The pen is said to be mightier than the sword — that is, unless the swords are wielded by fantasy television fans. At least, that's what the New York Times' Ginia Bellafonte found out.
Last week, the Times published its official “Game of Thrones” review, written by Bellafonte.
In it, she is critical of HBO’s overproduction, with sex “tossed in as a little something for the ladies, out of a justifiable fear, perhaps, that no woman alive would watch otherwise.”
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“Game of Thrones,” she writes, “is boy fiction patronizingly turned out to reach the population’s other half,” concluding “if you are not averse to the Dungeons & Dragons aesthetic, the series might be worth the effort.”
It’s no surprise, then, that Bellafante has been bombarded with hate mail from “Thrones” supporters.
“Over the past few days I have received hundreds of e-mails and reviewed countless tweets taking issue with my review,” Bellafante wrote in a blog post. “When I say ‘taking issue,’ I am speaking euphemistically. Most respondents were horrified or furious or both. … The e-mailers have written long and impassioned defenses of the books by George R.R. Martin, on which the series is based, and of the fantasy genre in general. But they have also sent long and vitriolic attacks claiming that, in my negativity, I made it clear that I had no idea what I was talking about.”
Bellafante, who said she received a grand total of three e-mails agreeing with her review, added: “I appreciate the economy of those readers who began and ended their comments: ‘You are a complete idiot.’”
The show’s rabid superfans may have the last laugh: “Game of Thrones” has already been picked up by HBO for a second season.