Tyrion 5, Cat 7, Tyrion 6 and Bran 5.

Picture credit: The APOIAF Artbook of Game of Thrones, as drawn by Fishflight.  Music credit: The Ballad of The Tower of Joy by Jed O’White Hart.

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VoK 245: Westerosi Spanx aka The Great Linear ASOIAF ReRead (Part 7)


chapter_31___a_game_of_thrones_drawing_project_by_apoiaf-d52wrxf

Join the Vassals as they continue their epic linear re-read of Game of Thrones, focussing in this episode on the chapters covering the Tourney of the Hand.

Timeline: Sansa 2 (2m); Ned 7 (31m); Arya 3 (57m); Ned 8 (1hr 10m); Ned 9 (1hr 30m); Which Disney Princess Would Each Host Be? (1hr 56m); Varley opens his VOK Secret Santa present (2hr 02m); Aftershow (2hr 05m).

Hosts: Adam (DrownedSnow), Amber (Amberrocks), Bina007, Katie (Lady Griffin), Nadia, Patrick (Ser Patrick The Tall),  Scott (Shaggydog), and Zack (Alias).

For the listener playing along at home, the next instalment will cover the end of September 298 and the first half of October 298, including the Tower of Joy: Cat 6, Ned 10, Ned 11 and Sansa 3.

This episode discusses the books in spoiler-y detail but doesn’t give spoilers from the show.

Picture credit: The APOIAF Artbook of Game of Thrones, as drawn by Jenn Rose.  All new opening music credit for the linear re-read by Alpine Universe. Let us know what you think! End music from the Disney film Beauty and the Beast.

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VoK 244: R+P=D aka The Great Linear ASOIAF ReRead (Part 6)


chapter_29___a_game_of_thrones_drawing_project_by_apoiaf-d52r5j1

In the sixth part of the Linear Game of Thrones Re-read, VOK regulars Varley, Bina and Nadia are joined by lore-master Scott aka Shaggydog. They discuss the Game of Thrones chapters covering Cat’s apprehension of Tyrion, Sam’s arrival at the Wall and CSI King’s Landing.

Timeline: Ned 5 (3m), Jon 4 (17m), Cat 5 (29m),  Tyrion 4 (44m), Ned 6 (50m), R+P=D (1hr).

For the listener playing along at home, the next instalment will cover the Tourney of the Hand chapters: Sansa 2, Ned 7, Arya 3, Ned 8 and Ned 9.

This episode discusses the books in spoiler-y detail but doesn’t give spoilers from the show.

Picture credit: The APOIAF Artbook of Game of Thrones. Music credit: Miss Piggy.

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VoK 240: Varley’s Plea aka The Great Linear ASOIAF ReRead (Part 5)


Jon_and_Sam_oaths

In the fifth part of the Linear Game of Thrones Re-read, the Vassals discuss feedback on the previous episode and finish up August 298, covering Jon 3 (12m), Tyrion 3 (28m), Arya 2 (40m), Bran 4 (56m). The aftershow starts at 1hr 15m.

For the listener playing along at home, the next instalment will cover the chapters in September 298 – Ned 5, Jon 4, Cat 5, Tyrion 4 and Ned 6.

This episode discusses the books in spoiler-y detail but doesn’t give spoilers from the show.

Picture credit: HBO’s Game of Thrones. Music credit: The Presidents of the United States of America.

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VoK 238: Mr. Robot (USA series) – Season 1


mrrobot

The Vassals assemble in an abandoned Coney Island arcade to review the first season of USA’s new series Mr. Robot.

Join Duncan (Valkyrist), Matt (Varley) and Adam (drownedsnow) for a rumination on computerised society, pop cultural consciousness, class warfare, corporate greed, anarchist insurrection, and the best way to make an omelet (tip – “you’ve got to break a few eggs!”). The timestamps for each discussion segment are included below:

3:10 – Lemoncake Ratings
8:45 – Elliot Alderson
35:12 – Angela Moss
44:16 – Tyrell Wellick
56:55 – Darlene
1:04:31 – Shayla
1:11:03 – Mr. Robot and fsociety
1:27:48 – Phillip Price and White Rose
1:35:08 – Cinematography
1:50:35 – Aftershow

Warning: Contains spoilers for all aired episodes of USA’s Mr. Robot, as well as the 1999 film Fight Club.

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist
Audio clips owned by USA

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VoK 237: The Iron Bidet aka The Great Linear ASOIAF ReRead (Part 3)


Tyrion_slaps_Joffrey

In the third part of our linear re-read the Fellowship of Vassals expands both in numbers and chapters covered.  We go through the events of May and June 298 which sees an assassination attempt on Bran, Tyrion go north to the wall, Ned go south with Robert, and Dany visiting Vaes Dothrak.  Naturally, the podcast contains spoilers for all works in the Song of Ice and Fire series as well as HBO’s Game of Thrones.

Bran 2 (0m); Tyrion 1 (20m); Jon 2 (45m); Cat 3 (1hr); Tyrion 2 (1hr 17m); Dany 4 (1hr 30m); Ned (1hr 40m); Aftershow (2hr).

For the listener playing along at home, the next instalment will cover the chapters in July 298 – Sansa 1 & Ned 3 – and the first half of August 298 – Bran 3, Cat 4 and Ned 4.

Hosts: Adam (Drowned Snow), Amanda (Middlecyclone), Bina007, Brett (Whiteraven), Calvin (KCenturion), Kelvin (Brum Riverlander), Matt (Varley), Nadia, and Tanja (Scilens).

Picture credit: HBO’s Game of Thrones. Music credit: Johnny Cash.

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VoK 236: The Silmarillion ReRead (Part 6) – The Tale of Turin Turambar


Glaurung 1

The VOK Silmarillion crew reconvenes after a seven-month recess to discuss the uplifting tale of Turin Turambar and his messed up family.  Join hosts Greg, Brett & Matt as we spend and unusual amount of time discussing Glaurung’s lack of wings (which two of us are still getting over), the collected wit and wisdom of Sador Labadal, Oedipal complexes in the First Age and many more fun topics.

Previous Silmarillion Re-Read episodes are VOK episodes 147, 155, 163, 172 & 182.

Edited by Greg

Music: “The World Turned Upside Down” written circa 1640 (author unknown).  Performed by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band.

Artwork: “Glaurung and Nienor by Eric Velhagen

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VoK 233: The Virtues of a 9-Inch Meat Pie aka The Great Linear ASOIAF ReRead (Part 2)


hot-pie

The second podcast in our linear ASOIAF re-read begins with feedback on last week’s episode focussing on the character of Ser Weymar Royce and Lunar dragons.  We then cover the events of April 298, with the King and the Lannisters arriving at Winterfell as news of Jon Arryn’s death reaches Cat.  This translates into the Game of Thrones chapters Ned 1 (16m), Jon 1 (37m), Cat 2 (49m) and Arya 1 (1h5m).  The aftershow begins at 1hr 15m.

Spoilers:  All published novels in the ASOIAF series but neither spoiler chapters for The Winds of Winter nor the latest season of Game of Thrones.

Podcast hosts: FTWard (Thomas), Mordion (Michael), Claudius The Fool (Greg), Bina007, Middlecyclone (Amanda), Nadia, Varley (Matt) and Whiteraven (Brett) .

For those of you playing along at home, the next episode will cover the events of May 298, so Game of Thrones: Bran 2, Tyrion 1, Jon 2 and Cat 3.

Picture credit: HBO’s Game of Thrones. Music credit: Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean.

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VoK 232: Panspermia! aka The Great Linear ASOIAF ReRead (Part 1)


Royce_vs_other

In the first in a new series of VOK-casts, the Vassals return to their roots with a linear re-read of George R R Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire.  This episode covers events from June 297 to March 298. This translates to the following chapters in Game of Thrones: the Prologue, Dany 1 (21 mins), Dany 2 (37 mins), Bran 1 (48 mins), Cat 1 (1hr 9m) and Dany 3 (1 hr 18m) in that order.  Whiteraven then shares his theory of why seasons change (1hr 28m).  In doing this re-read we are hugely indebted to the reddit author who compiled the linear timeline linked below.

Spoilers:  All published novels in the ASOIAF series but neither spoiler chapters for The Winds of Winter nor the latest season of Game of Thrones.

Podcast hosts: Bina007, Middlecyclone (Amanda), Nadia, Varley (Matt) and Whiteraven (Brett) with extra podcast goodness from the Podcast Bard, Jed O’ White Hart.

For those of you playing along at home, the next episode will cover Game of Thrones: Ned 1, Jon 1, Cat 2 and Arya 1 which corresponds to April 298.

Picture credit: Jon Neimeister. Music credit: Sammy Davis Jr’s superlative Old Black Magic.

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VoK 223: Vassals Night Out – “Manly” Edition


VOK Guys Image

Join the VOK boys for the first (annual? decennial? never again?) Guys Night Out.

Hosts Shane (easttexasdirewolf), Augustine (linecom1), Matt (Varley), Michael (Mordion), Zach (Alias), Duncan (Valkyrist), Brett (White Raven), Patrick (Ser Patrick the Tall) & Greg (claudiusthefool) for an in-depth and critical discussion of facial hair, manly drinks, The Weather, & very briefly ASOIAF plus a myriad of other manly topics.

Contains spoilers for beards & A Song of Ice and Fire.

Edited by Shane

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VoK 218: DragonCast – “Mother’s Mercy” (S05E10 Review)


dragoncast10

DragonCast is back, despite continuing technical nonsense, to review the tenth and final episode of Game of Thrones Season 5, “Mother’s Mercy”.

Join Greg (claudiusthefool), Matt (Varley), Bing (Shoeshiner), Steven (SJLee), Adam (drownedsnow), Michal (inkasrain), Paul (Pod’s Plight),  Alex (LuckyCharms), Brett (White Raven), and Zach (Alias) for one last time (this year).

Apologies for  the audio problems on this one. The recording had some choppiness and a persistent echo at times.

Warning: Contains spoilers for all aired episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones (including Season 5 promotional material), as well as all published books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.

0:50 – Introduction and Ratings
7:31 – Stannis’ Camp & Winterfell
31:27 – Braavos
36:19 – Dorne
42:22 – Meereen
48:46 – King’s Landing
56:53 – The Wall
1:21:02 – Aftershow

Credits:
Edited by Alias
Kellen the Undying by Drumurboy

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Links
New York Times GoT Finale Post

VoK 216: DragonCast – “The Dance of Dragons” (S05E09 Review)


dragoncast9

DragonCast overcomes the Darkling Plain in spite of power outages and Skype problems, back to review the second to last episode of Game of Thrones season 5!

Join Greg (claudiusthefool), Bing (Shoeshiner), Paul (Pod’s Plight), Katie (Lady Griffin), Adam (drownedsnow), Michal (inkasrain), Matt (Varley), Alex (LuckyCharms), and Zach (Alias) for extensive Stannis talk, Mad Max, and Chinchillas.

Warning: Contains spoilers for all aired episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones (including Season 5 promotional material), as well as all published books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.

0:39 – Introduction and Ratings
8:32 – The Wall
12:45 – Dorne
19:27 – Braavos
25:16 – Stannis’ Camp
1:07:27 – Meereen
1:22:22 – Aftershow

Credits:
Edited by Alias
King Stannis’ “Renly’s Peach” Speech by Valkyrist
End Music

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VoK 214: DragonCast – “Hardhome” (S05E08 Review)


dragoncast8

DragonCast is roused again to discuss and, in a turn of events, generally be really happy with the latest Game of Thrones episode.

Join Greg (claudiusthefool), Matt (Varley), Paul (Pod’s Plight), Adam (drownedsnow), Bing (Shoeshiner), Alex (LuckyCharms), Duncan (Valkyrist), and Zach (Alias) for another Game of Thrones review.

Warning: Contains spoilers for all aired episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones (including Season 5 promotional material), as well as all published books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Credits:
Edited by Alias
Music: Kellen the Undying by Drumurboy

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