Beyond the Wall

This collection of essays edited by James Lowder is one of the best books about the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R.Martin. Each contributor touches upon themes that are vital in the wonderfully twisted universe that Martin has created.

''The Palace of Love, the Palace of Sorrow''by Linda Antonsson and Elio M.Garcia. I don't particularly like this duo as personalities, but their essay touches upon the movement of Romanticism, the way it influenced Martin's writing and draws a very interesting comparison between the classical Byronic hero and Jaime Lannister. It is easily the best essay in the collection.

''Men and Monsters''by Alyssa Rosenberg. The essay deals with Martin's way of using monstrous actions like murder, rape, betrayal, to advance the narrative and expose the vices of his world and ours. Rosenberg provides a lot of interesting answers to these who claim that Martin is cruel to his female characters. Each season since 2011, the time when the TV series hit our screens, there are critics who cry ''Horror'' each time a sex scene appears, when a woman is mistreated, accussing Martin or the screenwriters as misogynists. Frankly, how can these critics become more and more ludicrous year after year is beyond me. Read a Medieval history book, I say to them. The era upon which the series is based, had nothing to do with the Idylls of Knighthood.

''Same Song in a Different Key''by Daniel Abraham deals with the grapjic novel based on the series.

''An Unreliable Worldby Adam Whitehead talks about the way certain key events are altered each time a different character narrates or remembers them. The most crucial example is the relationship between Rheagar and Lyanna.

''Back to the Eggby Gary Westfahl deals with the Dunk and Egg stories.

''Art Imitates Warby Myke Cole. One of the most interesting essays of the collection, touching upon the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the series. Theon and Arya take centre stage here.

''The Brutal Cost of Redemption in Westeros''by Susan Vaught. Which character does the word ‘‘redemption'' bring to mind? If you don't answer ‘‘Jaime''', you haven't been paying attention. In addition, Susan Vaught makes some very interesting remarks on the Stark family in all their ‘‘righteousness'' and how their unwise choices bring about disaster, especially in the case of Catelyn Stark.

''Of Direwolves and Gods''by Andrew Zimmerman Jones. The presence -or lack of it- of the many different gods in Westeros and beyond and the significance (?) of the direwolves.

''A Sword Without A Hilt''by Jesse Scoble. The function of witchcraft in the events that seal the War of the Five Kings.

''Petyr Baelish and the Mask of Sanity''by Matt Stuggs. Yes, this one...Littlefinger...The man we all love to hate. Probably the only character with a few scraps of brain in his head.

''A Different Kind of Other''by Brent Hartinger. One of the elements that prove how much of a genius Martin is comes with the fact that he created characters who represent types of people cast out by society (even by today's norms) and brought them to the spotlight.

''Power and Feminism in Westeros''by Caroline Spector. I didn't feel comfortable with this essay. I never feel comfortable with the views that constantly belittle Sansa as docile and cowardish, ignoring the codex of the era, glorifying Brienne and Arya just because they adopt a male attire. Or with the view that dismisses Daenerys'love for Drogo as ‘‘absurd'', a simple Stockhom syndrome affair. Needless to say, the essayist didn't convince me at all.

''Collecting Ice and Fire in the Age of Nook and Kindle by John Jos. Miller. > Interesting to see how the TV adaptation brought the popularity of the book in sky-high levels.

''Beyond the Ghettoby Ned Vizzini. How George R.R.Martin transcends the boundaries of genres with his creation.

A great choice for those who love the series. At the time of publication, the five books of A Song of Ice and Fire and the first season of A Game of Thrones had come out. Now, if we could magically have the sixth book, ''The Winds of Winter, it would make for a very good 2017...