'A World of Ice & Fire' delves into the world of 'Game of Thrones'

The new book includes never-before-published details about the fictional world. 'In every epic fantasy, the world is a character,' author George R.R. Martin said.

The new book “The World of Ice & Fire,” which details the background of the world in which the book series that is the basis for the TV show “Game of Thrones” takes place, includes new material about author George R.R. Martin’s universe.

“World” was released today and is by Martin along with Elio M. Garcia Jr. and Linda Antonsson. 

According to the Guardian, Martin said at a recent event about the book that “one of the hardest things about putting this book together was what to tell and what not to tell … because there are things I want to say in later novels.” When the moderator, Laura Miller of Slate, compared “World” to the work “The Silmarillion” by “Lord of the Rings” author J.R.R. Tolkien and Martin said that Tolkien’s focus was world-building, while he likes creating his universe as he goes along.

The author also said that he also puts conflicting stories in his history, “just like in real history, with its different accounts… even from court records and memoirs,” according to the Guardian.

“In every epic fantasy, the world is a character,” Martin said, according to Vulture.

He also credited his co-authors with attention to detail. Garcia and Antonsson are in charge of the “Fire” fan website Westeros.org.

“They displayed, right away, an almost obsessive knowledge of my world,” Martin told CBS News. “In fact, I had to alter my world because of that obsessive knowledge.” 

And yes, the next “Fire” book, “The Winds of Winter,” is still forthcoming. According to the Guardian, Martin quipped during his event that the motto of House Martin would be “Deadline? What Deadline?”

The TV show based on Martin’s books, “Game of Thrones,” concluded its fourth season this past June. “Winds” will be the sixth book in Martin’s “Fire” series.