In the past decade or so, mainstream fiction has had many an academic derisively tutting and shaking their heads. As the Rowlings, the Browns, and the Meyers arrived, and grabbed the attention of the big-font-readers of the silver-screen-viewing general public, said academics seemed to get angrier and angrier. What in the hell are they reading? However, with the HBO Game Of Thrones series, we have a seen a mass interest in George R.R. Martin’s series of literary-realist fantasy A Song of Ice and Fire and perhaps for the first time in quite a while, academic and mainstream readership is arguably united in acclaim for a popular series.
There is no doubting the excellent craftsmanship of Martin, but R.A. Salvatore in their foreword, argues that the series is not only a great work of fiction, but a great work of literature, and in Salvatore’s words, ‘the ultimate achievement of literature is to begin a conversation’. This is exactly what Beyond the Wall: Exploring George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire aims to do. Published by Benbella Books and edited by James Lowder, Beyond the Wall provides a collection of engaging, yet accessible essays on Martin’s work, as well as analysis on its cultural reception. Discussing literary topics such as the other, feminism, and genre, this collection is sure to be of interest to many an undergraduate. However, academics wishing to use this collection as a source should be wary in that it lacks substantial referencing and bibliographies. Despite this, Beyond the Wall does offer some very interesting ideas on A Song of Ice and Fire, and helps to spark discussion amongst academic and general readers alike.
S.C. Henry