Book #190 of 2017:

The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, Elio M. García Jr., and Linda Antonsson

The World of Ice & Fire is a Silmarillion to George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, providing an exhaustive (and somewhat exhausting) backstory encyclopedia/travelogue to that epic fantasy book series. It also works more or less as backstory to HBO’s television adaptation Game of Thrones, given the fairly minor differences between the two, although I doubt anyone would read something like this before seeking out the original novels.

The work spans several centuries prior to the events of Martin’s central narrative, and some parts are far more interesting than others. It’s hard to keep all the Targaryen kings straight, for instance, or to care all that much about the history of minor locations like the Vale. What’s particularly neat, though, is that the book is presented entirely from the perspective of someone living in its fictional world, making it less an authoritative record and more a reflection of how the characters we know would understand their own received historical narratives. There are notes of conflicting accounts and enduring mysteries, and even the things our scholarly narrator claims to know for certain are not necessarily the informed unbiased truth. That sometimes makes for a frustrating read, but it’s very much in keeping with the postmodern approach to history that Martin employs in the main series.

This book won’t give you definitive answers to all your lingering Thrones questions, but it will at least make you as informed on the subject as the best-read maesters in Westeros.

★★★☆☆

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