The Ravenry: Week of 2/8/16

Hello, all!

As you may or may not know, Wars and Politics of Ice and Fire has its own Tumblr page (as well as its own Twitter and Facebook pages).  Even more excitingly,  we here at the blog have partnered with ASOIAF University to answer questions about A Song of Ice and Fire.  We – that is, SomethingLikeaLawyer and I – take the text-based questions submitted to us, write up thoughtful, text-based answers, and publish these answers on the Tumblr.

I’ve said often enough that the Hand’s military knowledge is invaluable to Wars and Politics of Ice and Fire, and it’s certainly shown true this week, with excellent pieces on Vale guerrilla tactics, Westerosi naval warfare, an entire attack strategy against the Others, and an excellent pair of historical comparisons for Stannis’ position against Renly. I, for one, am not so martial in my writing, but I managed to write a few longer pieces I quite liked this week, including one on why Aerys II was a far worse king than Aegon IV and what advantage lords saw in shoving pretty daughters into the bed of the Unworthy. Plus, I got to use a favorite Simpsons gif this week, so it’s all good.

Without further ado, here’s The Ravenry for the week of February 8:

Wars and Politics of Ice and Fire Podcast, Episode 10: The Book That Never Was

In early 2015, Harper Collins UK in conjunction with Waterstones, a British Book Retailer, released pictures of a letter that George RR Martin wrote to his agent Ralph Vicinanza in 1993 outlining his idea for this brand new book that he was writing entitled A Game of Thrones, the first book in an exciting new trilogy that George RR Martin was calling A Song of Ice and Fire. This early letter provided insights to George’s agent on how he could promote this new series as well as provided a plot diagram for where GRRM thought that  A Game of Thrones  and A Song of Ice and Fire were going.

In Episode 10: The Book That Never Was, we do a detailed analysis of this letter and the book that could have been had GRRM written A Song of Ice and Fire to follow his initial diagram. We cover the topics of:

• The History of ASOIAF: How it came to be and where we are now
• GRRM’s original idea of plot, counterplot and murder centered on dynastic struggle
• Daenerys Targaryen: Dothraki Conqueror
• The, um, interesting love triangle had in mind
• Similarities and differences to the material that was published
• The foreshadowings that never were: leftover lines intended to foreshadow plot points that never came to be.
• Our take on the blacked out text and what it could mean for the future of A Song of Ice and Fire

Listen to us here or at:

• itunes
• Podbean

Special thanks to Adam Whitehead for his excellent series on the history of ASOIAF called A Song of Facts and Figures for his work in writing about the history of ASOIAF!

Find us on social media!

• The official Wars and Politics of Ice and Fire Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook
• Nfriel’s twitter
• SomethingLikeaLawyer’s twitter
• Militant_Penguin’s twitter
• BryndenBFish’s twitter

The Ravenry: Week of 10/19/2015

Hello, lovelies!

As you may or may not know, Wars and Politics of Ice and Fire has its own Tumblr page (as well as its own Twitter and Facebook pages).  Even more excitingly,  we here at the blog have partnered with ASOIAF University to answer questions about A Song of Ice and Fire.  We – that is, SomethingLikeaLawyer and I – take the text-based questions submitted to us, write up thoughtful text-based answers, and publish these answers on the Tumblr.

So every Monday we present to you The Ravenry.  We collect the questions we’ve answered during the previous week over on the Tumblr in post form, with a brief description of each, and publish it here, and link that post on Twitter and Facebook as well. This was another productive week for the Lord Hand and me, including several long analysis pieces on Renly, Rhaenyra, and Robert’s Rebellion (alliteration is amazingly addictive). There were also a few meta questions, from answering questions to modernizing the series.

Before we start, I want to speak a little about question-asking. This is something the Hand talked about last week, but I wanted to bring it up again. “What if” questions are very difficult for us to answer, particularly the broader these questions get. We only have access to the same materials as the rest of the fandom; some of the hypothetical questions we get involve rewriting entire storylines, including a great many jumps and guesses. As much as we can, we like to stick to what we can pull out of the materials, so as much as you can, we ask that you narrow your hypos as much as possible. Asking who Robb might have betrothed Sansa to had she been returned according to his terms is fine. Asking how a living Laena Velaryon would have affected the entire Dance of the Dragons is too difficult to us for answer without essentially writing an entirely new story.

So, without further ado, here’s The Ravenry for the week of October 19:

The Ravenry: Week of 9/28/2015

Hello seekers,

As you may or may not know, Wars and Politics of Ice and Fire has its own Tumblr page (as well as its own Twitter and Facebook pages).  Even more excitingly,  we here at the blog have partnered with ASOIAF University to answer questions about A Song of Ice and Fire.  We – that is, NFriel and myself – take the text-based questions submitted to us, write up thoughtful text-based answers, and publish these answers on the Tumblr.

So every Monday we present to you The Ravenry.  We collect the questions we’ve answered during the previous week over on the Tumblr in post form, with a brief description of each, and publish it here, and link that post on Twitter and Facebook as well. The Queen Regent and the Lord Hand had their most productive week yet, discussing everything from books in Westeros to marriages and beddings. Plenty of hypotheticals and theorycraft, there’s certainly something for everyone this week.

Here’s The Ravenry for the week of September 28th:

The Ravenry: Week of 9/7/2015

Salutations, lovelies!

As you may or may not know, Wars and Politics of Ice and Fire has its own Tumblr page (as well as its own Twitter and Facebook pages).  Even more excitingly, a little while back we here at the blog partnered with ASOIAF University to answer questions about A Song of Ice and Fire.  We – that is, myself and SomethingLikeaLawyer – take the text-based questions submitted to us, write up thoughtful text-based answers, and publish these answers on the Tumblr.

So every Monday we present to you The Ravenry.  We collect the questions we’ve answered during the previous week over on the Tumblr in post form, with a brief description of each, and publish it here, and link that post on Twitter and Facebook as well. We’re like the ASOIAF version of Navi, guiding you through the world, except without berating you to “Hey, listen!” every 2 minutes.

So, without further ado, here’s The Ravenry for the week of 7 September:

The Ravenry: Week of 8/31/2015

Dark Wings, Dark Words. And for Monday, the blackest of days, the ravens take flight.

As you may or may not know, Wars and Politics of Ice and Fire has its own Tumblr page (as well as its own Twitter and Facebook pages).  Even more excitingly, a little while back we here at the blog partnered with ASOIAF University to answer questions about A Song of Ice and Fire.  We – that is, myself and NFriel – take the text-based questions submitted to us, write up thoughtful text-based answers, and publish these answers on the Tumblr.

So every Monday we present to you The Ravenry.  We collect the questions we’ve answered during the previous week over on the Tumblr in post form, with a brief description of each, and publish it here, and link that post on Twitter and Facebook as well. This time, we discuss interfaith marriages, psychoanalyze various actors, offer insight on military matters, and discuss ways Rhaegar’s life could have been different.

So, without further ado, here’s The Ravenry for the week of 31 August:

The Ravenry: Week of 8/10/2015

Hello, seekers!

As you may or may not know, Wars and Politics of Ice and Fire has its own Tumblr page (as well as its own Twitter and Facebook pages).  Even more excitingly, a little while back we here at the blog partnered with ASOIAF University to answer questions about A Song of Ice and Fire.  We – that is, myself and NFriel – take the text-based questions submitted to us, write up thoughtful text-based answers, and publish these answers on the Tumblr.

So every Monday we present to you The Ravenry.  We collect the questions we’ve answered during the previous week over on the Tumblr in post form, with a brief description of each, and publish it here, and link that post on Twitter and Facebook as well. The Queen Regent wrote a lot of words this week on the women in Aegon IV’s life, and put the finishing touches on her Ladies of Fire piece detailing Aegon III’s two wives and the three ladies of the Maidenvault. I mean, we’re talking in the five-digit mark here, so the Hand sat the Throne again. Anyway, I could say that if we were something, we’d be something strange, esoteric, and intriguing, but you’ve come for the peculiar blend of multiple sciences that our team has knowledge of applied to a book series, not for my metaphors and similes!

So, without further ado, here’s The Ravenry for the week of 10 August:

The Ravenry: Week of 8/3/2015

Hello, ASOIAF enthusiasts

As you may or may not know, Wars and Politics of Ice and Fire has its own Tumblr page (as well as its own Twitter and Facebook pages).  Even more excitingly, a little while back we here at the blog partnered with ASOIAF University to answer questions about A Song of Ice and Fire.  We – that is, myself and NFriel – take the text-based questions submitted to us, write up thoughtful text-based answers, and publish these answers on the Tumblr.

So every Monday we present to you The Ravenry.  We collect the questions we’ve answered during the previous week over on the Tumblr in post form, with a brief description of each, and publish it here, and link that post on Twitter and Facebook as well.

So, without further ado, here’s The Ravenry for the week of 3 August:

The Ravenry: Week of 7/27/2015

Hello, you fellow votaries of A Song of Ice and Fire!

As you may or may not know, Wars and Politics of Ice and Fire has its own Tumblr page (as well as its own Twitter and Facebook pages).  Even more excitingly, a little while back we here at the blog partnered with ASOIAF University to answer questions about A Song of Ice and Fire.  We – that is, myself and SomethingLikeaLawyer – take the text-based questions submitted to us, write up thoughtful text-based answers, and publish these answers on the Tumblr.

So every Monday we present to you The Ravenry.  We collect the questions we’ve answered during the previous week over on the Tumblr in post form (with a brief description of each) and publish it here, and link that post on Twitter and Facebook as well. We’re like that Tom Hanks movie where he was the historian and spent like 65% of his time in a library trying to solve a mystery, except without all the running and Hans Zimmer music.

So, without further ado, here’s The Ravenry for the week of 27 July:

The Ravenry: Week of 7/13/2015

Hello, intrepid historians!

As you may or may not know, Wars and Politics of Ice and Fire has its own Tumblr page (as well as its own Twitter and Facebook pages).  Even more excitingly, a little while back we here at the blog partnered with ASOIAF University to answer questions about A Song of Ice and Fire.  We – that is, myself and NFriel – take the text-based questions submitted to us, write up thoughtful text-based answers, and publish these answers on the Tumblr.

So every Monday we present to you The Ravenry.  We collect the questions we’ve answered during the previous week over on the Tumblr in post form, with a brief description of each, and publish it here, and link that post on Twitter and Facebook as well. With NFriel crafting a champion-caliber piece for her next installment of the Three Heads of the Dragon series, the Hand sat the Throne yet again to write up some meta on the ASOIAF-universe

So, without further ado, here’s The Ravenry for the week of 13 July: