/lit/ - Literature

>>23452394
The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin, Elio M. García Jr., Linda Antonsson (2014)

This is a history book. Everything is told and nothing is shown, except through the many excellent illustrations. If you want an objective history then you'll be disappointed because this is written in-universe by Maester Yandel. That means a lot could be wrong, fabricated, or otherwise not what happened. Yandel attempts to determine what's true, but that's difficult when it's a mix of folklore, oral traditions, songs, legends, mythology, and much else of dubious factuality. There's also that Yandel's empiricism may be leading him astray. He seems to believe that there isn't enough evidence that he's living in a world where the fantastical still occurs, or maybe even that it ever did. An example is that it's commonly accepted that it's impossible to know how long a season will last. It's proposed that world altering magic randomized the seasons because they should proceed as according to the revolution of the planet around the sun. There isn't evidence to support either of those claims, so they aren't believed, and the seasons remain arbitrary for unknown reasons. I like the idea that extraordinary magic was used in the distant past, there are various examples provided, but since magic has all but vanished there remains little that can attest to its existence so most don't believe it, especially not the educated.

The book begins with ancient history that eventually comes to Aegon's Conquest (15%). Next are the details of each Targaryen King's reign (25%). The events that lead up to A Game of Thrones are then briefly covered (2%). From there the book shifts to covering the regional histories of Westeros from ancient history to recent years (36%). The rest covers what's known of everywhere else (22%). The best part was about the Targaryen Dynasty, which is covered more in Fire & Blood, though everything was worth reading. There were a lot of details that changed how I viewed the setting. This book has broadened my perspective of the characters, their world, and its history. If the stories are to be believed, especially the ancient histories of Essos, then it gives a sense of how fallen the world is compared to what it was, at least in terms of what could be accomplished with magic. It's not Dying Earth, though it has similarities.

Reading this has renewed my appreciation for the series. I'd put off reading it because I thought that it'd be dull, boring, and otherwise not worthwhile. I was wrong. I enjoyed it considerably more than expected. However, I don't think this can be recommended to the general readership though. It's easy to see why many wouldn't find it worthwhile. It's definitely an optional sort of reading. I don't believe there's anything included here that you'd need to know for the published or remaining books. You read it because you want to know more.

Rating: 4/5