A review by sunsoar25
Beyond the Wall: Exploring George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire by Myke Cole, Andrew Zimmerman Jones, James Lowder
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!