Back in 2014 this mammoth looking book was published with George R.R. Martin’s name on it. Despite everyone’s hope, no it was not the sixth book. It is however a book to do with A Song of Ice and Fire. The untold history of Westeros and a Game of Thrones to be exact. If you ever wondered if it is worth it to pick it up, here are five good reasons to do so.
Refresher
Let us be honest, George R.R. Martin takes ages between the books. With how big his books are and how detailed they are, it is hard to remember everything about what happened. Let alone the world and family trees. This books serves as a great refresher to the world and the history of Westeros up to the start of the first book. It also emerges you back into the feeling of the setting and of these people. Of how things work. It would be a great one to pick up before the sixth book to get back into touch with Westeros.
New Material
Next to being refreshed about the world we get a lot of new material and details about families. The whole book is written from the viewpoint of a maester and he of course gets a lot of his information from various sources. There are even mentions when there is doubt on whether or not something is real or exaggerated.
Targaryens
One of the things I personally loved reading about is the history of the Targaryens from how they took over Westeros to their fall with the Mad King. One of the things that interested me the most was them. They had dragons, how could that not interest me? It was great to see the differing kind of kings and the family struggles. It puts Viserys in a new light. There was a lot of detail put into their history compared to the coming of the first men to Westeros though.
Perspective
As said above, the information that was shared about the Targayens put Viserys in a new light for me. A lot of this new material and having everything in this overview has put several conflicts that were already mentioned briefly or there as an underlying feeling into a new perspective and a new understanding of what was going on. This is why I do feel it is a shame that we do not get a more detailed account of what happened with Rhaegar and Robert’s fiancée.
Illustrations and Format
While there are only 326 pages to this hardcover it is incredibly heavy and large. One page of text could as easily be about 2-3 pages in a normal format book. The way it was formed is reminiscent of one of the older tomes. Tomes that the maester would really write or read in. As this is written from a maesters point of view that is very fitting.
There are also gorgeous illustrations scattered throughout the book. Some full page illustrations of dragons and castles. Others are small family portraits. There are also maps, especially in the second half of the book that focuses more on the various areas of Westeros.
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Book: The World of Ice and Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Release Date: October 28th 2014
Tags: Adult / Fantasy / High Fantasy / Fantasy History / Illustrated Book
I need this book. I’ve looked at it for a while but never splurged on it, but I need to fix that. Looks awesome. I’m especially here for the detailed histories and the maps. Great review!
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It does look awesome. The price is so high though. I ended up picking it up from the library where I saw it. If you have the chance and don’t want the spend the money, I’d suggest doing that. 😀
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This book is still on my TBR it’s beautiful but it’s size is intimidating haha.
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Haha that it is. I got it from the library so I had to finish it in a certain time. That helped. 😉
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I have always had a hard time reading high fantasy but GoT is one that I always wanted to try. I’d love to learn more about the Targaryens! I wish the TH Show had shown more about the Mad King and how he took over with hi dragons.
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Yes. There is so much history of the Targaryens in this. I loved it. It would be great to have this to look into as you read the books. 🙂
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holy wow, the illustrations alone are just STUNNING!!
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They are amazing!
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Oh, I didn’t even realize this book existed. I need to get this. I’ve only read the first three books of the series so far because they’re so huge and they take me forever to get through, but I adore everything about the series. I love that this has so much history of the Targaryens.
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Since Martin takes so long, it is best to take a while reading the books anyway. 😉
I loved that aspect of this book. ❤
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Ik vroeg me al af of het boek wel betaalbaar zou zijn omdat het er zo prachtig uit ziet met die illustraties. Al een geluk dat je op zo’n moment bij een bibliotheek terecht kan.
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Ja ik was heel blij dat ik hem daar zag en heb hem toen gelijk meegenomen ook al stond het niet in mijn planning, haha. Hij kost geloof ik 45 euro ofzo. Dat kan ik er gewoon echt niet voor neertellen. Zo geweldig vind ik de serie dan ook niet. 😉
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Fab photos!
Would this be good to read before starting the books? 🐲
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Thanks.
Hmm I don’t think I would start here as I think that might be boring? You know, it is interesting for me now because I have already had hints and things about this. Also in places it references towards the starting point of the first book as common knowledge.
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