| A Song Of Ice And Fire |
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NOVELS AND NOVELLAS Four of these novels have been completed and published:
The remaining three novels are provisionally titled:
There are also two prequel novellas to the series, set roughly 90 years before the novels.
These short stories are commonly known as "Dunk and Egg" stories (after their protagonists). ''The Hedge Knight'' is also available as a Graphic Novel from Dabel Brothers Productions ; an adaptation of ''The Sworn Sword'' is forthcoming from the same company. The author has said that he would like to write a number of these stories (varying from six to twelve from interview to interview) covering the entire lives of these two characters. Publication of a third "Dunk and Egg" novella is provisonally set for 2008. The series has been placed as the number 1 rated series at the Internet Book List since a revision of the rating system in October 2005. list Internet book list rating ASOIAF , retrieved December 20th, 2006 PLOT SUMMARY ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is set primarily in the fictional Seven Kingdoms of Westeros , a large, South America-sized continent with an ancient history stretching back some twelve thousand years. The original inhabitants of the land, the "children of the forest" (whose "old gods" are still worshipped in the North) were conquered by the First Men, who came from the east. Later, the Andals, who brought their seven-faced god across the narrow sea with them, arrived and conquered the southern portion of Westeros, though they were never able to overthrow Moat Cailin and defeat the King in the North. The six Andal kingdoms, Dorne excepted, were later united by Aegon Targaryen , called the Conqueror, and King Torrhen Stark bent the knee to Aegon rather than risk the destruction of his kingdom at the hands of Aegon's dragons. Some 283 years after Aegon's conquest, the Targaryens are overthrown in a civil war and King Robert Baratheon , backed primarily by his friend Lord Eddard Stark and foster father Lord Jon Arryn , takes the Iron Throne. The novels, which begin fifteen years into Robert's reign, follow the fall-out from this event across three major storylines, set not only in Westeros but on the eastern continent as well. The first storyline, set in the Seven Kingdoms themselves, chronicles a many-sided struggle for the Iron Throne that develops after King Robert's death. The throne is claimed by his son Joffrey , supported by his mother's powerful family, House Lannister , but Robert's brother Stannis claims that Robert's children are illegitimate, and claims the throne himself, to a less-than-enthusiastic response. Robert's youngest brother, Renly , also claims the throne with the support of the extremely powerful House Tyrell . Whilst these three claimants battle for the throne itself, Robb Stark , Lord Eddard Stark's heir, is proclaimed King in the North as the northmen and their allies in the Riverlands seek to break away from the Iron Throne and rule themselves. Similarly, Balon Greyjoy also claims the throne of his own region, the Iron Islands, and likewise seeks independence. The War of the Five Kings is the principal storyline in the second and third novels, with its fall-out and repercussions affecting much of what follows. The second storyline is set on the extreme northern border of Westeros. Here, eight thousand years ago, a huge wall of ice and gravel was constructed by both magic and labor to defend Westeros from the threat of ' The Others ', a semi-mythical race of ice creatures living in the uttermost north. The 300-mile-long, 700-foot-tall Wall is defended by the Sworn Brotherhood of the Night's Watch , which by the time of the novels is badly under-strength and threatened by the human 'wildlings' or 'free folk' who live to the north. This storyline strand follows Jon Snow , Bastard son of Lord Eddard Stark , as he rises through the ranks of the Watch and learns the true nature of the threat from the north. By the end of the third volume, this storyline has become more entangled with the civil war to the south as well. The third storyline is set on the huge eastern continent and follows the adventures of Daenerys Targaryen , the last (known) scion of House Targaryen and another claimant to the Iron Throne. Daenerys's story shows her growing rise to power, from a near-penniless wanderer to a powerful and canny ruler who possesses the last living dragons. Though her story is separated from the others by many thousands of miles, her stated goal is to reclaim the Iron Throne. Although she is not known to many in Westeros, the chaos of two civil wars in rapid succession has led to much yearning among the smallfolk for the days of stability under the Targaryens. Daenerys' storyline will return her to Westeros before the end of the series. The eponymous Song of Ice and Fire is mentioned only once in the series, in a vision Daenerys sees in ''A Clash of Kings''. In her vision, Daenerys see a Targaryen (probably Daenerys's dead older brother Rhaegar Targaryen ) speaking of a baby, saying, "He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire". It is implied that there is a connection between the song, the promised prince, and Daenerys herself. This is established more clearly in ''A Feast for Crows'', when old Aemon Targaryen identifies Daenerys as the heir that was promised. The phrase "ice and fire" is also mentioned in the Reeds' oath of loyalty to Bran in ''A Clash of Kings''. However, the song and the promise are never mentioned again, and the song itself remains a mystery. ''See also:'' List Of Characters In A Song Of Ice And Fire 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. A similar reality-inspired conflict is the succession struggle called the Dance Of Dragons between two children Aegon II and Rhaenyra. A historical struggle (labeled The Anarchy ) between Empress Matilda , daughter of Henry I Of England , and her cousin Stephen Of Blois , provides the inspiration. Each daughter is announced as her father's successor, but due to differing reasons, male rivals seize the crown and are anointed as rulers. During the dynastic struggle, the rival claimants are deposed and succeeded by the son ( Aegon III and Henry II Of England respectively) of the original designated heir. Neither Empress Matilda nor Rhaenyra actually ruled in their own name. 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." So Spake Martin Report #1 Martin has also said the Albigensian Crusade s are an influence for the series. ORIGINS OF THE SERIES Although George RR Martin had long had a love of model knights and medieval History , his early novels and short stories mostly fit into the Science Fiction genre, although eventually several fantasy stories did appear, such as ''The Ice Dragon''. In the mid-1980s, Martin worked mainly in Hollywood , principally as a writer or producer on '' The New Twilight Zone '' and ''Beauty And The Beast'' . After ''Beauty and the Beast'' ended in 1989 Martin returned to writing prose and started work on a science fiction novel called ''Avalon''. In 1991, whilst struggling with this story, Martin conceived of a scene where several youngsters find a dead direwolf with a stag's antler in its throat. The direwolf has several pups, which are taken by the youngsters to raise as their own. Martin's imagination was fired by this idea and he developed it into an Epic Fantasy story, which he envisaged as a trilogy consisting of the books ''A Game of Thrones'', ''A Dance with Dragons'' and ''The Winds of Winter''. Martin had previously apparently not been inspired by the genre, but reading Tad Williams ' '' Memory, Sorrow, And Thorn '' series had convinced him it could be approached in a more adult and mature way than previous authors. In 1992 he put the book to one side when one of his TV ideas was picked up by Hollywood, resulting in the production of a pilot called ''Doorways''. The pilot was not successful and the series was not made. In 1994 Martin resumed work on ''A Game of Thrones'' and completed it the following year, although he was only one-third of the way through his initial plan for the first novel. Martin then expanded the series to four books, and eventually to six. Publication of ''A Game of Thrones'' followed in early 1996. Pre-release publicity included publication of a 'sample novella' called ''Blood of the Dragon''. After expanding the series to four volumes, Martin remarked, "What can I say? It's a BIG story, and a cast of thousands." Martin in post to ''Legends'', October 6 1998 . So Spake Martin – Posts to Legends (SSL) After ''A Storm of Swords'' was completed in 2000, Martin began writing ''A Dance with Dragons'', the intended fourth volume which would pick up the story five years after the previous volume. Martin found it difficult to make this work without an over-reliance on flashbacks. At the World Science Fiction Convention in Philadelphia on 1 September 2001 , Martin announced that he was scrapping more than a year's work and writing a different fourth book that would fill in the gap, named ''A Feast for Crows''. He found it extremely difficult to go back and start again, especially as this novel was not planned for in his scheme for the series, and work on the book progressed slowly. By May 2005 ''A Feast for Crows'' had become longer than ''A Storm of Swords'' and his publishers said they could not publish the book in one volume. They suggested splitting the book in two and releasing the volumes as ''A Feast for Crows, Volume I'' and ''A Feast for Crows, Volume II'', but Martin was unhappy with this idea. After discussing the matter with his publishers and his friend and fellow writer Daniel Abraham , Martin decided to split the book by character and location instead. The published ''A Feast for Crows'' thus contained all of the characters in the South of the Seven Kingdoms, whilst the forthcoming ''A Dance with Dragons'' will contain the characters in the North, the Free Cities and in Slaver's Bay. In a May 2005 statement, the author also said that this move now meant that the series would require seven volumes. 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." Message on Martin's website, May 29 2005 It's Done!!! Despite the problems, ''A Feast for Crows'' was released in October 2005 and immediately won largely positive reviews. '''' bestseller list. 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, ''A Dance with Dragons''. 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." Message on Martin's website, January 24 2006 Update In a later update, Martin confirmed that the fifth book will be completed in early 2007 for publication in late 2007. He lost some time in writing the book due to a demanding appearances schedule and also due to home renovations. As of September 2007, the fifth book is still not complete, although Martin has cancelled several major commitments (including a book tour of Japan , South Korea , Taiwan and possibly China ) to bring the novel to completion. TV ADAPTATION '' 2007 Written and executive produced by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss , the series is expected to cover one novel's worth of material per season. Martin plans to co-executive produce the series and is expected to write one episode per season. The series will be filmed in Europe or New Zealand. SPIN-OFFS In addition to the novels and novellas, there are number of other products inspired by the series. Related publications Some of the novels' chapters have appeared previously in collected form in other outlets.
''A Game of Thrones collectible card game'' See Also: A Game of Thrones collectible card game This is a for ''Best Card Game Expansion or Supplement of 2003''. It is an ongoing project consisting of five editions and eight expansions to date. ''A Game of Thrones Board Game'' See Also: A Game of Thrones (board game) In 2003, Fantasy Flight Games released the ''A Game of Thrones'' Strategy Board Game created by Christian T. Petersen. The Origins Award -winning game allows the players to take on the roles of several of the Great Houses vying for control of the Seven Kingdoms, including House Stark, House Lannister, House Baratheon, House Greyjoy, House Tyrell, and as of the expansion ''A Clash of Kings'', House Martell. Players maneuver armies to secure support in the various regions that comprise the Seven Kingdoms, with the goal of capturing enough support to claim the Iron Throne. Two expansions for the game, ''A Clash of Kings'' and ''A Storm of Swords'' have been released. ''A Game of Thrones Roleplaying Game'' See Also: A Game of Thrones (role-playing game) The ''A Game of Thrones Roleplaying Game'' (2005), created by the defunct Guardians Of Order company and published by White Wolf , is a Roleplaying Game using the D20 and the Tri-Stat DX rules systems. The game consists of a single large, full-colour rulebook featuring information on role-playing in the Seven Kingdoms and also background information to the series not found in the novels, including a detailed map of the Seven Kingdoms. The game was very well-received and was nominated for several awards, but this was not enough to save its parent company from closure in July 2006. On 2007, Green Ronin Publishing announced they would be producing a new role-playing game entitled ''A Song of Ice and Fire''. ''The Art of Ice and Fire'' This book, published in 2005 by Fantasy Flight Games, contains numerous works of art inspired by the series from a variety of different artists and illustrators. Some of the art previously appeared in the card game or on-line, but most of it was new. Models and figures Computer games No official computer game based on the series has been made or announced, although according to George RR Martin there have been occasional inquiries. Several unofficial fan-created '', '' Crusader Kings '', and '' Neverwinter Nights ''. ''The World of Ice and Fire'' A companion volume for the series, provisionally known as a 'world book', is in development by George R. R. Martin and co-authors Elio M. García, Jr. and Linda Antonsson, although no publication date has been announced as yet. García and Antonsson run the largest ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' community on the web and assisted in the writing of the roleplaying game. The companion volume was given the working title ''The World of Ice and Fire'' at the 2006 , best known for his work on illustrated editions of J. R. R. Tolkien books, has been asked to do some landscape and castle portraits for the book. In his correspondence with the publishers, Nasmith was told that the target release date was spring 2008 {Link without Title} . Weapon Replicas On Longclaw wielded by Jon Snow . PRONUNCIATION OF NAMES Unlike 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 Random House audio interview with GRRM. [http://a1018.g.akamai.net/f/1018/19019/1d/randomhouse1.download.akamai.com/19019/GeorgeRRMartinInterview.mp3] and FF indicates the Fast Forward television interview.Fast Forward video interview with GRRM. [http://www.fast-forward.tv/archive/archive.htm] 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. Characters
Houses and surnames
Presumably, bastard names (like ''Snow'' and ''Rivers'') are always pronounced like the corresponding common noun. Places
Titles
NOTES EXTERNAL LINKS
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