katieg's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
Really good companion to fans of the books (less show for fans of just the show) who are looking for a more critical reading. I thought it could have been a bit more pointed in its criticism, but it remains neutral enough to appease most fans. I also think it's a good book for people interested in medievalism and how modern people and pop culture interact with understandings of the medieval past.
brynhammond's review
4.0
This is a good discussion on how Song/GoT is constructed from medievalisms -- which is to say, medieval history at secondhand, as interpreted through the Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite craze (arch-romantics) and then the Tolkien century. Constructed in the sense that Martin is anti-romantic, so that in effect GoT is a kick in the teeth to the Victorians and their heirs. In a nice irony, he comes close to real medieval romance, which concerned itself with questions of violence.
Most valuable to me was the discussion of Martin's (and his fans') claim to 'realism' about the Middle Ages. Whose realism? Carroll does wonderfully well in explaining the levels and the issues in that claim to realism.
This is a different sort of book than Carolyne Larrington's Winter Is Coming: The Medieval World of Game of Thrones. The latter is about the medieval history GoT draws on, written for fans. Carroll's is more analytic, a criticism of GoT (novels and TV). For me, she is a bit kind to Martin and his intentions, chiefly on his conscious deconstruction of toxic masculinity. But I am not a Martin expert. Another way to say that might be that this book is still fan-friendly.
Most valuable to me was the discussion of Martin's (and his fans') claim to 'realism' about the Middle Ages. Whose realism? Carroll does wonderfully well in explaining the levels and the issues in that claim to realism.
This is a different sort of book than Carolyne Larrington's Winter Is Coming: The Medieval World of Game of Thrones. The latter is about the medieval history GoT draws on, written for fans. Carroll's is more analytic, a criticism of GoT (novels and TV). For me, she is a bit kind to Martin and his intentions, chiefly on his conscious deconstruction of toxic masculinity. But I am not a Martin expert. Another way to say that might be that this book is still fan-friendly.
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