A Song of Ice and Fire is an award-winning series of epic fantasy novels by American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the series in 1991 and the first volume was published in 1996. Originally planned as a trilogy, the series now consists of four published volumes with three more projected. There are also two prequel novellas available, with several more planned, and a series of novellas consisting of excerpts of the main novels. One of these excerpt novellas has won a Hugo Award. The series has been translated into eighteen languages and the fourth volume reached the top of the New York Times bestseller lists upon its release. Overall, the series has sold more than 2.2 million copies in the USA.
The story of A Song of Ice and Fire takes place in a fictional world, primarily upon a continent called Westeros but also on a large landmass to the east, known as Essos. Most of the characters are human but as the series progresses other races are introduced, such as the cold and menacing Others from the far North and fire-breathing dragons from the East, both races thought to be extinct by the people of the story. There are three principal storylines in the series: the chronicling of a dynastic civil war for control of Westeros between several competing families; the rising threat of the Others who dwell beyond an immense wall of ice that forms Westeros' northern border; and the journey of Daenerys Targaryen, the exiled daughter of a king who was murdered in another civil war fifteen years previously (War of the Usurper) and now seeks to return to Westeros and claim her rightful throne. As the series progresses, all three storylines become intensely interwoven and dependent on each other.
The series is told in the limited third-person through the eyes of a number of POV characters. By the end of the fourth volume, there have been twenty-five such characters, although these include eight who appear only once.
The growing popularity of the series led to it being optioned by HBO, which the network has exercised for a possible television adaptation. There are popular board and role-playing games based on the books available, as well as a collection of artwork based on and inspired by the series. The French video game company, Cyanide, has announced that they have partnered with Martin to create a video game adaption of the books.
The series is the number 2 rated series at the Internet Book List of those with at least 100 votes.
Back story
The background to A Song of Ice and Fire is revealed through the lengthy appendices which follow on from each volume, with additional information revealed through the novellas, the text of the novels themselves and the role-playing game.
The narrative 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, and where the seasons last for years. The original inhabitants of the land were the Children of The Forest (whose old gods are still worshipped in the North), a dimunitive race who lived in harmony with nature and employed powerful magic. The First Men, a civilization of primitive warriors wielding bronze weapons and riding horses, crossed over from the eastern continent via a land bridge (destroyed in the resulting conflicts) and fought a series of wars against the Children which ended with the Pact of the Isle of Faces being signed, with the First Men taking control of the open lands and the Children remaining in the forests.
The Pact was weakened after four thousand years by the emergence of the Others, an enigmatic race from the furthermost north, who swept south into Westeros and caused great death and destruction, bringing about a night that lasted a generation and a winter that lasted decades. In the War for the Dawn, the Others were thrown back by the First Men and the Children of The Forest, and the vast wall of ice was raised to bar their passage south should they come again. In the following centuries the Children gradually disappeared, and it was presumed that they left Westeros or died out altogether.
Approximately two thousand years after the War for the Dawn, the Andals crossed the narrow sea from the eastern continent. The Andals wielded iron weapons, had tamed horses to use in battle and brought with them the Faith of the Seven. They landed in the Vale of Arryn and over the course of several millennia subjugated the southern kingdoms. However, they could not take the North due to natural defences. Over time six great and powerful kingdoms were forged across Westeros: the Kingdom of the North, the Kingdom of the Iron Islands, the Kingdom of Vale and Sky, the Kingdom of the Rock, the Kingdom of the Storm Kings and the Kingdom of the Reach. A seventh kingdom—that of the Riverlands—was repeatedly conquered by its neighbours and eventually was destroyed altogether, whilst the small desert kingships in the far south of Westeros were divided by constant struggle and war. One thousand years prior to the events of the novels, a great host of refugees from the region of the River Rhoyne on the eastern continent—displaced by the growing power of a distant empire called Valyria—crossed the narrow sea under the warrior-queen Nymeria and landed in the southern-most part of Westeros. The Rhoynar allied with the native Lord Mors Martell and conquered the southern peninsula of Dorne, forging another powerful kingdom.
Five centuries later the expanding Valyrian Freehold had reached the far coast of the narrow sea and established links with Westeros, using the island of Dragonstone as a trading port. However, a mere century later the Valyrian Freehold was destroyed by a titanic disaster known as the Doom. The Valyrian family that controlled Dragonstone, the Targaryens, spent a further century in preparing their forces, and then launched a devastating invasion of Westeros under Aegon the Conqueror. Although their forces were tiny, they had with them the last three dragons in the western world and they were able to use these to subjugate the continent. Six of the Seven Kingdoms were conquered in this initial war, but Dorne resisted so fiercely that Aegon agreed to let them remain independent. The Targaryens adopted the native Faith of the Seven (although they still married brother to sister in the ancient Valyrian tradition in defiance of the Faith's teachings) and Westerosi customs, and within a few decades had crushed all resistance to their rule. The last dragons died out a century and a half into the Targaryen rule, but by this time they had become the ruling power on the continent and their rule was not challenged at this time.
Fifteen years prior to the beginning of the novels, the Targaryens were displaced from power in a civil war brought about by King Aerys II's (called "the Mad King") insanity and cruelty. An alliance of houses under the leadership of Lord Robert Baratheon, Lord Jon Arryn, and Lord Eddard Stark successfully destroyed the Targaryen armies, then went on to kill king Aerys's heirs and wiped out most of the line, aside from Aerys' pregnant wife and his son Viserys, who fled to Dragonstone. King Aerys himself was killed by Jaime Lannister, his own sworn sword, who since then has been nicknamed the Kingslayer. Aerys' wife died giving birth to Daenerys Targaryen, who was taken to safety in the Free Cities beyond the narrow sea by loyal retainers. In the meantime, Robert Baratheon took the Iron Throne and married Cersei Lannister, whose father Tywin had delivered Robert the capital of King's Landing through treachery.
Synopsis
See also: List of characters in A Song of Ice and FireA Song of Ice and Fire follows three principal storylines, divided by geography and participants.
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. However, Lord Eddard Stark, King Robert's Hand, finds out Robert's children are illegitimate, and that the throne should therefore fall to Robert's unpopular eldest brother, Stannis. Robert's charismatic and popular youngest brother, Renly, also places a claim, openly disregarding the order of precedence, with the support of the powerful House Tyrell. While the claimants battle for the Iron Throne, Robb Stark, Lord Eddard Stark's heir, is proclaimed King in the North as the northmen and their allies in the Riverlands seek to return to self-rule. Likewise, Balon Greyjoy also (re-)claims the ancient throne of his own region, the Iron Islands, with an eye toward independence. This war is exacerbated by a foreign priestess of a fire god, who believes that the answer to her religion's prophecy is to be found in Westeros. The War of the Five Kings is the principal storyline in the second and third novels, while the fourth novel concerns the realm's recovery in the face of the coming winter.
The second storyline is set on the extreme northern border of Westeros. Here, 8,000 years prior, a huge wall of ice and gravel was constructed by both magic and labor to defend Westeros from the threat of The Others, a race of now-mythical creatures living in the uttermost north. This Wall, 300 miles (480 km) long and 700 feet (210 m) tall, is defended and maintained by the Sworn Brotherhood of the Night's Watch, whose duty is to guard the kingdom against the Others. By the time of the novels, it is badly under-strength and has almost forgotten its original purpose, instead being threatened by the human "wildlings" or "free folk" who l
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