Geek of Oz

Man, this book is fun . I just want to get that out of the way early on. It's true, as a story set in Westeros, that there's still violence, the occasional swearing and corrupt political machinations, but overall A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a thoroughly enjoyable, delightful, really bloody fun book. Well, it's actually three thoroughly enjoyable, delightful, really bloody fun  novellas put together into one book, but you get the idea. Set over a century before A Game of Thrones , the story follows the exploits of hedge knight Duncan - nicknamed Dunk - and his young squire Egg. They're basically walking the earth, offering their services to whomever needs them and meeting an interesting cross-section of Westerosi inhabitants both noble and nefarious. The only thing is that Egg is actually Aegon Targaryen, future King of Westeros and child of the country's most powerful House, who follows Dunk around as a way of learning more about the world that he'll...

Alice in Wonderland is quite possibly the most famous children's book in existence. That's a pretty bold statement in a world where stories like the Narnia books and the Harry Potter series exist, but I'd argue Alice is to kids' stories what The Lord of the Rings is to fantasy. It's one of the archetypal books, still beloved today and constantly reinterpreted. The hallowed status afforded Alice in Wonderland therefore makes reading a book like After Alice quite difficult. To link to Lord of the Rings again, it's almost equivocal to some people's complaints about last year's Shadow of Mordor ; introducing a newly-framed story in an existing one that's well-regarded and part of the genre's DNA? Or, moreover, using that new story to try and deconstruct part of the old one? You're either very brave or as mad as a hatter; given where After Alice takes place, you're probably the latter. The premise is simple; not long after Alic...