Race for the Iron Throne: Political and Historical Analysis of "A Game of Thrones"

A GAME OF THRONES

How would you like to read A Game of Thrones with a PhD by your side?

Steven Attewell, creator of Race for the Iron Throne (racefortheironthrone.wordpress.com), is one of the most insightful scholars in political theory and history, but instead of devoting his talents to academia, he's delving into George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire saga to give the most comprehensive deconstruction €“ and explanation €“ yet offered.

Each one of Thrones's 73 chapters is broken down in meticulous detail in four key areas. The Political and Historical Analyses explore the political ramifications that each character's decisions entail while digging into the real-world historical incidents that inspired Martin's narrative twists and turns. What If? offers up a tantalizing look at how these political and historical elements could have played out in dozens of alternative scenarios, underscoring the majesty and complexity of Martin's storytelling. And Book vs. Show looks at the key differences €“ both good and bad €“ between the story as originally conceived on the printed page and as realized in HBO's Game of Thrones.

At nearly 204,000 words, it's literally impossible to imagine a more exhaustive or authoritative reading companion for any novel ever before published.

Note: there are spoilers for all five published novels in the Song of Ice and Fire series.

COMPLETE LIST OF CONTENTS

• Race for the Iron Throne €“ political, historical, and hypothetical examination of all of A Game of Thrones


• From the Blue Buddha Archives €“ extensive samples covering A Clash of Kings and the first season of Game of Thrones


• Blue Buddha Daibutsu: €œNight Falls and Lights Rise€ €“ a never-before-published fantasy short story incorporating magic, the divine, and the meaning of life€¦ and death, written by Remy J. Verhoeve, of Is Winter Coming? and Tower of the Hand fame


• Blue Buddha Gaiden: €œWhy Do We Fall, Bruce? To Write Horribly Cheesy Dialogue, Part III€ €“ an exclusive essay examining what the Man of Steel series needs to learn from the Dark Knight trilogy and what DC needs to learn from Marvel, written by Marc N. Kleinhenz, the features editor of Tower of the Hand and author of It Is Known


• Blue Buddha Sneak Peek €“ an exclusive sample from the highly anticipated Tower of the Hand: A Hymn for Spring, written by History of Westeros€s Ashaya and Aziz

About the author

Steven Attewell is the author of Race for the Iron Throne, a blog that examines the history and politics of the Song of Ice and Fire series and HBO's Game of Thrones. He has a recent PhD in History from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he studied the history of public policy and was a political and union activist. In addition to Race for the Iron Throne, Steven is also a co-podcaster on Game of Thrones at the Lawyers, Guns, and Money podcast, writes about public policy at the Realignment Project, and is a co-author of the upcoming Tower of the Hand: A Hymn for Spring anthology book.