The World of Ice & Fire

By: George R. R. Martin, Elio Garcia, Linda Antonsson

Narrated by: Roy Dotrice, Nicholas Guy Smith

Length: 21 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

The never-before-seen history of Westeros and The Lands Beyond with hundreds of pages of all-new material from George R.R. Martin.

If the past is prologue, then George R. R. Martin's masterwork - the most inventive and entertaining fantasy saga of our time - warrants one hell of an introduction. At long last, it has arrived with The World of Ice & Fire.

This volume is a comprehensive history of the Seven Kingdoms, providing vividly constructed accounts of the epic battles, bitter rivalries, and daring rebellions that lead to the events of A Song of Ice and Fire and HBO's Game of Thrones. In a collaboration that's been years in the making, Martin has teamed with Elio M. García, Jr., and Linda Antonsson, the founders of the renowned fan site Westeros.org - perhaps the only people who know this world almost as well as its visionary creator.

Collected here is all the accumulated knowledge, scholarly speculation, and inherited folk tales of maesters and septons, maegi and singers, including:

• Full family trees for Houses Stark, Lannister, and Targaryen
• In-depth explorations of the history and culture of Westeros
• 100% all-new material, more than half of which Martin wrote specifically for this book

The definitive companion piece to George R. R. Martin's dazzlingly conceived universe, The World of Ice & Fire is indeed proof that the pen is mightier than a storm of swords.

©2014 George R.R. Martin (P)2014 Random House Audio

Masterpiece, as expected

To be honest, I have to say that when I first started listening to this book, I was surprised by the fact that this is not a novel( or a story). It is a history book. Some parts that talked about the early history of Westeros, I can't call anything but boring, but once the book got closer to the "present time", I found it very interesting. It gives a very detailed history of every house and even the free cities. The longer I listened the more hooked I was. It is clear that the authors have spent countless hours creating this world.
Bottom line, if you're a die-hard Game of Thrones fan, you'll love it, but if you're just looking for an easy listen, pass on this one.

39 of 42 people found this review helpful

Calm Down, Fanboys

I loved all the other books in the series, but this book was a disappointment. This offering may work in print as reference material. It does not work as an audiobook. Unless you enjoy listening to an almanac, save your credit and buy the print version.

245 of 275 people found this review helpful

no audio table of contents?!! AAAARRRRGGGGHHH

Would you listen to The World of Ice & Fire again? Why?

This book is a wet dream and fantastic for a ASOIAF lover, but where are the chapters and the table of contents in this audiobook? What in the world of ice and fire is going on here?
I mean, it's pretty freakin' infuriating that it's ALL one audio file and if I want to listen to the story of the Stark family history again and again, I can't just do that because there's no freakin table of contents in the audio file which is how long?? Oh 21 hours and 22 minutes!!!!! This is really really irritating.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The World of Ice & Fire?

that there's NO table of contents in the audio book!!

Any additional comments?

ADD AUDIO TABLE CONTENTS as an UPGRADE for the audiobook ASAP!

82 of 96 people found this review helpful

For super fans only!!!

If you want to know all about the Andals, the Rhoynar, the first city of Ghis, the fabled land of Sotheros, and about the Doom of Valyria, then this is great for you.

If you don't know what I'm talking about or don't care, stick to the main novels.

A semi-complete history of the major houses is contained within, also, which is fascinating. But that's only about the first half of the book. The second half deals with the Free Cities and the other continents.

Hope that helps!

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Does not work as an audio book

I have to agree with Daniel. This book may work well in print as reference material but as an audiobook it is a snoozer. As a history book I did learn interesting background information on the characters but listening to someone read it was a struggle.

37 of 44 people found this review helpful

The Silmarillion of GRR Martin's World

Though this book is more for backstory to explain how and why the world we are thrust into came to be, and does a wonderful job at explaining where the different ethnicities developed, the conflicts of ages past, as well as the ancient tales of empires come and gone by, as well as a pondering on the races that may have come before.
As always, Roy was a wonderful narrarator and has not lost his talent for the series.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

The book for beginners!!!

If you're a true Game Of Thrones fan this is a good read but you should already know most of this book. I've read all five books twice and watched the series three or four times. With all that being said i still learned more about the 7 kingdoms. This book is a great feel in as we all wait for the 6th book to come out and we all know that HBO or the millions of fans out there won't make George R.R. Martin write faster. The one thing Martin does do in this book is he sets up the prequel for the New HBO series!!!! This book really tells you all about the Targaryen blood line and all the family trees and the wars to win the throne. If Martin feels to finish book 6 and 7 before the HBO last seasons starts, this is always a new route they can go. One things for sure-nobody can get enough Game Of Thrones!!!!

26 of 31 people found this review helpful

Good acting, Terrible editing

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Better structuring and better cutting of the audio

Any additional comments?

The book has several sections where the audio is so poorly cut it's laughable how this could have left the editing desk. Whenever you start to lose yourself in the story you're pulled right out when you hear jarring shifts in volume and intonation. And after a few you realize it's not the performance it's the amateurish job of stitching the various sections of audio they had available the publishing company performed.

16 of 19 people found this review helpful

Good background info

This is not like the books, but if you are looking for background information to try to puzzle out what will happen next, this might provide some clues.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Sweet History Text

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely. However, this book ins't a novel. It's set up as a maester's chronicling of the history of Westeros and beyond. If you love the other books, you should find these tales very interesting. Roy Dotrice does a great job as always, and there is another narrator for what are essentially footnotes, which works well. You forget there there are two other co-authors being the storytelling is so consistent. Well Done.

Have you listened to any of Roy Dotrice and Nicholas Guy Smith ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Just as good as Roy's other Ice and Fire readings

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES

49 of 63 people found this review helpful