Winter Is Coming: The Medieval World of Game of Thrones by Carolyne Larrington

Final Rating: 3.7/5

 Touches on a little of everything under the Westeros and Essos sun and moon

  Guilty! I love the A Song of Ice and Fire series. These rich unforgettable books have brought me weeks and months of enthralling distraction over the years and I also adore exploring anything Medieval or sitting back late at night with a good myth or legend. So when I saw this book was by an actual scholar of medieval English literature and someone who has a serious interest in studying folklore and heroic stories from different cultures, well it was like an extra guilty indulgence before the long anticipated The Winds of Winter would find its way into my eager grasp.

  Overall, this title delivered what is advertised: a journey into the seven kingdoms with a scholarly guide leading the way and stopping at distinct points of interest, revealing parallels and examining possible inspirations between the Known World and our own lines of history and legends, songs and tales of yore. Small as it is, this book touches on a little of everything under the Westeros and Essos sun (and moon) from: possible origins of the idea of direwolves to discussions of the damage that can be brought with an aerial attack with dragons to observations of characters with memorable quotes from the books and the show, ancient tales of the night and dead that mirror the terrifying White Walkers and Wights, architecture comparisons of large populated cities and even a short prediction from the author about the show and final storylines. Of course there are fascinating photos to accompany the intrepid traveler but alas I was not fortunate enough to get to see all of those, my supplied copy did not contain pictures (just blocks of black) but I did look at the available kindle version and there are some very nice illustrations of different topics. I must comment before I go on, that spoilers are abound in this little book and those new to this incredible series may not be completely warned in time but the author does attempt to give a little warning at times with distinct symbols of outlined ravens before certain sections.

  Although I loved pondering over certain parallels and finding snippets of myths and lore I never before considered could be inspiration for some part of the series and ever expanding storylines, I found myself saying “wait tell me more about…” quite a few times while reading Winter Is Coming: The Medieval World of Game of Thrones. The presentation is lightning-quick and I would have liked a little more about certain locales (Dragonstone for example just covers the effects of Greyscale and it possibly being likened to our own devastating Leprosy (Hansen's disease)) and a few more characters or the shadowy counter storylines we all think we know (only one mention of Lady Stoneheart). The beginning sections are also unfortunately choppy and ideas bounce rapidly finding little cohesiveness until the later sections then the book turns into an enjoyable journey. All in all, I found this book wonderful in some parts but surprising lacking in others, it is still well worth reading though and I would recommend this title to any fan of medieval history, enchanting ancient tales and of course the A Song of Ice and Fire series- let 2017 finally be the year for The Winds of Winter!

* I would like to thank I.B.Tauris and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and enjoy Winter Is Coming: The Medieval World of Game of Thrones 

Title Released: January 30, 2016