Is it worth reading it ?

[GeorgeIAF]

I'm thinking of starting to read the book, i've read Asoiaf and Dunk and Egg, and obviously, i have found them very enjoyable, now i'm asking if TWOIAF is something similar, given the fact it's not written by GRRM. And i used the Wiki very often so i know alot of things about the history.

I have seen here a thread where the errors are listed, and GRRM said he'll write a book about the history of AWOIAF, since the beginning until the present day, but this book will be written after he finishes ASOIAF, so it's a long wait, with Tales of Dunk and Egg between them.

What do you suggest ? Should i start reading it ?

[Adam de Felden]

yeah you should read it, it isn't greatly written in places though and there is a lot of annoying repetition of metaphor which speaks to lazy writing, admittedly there is that in Dance as well! It is interesting though, lots of good information to chew over.

[Adam de Felden]

Furthermore parts of the wiki are just taken verbatim from this book so some of it you will already know as a reader of said wiki.

[GeorgeIAF]

I'll start reading it after the season 5 ends, to keep my hunger of ASOIAF satisfied :)))

[Whitering]

However, the tone is different from Dunk and Egg...I am not quite sure how to explain it, but ya...

I am sure you will like the books if you liked Dunk and Egg, but they are two slightly different things.

[Magnar of Skagos]

I have found a lot of enjoyment in this book. both in reading and just staring at the artwork. Lots of lore and worldbuilding, and even the stuff I wouldn't have at first thought interesting, like the Summer Islands or Sothoryos, I became absolutely fascinated with. It really helps organize the world's history and is a great reference while reading the series. I recommend it. :)

[whodafockcares]

I'm treating the book like a history book/encyclopedia rather than a novel. I open the contents page and just jump to the page of the subject/event that I feel like reading about instead of reading everything page by page.

Some of the stuff in the book are just boring for me to read, especially the first few pages about the Children of the Forest, the First Men and all that ancient stuff. Some are very good reads, especially about the Targaryen kings and I particularly enjoyed the story about Aerys II as the events happening during his reign are more 'recent'. Plus the fact that I am more familiar with the characters involved in his time. It's interesting reading about the deteriorating relationship between Aerys and Tywin, the Defiance of Duskendale, Robert's Rebellion, etc.

Still a must have collector's item, even if you are never going to read it. :D

[The hairy bear]

Read the sample on George's webpage. It's a good example of the kind of prose and content that you'll find in the World Book.

[Ramsay's Penguins]

Well it's quite poorly written in places and lots is left out (for the Fire and Blood book or main series) and sections are ambigious because it was to recent in history or to far back.

However, if it's the ASOIAF fix you are looking for then I'd read it. There is some good stuff. The ideas are interesting (although a little repetitive especially the Andal invasion like what a letdown). Just loan it from a library.

Don't expect anything new on the Starks or Nights Watch. Targaryen sections shines and so does the ~exotic~ Eastern section (entire section like Qarth nd Slavers Bay are completely skipped over however) but the new info is good stuff.

I'd say the Ancient History and Seven Kingdoms sections are poor, but the Targaryen and Other Places sections are good.

[Gasp of Many Reeds]

I'd say the Ancient History and Seven Kingdoms sections are poor, but the Targaryen and Other Places sections are good.

I think the Seven Kingdoms section is a bit uneven in quality. I agree that some sections weren't great - there really isn't that much interesting detail in the Stormlands section, for instance. But the Iron Islands and Riverlands I thought were particularly excellent.

[The Sword of the Evening]

Since they can't give away too much information, it is written from a Maester in the service of Robert/Joffrey/Tommen so I could guess that it has somewhat of a "Lannister slate" to it.

If you are in to back stories as I am I think it provides lots of good information and while poorly written in some parts I do highly recommend reading it.

[Dolorous22]

Since they can't give away too much information, it is written from a Maester in the service of Robert/Joffrey/Tommen so I could guess that it has somewhat of a "Lannister slate" to it.

If you are in to back stories as I am I think it provides lots of good information and while poorly written in some parts I do highly recommend reading it.

It has a Lannister bias and also some resentment towards the Starks so you may find it a bit frustrating. There's a wealth of interesting back stories and culture to absorb so I say - definitely go and buy that book. It's worth it for the artwork alone imo.

[Gustaf Stark]

I would recommend it aswell due to the fantastic artwork, and it's a decent book to read until TWOW comes out.

[OmnomnomPomelo]

TWOIAF is a "history book" about the known world written by a maester under Robert's and Joff's reign. So it's not like the ASOIAF or Dunk&Egg series, but go and read it!

[ShaggyCat]

The book is worth buying for the artwork alone, which is gorgeous. It's really well done. Definitely worth the purchase price just to look at the pictures!

But I'm also really enjoying the "history". But then again, I really enjoy the Simarillion, so have a penchant for digging on the fictional 'history' of fictional fantasy worlds...

One of the more interesting things about it is that the 'history' is explicitly contentious - it's "written" in-universe by a maester seeking to curry favour with King Robert Joffrey Tommen (I love that the artwork on that internal cover is done to show the rewrites on the dedication!) so it is biased towards an anti-Targ, pro-Baratheon/Lannister bent. Fascinating to dig amongst the 'history' and wonder what is a hint, what is conjecture and what is a red herring.

[Annara Snow]

It has a Lannister bias and also some resentment towards the Starks so you may find it a bit frustrating. There's a wealth of interesting back stories and culture to absorb so I say - definitely go and buy that book. It's worth it for the artwork alone imo.

The pro-Lannister, pro-Robert Baratheon bias is really only felt (but very obviously so!) in the chapters about Aerys II, the rebellion and the short post-rebellion chapter. It doesn't really affect the rest of the book. The parts about the earlier Targaryen rulers show no anti-Targaryen bias, for instance - the source is supposed to be another maester who lived earlier, so it may even have some subtle pro-Targaryen bias in the way the conquest is described, but it's not obvious (maybe because we don't know as much about the conquest as we know about the rebellion).

Overall, the anti-magic bias typical of the maesters is far more prevalent, in the entire book, and it makes many parts hilarious, e.g. Maester Yandel dismisses the stories about the existence of the Others, giants, etc., so whenever he dismisses some theory based on the supernatural, you can bet it's probably true.

[Bael's Bastard]

TWOIAF is a "history book" about the known world written by a maester under Robert's and Joff's reign. So it's not like the ASOIAF or Dunk&Egg series, but go and read it!

It's definitely not in the style of the books, but in a sense it is like a written work of a new POV character, with the biases a POV character is susceptible to, except filtered before put to writing. I look at it as an insight into some of what a highborn child or young person in Westeros is being taught in the current time of the books.

For me it was well worth it, understanding what it is supposed to be. I might do some research on how much has been corrected in the most recent printing, but even with the mistakes of the first printing I felt it was worth it for me.

[Ramsay's Penguins]

I think worth reading, but not buying. All the artwork is on the wikipages anyway and its not all that great.

[Stormland's Fury]

I agree that some sections weren't great - there really isn't that much interesting detail in the Stormlands section, for instance.

That was the only section I was reading right away and didn't touch the book after that again. Not that it was extremely bad, but was a bit lackluster. Waas good to learn about some Baratheons the book could have profited of family trees for all families and/or more details of several members.

[Criston of House Shapper]

The chapters about the different regions in Westeros weren't that interesting, but the history of all the Targaryen kings was definitely worth reading, and the chapters about the cities/regions/states in and around Essos were really fun to read.