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

Oct 2014 · A Song of Ice and Fire Book 1 · Sold by Bantam

About this ebook

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Perfect for fans of A Song of Ice and Fire and HBO’s Game of Thrones—an epic history of Westeros and the lands beyond, featuring hundreds of pages of all-new material from George R. R. Martin!

If the past is prologue, then George R. R. Martin’s masterwork—the most inventive and entertaining fantasy saga of our time—warrants one hell of an introduction. At long last, it has arrived with The World of Ice & Fire.

This lavishly illustrated volume is a comprehensive history of the Seven Kingdoms, providing vividly constructed accounts of the epic battles, bitter rivalries, and daring rebellions that lead to the events of A Song of Ice and Fire and HBO’s Game of Thrones. In a collaboration that’s been years in the making, Martin has teamed with Elio M. García, Jr., and Linda Antonsson, the founders of the renowned fan site Westeros.org—perhaps the only people who know this world almost as well as its visionary creator.

Collected here is all the accumulated knowledge, scholarly speculation, and inherited folk tales of maesters and septons, maegi and singers, including
 
• artwork and maps, with more than 170 original pieces
• full family trees for Houses Stark, Lannister, and Targaryen
• in-depth explorations of the history and culture of Westeros
• 100% all-new material, more than half of which Martin wrote specifically for this book

The definitive companion piece to George R. R. Martin’s dazzlingly conceived universe, The World of Ice & Fire is indeed proof that the pen is mightier than a storm of swords.

Ratings and reviews

If you only read one GoT's book make it this one. First off I am a huge GoT fan. I loved the first season (TV show) so much I read all the books by the time the second season came out. This book provides an incredible amount of backstory, things you always wanted to know you'll learn and then you'll learn things you didn't even know you wanted to know. You would appreciate this book most if you have already read the Song of Ice and Fire series, but if you haven't then I would recommend reading this first then Ice & Fire then rereading this. However I reread every book I read at least once so this may not be the best plan for everyone. Aside from it's content, which I've already made my opinion of clear, the context is amazing and a little comical. Because this book is written as if it was written in the GoT's universe and if you already have a good working knowledge of that world before you read this you'll be able to pick up on nuances throughout this book that show it was written (keep in mind the "author" is still alive and certain other characters are too in that universe while he was writing) to slant "history" in favor of those who are currently in power (aka the Lannisters & Tyrells since he is in Oldtown which is heavily under the Iron Throne at this time) by justifying their faults or offering alternatives to their reasoning for doing what they did (for those who already read the book look at how the death of Rheagar's kids were explained away not incriminating Tywin at all which is contrary from anything in Song of Ice & Fire, for just one example). For this contextual reason more than anything else I love this book. Also it is an incredibly fast and easy read, if you find this universe interesting at all you'll blaze through the book in no time as the style it was written in makes everything very fluid.

Even though this has Martins name on it, it is really the work of the secondary authors, who, as I understand it, also happen to be the people behind the online Wiki. IN fact, that is what this book is, a printed version of the online wiki, arranged in chronological (for the most part) order, and made to read like a simple history book (as opposed to a more technical tome filled with minute details). It is actually a pretty easy and enjoyable read, just don't go into it thinking that this is a novel, as it is anything but. The art work is pretty awesome, BTW.

So far, I really like it, but it's missing some pages from the Riverrun and Ironborn chapters. I was able to remedy this by redownloading the book. Otherwise it's a great reflection of how unreliable historical accounts are. The parts that explicitly negate known facts within the universe are a hilarious wink that let us know that Jon Snow isn't the only one who knows nothing.

About the author

George R. R. Martin is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including the acclaimed series A Song of Ice and Fire—A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, and A Dance with Dragons—as well as Tuf Voyaging, Fevre Dream, The Armageddon Rag, Dying of the Light, Windhaven (with Lisa Tuttle), and Dreamsongs Volumes I and II. He is also the creator of The Lands of Ice and Fire, a collection of maps from A Song of Ice and Fire featuring original artwork from illustrator and cartographer Jonathan Roberts. As a writer-producer, Martin has worked on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and pilots that were never made. He lives with the lovely Parris in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
 
Elio M. García, Jr., and Linda Antonsson founded and run the popular Westeros fansite, which is the definitive source for all things George R. R. Martin.