A Song of Ice and Fire

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A Song of Ice and Fire (ASoIaF) is an epic fantasy series of novels by George R. R. Martin. It is the best-known of his works, and has spawned a successful collectible card game, a roleplaying game and a board game. The books are known for a genre-defying willingness to unflinchingly depict patriarchal and feudal systems, extremely detailed and complex characters, sudden and often violent plot twists, and intricate political intrigue. In a genre where magic usually takes center stage, this series has a reputation for its limited and subtle use of magic, employing it as an ambiguous and often sinister background force.

Contents

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The books

So far, the series consists of four published novels:

Martin has also published two short stories in the same setting, often called Dunk and Egg stories after their two protagonists. These stories are set about 90 years before the events in A Game of Thrones.

  • The Hedge Knight (appeared in Legends, ed. Robert Silverberg, 1998), also adapted as a graphic novel
  • The Sworn Sword (appeared in Legends II, ed. Robert Silverberg, 2003)
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Related publications

Some of the novels' chapters have appeared previously in collected form in other outlets.

  • Blood of the Dragon (Asimov’s, July 1996) based on the Daenerys chapters from A Game of Thrones. Received the 1997 Hugo Award for Best Novella.
  • Path of the Dragon (Asimov’s, December 2000) based on the Daenerys chapters from A Storm of Swords.
  • Arms of the Kraken (Dragon issue 305) based on the Iron Islands chapters from A Feast for Crows.
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Plans

The manuscript for the fifth volume is half-written as of May 2005:

In a May 2005 statement, the author estimates that the series will require seven volumes. This is an increase from previously stated figures because Martin had to move some of the character arcs of the A Feast for Crows manuscript into A Dance with Dragons, because the manuscript already exceeded the length of A Storm of Swords, which itself had to be split into two halves for several markets. Martin recognized that this decision could cause frustration among some of his fans. He wrote: "I know some of you may be disappointed, especially when you buy A Feast for Crows and discover that your favorite character does not appear, but given the realities I think this was the best solution... and the more I look at it, the more convinced I am that these two parallel novels, when taken together, will actually tell the story better than one big book." <ref>Message on Martin's website, May 29 2005 It's Done!!!</ref>

On January 24, 2006, Martin updated a statement on his personal site to note that he had completed 542 of an estimated 1200-1300 manuscript pages for the new book. In the same statement, he explains that while the fifth book will run in a parallel timeline with the fourth, there is nothing to stop the line from extending further; hinting that if room remains, he will include chapters for some of the characters left in a cliffhanger-state at the end of the previous novel. He rounds out his site update by stating, "And before anyone writes me asking, yes, there is a third Dunk and Egg novella in the works as well. It's maybe three-quarters done, and sometime soon I want to find the time to finish that one too." <ref>Message on Martin's website, January 24 2006 Update</ref>

Martin originally intended the series to be a trilogy, but later increased that estimate, remarking, "What can I say? It's a BIG story, and a cast of thousands." <ref>Martin in post to Legends, October 6 1998. So Spake Martin – Posts to Legends (SSL)</ref> When A Storm of Swords was published, Martin announced that there would be six books. After A Storm of Swords, he began writing A Dance with Dragons, which was intended to take place five years after the end of A Storm of Swords without the use of many flashbacks, much to the dismay of many fans. However, he later announced that the five-year gap wasn't working, and therefore he would add another book, A Feast for Crows, to pick up where A Storm of Swords left off. Ironically, his decision to stop writing one book and start another in order to chronicle part of that five-year gap is responsible for a five-year wait for the fourth installment.

Projected titles for the sixth and seventh books are The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring (formerly A Time for Wolves), respectively.

A Song of Ice and Fire

By George R. R. Martin

A Game of Thrones | A Clash of Kings | A Storm of Swords |
A Feast for Crows | A Dance with Dragons | The Winds of Winter | A Dream of Spring |
The Hedge Knight | The Sworn Sword
Characters
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Plot and setting

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A Song of Ice and Fire is set in a fictitious world reminiscent of Europe in the Middle Ages, except for the fact that in this world, seasons can last as long as a decade. Driven by members of the Houses, great and small, the plot is recounted from the perspectives of more than ten main characters and takes place on the continents of Westeros and the eastern continent, the former being the locale of fierce power struggles between several aristocratic families after the death of king Robert Baratheon, who by lineage, marriage and personal relationships had united them all. Meanwhile, the last scion of House Targaryen, which had ruled over Westeros before being expelled by Robert and his allies, is trying to find allies herself to reconquer the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. But all of them ignore the oncoming winter and the ancient dangers it brings.

See also: List of characters in A Song of Ice and Fire

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Historical and literary sources

Numerous parallels have been seen between the events and characters in A Song of Ice and Fire and events and people involved in the Wars of the Roses. Two of the principal families in A Song of Ice and Fire, the Starks and the Lannisters, are seen as representing the historical House of York and House of Lancaster, respectively.

Martin is an avid student of medieval Europe, and has said that the Wars of the Roses, along with many other events in Europe during that time, have influenced the series. However, he insists that "there's really no one-for-one character-for-character correspondence. I like to use history to flavor my fantasy, to add texture and verisimilitude, but simply rewriting history with the names changed has no appeal for me. I prefer to reimagine it all, and take it in new and unexpected directions." <ref>So Spake Martin Report #1</ref>

Martin has also said the Albigensian Crusades are an influence for the series.

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Pronunciation of names

Unlike J. R. R. Tolkien, who provided detailed instructions for the pronunciation of the languages of Middle-Earth, Martin has provided no canonical way of pronouncing Westerosi names, stating "You can pronounce it however you like." <ref>So Spake Martin Report #107</ref> However, it is possible to establish some guidelines based on authorial chapter readings and question-and-answer sessions (marked "GRRM" in the following list), and the audio book adaptations read by Roy Dotrice ("RD") and John Lee ("JL"). Among the multimedia clips of the author speaking, RH indicates the Random House audio interview <ref>Random House audio interview with GRRM. [1] </ref> and FF indicates the Fast Forward television interview <ref>Fast Forward video interview with GRRM. [2]</ref>. Entries marked with a question mark (?) are probably the pronunciations of RD and/or JL.

The list uses International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbols. See IPA chart for English to learn about the symbols, and the IPA article proper for the problems of displaying and entering them.

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Characters

  • Areo Hotah GRRM-CBC [[[Template:IPA]]], sometimes [[[Template:IPA]]]
  • Arya GRRM-FF [[[Template:IPA]]], like English aria
  • Bran GRRM-FF [[[Template:IPA]]], like English bran
  • Brienne GRRM-RH [[[Template:IPA]]]. RD, JL: [[[Template:IPA]]].
  • Caleotte GRRM-CBC: [[[Template:IPA]]])
  • Catelyn (?: [[[Template:IPA]]])
  • Cersei GRRM-RH [[[Template:IPA]]]. RD [[[Template:IPA]]]. JL [[[Template:IPA]]].
  • Daenerys GRRM-RH [[[Template:IPA]]] (?: [[[Template:IPA]]])
  • Dany GRRM-RH [[[Template:IPA]]]
  • Davos GRRM-RH [[[Template:IPA]]]
  • Doran GRRM-CBC [[[Template:IPA]]]
  • Jaime GRRM-RH [[[Template:IPA]]] (?: [[[Template:IPA]]])
  • Jojen (?: [[[Template:IPA]]])
  • Jon GRRM-RH [[[Template:IPA]]], like English John
  • Lysa (?: [[[Template:IPA]]])
  • Petyr GRRM<ref>GRRM at To Be Continued 4 (Chicago, IL), May 6–8, 2005. So Spake Martin Report #61</ref> [[[Template:IPA]]], like English Peter but RD: [[[Template:IPA]]]
  • Rickon GRRM-RH [[[Template:IPA]]]
  • Tommen GRRM-CBC [[[Template:IPA]]], RD, JL: [[[Template:IPA]]]
  • Tyrion GRRM-RH [[[Template:IPA]]] (?: [[[Template:IPA]]])
  • Tywin (?: [[[Template:IPA]]])
  • Viserys (?: [[[Template:IPA]]])
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Houses and Surnames

  • Baratheon (?: [[[Template:IPA]]])
  • Lannister GRRM-RH [[[Template:IPA]]]
  • Snow GRRM-RH [[[Template:IPA]]], like English snow
  • Stark GRRM-RH [[[Template:IPA]]], like English stark
  • Targaryen GRRM-RH [[[Template:IPA]]] (?: [[[Template:IPA]]])

Presumably, bastard names (like Snow and Rivers) are always pronounced like the corresponding common noun.

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Places

  • Asshai RD: [[[Template:IPA]]]. JL: [[[Template:IPA]]]
  • Westeros GRRM-RH [[[Template:IPA]]]
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Titles

  • Khaleesi (?: [[[Template:IPA]]])
  • Maester (?: [[[Template:IPA]]])
  • Ser (?: [[[Template:IPA]]], like English sir)


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Notes

<references />

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External links

de:Lied von Eis und Feuer es:Canción de hielo y fuego fi:Tulen ja jään laulu fr:Un chant de glace et de feu he:שיר של אש ושל קרח it:Cronache del ghiaccio e del fuoco sv:A Song of Ice and Fire zh:冰與火之歌

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