Some interesting perspectives and analysis. Although I did feel like I was back in highschool English class. ( )

READ IN ENGLISH

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I received a free copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!



*Insert Game of Thrones Intro*



WARNING: This book expects you to have actually read the books, if you're following the HBO series, stay clear from this book because you will find spoilers the size of the Wall!



In preparation for the fourth season of Game of Thrones, I thought this book would be very interesting. And as it goes with collections of - in this case - thoughts about certain aspects of A Song of Ice and Fire, some were very interesting, some were not.



I find it somewhat ironic that there is a piece on superstition and how people always want to find a reason why things happen, and at moment when reading this book I felt that people were indeed trying to find reasons for what happens in the books, when sometimes I think they just happen. It's a book after all, things can happen just because the author wanted it. This doesn't naturally mean there is a statement behind it.



I liked the pieces on psychopathy and PTSD best, there was also one on the prices of first editions, I couldn't care less about.



It's not something to read in one go, but if you're looking for an excuse to return to A Song of Ice and Fire, and perhaps want to read about some different aspects, this could be a very enjoyable read. ( )

This collection of essays edited by James Lowder is one of the best books about the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R.Martin. Each contributor touches upon themes that are vital in the wonderfully twisted universe that Martin has created.

''The Palace of Love, the Palace of Sorrow'' by Linda Antonsson and Elio M.Garcia. I don't particularly like this duo as personalities, but their essay touches upon the movement of Romanticism, the way it influenced Martin's writing and draws a very interesting comparison between the classical Byronic hero and Jaime Lannister. It is easily the best essay in the collection.

''Men and Monsters'' by Alyssa Rosenberg. The essay deals with Martin's way of using monstrous actions like murder, rape, betrayal, to advance the narrative and expose the vices of his world and ours. Rosenberg provides a lot of interesting answers to these who claim that Martin is cruel to his female characters. Each season since 2011, the time when the TV series hit our screens, there are critics who cry ''Horror'' each time a sex scene appears, when a woman is mistreated, accussing Martin or the screenwriters as misogynists. Frankly, how can these critics become more and more ludicrous year after year is beyond me. Read a Medieval history book, I say to them. The era upon which the series is based, had nothing to do with the Idylls of Knighthood.

''Same Song in a Different Key'' by Daniel Abraham deals with the grapjic novel based on the series.

''An Unreliable World by Adam Whitehead talks about the way certain key events are altered each time a different character narrates or remembers them. The most crucial example is the relationship between Rheagar and Lyanna.

''Back to the Egg by Gary Westfahl deals with the Dunk and Egg stories.

''Art Imitates War by Myke Cole. One of the most interesting essays of the collection, touching upon the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the series. Theon and Arya take centre stage here.

''The Brutal Cost of Redemption in Westeros'' by Susan Vaught. Which character does the word ''redemption'' bring to mind? If you don't answer ''Jaime''', you haven't been paying attention. In addition, Susan Vaught makes some very interesting remarks on the Stark family in all their ''righteousness'' and how their unwise choices bring about disaster, especially in the case of Catelyn Stark.

''Of Direwolves and Gods'' by Andrew Zimmerman Jones. The presence -or lack of it- of the many different gods in Westeros and beyond and the significance (?) of the direwolves.

''A Sword Without A Hilt'' by Jesse Scoble. The function of witchcraft in the events that seal the War of the Five Kings.

''Petyr Baelish and the Mask of Sanity'' by Matt Stuggs. Yes, this one...Littlefinger...The man we all love to hate. Probably the only character with a few scraps of brain in his head.

''A Different Kind of Other'' by Brent Hartinger. One of the elements that prove how much of a genius Martin is comes with the fact that he created characters who represent types of people cast out by society (even by today's norms) and brought them to the spotlight.

''Power and Feminism in Westeros'' by Caroline Spector. I didn't feel comfortable with this essay. I never feel comfortable with the views that constantly belittle Sansa as docile and cowardish, ignoring the codex of the era, glorifying Brienne and Arya just because they adopt a male attire. Or with the view that dismisses Daenerys'love for Drogo as ''absurd'', a simple Stockhom syndrome affair. Needless to say, the essayist didn't convince me at all.

''Collecting Ice and Fire in the Age of Nook and Kindle by John Jos. Miller. > Interesting to see how the TV adaptation brought the popularity of the book in sky-high levels.

''Beyond the Ghetto by Ned Vizzini. How George R.R.Martin transcends the boundaries of genres with his creation.

A great choice for those who love the series. At the time of publication, the five books of A Song of Ice and Fire and the first season of A Game of Thrones had come out. Now, if we could magically have the sixth book, ''The Winds of Winter, it would make for a very good 2017...

( )

This is a book of essays, written in 2012 before the mainstream popularity that HBO brought to the series. It addresses book material only, though it does briefly reference the tv events in general.That said, I can't wait til book 7 comes out, and they can publish more books of essays... The following are my favorite chapters:

Palace of love..GRRM= Romantic writer. I love the backstories related here, esp Lyanna Stark

Back to Egg-Theme established here hopefully applied to Sam

Redemption- Excellent psychological insight into some of the main characters

Direwolves & Gods-Survey of wolves and the various gods in the series.

Baelish the psychopath- I don't think he gets credit for all the things that he has done, though it has been a long time since I read the early books. He is a true manipulator, and extremely calculating in his vision of his play at winning the 'game of thrones.' ( )

Call your bannermen!

Beyond the Wall: Exploring George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, edited by James Lowder (Smart Pop, $14.95).

For those of us who were re-introduced to Martin’s fantasy novels by way of the HBO series—and for newbies, who are readng the books to keep up with the series and catch missing nuances—this collection of essays by smart people will crack open a few ideas and trains of thought.

These are much more oriented toward the books than the series, though, so beware: spoilers within and ahead.

First, each of the authors included have varied areas of expertise. For example, Caroline Spector takes a feminist approach (and yes, given the setting, violence against women is rampant; by the same token, resisting and powerful women wear many faces).

Brent Hartinger, the well-respected author of the YA novel The Geography Club, weighs in on the position of the outsider in the books (“A Different Kind of Other: The Role of Freaks and Outcasts in A Song of Ice and Fire”) and Matt Staggs looks at the outright sociopathy of Petyr Baelish (“Petyr Baelish and the Mask of Sanity”).

There are also a couple of really good essays on magic, religion and ethics as they work in Martin’s built world (“A Sword Without a Hilt: The Dangers of Magic in (and to) Westeros” by Jesse Scoble and “The Brutal Cost of Redemption in Westeros, or, What Moral Ambiguity?” by Susan Vaught).

And there’s also an interesting essay on romanticism that addresses the pernicious discussions of the Lyanna-Rhaegar hypothesis (“The Palace of Love, the Palace of Sorrow: Romanticism in A Song of Ice and Fire” by Linda Antonsson and Elio M. Garcia, Jr.).

For readers who are fans of the novels or world-building in general, this is a wonderful collection that will enrich one’s enjoyment. For those who are simply enjoying the TV version, it won’t likely add or subtract much either way.

Reviewed on Lit/Rant: www.litrant.tumblr.com ( )