Tower of the Hand

10 changes between the books and show. Writing for Rolling Stone, Sean T. Collins breaks down ten of the biggest changes-- or perceived changes-- between George R. R. Martin's books and the HBO adaptation.

Ratings game remains the same. Even though slightly fewer viewers watched Game of Thrones this week-- 3.7 million instead of the 3.9 million of late-- "A Man Without Honor" was cable's most watched program on Sunday. Total viewership remains at 4.7 million for the third straight week. These are still strong numbers, but hopefully we'll soon see the same audience spike that gave last season its late momentum.

Game of Thrones RPG on sale today. Game Of Thrones, the new roleplaying video game based on the HBO series and A Song of Ice and Fire books, goes on sale today. "Featuring many familiar locations from the books and likenesses from the TV series, Game of Thrones also delves into a new storyline for fans to discover while immersed in 30-plus hours of original game play." Check out the game trailer: This Is War. Game of Thrones is available for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Tower of the Hand is also giving away two copies of the game, which includes a limited edition art book (shown above). To enter, simply leave a comment on this thread. You can also improve your chances of winning by re-tweeting this on Twitter, and liking this on Facebook. We'll announce the lucky winners on Friday. (Note: the game giveaway is for US residents only, but if your name gets drawn and you're not from the US, we'll find an alternate prize for you.)

The second season of Game of Thrones continues tonight with the seventh episode, "A Man Without Honor." As we did last year, Tower of the Hand will offer two discussion threads per episode. This open thread is for readers who want to compare the episode to the book. The other thread will be created immediately after the episode airs, for new viewers to discuss the episode without fear of spoilers. A description and preview of tonight's episode follow the jump.

After each episode this season, we will analyze the major Game of Thrones players, and separate the contenders from the pretenders. We'll list their greatest strengths and crippling weaknesses, chart their power moves and epic missteps. Today we rank those who have claims to the Iron Throne or eyes on crowns of their own. There were few power moves in "The Old Gods and the New," especially compared to last week's maneuverings, and the rankings this week reflect some clear losers.

GRRM recaps the latest news. George R. R. Martin's first substantial blog in a while discusses several noteworthy items, albeit briefly. He's already written his script for the third season of Game of Thrones; it's called "Autumn Storms" and will be the season's seventh episode. Dangerous Women is edging towards completion; this new anthology that GRRM is editing will also include the next Dunk and Egg tale. Work continues on several Ice and Fire tie-ins: The Lands of Ice and Fire (a map book), The World of Ice and Fire (a concordance), and calendars featuring artists Marc Simonetti and Gary Gianni (for 2013 and 2014, respectively). As for The Winds of Winter, GRRM says, "Yes, I'm working on that too. At the moment, I am writing about the Dothraki. More than that, I sayeth not, you know I don't like to talk about this stuff."

Interview with Leviathan Wakes authors. Over at Comic Related, Marc has an interesting interview with Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, co-authors of Leviathan Wakes. Although George R. R. Martin is only casually mentioned in the interview, the two have a strong GRRM connection: Abraham is one of GRRM's most frequent collaborators and Franck is GRRM's assistant. (Also: Leviathan Wakes is competing this year against A Dance with Dragons for the Hugo best novel award.)

Feature clips from the S1 Blu-Ray. Have you bought the Game of Thrones Season 1 Blu-Ray yet? If not, check out some of the house profiles and historical studies you'd find only in that set, done in a neat animated style. If you like those, consider picking up the Blu-Ray set for more special features, not to mention the highest quality version of episodes available.

After Dark, Wild Things. Tower of the Hand "After Dark" invites you to mingle with other members and chat about all things off topic. In memory of Maurice Sendak, let's discuss our favorite childhood books. Who was your favorite author growing up?

Top comments since the last AD: Daemon Blackfyre's personal rankings, Split's ode to Shae, bastardbell's retweet of Liam Cunningham, villanova's quote of Ser Rodrik, and (again) Daemon Blackfyre's ode to seabitch. Thank you all for keeping things wild!

Ratings match last week's performance. Once again, Game of Thrones reached 3.9 million viewers with the initial airing of "The Old Gods and the New." And, once again, a total of 4.7 million watched the episode on Sunday. Game of Thrones was the top scripted show on cable that night and it earned a 2.0 share in the 18-49 demographic, a slight improvement on last week.

The second season of Game of Thrones continues tonight with the sixth episode, "The Old Gods and the New." As we did last year, Tower of the Hand will offer two discussion threads per episode. This open thread is for readers who want to compare the episode to the book. The other thread will be created immediately after the episode airs, for new viewers to discuss the episode without fear of spoilers. A description and preview of tonight's episode follow the jump.

After each episode this season, we will analyze the major Game of Thrones players, and separate the contenders from the pretenders. We'll list their greatest strengths and crippling weaknesses, chart their power moves and epic missteps. Today we rank those who have claims to the Iron Throne or eyes on crowns of their own. It's pretty clear who had the best-- and worst-- week. The standings after "The Ghost of Harrenhal" are not only radically different from last week's rankings, they'll never be the same again.

Five reasons for the long seasons. io9's George Dvorsky provides "5 Scientific Explanations for Game of Thrones' Messed-Up Seasons." Seriously, though, if you don't like the weather in Westeros, just wait five years.

Ratings for episode 5 match series high. "The Ghost of Harrenhal" scared up a series high 3.9 million viewers (matching the number set by the season premiere). A total of 4.7 million viewers watched the episode on Sunday, which is an amazing feat considering Game of Thrones had to compete against-- and nearly bested-- the NBA playoffs.

The second season of Game of Thrones continues tonight with the fifth episode, "The Ghost of Harrenhal." As we did last year, Tower of the Hand will offer two discussion threads per episode. This open thread is for readers who want to compare the episode to the book. The other thread will be created immediately after the episode airs, for new viewers to discuss the episode without fear of spoilers. A description and preview of tonight's episode follow the jump.