The never-before-seen history of Westeros & the lands beyond With hundreds of pages of all-new material from George RR Martin If the past is prologue then George RR Martin's masterwork-the most inventive & entertaining fantasy saga of our time-warrants one hell of an introduction At long last it has arrived with THE WORLD OF ICE & FIRE George RR Martin in collaboration with Elio M Garcia Jr & Linda Antonsson has written a comprehensive history of the Seven Kingdoms featuring the epic battles bitter rivalries & daring rebellions that lead up to the events in the bestselling A Song of Ice & Fire series Collected within this volume is the accumulated knowledge scholarly speculation & inherited folk tales of maesters & septons maegi & singers including over 170 full-colour illustrations & maps family trees for the Houses Stark Lannister & Targaryen & in-depth explanations of the history & culture of Westeros This is the definitive companion volume to George RR Martin's dazzlingly conceived universe; THE WORLD OF ICE & FIRE is indeed proof that the pen is mightier than a storm of swords