ayushinayak's review
4.0
I have read innumerable accounts on TSOIAF; comparisons, fan fictions, what with free internet and rampant blogging but reading a descriptive analysis by famous authors of the same genre is pure bliss. Why?
Read an account of GRRM's perfect grasp of PTSS or maybe a talk on the inclusion of the exclusive and you would get to know.
I never could tell an academic dissertation apart from plain textbook knowledge but after this book, I think I am a step closer to getting the hang of it.
I am a big fan of the series and with my analytical grasping abilities, the pleasure of being a true fan somehow got lost due to my arrogance. This account brought into light just how much input has been made into creating the series and how the best of its fans perceive it. Truly humbled. I look forward to read some more of such delights.
Till then, ciao!
Read an account of GRRM's perfect grasp of PTSS or maybe a talk on the inclusion of the exclusive and you would get to know.
I never could tell an academic dissertation apart from plain textbook knowledge but after this book, I think I am a step closer to getting the hang of it.
I am a big fan of the series and with my analytical grasping abilities, the pleasure of being a true fan somehow got lost due to my arrogance. This account brought into light just how much input has been made into creating the series and how the best of its fans perceive it. Truly humbled. I look forward to read some more of such delights.
Till then, ciao!
sunsoar25's review
4.0
Very interesting collection of critical essays on the world of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. My favorite essays within the collection: "Men and Monsters: Rape, Myth-Making, and the Rise and Fall of Nations in A Song of Ice and Fire" by Alyssa Rosenberg, "An Unreliable World: History and Timekeeping in Westeros" by Adam Whitehead, "Of Direwolves and Gods" by Andrew Zimmerman Jones, "A Sword Without a Hilt: The Dangers of Magic in (and to) Westeros" by Jesse Scoble, "A Different Kind of Other: The Role of Freaks and Outcasts in A Song of Ice and Fire" by Brent Hartinger, and "Power and Feminism in Westeros" by Caroline Spector. I also appreciated the foreword by R.A. Salvatore (one of my favorites!) and the final chapter ("Beyond the Ghetto" by Ned Vizzini) both of which touch upon the issue and (hopefully changing) place of fantasy in literature.
"None of us wants to be consigned to the playpen, or have our work dismissed as unworthy of serious consideration as literature because of the label on the spine. Myself, I think a story is a story is a story, and the only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself."
--George R.R. Martin, 2007
I won this through the Goodreads First Reads program. Thanks!
"None of us wants to be consigned to the playpen, or have our work dismissed as unworthy of serious consideration as literature because of the label on the spine. Myself, I think a story is a story is a story, and the only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself."
--George R.R. Martin, 2007
I won this through the Goodreads First Reads program. Thanks!
gerireads's review
4.0
I'm a huge fan of the books and the series, so this was a fantastic read for me. A fantastic exploration of the themes in the book A Song of Fire and Ice. I think this book is worth the read whether you're a fan of the books or the series.
A copy is provided by the publisher through NetGalley exchange for an honest review.
A copy is provided by the publisher through NetGalley exchange for an honest review.
gasgardd's review
3.0
Some of the essays were really quite interesting, and led me to rethink some of my perceptions about the series as a whole, as well as some of the key characters.
Though a few of them seemed unnecessary, nothing you can't skip over however.
Though a few of them seemed unnecessary, nothing you can't skip over however.
petrafadel's review
5.0
First of all, this book contains spoilers up untill A Dance with Dragons, so if haven´t read it yet, catch up before reading this book.
Before I get to the review, I want to share this quote from the book;
"GEORGE R.R. MARTIN’S A Song of Ice and Fire has been a success, in large part, because it has recaptured fans of the fantasy genre who had grown bored and moved away from the standard fare, and because it has reached a wide audience of those who traditionally do not read or watch fantasy genre entertainment."
That really includes me, I haven´t read fantasy in a while, because I felt that it became too predictable and cliched. Now, you can say a lot of things about A Song of Ice and Fire; "predictable" and "cliche" are definitely not among them.
Now back to the review.Basically this book is a collection of essays on the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, each essay analyzing different aspects of the very complex world that Martin created in his books.
It also includes a foreword by R.A Salvatore and a note from editor , both worth reading
My favorite essays include;
MEN AND MONSTERS
Rape, Myth-Making, and the Rise and Fall of Nations in A Song of Ice and Fire by ALYSSA ROSENBERG, which explores the nature of sexual violence in the series.
"Rape touches the lives, and shapes the world, of almost all the characters in the series, be they noble or common-born, perpetrators or victims. And while each of them feels pain, and terror, and anger individually, it’s given to us to see the collective impact of these assaults across continents"
Another one that was very interesting is AN UNRELIABLE WORLD
History and Timekeeping in Westeros by ADAM WHITEHEAD, which explores the history of Westeros, namely the unreliability of it.
"To this end, the message of A Song of Ice and Fire may be that nothing is certain, not the world’s history and not the history of any individual within it. Everything is in the eye of the beholder, and the acts of one character may be heinous crimes to some but heroism to others."
ART IMITATES WAR
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in A Song of Ice and Fire by MYKE COLE,
in which he talks about PTSD and how it affects individuals differently comparing Arya´s and Theon´s very different reactions to trauma.
"The behaviors of Arya and Theon, as well as other characters in A Song of Ice and Fire, so closely reflect behaviors I have seen in real combatants returning from war, in real crisis responders dealing with the aftermath of their experiences, that it shouldn’t go unremarked".
OF DIREWOLVES AND GODS by ANDREW ZIMMERMAN JONES is a brilliant piece about the religions of westeros and how closely they resemble the religions in the real world.
"In fact, the religions portrayed in A Song of Ice and Fire are reflections of the religions in our own world. They require a leap of faith, because the effects of belief are so intangible. The religions of Westeros claim to dictate absolute, perfect truths through imprecise, flawed institutions and beings—just like the religions we encounter every day"
.
PETYR BAELISH AND THE MASK OF SANITYby MATT STAGGS is another great one exploring the psychopathic behaviors of Littlefinger.
" Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish isn’t a normal person: he is a psychopath, and this makes him an unsettlingly skilled player in the game. Littlefinger has no emotional chinks in his armor, mostly because he doesn’t have any real emotions—at least in the way that normal people understand them. Without any of the emotional vulnerabilities of a relatively healthy human being, Littlefinger is insulated against the pitfalls that await others who fight for power in Westeros.".
These are just my personal favorites, there are more essays some exploring feminism or magic or outcasts and many other things in the world of Westeros and Essos.
There were two essays that didn´t interest me one about the problems of adapting the series to graphic novels by Daniel Abraham, and another one about collecting first editions by John Jos Miller.
All in all, this book exceeded my expectations, and is highly recommended to any fan of the series.
Before I get to the review, I want to share this quote from the book;
"GEORGE R.R. MARTIN’S A Song of Ice and Fire has been a success, in large part, because it has recaptured fans of the fantasy genre who had grown bored and moved away from the standard fare, and because it has reached a wide audience of those who traditionally do not read or watch fantasy genre entertainment."
That really includes me, I haven´t read fantasy in a while, because I felt that it became too predictable and cliched. Now, you can say a lot of things about A Song of Ice and Fire; "predictable" and "cliche" are definitely not among them.
Now back to the review.Basically this book is a collection of essays on the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, each essay analyzing different aspects of the very complex world that Martin created in his books.
It also includes a foreword by R.A Salvatore and a note from editor , both worth reading
My favorite essays include;
MEN AND MONSTERS
Rape, Myth-Making, and the Rise and Fall of Nations in A Song of Ice and Fire by ALYSSA ROSENBERG, which explores the nature of sexual violence in the series.
"Rape touches the lives, and shapes the world, of almost all the characters in the series, be they noble or common-born, perpetrators or victims. And while each of them feels pain, and terror, and anger individually, it’s given to us to see the collective impact of these assaults across continents"
Another one that was very interesting is AN UNRELIABLE WORLD
History and Timekeeping in Westeros by ADAM WHITEHEAD, which explores the history of Westeros, namely the unreliability of it.
"To this end, the message of A Song of Ice and Fire may be that nothing is certain, not the world’s history and not the history of any individual within it. Everything is in the eye of the beholder, and the acts of one character may be heinous crimes to some but heroism to others."
ART IMITATES WAR
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in A Song of Ice and Fire by MYKE COLE,
in which he talks about PTSD and how it affects individuals differently comparing Arya´s and Theon´s very different reactions to trauma.
"The behaviors of Arya and Theon, as well as other characters in A Song of Ice and Fire, so closely reflect behaviors I have seen in real combatants returning from war, in real crisis responders dealing with the aftermath of their experiences, that it shouldn’t go unremarked".
OF DIREWOLVES AND GODS by ANDREW ZIMMERMAN JONES is a brilliant piece about the religions of westeros and how closely they resemble the religions in the real world.
"In fact, the religions portrayed in A Song of Ice and Fire are reflections of the religions in our own world. They require a leap of faith, because the effects of belief are so intangible. The religions of Westeros claim to dictate absolute, perfect truths through imprecise, flawed institutions and beings—just like the religions we encounter every day"
.
PETYR BAELISH AND THE MASK OF SANITYby MATT STAGGS is another great one exploring the psychopathic behaviors of Littlefinger.
" Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish isn’t a normal person: he is a psychopath, and this makes him an unsettlingly skilled player in the game. Littlefinger has no emotional chinks in his armor, mostly because he doesn’t have any real emotions—at least in the way that normal people understand them. Without any of the emotional vulnerabilities of a relatively healthy human being, Littlefinger is insulated against the pitfalls that await others who fight for power in Westeros.".
These are just my personal favorites, there are more essays some exploring feminism or magic or outcasts and many other things in the world of Westeros and Essos.
There were two essays that didn´t interest me one about the problems of adapting the series to graphic novels by Daniel Abraham, and another one about collecting first editions by John Jos Miller.
All in all, this book exceeded my expectations, and is highly recommended to any fan of the series.
rhetoricandlogic's review
1.0
This book is not what it claims to be.
A typical "companion" to a well-received and award-winning series should delve into insights in the background, the characters, maybe even enlighten us to mysteries or prophecies which permeate the series.
Not so. Instead we get a rambling opening article (I refuse to use the word "essay") that honestly tries to place Martin's writing in the era of "Romanticism", not even once analyzing or comparing Martin's prose to an author of said era. The history of art is bent to it's utmost just to try and put Martin on the same pedestal as Coleridge or Keats. No scientific evidence is given - what we get for an analogy are Yoren's words on how the Night's Watch has been ever so much more in the past - just any other reminiscence older folks like: everything tinged slightly pink. This does not constitute evidence.
It goes downhill from there.
On the themes of sexuality, rape and homosexuality: please read Craig West's review. This guy is so spot-on, I quote: "The next essay is about the "adult" portions of the series, particularly rape, that also failed to hit the right note. I think that the previous reviewer, Johnny Jay, sums it up well by saying the essay tries to paint the multiple rapes that occur in the series as important to the plot and not just gratuitous rough sex. I'd never even considered that was an issue, as I thought the rape scenes were unpleasant but essential to the story. Why that essay was included in the series is puzzling . After reading the essay, though, I actually think that there are gratuitous elements in how Martin presents those scenes. So, obviously, that essay did not work well."
That being said: this book could have used an editor. Preferably a native English one. To publish a book, being ESL without having someone native/perfect copyedit it, is downright unprofessional.
A typical "companion" to a well-received and award-winning series should delve into insights in the background, the characters, maybe even enlighten us to mysteries or prophecies which permeate the series.
Not so. Instead we get a rambling opening article (I refuse to use the word "essay") that honestly tries to place Martin's writing in the era of "Romanticism", not even once analyzing or comparing Martin's prose to an author of said era. The history of art is bent to it's utmost just to try and put Martin on the same pedestal as Coleridge or Keats. No scientific evidence is given - what we get for an analogy are Yoren's words on how the Night's Watch has been ever so much more in the past - just any other reminiscence older folks like: everything tinged slightly pink. This does not constitute evidence.
It goes downhill from there.
On the themes of sexuality, rape and homosexuality: please read Craig West's review. This guy is so spot-on, I quote: "The next essay is about the "adult" portions of the series, particularly rape, that also failed to hit the right note. I think that the previous reviewer, Johnny Jay, sums it up well by saying the essay tries to paint the multiple rapes that occur in the series as important to the plot and not just gratuitous rough sex. I'd never even considered that was an issue, as I thought the rape scenes were unpleasant but essential to the story. Why that essay was included in the series is puzzling . After reading the essay, though, I actually think that there are gratuitous elements in how Martin presents those scenes. So, obviously, that essay did not work well."
That being said: this book could have used an editor. Preferably a native English one. To publish a book, being ESL without having someone native/perfect copyedit it, is downright unprofessional.
levi's review
4.0
A few essays seem to have been written before the publication of ADWD, and there are too many references to the disappointing HBO series, but overall this was a high quality anthology of essays.
More...