Michael is by himself again this week. He gives an update on Brad and the direction of the podcast. He also answers some listener feedback.
Chapter Analysis: Michael sifts through the information in the first Daenerys chapter of A Game of Thrones.
Link: Scott Sigler
Link: J.C. Hutchins
Promo: Murder at Avedon Hill
Promo: Dragon Page
Comments
I had some really convenient timing when it came to finding this podcast. I just started rereading the series and I was looking for some in-depth analysis for each chapter as I read along. This seems to fit the bill perfectly.
You asked for some feedback so I thought I’d throw out a few suggestions for you to consider.
- Stay consistent with releases - The only other asoiaf podcast I know of is inconsistent with releases. It’s really annoying not having a regular time frame for releases. You seem to already have this down though, so I’m just reinforcing how important it is.
- You need some co-hosts, not only to correct you or clarify some point you’re unsure about, but to add alternate view points on situations. A podcast where everyone agrees about everything can end up a little boring.
- This might go hand-in-hand with the last point, but the podcast should be more spontaneous. It feels like you have the entire thing scripted and are just reading through it. That isn’t a bad thing when you have other people jumping in to discuss things, but when you’re alone it can get dull.
- The character death section is fun, maybe other things in a similar vein should be considered. How about a running tally of every reference to food that Martin makes?
- You’ll probably disagree with this point because you’ve stated your intent to take a ‘first read through’ approach to the chapters, but if I were you I’d really consider who is actually listening to your podcast right now. I’m sure there are people who’ve just started the series, but I can guarantee you that they aren’t looking for podcasts before they finish the first book at least. It’d be much more interesting if you could point out direct foreshadowing to future events or tell us exactly what was going through a characters head at a given point using knowledge from the future chapters. For example, when Arya runs into Illyrio and Varys under the Red Keep you’ll be forced to act as if you don’t know what is going on or what they’re talking about. It’d be more educational to flesh out exactly what each character is talking about. There’s many more situations like this as well, such as when Lysa Arryn sends the letter to Catelyn or Bran is attacked in the night. To hear the true motives behind each of these actions would be eye opening to a lot of people. I feel most strongly about this point so really consider it and if you’re curious about what your listeners think make a poll.
That seems to be about all I can think of. Hope some of this was helpful to you and well wishes to Brad and his family.
PS - I just remembered, cut the cheesy voice actors from the beginning and just stick with the music