#useful references

Do you have a lifelong Special Interest in prehistoric life and also historic life? An interest in United States geology and how old the rocks are? Or if they're fossil-bearing?? And if so, which kinds of creatures and flora may or may not have stood where you're standing?

Do you ever look at a large exposed rock formation amidst a tree-mantled cliffside and go "nice" like everyone involved in the Hudson River School?

*Did you grow up in or around Appalachia and therefore have unasked-for knowledge about granite, quartz, and other igneous rocks??*

Most of it isn't in blog posts at all, it's things GRRM's said at conventions or interviews. (Note for anyone going "Them, really?", check the dates and what the actor looked like at the time.)

So, a quick list:

Sandor Clegane: Ron Perlman

Cersei Lannister: Nicole Kidman

Jaime Lannister: Cary Elwes

Tyrion Lannister: Peter Dinklage

Tywin Lannister: Kurtwood Smith or Robert Duvall

Renly Baratheon: Adrian Paul (also for young Robert)

Arianne Martell: Apollonia Kotero

Nymeria Sand: Janina Gavankar

Daenerys Targaryen: Tamzin Merchant

And sources:

November 2000, fan con report: "Pearlman, from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, would be great for Sandor. Best guy for Tywin: the father on THAT 70s SHOW and who was the father of the kid, who shot himself, in THE DEAD POETS SOCIETY (I think I spelled it all right)."

December 2003: "...I have a few people in mind. I think Nicole Kidman would be good as Cersei. I always liked Ron Perlman, the actor I worked with on 'The Beauty and the Beast’. He would be great as Sandor Clegane. Ron is very good in heavy make-up and he’s also a big, strong kind of guy. He has a great voice that he can do all sorts of wonderful things with. I think he would be terrific as the Hound. For Jamie Lannister, a couple of years ago I would have said Cary Elwes but he might be too old now. I don’t know…"

c. 2006: "Myself, I'd love to see Tywin played by Kurtwood Smith (as in DEAD POET'S SOCIETY) or Robert Duvall (THE GREAT SANTINI)."

July 2006, fan con report: "On being asked about "the casting game" (picking actors to play the characters), he said the only one who he would definitely choose was Ron Perlman to play Sandor "The Hound" Clegane because of Perlman's aptitude for acting through prosthetics."

February 2007, fan con report: "When asked about ideal casting choices, he formally endorsed the idea of Nicole Kidman playing Cersei. He says she has the perfect look for her. But it would never work, because where are you going to find a guy that looks like her to play Jaime? I really got a kick out of that. He also said Ron Perelman would be perfect as the Hound -- but I am pretty sure I had hears or read that somewhere before."

date/source uncertain, but c. 2007: "Adrian Paul and I actually worked together once, long before the Dreamsongs audiobook. Wonder if he remembers. Back then he had a great look for Renly…but of course, that was twenty years ago."

February 2008: "Much as I *cough* admire Salma Hayek, I picture Arianne as looking more like Appollonia Kotero, as she was around the time of PURPLE RAIN."

November 2008, Elio Garcia: "George has said in the past that Adrian Paul is Baratheonish in looks (years ago he said he could see him for a young Robert or Renly)"

May 2009: "Playing Tyrion Lannister will be Peter Dinklage, who was almost everyone's "dream casting" for the role (he certainly was mine)."

August 2009: "I know my readers play the casting game. Well, confession time, so do I. Ever since I began A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE (way back in 1991, thought it wasn't until 1994 that I got writing in earnest), there was always a little part of me that would watch every television show and movie with one eye looking for actors and actresses who might work as my characters.

And so there I was, watching THE TUDORS (which I have VERY mixed feelings about, I confess), when Tamzin Merchant came on screen as the fifteen year old Katherine Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife. I sat up at once, thinking, "Hmmm, she could be a good candidate for Dany.""

 i really want to break out of that and gain as much knowledge on the series as i can (as it is my favourite series and an endless source of inspiration). my questions are 1) how did you get so knowledgable? 2) do you have any tips on how to become more insightful (idk if that’s the right word)? 3) is there like websites or stuff i can read? i’ve basically been drowning myself in meta and it’s kind of helping, but i want mooooore lmao. (2/2)  btw thank you for your blog and for your amazing posts

You’re so very welcome!

1) Age (not that being older is necessarily better – there are many brilliant young meta-ers – but years of experience helps a bit with some things I think, including critical thinking), reading all the time, always being interested in learning new things, unlimited curiosity, dogged research skills, and of course my weird memory.

2) Keep re-reading the books. You almost certainly didn’t catch all the details on your first go-round, especially if you were reading quickly desperately trying to find out what happened next. (I know I missed stuff!) Many of GRRM’s details and subtleties can only be caught on a re-read, especially an in-depth focused re-read. While I have only done one major re-read of the books (prior to the release of ADWD), in the course of answering questions on tumblr for the past 6 years I’ve reread the books in parts dozens of times now. In parts, mind you – there are many chapters I’m sure I’ve only read twice (or once in ADWD’s case), but I almost always discover something new or just interesting whenever I do re-read a chapter or even a section of a chapter. When I do my next focused re-read (after TWOW’s announced), I expect to discover more.

3) In addition to re-reading the books, I highly recommend Westeros.org’s “So Spake Martin” – a huge collection of GRRM’s words from interviews, convention appearances, answers to emails, forum responses, chats, years and years of outside-the-books info. Much of it is the only source we have for some information (Targaryen descriptions, say), although some has made it into TWOIAF and other books published since GRRM said it. Though note much of it is considered semi-canon, meaning that GRRM reserves the right to change his mind for the final published version of the info, and some of the details may never make it into the books at all, it’s nevertheless an amazing resource. (For example, the powers of lords, the role of knighthood, why inheritance is so damn complicated, all kinds of things.) After I first read the books, I devoured the SSMs, and I frequently check them today. (I have a search keyword in my browser to do so speedily, actually.)

I also recommend the other parts of worg’s Citadel: the Concordance (facts gathered from the books by category), the Prophecies (all those confusing visions and dreams analyzed), the FAQ (your many common questions!), and even the Heraldry section (if you like house sigils and house words). Again something I read through back when, and still refer to now. And of course, of course there is the Wiki of Ice and Fire, a site I can’t live without and have a search keyword for. It’s incorporated much of the Concordance (though not all of it which is why I recommend that separately) and some of the SSMs where relevant, but please note that it is fan-written and while it is usually accurate there may be errors. (Beware anything unsourced.) I fix errors when I find them, as do others. :)

And while this is part of “re-read the books”, I must also recommend the excellent A Search of Ice and Fire. Need to check how often and in what context Sansa’s narrative uses the word “father”? Does anyone in the books use the word “sennight”? (nope) or do they call a week “week”? (yep) How often does Ned think of Ashara Dayne? (never) Super, super useful.

And I’m sure if you’re drowning yourself in meta, you’re reading @asoiafuniversity, but I recommend it anyway. :)

I’m sure someone can! And since you’re asking me, I assume you’d like me to. :)

OK, so first off, you want to read the main books, George R.R Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF):

A Game of Thrones (audiobook) 

A Clash of Kings (audiobook)

A Storm of Swords (audiobook) (if you live in the UK, this is divided into two books: part 1: Steel and Snow, part 2: Blood and Gold)

A Feast for Crows (audiobook)

A Dance with Dragons (audiobook) (if you live in the UK, this is divided into two books: part 1: Dreams and Dust, part 2: After the Feast) 

You can get all 5 books in a set, in paperback or leather bound. If you live in a non-English-speaking country, there are translations available, but people generally seem to prefer them in English.

Note the series is unfinished. We’re all waiting on book 6, The Winds of Winter (which might be out in 2018, or might not), and then the series is supposed to end with book 7, A Dream of Spring (god knows when). If you finish ADWD, and TWOW isn’t out yet, you can read the available TWOW preview chapters if you like.

Then there’s the prequel short stories, called the Tales of Dunk and Egg, which take place about 100 years before the main ASOIAF books. You can read these without reading the main books, as they’re lighter and pretty self-contained, but having a background in Westeros helps. The first three stories are called “The Hedge Knight”, “The Sworn Sword”, and “The Mystery Knight”, and they’re collected in this book:

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

There are supposed to be more Dunk and Egg stories and eventually more collections, but GRRM has to write them first. :)

For further information about Westeros and ASOIAF, I very much recommend:

The World of Ice and Fire

Note TWOIAF isn’t a narrative story, it’s a companion book written as a in-world history book and guide to the lands of Westeros and Essos. It’s got lots of info about the world of ASOIAF, fleshing out all kinds of details hinted to in the main books and D&E. And it’s lavishly illustrated too, it makes a great coffee table book. Plus it has family trees for the three main families of ASOIAF, the Starks, Lannisters, and Targaryens. But I wouldn’t recommend reading it unless you’ve read ASOIAF and want more.

And for even more information, one of the historical events referred to in ASOIAF and detailed in TWOIAF was a civil war called The Dance of the Dragons. GRRM released two short stories in anthologies, expanding this history, but note again they’re not a narrative story, they’re written like a history book – or more accurately, like a book written by a very opinionated historian. They’re kind of dry, tbh… not dull, but they definitely are not the same as ASOIAF or D&E. If you’d like to read those, you can find them here:

“The Rogue Prince”, published in Rogues (Amazon / Kindle)

“The Princess and the Queen”, published in Dangerous Women (Amazon / Kindle)

And if those appeal to you, there’s going to be another historical short story, coming out this fall:

“The Sons of the Dragon”, published in The Book of Swords (Amazon / Kindle, coming October 10)

Important note: All three of these short stories, plus some of the historical excerpts from TWOIAF, will be released and expanded in a book called Fire and Blood, volume 1, out in late 2018. So if you’d rather not buy a fantasy anthology book for one short story, and you can wait, you might as well wait. :)

edit 11/2018: It’s out!  Fire and Blood, vol. 1 (Amazon / Kindle)

And one more thing, there’s the “map book”, The Lands of Ice and Fire. This isn’t something to read, it’s not even a book really, but it is a beautiful collection of maps of the world of ASOIAF, including many places that we will probably never visit in the books themselves – but also including a map tracking the paths of the story’s protagonists, and maps of cities like King’s Landing and Braavos.

Oh, in case you like comic books (never know), there are graphic novel adaptations of A Game of Thrones and the Dunk and Egg stories. (A Clash of Kings is currently being adapted, a new issue every month, but not collected into a book yet.) I’m not a huge fan of the AGOT comic art, though a lot of people seem to like them. But the Dunk and Egg comics are just gorgeous (the artist does covers for the AGOT and ACOK adaptations) and I love them almost more than the actual text stories. But remember, they are adaptations – not new stories, just the books in comic book format. Still, to keep this post complete:

The Hedge Knight (Amazon / Kindle)

The Sworn Sword (Amazon / Kindle)

The Mystery Knight (Amazon / Kindle)

A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel - Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4

You’re quite welcome, happy to help! And let me see -- anything useful tumblr-wise, I usually tag psa or guides. Posts about about tumblr get the tumblr tag of course -- but note that’s often about amusing/frustrating tumblr culture as well as good advice. I also have all kinds of useful information under the tag useful references.

And @asoiafuniversity has tons of info for ASOIAF fandom and tumblr under the resources tag. I particularly recommend the recent post on how to best use tumblr’s tags and search, and if you keep going in the resources tag you’ll find links to the TWOW preview chapters and many more helpful things.

You can find it under my "useful references" tag or click here.