This book forces relentless, often absurd connections between A Song of Ice and Fire and Greek mythology, directly contradicting George R. R. Martin's own statements and missing the series' morally grey themes entirely. Poorly written and constantly confusing the show with the books, it's not worth your money
Firstly, if this is your first introduction to the Game of Thrones universe, DO NOT START WITH THIS BOOK.
Now that the caution is out of the way, let’s talk about the mythology aspect of the book. I feel like the author has an unhealthy obsession—or even a fetish—for Greek and Norse mythology. Never before have I seen someone try so hard to force connections between elements of A Song of Ice and Fire and ancient myths. The author insists that the entire Game of Thrones universe is heavily inspired by Greek mythology, which is directly contradicted by George R. R. Martin himself.
This is one of the only books that gave me a literal case of “nerd rage.”
When it comes to the Game of Thrones portion (even the title is misleading—it should be A Song of Ice and Fire, not Game of Thrones), the book constantly confuses the TV show universe with the book universe. Sometimes it points out differences, other times it completely ignores them. Frankly, there’s more Greek mythology in this book than actual content from Game of Thrones.
The chapter titles make no sense, and the mental gymnastics required to argue that Tyrion was inspired by Dionysus just because he drinks wine is mind-boggling. The inconsistencies throughout the book are unacceptable. Jesus Christ.
What also deeply frustrated me is that in multiple interviews, George R. R. Martin has said that “the only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself.” That’s the very core of A Song of Ice and Fire—nothing is black and white. Everything is complex, morally grey, and layered. And yet, the author of this book repeatedly mentions “black and white” themes as if the story is some kind of mythological morality play. It shows that while the author may believe they have a good understanding of the mythology behind Game of Thrones (I strongly disagree with even that), they clearly have no grasp whatsoever of the deeper philosophical themes of the series.
Lastly, the writing is so poor that I honestly wondered if it had been generated by a subpar AI—like the free version, not even a professional tool. For context, I read the Turkish translation of the book, and while I understand that the original was written in French, the Turkish version was filled with mistakes and awkward phrasing. Maybe the French version reads better, but this translation was terrible.
If you want to gain a similar level of knowledge—or even better—about the A Song of Ice and Fire universe, I strongly recommend either buying the official companion books written by the author or just watching some in-depth YouTube videos or interviews with George R. R. Martin himself. You’ll come away far more informed and far less frustrated.
The only reason I’m giving this book 2 stars instead of 0 is because there’s some effort put into it. Minimal effort, but still. It does include a little bit of Game of Thrones lore. And—credit where it’s due—it came with a bookmark. That was a nice touch.
Final Verdict: I do not recommend this book. Do not waste your money on it.