≡ Read Free The World of Ice Fire The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones George R R Martin Elio Garcia Linda Antonsson 8601411358081 Books

The World of Ice Fire The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones George R R Martin Elio Garcia Linda Antonsson 8601411358081 Books

Download As PDF : The World of Ice Fire The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones George R R Martin Elio Garcia Linda Antonsson 8601411358081 Books

The World of Ice Fire The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones George R R Martin Elio Garcia Linda Antonsson 8601411358081 Books

This is not a story book; it’s a history book and it’s written as such. The idea is that Maester Yandel wrote this book as a gift to the king. (The Baratheons get treated quite favorably in this tome; this is a Maester who is trying to get somewhere.)

The rest is—well, if you (like me) enjoy history or are a hard-core R. R. Martin fan you will like this book. If not, you may not—though you will love the beautiful illustrations, the embossed dragons on the front cover and the parchment-like background designs. And you will love the way this book feels. It’s wonderfully constructed. The covers are padded and the pages are sewn to the book’s spine. And the pages themselves are not the cheap-feeling pages you normally get; they’re thick and slightly glossy. So the illustrations and the construction are superb.

The text is—history book like. I learned a lot. I discovered that there are dragons just about everywhere, what Valyrians call dragon glass, what the Dorne has against the iron Throne, how greyscale came into the world, some pretty horrific stories about the Others, and much more besides. I was particularly interested in the legends the Maester mentions again and again only to dismiss them as a learned man is taught to do. Anyone who has either read R. R. Martin’s novels will know that these fanciful stories are, in fact, all too true.

And let’s face it, we have a year and half to speculate about how the Game of Thrones will end. I can’t claim to know the ending but, if the writers are at all true to the books, the ending will be rooted in the history of Westeros. And this book--while written in the often dry tone I for one often associate with history books—most definitely provides that history.

So if you need some help speculating about what (say) an ice dragon might do (and yes, ice dragons do put in an appearance here), you might want to check out the Untold History of Westeros.


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The World of Ice Fire The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones George R R Martin Elio Garcia Linda Antonsson 8601411358081 Books Reviews

This book provides a fantastic peek into the world of the "Game of Thrones" universe (I know it's actually the Song of Ice and Fire universe, but I think more people watch the TV show and know it that way). The art is visually stunning, and it is fascinating to get more insight into the history of the characters, lands and creatures from Martin's series.

The book itself is also very appealing, with a somewhat "soft", padded feeling cover that reminds me of a very old, handcrafted book. I love this book and can't wait to delve even further with the forthcoming novels and season of the TV show.
Very interesting. For those who don't know, this is pretty much a history book of Westeros and what is known of Essos and Sothoryos. It was written by a maester for King Robert Baratheon, and you'll notice the language becomes very flowery when his reign is mentioned. Some topics mentioned did not make it into the TV show until at least a year or two after the book was published. It offers a detailed account of events of the past deeds of Tywin Lannister, and you kinda see why he was like he was. The front and back covers are padded and feel very high-quality. The artwork all throughout this book is nothing short of amazing. It's worth the price just for that if you don't feel like reading it. There are pictures on almost every page, but it may still take awhile to read due to small type and double-column format. Also included is a Targaryen family tree, which is more complicated and has more branches than you would expect. It becomes very hard to keep up with the ones of that family who are mentioned in the historical narrative because SO MANY of the Targaryens have the same names. For those of us who have yet to read the Game of Thrones books, this one is a great read. Very informative and well worth your time.
I pre-ordered a few months ago, not knowing what to expect. So unwrapping an oversized book of extensive production quality was a surprise, since I was expecting something that would line up on the shelf next to the five ASOIAF books. Note that you're getting an oversized book with very nice cover, page, and print quality, which helps the artwork stand out.

As far as the text, which many of the reviews here are quick to slam or to praise, I felt the truth was in the middle and uneven would be the best word to describe. Some of the narratives are very well done - the "short story" of the Conquest, the reign of King Jaehaerys, and the history of the Vale in particular stood out as well done; the narrative flowed well, and the characterizations were very satisfying, but most importantly gave itself identity and value. As far as a common identifier of the best pieces, the text is at its best and finds a nice rhythm when it becomes character-centric as opposed to purely event-centric. When Martin et. immerse you in the rich characterizations of Nymeria, Aegon, Robar Royce, and Tywin, and let the history flow around them is extremely enjoyable.

Other portions were frustrating - several histories of reigns and a couple of the Kingdoms really felt like obligated filler as opposed to a seized opportunity to provide rich lore, and all too often the "Untold History" teased on the cover produced only empty text containing no more than "going through the motions" summations of previously known information,providing no additional lore or color. It is understandable in areas where it's obvious that Martin isn't ready to show his cards; others such as the War of the Ninepenny Kings from a 10,000 foot view and the Greyjoy Rebellion being reduced to a couple paragraphs and passing on the opportunity to add color and depth as opposed to regurgitation due to necessity were a letdown.

The choice of the maester as a point of view was overall a sound decision. The additional layer adds richness bias is introduced, sources are referenced, and the environment of the ASOIAF novels needs to be taken into account by the reader - a very Martin-esque move. The "cop outs", where the decision to use a maester as the writer leads to lack of expansion or evasion were an unfortunate consequence.

As far as the artwork, I expected the illustrations to be filler, almost an annoyance beside the lore. It was the exact opposite - the illustrations are impressive, most absolutely stunning. The amount of artwork, fantastic detail, and affording a quality template for the production really stood out. I'm not sold that AWOIAF will be a frequent reread or that the table of contents and index reference enough consistency in the text for it to serve as a reference, but there will definitely be portions worth a bookmark and others worth perusing at times, and the art is worth a complete page through anytime.
This is not a story book; it’s a history book and it’s written as such. The idea is that Maester Yandel wrote this book as a gift to the king. (The Baratheons get treated quite favorably in this tome; this is a Maester who is trying to get somewhere.)

The rest is—well, if you (like me) enjoy history or are a hard-core R. R. Martin fan you will like this book. If not, you may not—though you will love the beautiful illustrations, the embossed dragons on the front cover and the parchment-like background designs. And you will love the way this book feels. It’s wonderfully constructed. The covers are padded and the pages are sewn to the book’s spine. And the pages themselves are not the cheap-feeling pages you normally get; they’re thick and slightly glossy. So the illustrations and the construction are superb.

The text is—history book like. I learned a lot. I discovered that there are dragons just about everywhere, what Valyrians call dragon glass, what the Dorne has against the iron Throne, how greyscale came into the world, some pretty horrific stories about the Others, and much more besides. I was particularly interested in the legends the Maester mentions again and again only to dismiss them as a learned man is taught to do. Anyone who has either read R. R. Martin’s novels will know that these fanciful stories are, in fact, all too true.

And let’s face it, we have a year and half to speculate about how the Game of Thrones will end. I can’t claim to know the ending but, if the writers are at all true to the books, the ending will be rooted in the history of Westeros. And this book--while written in the often dry tone I for one often associate with history books—most definitely provides that history.

So if you need some help speculating about what (say) an ice dragon might do (and yes, ice dragons do put in an appearance here), you might want to check out the Untold History of Westeros.