Winter is Coming

Symbols and Hidden Meanings in A Game of Thrones

By: Valerie Estelle Frankel

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Game of Thrones fans watch in delight as the epic battle of Lannister and Stark entangles the Seven Kingdoms. But only the sharpest notice how these houses echo Lancaster and York in the War of the Roses. Druids, Catholics, and even Zoroastrians wander through Westeros, reframing their religions for a new world of fantasy. But how medieval is Westeros? Did lady knights and pirates really battle across Europe? The audiobook Winter is Coming: Symbols and Hidden Meanings in A Game of Thrones explores all this and more, from the echoes of history to the symbols and omens our beloved characters.

Who is Jon Snow's mother and why is she a secret? What is Daenerys's real power, unknown even to her? Will these two characters share a destiny? Where is the red priestess's real Light bringer and when will it arrive? Through dreams and prophecies, imagery and allegory, the deepest secrets of the series unfold, in an exploration friendly to watchers and listeners alike.

©2013 Valerie Estelle Frankel (P)2014 Audible Inc.

best guide to the thrones .

Virtual map to some of the most convoluted sub plots in the throne game.revealing the many layers of plots in this great series.

Helps pass the time from one season to another

Who was your favorite character and why?

The best story by far is the background on Jon Snow. There other stories that are expanded from the series and complemented with information from the books.

Any additional comments?

Overall this is a good listen if you are a fan of the TV show or have read the books some time ago. Probably as the stories continue to be developed the book will become outdated. After reading A Dance of Dragons and even during season 5 of the TV show the book remains very pertinent. I really enjoyed it and appreciated the GOT content.

How to Put your Own Wagon in the Game

The first several chapters are excellent, as is the performance throughout; however, if it wasn’t free on Audible I would have wanted a refund. The last 3 chapters are a tedious monologue on European history better suited to a junior college lecture hall, then under the guise of hitching your own wagon to a celebrated author who has spent decades actually Earning his own stars.

Great Look Into Future of Game of Thrones

Would you listen to Winter is Coming again? Why?

I might listen this this again. It is short and an easy listen. There is lots of thought provoking discussion and a behind the scenes look at what is really going on. Good discussion of symbolism in the books.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Winter is Coming?

I especially enjoyed the discussion on Jon's parentage. This is something that my daughter and I had discussed at length and some of the theories that we had come up with were discussed as well as some that we had not thought of.

Which scene was your favorite?

I enjoyed the discussion of prophecy of what was going to happen in the future for Game of Thrones especially in regards to the dragons.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This that was a book about other books it did not provoke extreme reactions. It was enjoyable from beginning to end.

Any additional comments?

The narrator was easy to understand which is my first priority for a audible book. I would buy this one again.

Must read for Song of ice and fire fans!

What made the experience of listening to Winter is Coming the most enjoyable?

Some of the theories that are brought up I had thought of by my self. To find out that others thought the theory might be right was exhilarating.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Winter is Coming?

I had thought of an idea by my self that the book brought up as the most likely posobility about Johns ancestors.

What about Oliver Wyman’s performance did you like?

He was fantastic. When he switched between characters his voice made me know who was talking.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed a bit.

Fans of Game of Thrones should like it

Winter is Coming is a non-fiction book about a fantasy book and TV show. It explores the historic, myth, and folklore roots of many of the ideas, incidents, and characters in the books of the Song of Ice and Fire series and the Game of Thrones television series based on that series of books. People who are fans of the books or the TV series and want to know more about the background will likely enjoy it. Other people could probably care less.

This book was written a few years ago. At that time, it seems that about two seasons of the television series had been released. Now the whole television series is complete, and I think at least one more of the books has been released since then. There remains at least one more book at this time that hasn’t been released yet. There is some speculation in Winds of Winter about what will be included in the upcoming books and seasons of the show. If you have read/watched everything that has been released so far, you can check how accurate the author’s predictions were on that point.

I don’t remember particularly noticing the narrator on this one, so he must have done a good job.

Interesting insights

This provides some interesting insights into the series. I liked the parallels the author drew with actual history. The narrator really enriched the material with his voices and dramatic readings of passages from the book.

Great background info

Very much enjoyed this supplemental information to the game of thrones series. It includes wonderful parallels between medieval England and Westeros and provides thoughtful insights.

It was ok

Very interesting, but nothing you can't find on the Internet. If you know nothing (apart from the tv show or books) is a must read, but if you've read some theories, there's nothing special here.

If you pay attention to the books you know this.

But it is still a good listen. Not too long to be a waste of time and it does make you think a bit more in depth. So 3 stars.