Knowledge and power…a review of The World of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin.

I know, I know it’s been several millennia since I last posted, but I have finally finished a book. Hurrah! I am still making my way through The Book Thief, but in the meantime I’ve finished reading George R. R. Martin’s encyclopaedic book The World of Ice and Fire. It’s a massive book with more detail than I possibly imagined it might contain, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed poring over its pages. Let me state from the outset that if you haven’t read Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series of books then there’d be very little point in your reading this latest offering. The World of Ice and Fire is very much a companion book to the author’s more famous series. Indeed, The World of Ice and Fire is really something of a historical tome detailing the history of Martin’s story world – from the seven Kingdoms in Westeros to the less familiar lands of Essos across the Narrow Sea.

The book itself is giant not only in that it contains a massive volume of information and is 336 pages long, but also in the sense that physically it measures a whopping 30.9cm in height. I ended up reading it either at a table or with my trusty cushioned laptray underneath in order to support its weight. This is not a book you can hold in the air just below your nose, that us, unless you have muscles like Garth. However, that said, the book’s weight and appearance do serve to heighten the perception that you are reading some great history found in the annals of Martin’s Citadel.

An age-old story…reading Eragon by Christopher Paolini.

It has been several weeks now since I finished reading Eragon, but sadly it has taken me this long to sit down and compose a post about it.

I must confess that I found Eragon a little hard-going at first and was somewhat frustrated by what I conceived to be a rather simplistic and naive style of narration. It wasn’t until I idly found myself googling Eragon’s author, Christopher Paolini, that I came to understand that he was just a teenager when Eragon was published. With this in mind, I felt a my feelings soften towards the book’s narration.

As it is, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Eragon and found its plot very engaging. You can’t help but root for Eragon and Saphira – their story is the age-old one of good striving against seemingly unconquerable evil. I must confess I find it hard to analyse and critique Eragon as I have with other books, it is well plotted, but aside from this its narration, characterisation and structure are extremely straightforward. Although, I am loath to level any criticism at a young writer’s triumph, I do find Eragon’s unsophisticated style a little unsatisfying.