The World of Ice & Fire

For the fictional universe, see World of A Song of Ice and Fire.
The World of Ice & Fire

First edition cover
Author
  • George R. R. Martin
  • Elio M. García Jr.
  • Linda Antonsson
Illustrator
Country United States
Language English
Series A Song of Ice and Fire
Genre Fantasy
Published October 28, 2014
Publisher Bantam
Media type Print (Hardback)
Pages 336
ISBN 978-0-553-80544-4

The World of Ice & Fire is a companion book for George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series. Written by Martin, Elio M. García Jr. and Linda Antonsson, it was published by Bantam on October 28, 2014.[1][2][3] The 336-page volume is a fully illustrated "history compendium" of Martin's fictional Westeros, featuring newly written material, family trees and extensive maps and artwork.[4][5]

García and Antonsson head the A Song of Ice and Fire fansite Westeros.org.[4] Martin enlisted them in 2008 to assist with the project, which at the time he believed would be finished "in just a couple of years."[6] García is a Martin "superfan" whom the author and HBO have consulted on details previously established by Martin in the series.[7] Addressing comparisons of The World of Ice & Fire to J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, Martin clarified that while his book provides a basic overview of the many areas of his fictional world and their histories, he plans to someday publish a more extensive volume focusing primarily on the Targaryens, which he has dubbed The GRRMarillion.[8]

Contents

Martin commented that the format of The World of Ice & Fire is intentionally a replication of a "real history book" in which sources can contradict each other.[3] He also noted that he worked closely with the artists to render the characters and locales as he himself imagined them, as opposed to how they may be portrayed in HBO's Game of Thrones series and other media, such as comic books and games.[2]

Martin teased the book in July 2013 with a blog post praising Marc Simonetti's rendering of the Iron Throne as definitive, compared to the TV series version.[9] Upon the 2014 release of The World of Ice & Fire, he called its representation of the throne by Simonetti "absolutely right".[10] Martin said he had wanted the book to be a fully illustrated volume with art from "the top fantasy illustrators in the world."[8] The World of Ice & Fire features the work of 27 illustrators: Rene Aigner, Ryan Barger, Arthur Bozonnet, José Daniel Cabrera Peña, Jennifer Sol Cai, Thomas Denmark, Jennifer Drummond, Jordi González Escamilla, Michael Gellatly, Tomasz Jedruszek, Michael Komarck, John McCambridge, Mogri, Ted Nasmith, Karla Ortiz, Rahedie Yudha Pradito, Dhian Prasetya, Paolo Puggioni, Jonathan Roberts, Thomas Siagian, Marc Simonetti, Chase Stone, Philip Straub, Justin Sweet, Nutchapol Thitinunthakorn, Magali Villeneuve and Douglas Wheatley.

References

  1. ↑ Collins, Sean T. (November 3, 2014). "10 Craziest Things We Learned From World of Ice & Fire". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bradley, Bill (October 27, 2014). "Here's What Westeros Really Looks Like, According To George R.R. Martin". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Farley, Christopher John (October 30, 2014). "George R.R. Martin Writes a Big Ice and Fire History". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lough, Chris (October 29, 2014). "19 Strange Things Hiding in The World of Ice and Fire". Tor Books. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Check Out Dragonstone and Other Art Pieces From The World of Ice & Fire". Tor Books. October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  6. ↑ Blistein, Jon (October 28, 2014). "George R.R. Martin Admits His Dragons Couldn't Beat Tolkien's Smaug in a Fight". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  7. ↑ Miller, Laura (April 11, 2011). "Just Write It! A fantasy author and his impatient fans.". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Martin, George R. R. (October 27, 2014). George R. R. Martin: The World of Ice and Fire (Video). Interview with Laura Miller. New York. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  9. ↑ Martin, George R. R. (July 8, 2013). "Not A Blog: The Real Iron Throne". GRRM.livejournal.com. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  10. ↑ Acuna, Kirsten (October 28, 2014). "George R.R. Martin: No One Ever Gets The Most Iconic Part Of Game Of Thrones Right". Business Insider. Retrieved November 8, 2014.

External links