Dorne. It conjures up a host of images, doesn’t it? Rolling desert dunes baking under an angry red sun; sweeping grassy plains undulating beneath burgeoning thunderclouds; craggy foothills, soaring mountaintops; water gardens and golden domes and labyrinthine city streets teeming with a cacophony of colorful and colorfully-dressed peoples. Sunspear! The Threefold Gate! Palaces, bazaars, and pillow houses! Oh my! Readers of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire were first introduced to Dorne by way of mention. We were told of Elia Martell, the wife of Rhaegar Targaryen, raped and killed so viciously by Ser Gregor Clegane with the blood and brains of her murdered infant son still on his hands. A joyful introduction if there ever was one! Soon we got to know Oberyn Martell, rogue younger brother of Prince Doran Martell. Oberyn “The Red Viper” is a character many readers immediately gravitate to; most of us can’t wait to see who is cast in that milestone […]