Name: The World of Ice and Fire
ISBN: 9780007580910

George R. R. Martin

Linda Antonsson

Elio Garcia

This 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.

The Official History of Westeros and the World of a Game of Thrones

The World of Ice and Fire

Celeste Richardson

So, I spent almost six months reading this book. That length of time would seem to indicate that I was trudging through it without finding any enjoyment. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. I had been told by a reliable source (Petrik) that this was a book to be savored in slow, small bites, so that’s what I did. I read ten or twenty pages a week, treating it more like a textbook than a work of fiction. That was exactly the right approach for me.
“It is said with truth that every building is constructed stone by stone, and the same may be said of knowledge, extracted and compiled by many learned men, each of whom builds upon the works of those who preceded him. What one of them does not know is known to another, and little remains truly unknown if one seeks far enough.”
The lands of Westeros and beyond have a bloody history, while still retaining quite a lot of mystery. Martin did a wonderful job presenting its stories in ways both academic and skeptical, the perfect mingling to believably portray a Maester’s voice. I loved his footnote-like inserts, giving a bit of extra information on topics the fictional author found particularly interesting. Through this book, Martin and his coauthors demonstrate how much vaster Westeros and the other lands in this world truly are, and how much is still left to explore. 
“There is always more to know, more to see, more to learn. The world is vast and wondrous strange, and there are more things beneath the stars than even the archmaesters of the Citadel can dream.” 
A World of Ice and Fire is rich in lore and history, and even richer in gorgeous artwork. The maps and illustrations were absolutely what made this book so special. It’s one of the most beautiful books I own (thanks again, Haïfa!), and it’s something that I’ll treasure. But the art, while stunning, would not have been nearly as impactful if Martin had not crafted so remarkable a history. I can think of no other author outside of Tolkien and Pratchett who has crafted a world so well developed and imbued with such a depth of lore. It’s honestly super impressive, and I heartily recommend that anyone who loves ASoIaF find themselves a copy.

Julie Kristine Veaas

A beautiful companion to the A Song of Ice and Fire series! The illustrations in this book are incredible, and I loved reading about the history of Westeros, Aegon the Conqueror, the Targaryen reign, the seven kingdoms, and the world beyond Westeros! Towards the end, we got to cities and places I don't even remember from the series which weren't all that fun to read about for that reason, but all in all I think this is a great book and we'll worth a read if you're a fan of the book or TV series! 😁 

Daniela V.

This book has driven me to write 144 status updates in 10 days. I might be a little mad... or it might be that I'm a great fan of A Song of Ice and Fire.

I've been delaying the writing of this review, too. This one is a very difficult book to comment because it is a mix of amazing things: beautiful illustrations, maps, and lots of information about Westeros and Essos. For it is a mix of images and text, this review will be, too.

All spoilers for A Song of Ice and Fire are hidden.

Let's start with the fact that The World of Ice and Fire is a fake history book. It is supposedly written by Yandel, a Maester of the Citadel. This is the first page of the book and is completely awesome:



The fellow fans of the saga might notice that Tommen's name is scribbled above something else... (view spoiler)[it goes a little bit like this: Robert Joffrey Tommen (hide spoiler)]

Yandel is no reliable narrator, have in mind that he is writing the book for Tommen Baratheon, or, if you prefer: (view spoiler)[he is writing for a Lannister king. (hide spoiler)] So, he denies the existence of every single thing that might worry him and his kingdom: the white walkers, the theory of dragons reborn, the giants, etc. He also disqualifies the Night’s Watch and the Starks several times, for example:

"(...)Fomas [...] does speculate that the Others of legend were nothing more than a tribe of the First Men [...] that had established itself in the far north [...] That they became monstrous in the tales told thereafter, according to Fomas, reflects the desire of the Night’s Watch and the Starks to give themselves a more heroic identity as saviors of mankind..."



I really can't make a summary or synopsis of this book, it's impossible. It is divided in very distinguishable parts: Ancient History, The Reign of the Targaryens, Robert's Rebellion, Geography and History of the Seven Kingdoms, and Geography and History of Essos.

The part on Ancient History was great. I think is the lighter of them and that makes it quite easy to read and follow. The Reign of the Targaryens is completely different: a very detailed account of all of the reigns with lots of weird names. It gets more and more confusing as you pass the pages. Too many Aegons, Aemons, Daerons and Daemons.



The most enjoyable of these parts is definitely the one about Robert's Rebellion. Though it does not give the information that we, fans, consider vital (meaning that it doesn't explain the kidnapping confinement of Lyanna Stark at the Tower of Joy and whatever happened there), it was very nice to read about the characters of the saga from another point of view. Robert, Eddard, Jaime, Cersei... all of them came back. 

Oh! And don't forget Tywin Lannister! This book changed completely the way I see him. I swear: you don't know Tywin until you read this book. I almost feel sorry for him now and I pitied him during his time as Hand of King Aerys.

A major theory (that I had considered to be one of the most ridiculous) is almost confirmed, too. I really think that Yandel didn't confirm it just for the sake of Tommen. And... hey, now that I think about it, that theory is quite rational and would explain a lot of things from the main story.

The part about the Geography and History of the Seven Kingdoms is great. It is divided in nine parts: The North, The Wall and Beyond, The Riverlands, The Vale, The Iron Islands, The Westerlands, The Reach, The Stormlands, and Dorne. Lots of new information is given here and there are some great maps, for example:



The part on Essos is good, though a little vague and almost without maps. That's why I'm not giving 5 stars to this book: it needed more maps, and specialy maps of Essos. I liked that Yandel did not include Slaver's Bay into his telling of history of Essos. (view spoiler)[As I noted before, this book could be named Lies for Tommen, and we don't want him to know about Dany and her dragons, right? (hide spoiler)]


 
Dragons reborn? 

And now that I have described most of it, I'm going to talk about things that caught my attention and quote a lot.

Let's begin with Azor Ahai... oh, yes. You heard me, Azor Ahai is mentioned several times in different contexts. I leave you some quotes of interest:

"(...)How long the darkness endured no man can say, but all agree that it was only when a great warrior—known variously as Hyrkoon the Hero, Azor Ahai, Yin Tar, Neferion, and Eldric Shadowchaser—arose to [...] lead the virtuous into battle with his blazing sword Lightbringer that the darkness was put to rout, and light and love returned once more to the world..."

"(...)It is also written that there are annals in Asshai of such a darkness, and of a hero who fought against it with a red sword. His deeds are said to have been performed before the rise of Valyria, in the earliest age when Old Ghis was first forming its empire. This legend has spread west from Asshai, and the followers of R’hllor claim that this hero was named Azor Ahai, and prophesy his return..."



Only picture of Jon in the whole book? Let's take a star from the rating!  

Another thing that I noted was that I've already read part of this particular story:

"(...)How the Long Night came to an end is a matter of legend [...] In the North, they tell of a last hero who sought out the intercession of the children of the forest, his companions abandoning him or dying one by one [...] Alone he finally reached the children, [...] the first men of the Night’s Watch banded together and were able to fight—and win—the Battle for the Dawn..."

Seems like (view spoiler)[Bran (hide spoiler)] will play an important part in the Winter that has just come.

There is a great deal of mentions of ancient buildings formed of a mysterious black stone. I collected all of them because it seemed weird. May it be obsidian?

"(...)Born a bastard on the Iron Islands, Theron noted a certain likeness between the black stone of the ancient fortress and that of the Seastone Chair, the high seat of House Greyjoy of Pyke, whose origins are similarly ancient and mysterious"

"(...)The Ghiscari seized the island thrice in the days of the Old Empire; the Valyrians erected a fort there whose walls of fused dragonstone can still be seen; a company of Volantene adventurers once built a trade town, complete with timber palisades and slave pens; corsairs from the Basilisk Isles have landed on Naath countless times"

"(...)Maesters[...]have puzzled over the greatest of the engimas of Sothoryos,[...]Yeen. A ruin older than time, built of oily black stone, in massive blocks so heavy[...], Yeen has remained a desolation for many thousands of years, yet the jungle that surrounds it on every side has scarce touched it.[...]“A city so evil that even the jungle will not enter, ” Nymeria is supposed to have said when she laid eyes on it"

"(...)Certain scholars from the west have suggested Valyrian involvement in the construction of the Five Forts, for the great walls are single slabs of fused black stone that resemble certain Valyrian citadels in the west … but this seems unlikely, for the Forts predate the Freehold’s rise, and there is no record of any dragonlords ever coming so far east.
Thus the Five Forts must remain a mystery"

"(...)Travelers tell us that the city is built entirely of black stone: halls, hovels, temples, palaces, streets, walls, bazaars, all. Some say as well that the stone of Asshai has a greasy, unpleasant feel to it, that it seems to drink the light, dimming tapers and torches and hearth fires alike. The nights are very black in Asshai, all agree, and even the brightest days of summer are somehow grey and gloomy"

A little bit repetitive to be a mistake or coincidence, right?

I'm probably forgetting lots of things... but if you liked this review, you will probably like those 144 status updates I've written during my reading.

To conclude this review, let me say that The World of Ice and Fire is completely worth it. I thought it was going to be boring and difficult to read, but it kept me awake at night and kept me reading during the day (even when I had finals to prepare). I'm glad I gave it a try.

The World of Ice and Fire The Official History of Westeros and the World of a Game of Thrones