So this is like the cryo-arithmetic engines in the Revelation Space books?

I dunno, I think he's too young. Obviously Silenus starts young at the beginning of his story, but for most of the book he's older (IIRC).

Most of Simmons' work isn't nearly as good as Hyperion. I haven't read Drood, but I haven't liked most of his other stuff, so I don't think not liking Drood will mean you won't like Hyperion.

I'm gonna say 9 or 10. They're fantastic. Taking the first book by itself, I'd give it an 11, the second is not quite as good (but still very good, and much better than the latter two).

IIRC they hadn't dabbled in epic fantasy before Game of Thrones, and that's turning out pretty damn well.

Totally dig your other choices (Tilda Swinton as Gladstone and Mandy Patinkin as Sol Weintraub especially), but the Consul should be played by Liam Cunningham.

Um... and it's going to be cost-effective to mine water on the moon?

Having read the books, I agree, this is a bit spoilerrific for those just watching the show.

Yes, I realize the story is not set in Europe (I've read the books). It's just a bit jarring when he has almost a specific real-world accent, but slightly off.

Syrio, not Illyrio. Illyrio was the fat guy that Viserys and Danerys were staying with.

Yes. He's a great actor, and perfect for the role in that respect, but his accent is a bit off unfortunately. I've noticed and I'm not even British (though I do watch a lot of British movies and TV). The only other actor faking an accent (besides Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo, an American faking a made-up accent) is…

Came here to say the same thing.

I'm guessing there's no chance of being able to login and comment on mobile? (Besides loading the full site, anyway)

Looks fine in mobile Safari.

Poor Jennifer Ehle. Lost out on Game of Thrones, ended up in that.

Book 4 is hardly bad, just not quite on the same level as the first three, and disappointing in that it doesn't feature many fans' favorite characters. Let's see whether Dance heralds a continuing decline or a return to form before telling anyone 'stop reading the series here'.

ASOIAF has the Dunk & Egg stories, which are more straightforward and light-hearted.

Ah, sorry, the (forever to be cursed) new comment system makes it hard to tell who's replying to who within a thread.

Also, if you watch it on HBO Go, you can turn on 'special features' for little drop-down bits of information as they become relevant.

Plus Pandora has much more infrequent, shorter ad breaks than TV or radio, and is a smaller company providing a more personalized service that, if you patronize it enough to actually care about those limits, you should probably not be cheating out of their revenue.