Category: A Song of Ice and Fire

2. Animals behind the Wall

The reader of “A Song of Ice and Fire” will from time to time come across living creatures, prototypes of which died on Earth thousands of years ago. Nevertheless, according to the novels, these species are also under the threat of extinction and live only in the most remote and hard-to-reach areas, mainly behind the Wall.

Direwolves

The lands behind the Wall are poorly studied and have almost no connection to the rest of the continent. This might be the only reason why severe predators direwolves survived. Direwolves are much larger, fiercer and smarter that the ordinary wolves. Their heads are rounder, legs are longer and the muzzle is more prominent. To the South of the Wall there are no real opponents for the direwolves among the animal world, therefore people were the most likely reason of their extinction. During the winter direwolves would gather together and attack neighboring places, so no wonder that the northerners decided to get rid of the dangerous creatures.

Shadowcat

These large animals mostly hunt for goats and rams but might eat a man on occasion. The size of these cats makes them a dangerous opponent even for direwolves. However, these wild creatures rarely intersect, since direwolves mostly live in forests, while shadowcats prefer mountains. Shadowcats emit low deep roaring and have narrow gray eyes. Thick and warm black fur with white stripes makes them coveted prey for hunters.

Mammoth

Mammoths live far to the North behind the Wall on the island of Ibben. Mammoths are large enough to carry two giants. They are covered with thick wool and have huge tusks. Wildlings domesticated mammoths and use them for riding. Other wildings use mammoth as fighting animals and put wooden turrets on the back of the animal, where several archers can be places.

3. Mythical creatures

In “A Song of Ice and Fire” series the truth and fiction intertwined so closely, that sometimes it is hard to figure out which animals of the local folklore live in the world of Westeros and which are just a part of human imagination.

For example, kraken (a symbol of the Greyjoy House) is a giant squid, which has not been seen by anyone during the whole series, therefore it’s hard to tell their actual size. On the other hand, according to the legends, kraken is quite capable of dragging a whaling vessel under the water, so it is probably not just a simple octopus.

Another House decided to depict basilisks on its emblem. These evil and dangerous creatures from the Yi Ti jungle externally look like chickens. But unlike domestic animals basilisks are poisonous and if a person would add their blood into the food, it would cause a violent insanity.

There are also Manticores, which live on the continent of Essos. George Martin describes them as aggressive and dangerous insects with sharp sting on the tip of the tail and one part looking like a human face. Their bite is deadly, and the poison acts almost instantly, which makes them a favorite weapon of poisoners.

1. Uncommon approach to a traditional genre of literature

The world of fantasy usually has a standard model: there are two opposing camps of characters with a clearly traced frontier. The reader can determine what’s good and what’s bad at the first glance and naturally pick the positive character. Events often accompanied by magic and mythical creatures in almost every chapter.

George Martin has destroyed the main templates of this genre and made his plot closer to the real world, which is not common in the world of fantasy. Legends about the white walkers and dragons intertwine with the main story line of the novel, which emphasizes the complexity of the political and social environment of Westeros. Magic is hardly mentioned in the first two novels. Martin puts the main emphasis on describing moral qualities of characters and makes them more human, hesitating between good and evil.

2. Photo-like description of characters and events

Unlike most novelists, Martin's writing style is similar to the art of photography. The author gives a reader an exhaustive and most detailed image of a character. Other writers often go into spacious descriptions, which can last up to several pages. George Martin, on the other hand, reveals the nature of the character with the progress of the narrative. He also does not focus reader’s attention on long preliminary acquaintance.

Martin’s characters are very different and multifaceted. The reader will enjoy observing the metamorphoses of individuals. It seems like the author allows you to enter someone else’s mind to demonstrate the whole complexity of the human soul. Detailed descriptions, juicy dialogues, filled with non-standard speech, allow experiencing the spirit of this epic saga.

3. The secret meaning of every phrase

Another unique feature of “A Song of Ice and Fire” series is its constant surprises and a secret meaning of almost every phrase in the book. There are no unimportant facts, unnecessary words or stupid actions. Even when the main secret is revealed, the reader still remains with a lot of unanswered questions. George Martin keeps his audience in a constant tension and allows his reader to build their own logical explanations and unthinkable theories. He surrounds the reader with numerous characters, story lines and specific political aspects of the fictional world. Moral dilemmas bring confusion into known values of life and provide a lot of food for thought. “A Song of Ice and Fire” series definitely leaves you with mixed emotions and bittersweet feelings after finishing it. Favorite characters die, while evil successes over good. Needless to say that unlike “A Song of Ice and Fire” the show “Game of Thrones” looks very much as a simplistic retelling, where separate story lines are simply removed and many hints and secrets look way too obvious.