Beyond the Wall: Exploring George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire in A Song of Ice & Fire Fans

Mar 28, 2015 Argona rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed, non-fiction, companion-books

This book is basically a collection of essays on “A Song of Ice and Fire”. It was better than I expected and I really enjoyed reading some of these essays. It’s true that there are many amazing essays on ASOIAF available online, most of them created by devoted fans and for free. I have read many of these amazing online analyses but I still found very interesting information and thought-provoking analyses in this book. Some of the essays were very fascinating and informative and thought-provoking This book is basically a collection of essays on “A Song of Ice and Fire”. It was better than I expected and I really enjoyed reading some of these essays. It’s true that there are many amazing essays on ASOIAF available online, most of them created by devoted fans and for free. I have read many of these amazing online analyses but I still found very interesting information and thought-provoking analyses in this book. Some of the essays were very fascinating and informative and thought-provoking while some others were quite boring to me and didn’t interest me at all. These essays were either exploring subjects uninteresting to me, or were repetitive with no compelling insight.

I especially enjoyed “Men and Monsters” by Alyssa Rosenberg which explored rape and sexual violence in ASOIAF. It was quite an eye-opener and it deepened my understanding of Martin’s intentions when he decided to include so many acts of sexual violence against women in his books. I admire this man even more now! It’s sad how much his intentions are misunderstood and he is accused of sexism!

“Art imitates War” was also very fascinating and informative. It explored “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” in ASOIAF, using Arya and Theon in particular to show both sides of this complicated disorder and how it can affect different people in different ways.

“The Palace of Love, The Palace of Sorrow” explored Romanticism in A Song of Ice and Fire and was quite interesting.

“The Brutal Cost of Redemption in Westeros” explored Moral Ambiguity and had a very fascinating view on the morality of Westeros where Winter comes into the picture. I am not sure I agree with it completely, particularly when it comes to characters like Robb, but I did find the author’s argument quite sound and in a certain level, quite true.

“Petyr Baelish and The Mask of Sanity” explored the psychology of a sociopath and was quite convincing. Again, I am not sure I agree with it completely but I found the reasoning quite logical. I simply think we need to wait for the series to end before making a final judgment regarding a character.

I should also mention "A Different Kind of Other" that explored the role of Freaks and Outcasts in A Song of Ice and Fire. This essay totally won me over by pointing out the main outcasts in the series, which is half the population of Westeros, in other words, WOMEN! Yes, G.R.R.M knows what he is doing and he has a point!

If you choose to read this book, keep in mind that you should only read it AFTER finishing the 5th book in the series, “A Dance with Dragons”, since this book contains many spoilers, possibly very very big ones for those unsuspecting readers who haven’t reread each book at least twice. This book contains popular fan-theories, so read it ONLY if you want to KNOW these theories! So I recommend this book if you have finished the 5th book, you’re completely addicted to ASOIAF and you’re trying to maintain your sanity while waiting for the publication of “Winds of Winter”. ...more

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May 24, 2014 The Lit Bitch rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I’ve read a lot of reviews about this anthology, and most people say that you can find better material online in the discussion groups for free.

While there is a plethora of material online, a lot of it isn’t structured or supported by research which was what I was looking for….something a little more organized.

This novel had a broad selection of essays about A Song of Ice and Fire and Westeros. Some were interesting and thought provoking while others left me wanting.

Some of the essays I could ha ...more

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May 23, 2012 usagi ☆ミ rated it really liked it

Shelves: best-of-12, 2012, anthology, non-fiction, fantasy, ebook, religion-what, reviewed, net-galley

When it comes to series I love, I love reading any kind of scholarly (or even pseudo-scholarly) discourse and discussion on it. George R R Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” has long warranted at least one kind of anthology with essays about the series, and I’m happy to say that Ben Bella books has really done fans a solid by releasing this gem of a book. “Beyond the Wall” isn’t just useful for fans, but for aspiring authors, as well (regardless if you’re writing fantasy or contemporary). Whether When it comes to series I love, I love reading any kind of scholarly (or even pseudo-scholarly) discourse and discussion on it. George R R Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” has long warranted at least one kind of anthology with essays about the series, and I’m happy to say that Ben Bella books has really done fans a solid by releasing this gem of a book. “Beyond the Wall” isn’t just useful for fans, but for aspiring authors, as well (regardless if you’re writing fantasy or contemporary). Whether you’re a casual or a die hard fan of the series, or if you’re just getting into “ASOIAF”, “Beyond the Wall” is definitely a must read for you.

There are quite a few awesome essays in this book – covering everything from magic to politics, sexism and sexual violence to religion, how fantasy series compare, and more. The authors for each essay make the language of their work very easy to access so that you don’t have to be in academia to understand what they’re saying or the argument they’re making. They lay out their points very clearly, and use the text of the book (and interviews with the author) to back up what they’re saying. Reading something like this is a joy because of the ease in which you can just dive in and really kind of get into the conversation about some of the long-argued areas (both controversial and not) that the fans have been talking about for the last 15 years.

I think, though, my favorite essays are the ones by Alyssa Rosenberg (“On Men & Monsters” – on the controversial ‘rape culture’ within ‘ASOIAF’), Susan Vaught (“The Brutal Cost of Redemption in Westeros” – on how ‘ASOIAF’ can be seen as a series of tales of redemption and moral ambiguity), Myke Cole (“Art Imitates War” – on PTSD within the series), Jesse Scoble (“A Sword Without a Hilt” – on magic within the series), and Ned Vizzini (“Beyond the Ghetto” – how GRRM’s work transcends genres). These five essays are my favorite because each author really hits the nail on the head for all of their arguments, and gives some really brilliant examples within their discourse from the actual text. If you’re just going to skim a few essays from this anthology, make it these five – they cover all of the hotly contested areas of the series, as well as go into places I hadn’t even thought about in terms of symbolism, foreshadowing, and how time flows within the books. If you’re a fan, you really need to read this book as it’ll definitely illuminate things you had brewing in your head or things you’d noticed subconsciously when reading.

I really hope this is just the first of many books to come on this series, if we’re going to get more of the same brilliant essays that we were given in this book. We all know that there are a lot more arguments to make about and within the “ASOIAF” series, so here’s hoping that this is just the first one. And bravo to Ben Bella books for releasing it first – they tend to release some absolutely awesome essay collections on some of my favorite TV shows and books with high-quality academic-type of discourse on each topic.

“Beyond the Wall” is now available from Ben Bella books in North America, so be sure to check it out! It was an absolute treat to read, and perfect for that in between TV season and book wait for the series.

(posted to goodreads, shelfari, and birthofanewwitch.wordpress.com) ...more

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