Westeros

More good news for Game of Thrones this week, on both sides of the pond. In the U.S., James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly has again gotten the scoop: ratings are up a tenth of a point from last week, to a total of 2.5 million viewers on the initial viewing. More numbers will probably roll in later in the day, so well-worth taking a look at. And over in the U.K., the show had a whopping 20% jump in viewership on Monday, according to Digital Spy, from 510,000 to 628,000 viewers. Of course, last weekend was a holiday, but still—a strong showing.

Just a quick note: those who’ve eagerly awaited for the soundtrack to Game of Thrones can now pre-order via Amazon.com! The CD is due to be released on the 14th.

And while you’re considering that, HBO’s updated their store with a few new items, which we’ve added to our Store page. Ever wanted a mousepad featuring the Seven Kingdoms? It can now be yours, provided you are in the U.S.; the UK HBO store may or may not have it, for those who reside there.

... with Westeros.org in an exclusive interview!

Introduced in tonight’s episode, “Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things”, the ferocious Ser Gregor Clegane is a knight with a black reputation, and armor to match. The role is played by 7’ ft tall Australian stunt man, actor, and former professional wrestler Conan Stevens, who agreed to answer a few questions for fans about his career, how he became involved in the production, and some details of the shooting that we’re fairly sure have never been noted before.

At the end, Conan teases that he’s leaving local film behind (he lives and largely works in Thailand), and that there’ll be some big news soon. Keep an eye out on his official site to learn more. Until then:

Read the interview!

The strategy game A Game Of Thrones: Genesis, being developed by Cyanide Studio, receives some coverage from IGN, a leading source of PC and video game information.

The interview with designer Regis Robinson illuminates some more details of the gameplay, explaining the single-player focus on a linear campaign covering the breadth of Westerosi history in the last thousand years (from the time of Nymeria’s landing in Dorne) to Robert’s rebellion. One important aspect that Regis emphasizes is the fact that the game really isn’t about resource-production or warfare—it’s about political intrigue and subterfuge more than anything else.

Also of note, a new release estimate (at least, it’s new to us): Q4 2011.

HBO has shared a little sneak peek at next week’s episode, “Crippples, Bastards, and Broken Things”. This preview features Tyrion Lannister, ready to depart Winterfell after a cold welcome, and a combative conversation with one Theon Greyjoy. A second sneak peek was later added, with Sansa Stark and Septa Mordane.

Our interview with Miltos Yerolemou, who plays the role of Syrio Forel, is now on-line. It’s our longest podcast-style interview yet at nearly 50 minutes long. Enjoy!

Pearson Moore’s latest essay on Game of Thrones, discussing “Lord Snow”, is now available for reading in our Features section. His detailed, thoughtful analysis covers several notable, thematic aspects of the episode as well as touching on some of the plot points. He draws particular attention to the debt of the kingdom—largely owned by House Lannister—and draws some interesting (and unexpected) historical parallels.

Moore, known for his incisive Lost essays, offers additional material at his site, Winterfell Keep.

With the airing of Game of Thrones on Canal+ in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway, there’s been quite a lot of media coverage in those countries. As Westeros.org’s admin happen to be based in Sweden, we thought we’d share with fellow Swedish fans (and those fans who are used to the vagaries of Google Translate) some of the most notable articles we’ve come across:

This lithograph by comic book artist Mike S. Miller (responsible for the art in The Hedge Knight and Hedge Knight II: The Sworn Sword graphic novels), officially licensed by George R.R. Martin, depicts Miller’s interpretation of the decisive moment of the Battle of the Trident.

Copies of the high-quality lithograph remain for sale… and Miller’s taking suggestions via poll as to what his next lithograph should be, if interest is high. If you’d like to follow along, and offer suggestions, make sure to visit Miller’s official Facebook page, “Art of Ice and Fire”.

Despite earlier reporting that France was looking at a September air date for HBO’s Game of Thrones—fuelled by an executive at Orange, the broadcaster holding the rights in France—it looks like the wait won’t be quite so painful for fans of Le Trône de Fer (as the series is dubbed in France). Via Evrach at Le Garde de Nuit, we’ve learned that the show will be airing on Orange Cínema Séries beginning June 5—little more than a month away.

Today, the show will be premiering in Nordic countries served by Canal+ (including our native Sweden), on the 8th it’ll premiere in more than a dozen countries served by HBO in Latin America and the Caribbean, plus Spain is due to see the show premiere on Canal Plus on the 9th. Good times! For those still waiting on information for their country, we’re keeping our international air dates guide up to date. If you have any information about a country not listed or as yet noted as having unconfirmed details, feel free to drop us a note!

Haven’t had a chance to share this as of yet, so here is HBO’s post-episode look at what was going on in episode 3, with remarks from executive producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss.

Despite the breaking news that likely impacted the viewership of HBO’s Game of Thrones in other time zones (the East Coast managed to be finished just before word started to get out that an announcement was pending), James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly has broken the news that the third episode scored 2.4 million viewers—up about 10% from last week—and added an additional 700,000 at its 11PM encore to reach the 3.1 million mark in total, again, 200,000 better than last week’s 2.9 million mark.

Hibberd also adds that the premiere has risen to 8.7 million views in total, via all HBO platforms such as On Demand and HBO GO.

At the same time, good news in the U.K., as Game of Thrones holds steady, dropping only a very small amount to 510,000 viewers, which is on the top end for Sky Atlantic.

Over on Twitter, Del Rey Spectra‘s official account revealed that a certain author was at work reviewing edits of a certain book by the name of A Dance with Dragons. And they had a photo to prove it, which seems to reveal that they’ve already printed off some examples of the 2012 A Song of Ice and Fire Calendar.

ADwD is due on store shelves both in the U.S. and U.K..

Tommorow, Stockholmers will get the opportunity to watch the first two episode of Game of Thrones in a theatre, courtesy of Canal+ Sweden and Cinemateket. Entry is free, but places are limited—first come, first served! The two episodes will be shown at Bio Filmhuset Victor, starting from 6 PM. This sneak preview—which Linda and I will unfortunately have to miss—leads in to Wednesday’s premiere of the first episode of Game of Thrones on Canal+, Sweden’s leading premium channel.

We’re going to be very interested in hearing from Swedish fans after it airs!

“Lord Snow” aired last night in the U.S. and Canada (it’ll be on this evening in the U.K. and in much of Central Europe), and as always, we have an extensive episode guide with recaps, analysis, images, and more. Check it out at our site.

Right after that aired, HBO posted the preview for episode 4, titled “Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things”. See below for the clip!