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A Song of Ice and Fire book collection box set cover | |
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Author | George R. R. Martin |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Epic fantasy[1] |
Publisher |
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Published | August 1, 1996–present |
Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) Audiobook |
A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began the first volume of the series, A Game of Thrones, in 1991, and it was published in 1996. Martin, who initially envisioned the series as a trilogy, has published five out of a planned seven volumes. The fifth and most recent volume of the series published in 2011, A Dance with Dragons, took Martin six years to write. He is currently writing the sixth novel, The Winds of Winter.
A Song of Ice and Fire takes place on the fictional continents Westeros and Essos. The point of view of each chapter in the story is a limited perspective of a range of characters growing from nine, in the first novel, to 31 characters by the fifth novel. Three main stories interweave: a dynastic war among several families for control of Westeros, the rising threat of the supernatural Others in the northernmost reaches of Westeros, and the ambition of Daenerys Targaryen, the deposed king's exiled daughter, to assume the Iron Throne.
Martin's inspirations included the Wars of the Roses and the French historical novelsThe Accursed Kings by Maurice Druon.[2][3]A Song of Ice and Fire received praise for its diverse portrayal of women and religion, as well as its realism. An assortment of disparate and subjective points of view confronts the reader, and the success or survival of point of view characters is never assured. Within the often morally ambiguous world of A Song of Ice and Fire, questions concerning loyalty, pride, human sexuality, piety, and the morality of violence frequently arise.
The books have sold 90 million copies worldwide as of April 2019,[4] after having been translated into 47 languages as of January 2017.[5][6] The fourth and fifth volumes reached the top of The New York Times Best Seller lists upon their releases.[7] Among the many derived works are several prequel novellas, a TV series, a comic book adaptation, and several card, board, and video games.
- 2Publishing history
- 2.4Planned novels and future
- 3Inspiration and writing
- 5Reception
- 6Derived works
Plot synopsis[edit]
A Song of Ice and Fire takes place in a fictional world in which seasons last for years and end unpredictably. Nearly three centuries before the events of the first novel, the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros were united under the Targaryen dynasty by Aegon I and his sister-wives Visenya and Rhaenys, establishing military supremacy through their control of dragons. Aegon became the first king of the entire continent of Westeros, save for the southerly region of Dorne. The Targaryen dynasty ruled for three hundred years, although civil war and infighting among the Targaryens resulted in the death of all their dragons. At the beginning of A Game of Thrones, 15 peaceful years have passed since the rebellion led by Lord Robert Baratheon that deposed and killed the last Targaryen king, Aerys II 'the Mad King', and proclaimed Robert king of the Seven Kingdoms, with a nine-year-long summer coming to an end.
The principal story chronicles the power struggle for the Iron Throne among the great Houses of Westeros following the death of King Robert in A Game of Thrones. Robert's heir apparent, the 13-year-old Joffrey, is immediately proclaimed king through the machinations of his mother, Queen Cersei Lannister. When Lord Eddard 'Ned' Stark, Robert's closest friend and chief advisor, discovers that Joffrey and his siblings are the product of incest between Cersei and her twin brother Ser Jaime 'The Kingslayer' Lannister, Eddard attempts to unseat Joffrey, but is betrayed and executed for treason. In response, Robert's brothers Stannis and Renly both lay separate claims to the throne. During this period of instability, two of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros attempt to become independent from the Iron Throne: Eddard's eldest son Robb is proclaimed King in the North, while Lord Balon Greyjoy desires to recover the sovereignty of his region, the Iron Islands. The so-called 'War of the Five Kings' is in full progress by the middle of the second book, A Clash of Kings.
The second part of the story takes place in the far north of Westeros, where an 8,000-year-old wall of ice, simply called 'the Wall', defends the Seven Kingdoms from supernatural creatures known as the Others. The Wall's sentinels, the Sworn Brotherhood of the Night's Watch, also protect the realm from the incursions of the 'wildlings' or 'Free Folk', who are several human tribes living on the north side of the Wall. The Night's Watch story is told primarily through the point of view of Jon Snow, Lord Eddard Stark's bastard son.[8] Jon follows the footsteps of his uncle Benjen Stark and joins the Watch at a young age, rising quickly through the ranks. He eventually becomes Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. In the third volume, A Storm of Swords, the Night's Watch storyline becomes increasingly entangled with the War of the Five Kings.
The third storyline follows Daenerys Targaryen, daughter of Aerys II, the last Targaryen king. On the continent of Essos, east of Westeros across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys is married off by her elder brother Viserys Targaryen to a powerful warlord, but slowly becomes an independent and intelligent ruler in her own right. Her rise to power is aided by the historic birth of three dragons, hatched from eggs given to her as wedding gifts. The three dragons soon become not only a symbol of her bloodline and her legitimate claim to the throne, but also devastating weapons of war, which help her in conquest of the Slaver's Bay.
Publishing history[edit]
Overview[edit]
Books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series are first published in hardcover and are later re-released as paperback editions. In the UK, Harper Voyager publishes special slipcased editions.[9] The series has also been translated into more than 30 languages.[10] All page totals given below are for the US first editions.
# | Title | Pages | Chapters | Words | Audio | US release |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | A Game of Thrones | 694[11] | 73 | 292,727[12] | 33h 53m | August 1996[11] |
2 | A Clash of Kings | 768[13] | 70 | 318,903[14] | 37h 17m | February 1999[13] |
3 | A Storm of Swords | 973[15] | 82 | 414,604[16] | 47h 37m | November 2000[15] |
4 | A Feast for Crows | 753[17] | 46 | 295,032[18] | 31h 10m | November 2005[17] |
5 | A Dance with Dragons | 1056[19] | 73 | 414,788[20] | 48h 56m | July 2011[19] |
6 | The Winds of Winter | Forthcoming[21] | ||||
7 | A Dream of Spring | Forthcoming[22] | ||||
Total | 4,228 | 344 | 1,736,054 | 198h 53m | 1996–2011 |
First three novels (1991–2000) [edit]
George R. R. Martin was already a successful fantasy and sci-fi author and TV writer before writing his A Song of Ice and Fire book series.[23] Martin had published his first short story in 1971 and his first novel in 1977.[24] By the mid-1990s, he had won three Hugo Awards, two Nebula Awards, and other awards for his short fiction.[25] Although his early books were well-received within the fantasy fiction community, his readership remained relatively small and Martin took on jobs as a writer in Hollywood in the mid-1980s.[25] He worked principally on the revival of The Twilight Zone throughout 1986 and on Beauty and the Beast until 1990, but he also developed his own TV pilots and wrote feature film scripts. He grew frustrated that his pilots and screenplays were not getting made[25] and that TV-related production limitations like budgets and episode lengths were forcing him to cut characters and trim battle scenes.[26] This pushed Martin back towards writing books, where he did not have to worry about compromising the size of his imagination.[25] Admiring the works of J. R. R. Tolkien in his childhood, he wanted to write an epic fantasy, though he did not have any specific ideas.[27]
When Martin was between Hollywood projects in the summer of 1991, he started writing a new science fiction novel called Avalon. After three chapters, he had a vivid idea of a boy seeing a man's beheading and finding direwolves in the snow, which would eventually become the first non-prologue chapter of A Game of Thrones.[28] Putting Avalon aside, Martin finished this chapter in a few days and grew certain that it was part of a longer story.[29] After a few more chapters, Martin perceived his new book as a fantasy story[29] and started making maps and genealogies.[23] However, the writing of this book was interrupted for a few years when Martin returned to Hollywood to produce his TV series Doorways that ABC had ordered but ultimately never aired.[26]
—George R. R. Martin in 2014[30]
In 1994, Martin gave his agent, Kirby McCauley, the first 200 pages and a two-page story projection as part of a planned trilogy with the novels A Dance with Dragons and The Winds of Winter intended to follow. When Martin had still not reached the novel's end at 1400 manuscript pages, he felt that the series needed to be four and eventually six books long,[26][31] which he imagined as two linked trilogies of one long story.[32] Martin chose A Song of Ice and Fire as the overall series title: Martin saw the struggle of the cold Others and the fiery dragons as one possible meaning for 'Ice and Fire', whereas the word 'song' had previously appeared in Martin's book titles A Song for Lya and Songs the Dead Men Sing, stemming from his obsessions with songs.[33] Martin also named Robert Frost's 1920 poem 'Fire and Ice' and cultural associations such as passion versus betrayal as possible influences for the series' title.[34]
The revised finished manuscript for A Game of Thrones was 1088 pages long (without the appendices),[35] with the publication following in August 1996.[11]Wheel of Time author Robert Jordan had written a short endorsement for the cover that was influential in ensuring the book's and hence series' early success with fantasy readers.[36]Blood of the Dragon, a pre-release sample novella drawn from Daenerys's chapters, went on to win the 1997 Hugo Award for Best Novella.[37]
The 300 pages removed from the A Game of Thrones manuscript served as the opening of the second book, entitled A Clash of Kings.[31] It was released in February 1999 in the United States,[13] with a manuscript length (without appendices) of 1184 pages.[35]A Clash of Kings was the first book of the A Song of Ice and Fire series to make the best-seller lists,[26] reaching 13 on The New York Times Best Seller list in 1999.[38] After the success of The Lord of the Rings films, Martin received his first inquiries to the rights of the A Song of Ice and Fire series from various producers and filmmakers.[26]
Martin was several months late turning in the third book, A Storm of Swords.[25] The last chapter he had written was about the 'Red Wedding', a pivotal scene notable for its violence (see Themes: Violence and death).[39]A Storm of Swords was 1521 pages in manuscript (without appendices),[35] causing problems for many of Martin's publishers around the world. Bantam Books published A Storm of Swords in a single volume in the United States in November 2000,[15] whereas some other-language editions were divided into two, three, or even four volumes.[35]A Storm of Swords debuted at number 12 in the New York Times bestseller list.[37][40]
Bridging the timeline gap (2000–2011) [edit]
After A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords, Martin originally intended to write three more books.[25] The fourth book, tentatively titled A Dance with Dragons, was to focus on Daenerys Targaryen's return to Westeros and the associated conflicts.[32] Martin wanted to set this story five years after A Storm of Swords so that the younger characters could grow older and the dragons grow larger.[41] Agreeing with his publishers early on that the new book should be shorter than A Storm of Swords, Martin set out to write the novel closer in length to A Clash of Kings.[35] A long prologue was to establish what had happened in the meantime, initially just as one chapter of Aeron Damphair on the Iron Islands at the Kingsmoot. Since the events on the Iron Islands were to have an impact in the book and could not be told with existing POV characters, Martin eventually introduced three new viewpoints.[42]
In 2001, Martin was still optimistic that the fourth installment might be released in the last quarter of 2002.[33] However, the five-year gap did not work for all characters during writing. On one hand, Martin was unsatisfied with covering the events during the gap solely through flashbacks and internal retrospection. On the other hand, it was implausible to have nothing happen for five years.[41] After working on the book for about a year, Martin realized he needed an additional interim book, which he called A Feast for Crows.[41] The book would pick up the story immediately after the third book, and Martin scrapped the idea of a five-year gap.[33] The material of the written 250-page prologue was mixed in as new viewpoint characters from Dorne and the Iron Islands.[42] These expanded storylines and the resulting story interactions complicated the plot for Martin.[43]
The manuscript length of A Feast for Crows eventually surpassed A Storm of Swords.[41] Martin was reluctant to make the necessary deep cuts to get the book down to publishable length, as that would have compromised the story he had in mind. Printing the book in 'microtype on onion skin paper and giving each reader a magnifying glass' was also not an option for him.[35] On the other hand, Martin rejected the publishers' idea of splitting the narrative chronologically into A Feast for Crows, Parts One and Two.[7] Being already late with the book, Martin had not even started writing all characters' stories[44] and also objected to ending the first book without any resolution for its many viewpoint characters as in previous books.[41]
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With the characters spread out across the world,[21] a friend suggested that Martin divide the story geographically into two volumes, of which A Feast for Crows would be the first.[7] This approach would give Martin the room to complete his commenced story arcs as he had originally intended,[35] which he still felt was the best approach years later.[21] Martin moved the unfinished characters' stories set in the east (Essos) and north (Winterfell and the Wall) into the next book, A Dance with Dragons,[45] and left A Feast for Crows to cover the events in King's Landing, the Riverlands, Dorne, and the Iron Islands.[35] Both books begin immediately after the end of A Storm of Swords,[21] running in parallel instead of sequentially, and involve different casts of characters with only little overlap.[35] Martin split Arya's chapters into both books after having already moved the three other most popular characters (Jon Snow, Tyrion, and Daenerys) into A Dance with Dragons.[45]
Upon its release in October 2005 in the UK[46] and November 2005 in the US,[17]A Feast for Crows went straight to the top of The New York Times bestseller list.[47] Among the positive reviewers was Lev Grossman of Time, who dubbed Martin 'the American Tolkien'.[48] However, fans and critics alike were disappointed with the story split that left the fates of several popular characters unresolved after A Storm of Swords' cliffhanger ending.[49][50] With A Dance with Dragons said to be half-finished,[49] Martin mentioned in the epilogue of A Feast for Crows that the next volume would be released by the next year.[51] However, planned release dates were repeatedly pushed back. Meanwhile, HBO acquired the rights to turn A Song of Ice and Fire into a dramatic series in 2007[52] and aired the first of ten episodes covering A Game of Thrones in April 2011.[53]
With around 1600 pages in manuscript length,[1]A Dance with Dragons was eventually published in July 2011 after six years of writing,[26] longer in page count and writing time than any of the preceding four novels.[23][49] The story of A Dance with Dragons catches up with and goes beyond A Feast for Crows around two-thirds into the book,[44] but nevertheless covers less story than Martin had intended, omitting at least one planned large battle sequence and leaving several character threads ending in cliff-hangers.[23] Martin attributed the delay mainly to his untangling 'the Meereenese knot', which the interviewer understood as 'making the chronology and characters mesh up as various threads converged on [Daenerys]'.[50] Martin also acknowledged spending too much time on rewriting and perfecting the story, but soundly rejected the theories of some of his critics that he had lost interest in the series or would bide his time to make more money.[49]
Planned novels and future[edit]
Martin believes the last two volumes of the series will be big books of 1500 manuscript pages each.[54] The sixth book will be called The Winds of Winter,[55] taking the title of the last book of the originally planned trilogy.[21] Displeased with the provisional title A Time for Wolves for the final volume, Martin ultimately announced A Dream of Spring as the title for the seventh book in 2006.[22] Martin said in March 2012 that the final two novels will take readers farther north than any of the previous books, and that the Others will appear in the book.[56]
The Winds of Winter[edit]
The Winds of Winter will resolve the cliffhangers from A Dance with Dragons early on and 'will open with the two big battles that [the fifth book] was building up to, the battle in the ice and the battle [..] of Slaver's Bay. And then take it from there.'[56] By the middle of 2010, Martin had already finished five chapters of The Winds of Winter from the viewpoints of Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Arianne Martell, and Aeron Greyjoy, coming to around 100 completed pages.[55][57] After the publication of A Dance with Dragons in 2011, Martin announced he would return to writing in January 2012.[23] He spent the meantime on book tours, conventions, and continued working on his The World of Ice & Fire companion guide and a new Tales of Dunk and Egg novella.[58][59] In December 2011, Martin posted a chapter from The Winds of Winter from the viewpoint of Theon Greyjoy;[60] several other chapters have been made public since. Four hundred pages of the sixth novel had been written as of October 2012, although Martin considered only 200 as 'really finished'; the rest needed revising.[34] During the Guadalajara International Book Fair in Mexico in early December 2016, Martin offered the following hint as to the tone of this book: 'There are a lot of dark chapters right now .. I've been telling you for 20 years that winter was coming. Winter is the time when things die, and cold and ice and darkness fill the world, so this is not going to be the happy feel-good that people may be hoping for. Some of the characters [are] in very dark places.'[61] Martin did not intend to separate the characters geographically again.[27]
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In 2011, Martin gave three years as a realistic estimate for finishing the sixth book at a good pace,[1] but said ultimately the book 'will be done when it's done',[21] acknowledging that his publication estimates had been too optimistic in the past.[23] In 2015 there were indications that the book would be published before the sixth season of the HBO show[62][63][64][65][66][67] but in early January 2016 Martin confirmed that he had not met an end-of-year deadline that he had established with his publisher for release of the book before the sixth season. He also revealed there had been a previous deadline of October 2015 that he had considered achievable in May 2015, and that in September 2015 he had still considered the end-of-year deadline achievable. He further confirmed that some of the plot of the book might be revealed in the upcoming season of Game of Thrones.[68] In February 2016, Martin stated that he dropped all his editing projects except for Wild Cards, and that he would not be writing any teleplays, screenplays, short stories, introductions or forewords before delivering The Winds of Winter.[69] In April 2018, Martin announced in a blog post that The Winds of Winter would not be published in 2018.[70]
A Dream of Spring[edit]
Martin is only firm about ending the series with the seventh novel 'until I decide not to be firm'.[23] With his stated goal of telling the story from beginning to end, he will not truncate the story to fit into an arbitrary number of volumes.[39] He knows the ending in broad strokes as well as the future of the main characters,[27] and will finish the series with bittersweet elements where not everyone will live happily ever after.[37] Martin hopes to write an ending similar to The Lord of the Rings that he felt gave the story a satisfying depth and resonance. On the other hand, Martin noted the challenge to avoid a situation like the finale of the TV series Lost, which left some fans disappointed by deviating too far from their own theories and desires.[21] In 2012, Martin had acknowledged his concerns about A Dream of Spring not being completed by the time the TV series Game of Thrones catches up in its storyline to the novels.[71]In 2015, Martin said that he was not writing A Dream of Spring together with The Winds of Winter,[72] and in early 2016, he said he did not believe A Dream of Spring would be published before the last season of the HBO show.[73] In April 2018, Martin commented he had not started working on the book,[74] and in November he said that after The Winds of Winter he would decide what to do next: A Dream of Spring or the second volume of Fire & Blood or one or two stories for the Tales of Dunk and Egg.[75] In May 2019 he reiterated he had not started writing A Dream of Spring and would not do so before finishing The Winds of Winter.[76]
Martin offered the following hint as to how the series would conclude during a Q&A at the Guadalajara International Book Fair. 'I'm not going to tell you how I'm going to end my book, but I suspect the overall flavor is going to be as much bittersweet as it is happy.'[61]
TV series and other writings[edit]
Early during the development of the TV series, Martin told major plot points to producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss.[27] Martin was confident he would have published at least The Winds of Winter before the TV series overtook him.[27] Nevertheless, there were general concerns about whether Martin would be able to stay ahead of the show.[77] As a result, head writers Benioff and Weiss learned more future plot points from Martin in 2013 to help them set up the show's new possible seasons. This included the end stories for all the core characters. Deviations from the books' storylines were considered, but a two-year hiatus to wait for new books was not an option for them (as the child actors continue to grow and the show's popularity would wane).[78] Martin indicated he would not permit another writer to finish the book series.[49] On January 2, 2016, Martin confirmed that the sixth volume would not be published before the start of the sixth season of the HBO series.[79]
Regarding A Song of Ice and Fire as his Masterpiece, Martin is certain never to write anything on this scale again and would only return to this fictional universe in the context of stand-alone novels.[42] He prefers to write stories about characters from other A Song of Ice and Fire periods of history such as his Tales of Dunk and Egg project, instead of continuing the series directly.[42][80] Martin said he would love to return to writing short stories, novellas, novelettes, and stand-alone novels from diverse genres such as science fiction, horror, fantasy, or even a murder mystery.[29][36]
Inspiration and writing[edit]
Genre[edit]
George R. R. Martin believes the most profound influences to be the ones experienced in childhood.[81] Having read H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Robert A. Heinlein, Eric Frank Russell, Andre Norton,[29]Isaac Asimov,[33]Fritz Leiber, and Mervyn Peake[82] in his youth, Martin never categorized these authors' literature into science fiction, fantasy, or horror and will write from any genre as a result.[81] Martin classified A Song of Ice and Fire as 'epic fantasy',[1] and specifically named Tad Williams' high fantasy epic Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn as very influential for the writing of the series.[33][82] One of his favorite authors is Jack Vance,[33] although Martin considered the series not particularly Vancean.[32]
Martin experienced some harsh winters when living in Dubuque a few years in the 70s, and suspects these winters had an influence on his writing; 'I think a lot of the stuff in A Game of Thrones, the snow and ice and freezing, comes from my memories of Dubuque'.[30]
—Fantasy writer Joe Abercrombie in 2008[83]
The medieval setting has been the traditional background for epic fantasy. However, where historical fiction leaves versed readers knowing the historical outcome,[82] original characters may increase suspense and empathy for the readers.[81] Yet Martin felt historical fiction, particularly when set during the Middle Ages, had an excitement, grittiness, and a realness to it that was absent in fantasy with a similar backdrop.[84] Thus, he wanted to combine the realism of historical fiction with the magic appeal of the best fantasies,[85] subduing magic in favor of battles and political intrigue.[25] He also decided to avoid the conventional good versus evil setting typical for the genre, using the fight between Achilles and Hector in Homer's Iliad, where no one stands out as either a hero or a villain, as an example of what he wants to achieve with his books.[86]
Martin is widely credited with broadening the fantasy fiction genre for adult content, including incest, paedophilia, and adultery.[49] Writing for The Atlantic, Amber Taylor assessed the novels as hard fantasy with vulnerable characters to which readers become emotionally attached.[87]CNN found in 2000 that Martin's mature descriptions were 'far more frank than those found in the works of other fantasy authors',[88] although Martin assessed the fantasy genre to have become rougher-edged a decade later and that some writers' work was going beyond the mature themes of his novels.[39]Adam Roberts called Martin's series the most successful and popular example of the emerging subgenre of grimdark fantasy.[89]
Writing process[edit]
Setting out to write something on an epic scale,[88] Martin projected to write three books of 800 manuscript pages in the very early stages of the series.[82] His original 1990s contract specified one-year deadlines for his previous literary works, but Martin only realized later that his new books were longer and hence required more writing time.[41] In 2000, Martin planned to take 18 months to two years for each volume and projected the last of the planned six books to be released five or six years later.[37] However, with A Song of Ice and Fire series evolving into the biggest and most ambitious story he has ever attempted writing,[45] he still has two more books to write as of 2019. Martin said he needed to be in his own office in Santa Fe, New Mexico to immerse himself in the fictional world and write.[25] As of 2011, Martin was still typing his fiction on a DOS computer with WordStar 4.0 software.[90] He begins each day at 10 am with rewriting and polishing the previous day's work,[81] and may write all day or struggle to write anything.[25] Excised material and previous old versions are saved to be possibly re-inserted at a later time.[45] Martin does not consider A Song of Ice and Fire a 'series' but a single story published in several volumes.[91]
Martin set the A Song of Ice and Fire story in a secondary world inspired by Tolkien's writing.[27] Unlike Tolkien, who created entire languages, mythologies, and histories for Middle-earth long before writing The Lord of the Rings, Martin usually starts with a rough sketch of an imaginary world that he improvises into a workable fictional setting along the way.[49] He described his writing as coming from a subconscious level in 'almost a daydreaming process',[92] and his stories, which have a mythic rather than a scientific core, draw from emotion instead of rationality.[29] Martin employs maps[25] and a cast list topping 60 pages in the fourth volume,[7] but keeps most information in his mind.[1] His imagined backstory remains subject to change until published, and only the novels count as canon.[45] Martin does not intend to publish his private notes after the series is finished.[25]
Martin drew much inspiration from actual history for the series,[81] having several bookcases filled with medieval history for research[93] and visiting historic European landmarks.[43] For an American who speaks only English, the history of England proved the easiest source of medieval history for him, giving the series a British rather than a German or Spanish historic flavor.[94] For example, Ned and Robb Stark resemble Richard, 3rd Duke of York, and his son Edward IV, and Queen Cersei resembles both Margaret of Anjou[95] and Elizabeth Woodville.[96] Martin immersed himself in many diverse medieval topics such as clothing, food, feasting, and tournaments to have the facts at hand if needed during writing.[37] The series was in particular influenced by the Hundred Years' War, the Crusades, the Albigensian Crusade, and the Wars of the Roses,[81][93] although Martin refrained from making any direct adaptations.[81] Martin was also inspired by the French historical novels The Accursed Kings by Maurice Druon, which are about the French monarchy in the 13th and 14th centuries.[2][3]
The story is written to follow principal landmarks with an ultimate destination, but leaves Martin room for improvisation. On occasion, improvised details significantly affected the planned story.[97] By the fourth book, Martin kept more private notes than ever before to keep track of the many subplots,[33] which became so detailed and sprawling by the fifth book as to be unwieldy.[23] Martin's editors, copy editors, and readers monitor for accidental mistakes,[33] although some errors have slipped into publication. For instance, Martin has inconsistently referred to certain characters' eye colors, and has described a horse as being of one sex and then another.[49]
Narrative structure[edit]
POV character | Game | Clash | Storm | Feast | Dance | (Winds) | Sum |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bran Stark | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 21 | ||
Catelyn Stark | 11 | 7 | 7 | 25 | |||
Daenerys Targaryen | 10 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 31 | ||
Eddard Stark | 15 | 15 | |||||
Jon Snow | 9 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 42 | ||
Arya Stark | 5 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 2 | ≥1[55] | ≥34 |
Tyrion Lannister | 9 | 15 | 11 | 12 | ≥2[98] | ≥49 | |
Sansa Stark | 6 | 8 | 7 | 3 | ≥1[55] | ≥25 | |
Davos Seaworth | 3 | 6 | 4 | 13 | |||
Theon Greyjoy | 6 | 7 | ≥1[60] | ≥14 | |||
Jaime Lannister | 9 | 7 | 1 | 17 | |||
Samwell Tarly | 5 | 5 | 10 | ||||
Cersei Lannister | 10 | 2 | 12 | ||||
Brienne of Tarth | 8 | 8 | |||||
Aeron Greyjoy | 2 | ≥1[57] | ≥3 | ||||
Areo Hotah | 1 | 1 | ≥1[99] | ≥3 | |||
Asha Greyjoy | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||
Arys Oakheart | 1 | 1 | |||||
Victarion Greyjoy | 2 | 2 | ≥1[98] | ≥5 | |||
Arianne Martell | 2 | ≥2[55] | ≥4 | ||||
Quentyn Martell | 4 | 4 | |||||
Jon Connington | 2 | 2 | |||||
Melisandre | 1 | 1 | |||||
Barristan Selmy | 4 | ≥2[100][101] | ≥6 | ||||
Prologue/Epilogue | 1/– | 1/– | 1/1 | 1/– | 1/1 | 1/TBD | ≥8 |
Total (characters) | 73 (9) | 70 (10) | 82 (12) | 46 (13) | 73 (18) | ≥13 (≥9) | ≥357 (≥32) |
The books are divided into chapters, each one narrated in the third person limited through the eyes of a point of view character,[49] an approach Martin learned himself as a young journalism student.[102] Beginning with nine POV characters in A Game of Thrones, the number of POV characters grows to a total of 31 in A Dance with Dragons (see table). The short-lived one-time POV characters are mostly restricted to the prologues and epilogues.[37]David Orr of The New York Times noted the story importance of 'the Starks (good guys), the Targaryens (at least one good guy, or girl), the Lannisters (conniving), the Greyjoys (mostly conniving), the Baratheons (mixed bag), the Tyrells (unclear), and the Martells (ditto), most of whom are feverishly endeavoring to advance their ambitions and ruin their enemies, preferably unto death'.[103] However, as Time'sLev Grossman noted, readers 'experience the struggle for Westeros from all sides at once', such that 'every fight is both triumph and tragedy [..] and everybody is both hero and villain at the same time'.[104]
Modeled on The Lord of the Rings, the story of A Song of Ice and Fire begins with a tight focus on a small group (with everyone in Winterfell, except Daenerys) and then splits into separate stories. The storylines are to converge again, but finding the turning point in this complex series has been difficult for Martin and has slowed down his writing. Depending on the interview, Martin is said to have reached the turning point in A Dance with Dragons,[21] or to not quite have reached it yet in the books.[105] The series' structure of multiple POVs and interwoven storylines was inspired by Wild Cards, a multi-authored shared universe book series edited by Martin since 1985.[106] As the sole author, Martin begins each new book with an outline of the chapter order and may write a few successive chapters from a single character's viewpoint instead of working chronologically. The chapters are later rearranged to optimize character intercutting, chronology, and suspense.[37]
Influenced by his television and film scripting background, Martin tries to keep readers engrossed by ending each A Song of Ice and Fire chapter with a tense or revelational moment, a twist or a cliffhanger, similar to a TV act break.[107] Scriptwriting has also taught him the technique of 'cutting out the fat and leaving the muscle', which is the final stage of completing a book, a technique that brought the page count in A Dance with Dragons down almost eighty pages.[108] Dividing the continuous A Song of Ice and Fire story into books is much harder for Martin. Each book shall represent a phase of the journey that ends in closure for most characters. A smaller portion of characters is left with clear-cut cliffhangers to make sure readers come back for the next installment, although A Dance with Dragons had more cliffhangers than Martin originally intended.[27][37] Both one-time and regular POV characters are designed to have full character arcs ending in tragedy or triumph,[37] and are written to hold the readers' interest and not be skipped in reading.[82] Main characters are killed off so that the reader will not rely on the hero to come through unscathed and will instead feel the character's fear with each page turn.[36]
The unresolved larger narrative arc encourages speculation about future story events.[49] According to Martin, much of the key to A Song of Ice and Fire's future lies over a dozen years in the fictional past, of which each volume reveals more.[25] Events planned from the beginning are foreshadowed, although Martin is careful not to make the story predictable.[105] The viewpoint characters, who serve as unreliable narrators,[21] may clarify or provide different perspectives on past events.[109] Therefore, what the readers believe to be true may not necessarily be true.[25]
Character development[edit]
Regarding the characters as the heart of the story,[110] Martin planned the epic A Song of Ice and Fire to have a large cast of characters and many different settings from the beginning.[21]A Feast for Crows has a 63-page list of characters,[7] with many of the thousands of characters mentioned only in passing[49] or disappearing from view for long stretches.[111] When Martin adds a new family to the ever-growing number of genealogies in the appendices, he devises a secret about the personality or fate of the family members. However, their backstory remains subject to change until written down in the story.[45] Martin drew most character inspiration from history (without directly translating historical figures)[25] and his own experiences, but also from the manners of his friends, acquaintances, and people of public interest.[33] Martin aims to 'make my characters real and to make them human, characters who have good and bad, noble and selfish well-mixed in their natures'.[37] Jeff VanderMeer of the Los Angeles Times remarked that 'Martin's devotion to fully inhabiting his characters, for better or worse, creates the unstoppable momentum in his novels and contains an implied criticism of Tolkien's moral simplicity'[112] (see Themes: Moral ambiguity).
Martin deliberately ignored the writing rule of never giving two characters names starting with the same letter.[45] Instead, character names reflect the naming systems in various European family histories, where particular names were associated with specific royal houses and where even the secondary families assigned the same names repeatedly.[45] The story of A Song of Ice and Fire therefore has children called 'Robert' in honor of King Robert of House Baratheon, a 'Brandon' in every other generation of the Starks in commemoration of Brandon the Builder (of the Wall), and the syllable 'Ty' commonly occurring in given names of House Lannister.[31] Confident that readers would pay attention, Martin distinguished people sharing a given name[45] by adding numbers or locations to their given names (e.g. Henry V of England). The family names were designed in association with ethnic groups (see backstory): the First Men in the North of Westeros had very simply descriptive names like Stark and Strong, whereas the descendants of the Andal invaders in the South have more elaborate, undescriptive house names like Lannister or Arryn, and the Targaryens and Valyrians from the Eastern continent have the most exotic names with the letter Y.[31]
All characters are designed to speak with their own internal voices to capture their views of the world.[37]The Atlantic pondered whether Martin ultimately intended the readers to sympathize with characters on both sides of the Lannister–Stark feud long before plot developments force them to make their emotional choices.[113] Contrary to most conventional epic fantasies, the characters of A Song of Ice and Fire are vulnerable so that, according to The Atlantic, the reader 'cannot be sure that good shall triumph, which makes those instances where it does all the more exulting.'[87] Martin gets emotionally involved in the characters' lives during writing, which makes the chapters with dreadful events sometimes very difficult to write.[37] Seeing the world through the characters' eyes requires a certain amount of empathy with them, including the villains,[81] all of whom he has said he loves as if they were his own children.[82][110] Martin found that some characters had minds of their own and took his writing in different directions. He returns to the intended story if it does not work out, but these detours sometimes prove more rewarding for him.[45]
Arya Stark, Tyrion Lannister, Jon Snow, and Daenerys Targaryen generate the most feedback from readers.[114] Martin has stated that Tyrion is his personal favorite, as the grayest of the gray characters, with his cunning and wit making him the most fun to write.[82] Martin has also said that Bran Stark is the hardest character to write. As the character most deeply involved in magic, Bran's story needs to be handled carefully within the supernatural aspects of the books. Bran is also the youngest viewpoint character,[37] and has to deal with the series' adult themes like grief, loneliness, and anger.[107] Martin set out to have the young characters grow up faster between chapters, but, as it was implausible for a character to take two months to respond, a finished book represents very little time passed. Martin hoped the planned five-year break would ease the situation and age the children to almost adults in terms of the Seven Kingdoms, but he later dropped the five-year gap (see section Bridging the timeline gap).[27][37]
Themes[edit]
Although modern fantasy may often embrace strangeness, A Song of Ice and Fire series is generally praised for what is perceived as a sort of medieval realism.[103] Believing that magic should be used moderately in the epic fantasy genre,[26] Martin set out to make the story feel more like historical fiction than contemporary fantasy, with less emphasis on magic and sorcery and more on battles, political intrigue, and the characters.[25] Though the amount of magic has gradually increased throughout the story, the series is still to end with less overt magic than most contemporary fantasies.[37] In Martin's eyes, literary effective magic needs to represent strange and dangerous forces beyond human comprehension,[59] not advanced alien technologies or formulaic spells.[115] As such, the characters understand only the natural aspects of their world, but not the magical elements like the Others.[103]
Since Martin drew on historical sources to build the world of A Song of Ice and Fire ,[81] Damien G. Walter of The Guardian saw a strong resemblance between Westeros and England in the period of the Wars of the Roses.[116]The Atlantic'sAdam Serwer regarded A Song of Ice and Fire as 'more a story of politics than one of heroism, a story about humanity wrestling with its baser obsessions than fulfilling its glorious potential', where the emergent power struggle stems from the feudal system's repression and not from the fight between good and evil.[113] Martin not only wanted to reflect the frictions of the medieval class structures in the novels, but also explore the consequences of the leaders' decisions, as general goodness does not automatically make competent leaders and vice versa.[85]
A common theme in the fantasy genre is the battle between good and evil,[85] which Martin rejects for not mirroring the real world.[32] Attracted to gray characters,[117] Martin instead endorses William Faulkner's view that only the human heart in conflict with itself was worth writing about.[85] Martin explores the questions of redemption and character change in the A Song of Ice and Fire series.[118] The multiple viewpoint structure allows characters to be explored from many sides, such that the supposed villains can provide their viewpoint.[88][42]
Although fantasy comes from an imaginative realm, Martin sees an honest necessity to reflect the real world where people die sometimes ugly deaths, even beloved people.[37] Main characters are killed off so that the reader will not expect the supposed hero to survive, and instead will feel the same tension and fear that the characters might.[36] The novels also reflect the substantial death rates in war.[82] The deaths of supernumerary extras or orcs have no major effect on readers, whereas a friend's death has much more emotional impact.[105] Martin prefers a hero's sacrifice to say something profound about human nature.[27]
According to Martin, the fantasy genre rarely focuses on sex and sexuality,[37] instead often treating sexuality in a juvenile way or neglecting it completely.[81] Martin, however, considers sexuality an important driving force in human life that should not be excluded from the narrative.[118] Providing sensory detail for an immersive experience is more important than plot advancement for Martin,[21] who aims to let the readers experience the novels' sex scenes, 'whether it's a great transcendent, exciting, mind blowing sex, or whether it's disturbing, twisted, dark sex, or disappointing perfunctory sex.'[118] Martin was fascinated by medieval contrasts where knights venerated their ladies with poems and wore their favors in tournaments while their armies mindlessly raped women in wartime.[37] The non-existent concept of adolescence in the Middle Ages served as a model for Daenerys' sexual activity at the age of 13 in the books.[107] The novels also allude to the incestuous practices in the Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt to keep their bloodlines pure.[119]
Martin provides a variety of female characters to explore the place of women in a patriarchal society.[105] Writing all characters as human beings with the same basic needs, dreams, and influences,[24] his female characters are to cover the same wide spectrum of human traits as the males.[105][24]
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
Science Fiction Weekly stated in 2000 that 'few would dispute that Martin's most monumental achievement to date has been the groundbreaking A Song of Ice and Fire historical fantasy series',[37] for which reviews have been 'orders of magnitude better' than for his previous works, as Martin described to The New Yorker.[49] In 2007, Weird Tales magazine described the series as a 'superb fantasy saga' that 'raised Martin to a whole new level of success'.[29] Shortly before the release of A Dance with Dragons in 2011, Bill Sheehan of The Washington Post was sure that 'no work of fantasy has generated such anticipation since Harry Potter's final duel with Voldemort',[111] and Ethan Sacks of Daily News saw the series turning Martin into a darling of literary critics as well as mainstream readers, which was 'rare for a fantasy genre that's often dismissed as garbage not fit to line the bottom of a dragon's cage'.[60]Salon.com's Andrew Leonard stated:
The success is all the more remarkable because [the series debuted] without mass market publicity or any kind of buzz in the fantasy/SF scene. George R. R. Martin earned his following the hard way, by word of mouth, by hooking his characters into the psyche of his readers to an extent that most writers of fantasy only dream of.[120]
Publishers Weekly noted in 2000 that 'Martin may not rival Tolkien or Robert Jordan, but he ranks with such accomplished medievalists of fantasy as Poul Anderson and Gordon Dickson.'[15] After the fourth volume came out in 2005, Time's Lev Grossman considered Martin a 'major force for evolution in fantasy' and proclaimed him 'the American Tolkien', explaining that, although Martin was '[not] the best known of America's straight-up fantasy writers' at the time and would 'never win a Pulitzer or a National Book Award .. his skill as a crafter of narrative exceeds that of almost any literary novelist writing today'.[48] As Grossman said in 2011, the phrase American Tolkien 'has stuck to [Martin], as it was meant to',[104] being picked up by the media including The New York Times ('He's much better than that'),[121] the New Yorker,[49]Entertainment Weekly ('an acclaim that borders on fantasy blasphemy'),[23]The Globe and Mail,[51] and USA Today.[117]Time magazine named Martin one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2011,[51] and USA Today named George R.R. Martin their Author of the Year 2011.[122]
According to The Globe and Mail's John Barber, Martin manages simultaneously to master and transcend the genre so that 'Critics applaud the depth of his characterizations and lack of cliché in books that are nonetheless replete with dwarves and dragons'.[51]Publishers Weekly gave favorable reviews to the first three A Song of Ice and Fire novels at their points of release, saying that A Game of Thrones had 'superbly developed characters, accomplished prose and sheer bloody-mindedness',[11] that A Clash of Kings was 'notable particularly for the lived-in quality of [their fictional world and] for the comparatively modest role of magic',[13] and that A Storm of Swords was one 'of the more rewarding examples of gigantism in contemporary fantasy'.[15] However, they found that A Feast For Crows as the fourth installment 'sorely misses its other half. The slim pickings here are tasty, but in no way satisfying.'[17] Their review for A Dance with Dragons repeated points of criticism for the fourth volume, and said that, although 'The new volume has a similar feel to Feast', 'Martin keeps it fresh by focusing on popular characters [who were] notably absent from the previous book.'[19]
According to the Los Angeles Times, 'Martin's brilliance in evoking atmosphere through description is an enduring hallmark of his fiction, the settings much more than just props on a painted stage', and the novels captivate readers with 'complex storylines, fascinating characters, great dialogue, perfect pacing, and the willingness to kill off even his major characters'.[112]CNN remarked that 'the story weaves through differing points of view in a skillful mix of observation, narration and well-crafted dialogue that illuminates both character and plot with fascinating style',[88] and David Orr of The New York Times found that 'All of his hundreds of characters have grace notes of history and personality that advance a plot line. Every town has an elaborately recalled series of triumphs and troubles.'[103] Salon.com's Andrew Leonard 'couldn't stop reading Martin because my desire to know what was going to happen combined with my absolute inability to guess what would happen and left me helpless before his sorcery. At the end, I felt shaken and exhausted.'[123]The Christian Science Monitor advised reading the novels with an A Song of Ice and Fire encyclopedia at hand to 'catch all the layered, subtle hints and details that [Martin] leaves throughout his books. If you pay attention, you will be rewarded and questions will be answered.'[124]
Among the most critical voices were Sam Jordison and Michael Hann, both of The Guardian. Jordison detailed his misgivings about A Game of Thrones in a 2009 review and summarized 'It's daft. It's unsophisticated. It's cartoonish. And yet, I couldn't stop reading .. Archaic absurdity aside, Martin's writing is excellent. His dialogue is snappy and frequently funny. His descriptive prose is immediate and atmospheric, especially when it comes to building a sense of deliciously dark foreboding [of the long impending winter].'[125] Hann did not consider the novels to stand out from the general fantasy genre, despite Martin's alterations to fantasy convention, although he rediscovered his childhood's views:
That when things are, on the whole, pretty crappy [in the real world], it's a deep joy to dive headfirst into something so completely immersive, something from which there is no need to surface from hours at a time. And if that immersion involves dragons, magic, wraiths from beyond death, shapeshifting wolves and banished princes, so be it.[126]
Sales[edit]
The reported overall sales figures of the A Song of Ice and Fire series vary. The New Yorker said in April 2011 (before the publication of A Dance with Dragons) that more than 15 million A Song of Ice and Fire books had been sold worldwide,[49] a figure repeated by The Globe and Mail in July 2011.[51] Reuters reported in September 2013 that the books including print, digital and audio versions have sold more than 24 million copies in North America.[128]The Wall Street Journal reported more than six million sold copies in North America by May 2011.[129]USA Today reported 8.5 million copies in print and digital overall in July 2011,[130] and over 12 million sold copies in print in December 2011.[122] The series has been translated into more than 20 languages;[10]USA Today reported the fifth book to be translated into over 40 languages.[117]Forbes estimated that Martin was the 12th highest-earning author worldwide in 2011 at $15 million.[131]
Martin's publishers initially expected A Game of Thrones to be a best-seller,[23] but the first installment did not even reach any lower positions in bestseller list.[58] This left Martin unsurprised, as it is 'a fool's game to think anything is going to be successful or to count on it'.[110] However, the book slowly won the passionate advocacy of independent booksellers and the book's popularity grew by word of mouth.[49] The series' popularity skyrocketed in subsequent volumes,[23] with the second and third volume making The New York Times Best Seller lists in 1999[38] and 2000,[40] respectively. The series gained Martin's old writings new attention, and Martin's American publisher Bantam Spectra was to reprint his out-of-print solo novels.[37]
The fourth installment, A Feast for Crows, was an immediate best-seller at its 2005 release,[23] hitting number one on 'The New York Times' hardcover fiction bestseller list November 27, 2005, which for a fantasy novel suggested that Martin's books were attracting mainstream readers.[1] The paperback edition of A Game of Thrones reached its 34th printing in 2010, surpassing the one million mark.[132] Before it even premiered, the TV series had boosted sales of the book series, with A Song of Ice and Fire approaching triple-digit growth in year-on-year sales. Bantam was looking forward to seeing the tie-ins boost sales further,[53] and Martin's British publisher Harper Voyager expected readers to rediscover their other epic fantasy literature.[133] With a reported 4.5 million copies of the first four volumes in print in early 2011,[53] the four volumes re-appeared on the paperback fiction bestseller lists in the second quarter of 2011.[127][134]
At its point of publication in July 2011, A Dance with Dragons was in its sixth print with more than 650,000 hardbacks in print.[135] It also had the highest single and first-day sales of any new fiction title published in 2011 at that point, with 170,000 hardcovers, 110,000 e-books, and 18,000 audio books reportedly sold on the first day.[130]A Dance with Dragons reached the top of The New York Times bestseller list on July 31, 2011.[7] Unlike most other big titles, the fifth volume sold more physical than digital copies early on,[136] but nevertheless, Martin became the tenth author to sell 1 million Amazon Kindle e-books.[137] All five volumes and the four-volume boxed set were among the top 100 best-selling books in the United States in 2011 and 2012.[138]
The TV series has contributed significantly boosting sales of both the books and collectibles like box-sets, merchandise, and other items. The TV series also contributed in increasing the geographic coverage of the books, introducing new customers in emerging countries like India and Brazil to the book series. All this has significantly increased the overall book sales. As of April 2019, the book series has sold 90million copies worldwide.[4]
Fandom[edit]
During the 1980s and early 1990s, Martin's novels had slowly earned him a reputation in science fiction circles,[139] although he said to only have received a few fans' letters a year in the pre-internet days.[81] The publication of A Game of Thrones caused Martin's following to grow, with fan sites springing up and a Trekkie-like society of followers evolving that meet regularly.[139] Westeros.org, one of the main A Song of Ice and Fire fansites with about seventeen thousand registered members as of 2011, was co-founded in 1999 by a Swedish-based fan of Cuban-American descent, Elio M. García, Jr., and Linda Antonsson, who introduced him to the series; their involvement with Martin's work has now become semi-professional.[49][140] The Brotherhood Without Banners, an unofficial fan club operating globally, was formed in 2001. Their founders and other longtime members are among Martin's good friends.[49]
Martin runs an official website[7] and administers a lively blog with the assistance of Ty Franck.[49] He also interacts with fandom by answering emails and letters, although he stated in 2005 that their sheer numbers might leave them unanswered for years.[81] Since there are different types of conventions nowadays, he tends to go to three or four science-fiction conventions a year simply to go back to his roots and meet friends.[141] He does not read message boards anymore, so that his writing will not be influenced by fans foreseeing twists and interpreting characters differently from what he intended.[141]
—George R. R. Martin on his blog in 2009[142]
While Martin calls the majority of his fans 'great', and enjoys interacting with them,[27] some of them turned against him because of the six years it took to release A Dance with Dragons.[49] A movement of disaffected fans called GRRuMblers formed in 2009, creating sites such as Finish the Book, George and Is Winter Coming?[49][51] When fans' vocal impatience for A Dance with Dragons peaked shortly after, Martin issued a statement called 'To My Detractors'[142] on his blog that received media attention.[49][125][143]The New York Times noted that it was not uncommon for Martin to be mobbed at book signings either.[139]The New Yorker called this 'an astonishing amount of effort to devote to denouncing the author of books one professes to love. Few contemporary authors can claim to have inspired such passion.'[49]
Awards and nominations[edit]
- A Game of Thrones (1996) – Locus Award winner,[144]World Fantasy Award[145] and Nebula Award nominee, 1997[146]
- A Clash of Kings (1998) – Locus Award winner,[144] Nebula Award nominee, 1999[146]
- A Storm of Swords (2000) – Locus Award winner,[144]Hugo Award[147] and Nebula Awards nominee, 2001[148]
- A Feast for Crows (2005) – Hugo,[149] Locus,[144] and British Fantasy Awards nominee, 2006[150]
- A Dance with Dragons (2011) – Locus Award winner,[151] Hugo Award[152] and World Fantasy Award nominee, 2012[153]
Derived works[edit]
Novellas[edit]
Martin has written several prequel novellas. The Tales of Dunk and Egg series, three novellas set 90 years before the events of the novel series, feature the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire 'Egg', who later became King Aegon V Targaryen. The stories have no direct connection to the plot of A Song of Ice and Fire, although both characters are mentioned in A Storm of Swords and A Feast For Crows, respectively. The first installment, The Hedge Knight, was published in the 1998 anthology Legends. The Sworn Sword followed in 2003, published in Legends II.[42] Both were later adapted into graphic novels.[154] The third novella, The Mystery Knight, was first published in the 2010 anthology Warriors[155] and is planned to be adapted as a graphic novel, as well.[156] In 2015, the first three novellas were published as one illustrated collection, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
The novella The Princess and the Queen or, the Blacks and the Greens appeared in Tor Books's 2013 anthology Dangerous Women and explains some of the Targaryen backstory two centuries before the events of the novels.[157][158]The Rogue Prince, or, the King's Brother, published in the 2014 anthology Rogues, is itself a prequel to the events of The Princess and the Queen.[159] The novella The Sons of the Dragon, published in the 2017 anthology The Book of Swords, is the story of Aegon the Conqueror's two sons Aenys I and Maegor I 'The Cruel'. All three of these stories were incorporated as parts of Fire and Blood, a book chronicling the history of the Targaryen line.
Chapter sets from the novels were also compiled into three novellas that were released between 1996 and 2003 by Asimov's Science Fiction and Dragon:
- Blood of the Dragon (July 1996),[160] taken from the Daenerys chapters in A Game of Thrones
- Path of the Dragon (December 2000),[161] taken from the Daenerys chapters in A Storm of Swords
- Arms of the Kraken (March 2003),[162] based on the Iron Islands chapters from A Feast for Crows
Fire & Blood[edit]
Fire & Blood is Martin's complete history of House Targaryen, to be released in two volumes. The first volume was released on November 20, 2018.[163]
TV series[edit]
With the popularity of the series growing, HBO optioned A Song of Ice and Fire for a television adaptation in 2007.[52] A pilot episode was produced in late 2009, and a series commitment for nine further episodes was made in March 2010.[164] The series, titled Game of Thrones, premiered in April 2011 to great acclaim and ratings (see Game of Thrones: Reception). The network picked up the show for a second season covering A Clash of Kings two days later.[165] Shortly after the conclusion of the first season, the show received 13 Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, winning Outstanding Main Title Design and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Peter Dinklage's portrayal of Tyrion Lannister.[166] HBO announced a renewal for a third season in April 2012, ten days after the season 2 premiere.[167] Due to the length of the corresponding book, the third season only covered roughly the first half of A Storm of Swords.[168]
Shortly after the season 3 premiere in March 2013, the network announced that Game of Thrones would be returning for a fourth season, which would cover the second half of A Storm of Swords along with the beginnings of A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons.[169]Game of Thrones was nominated for 15 Emmy Awards for season 3.[170] Two days after the fourth season premiered in April 2014, HBO renewed Game of Thrones for a fifth and sixth season.[171] Season 5 premiered on April 12, 2015 and set a Guinness World Records for winning the highest number of Emmy Awards for a series in a single season and year, winning 12 out of 24 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series.[172][173]These episodes were watched by 8 million viewers, setting a record number for the series.[174] The sixth season premiered on April 24, 2016.[175] These episodes received the most nominations for the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards with 23, winning 12, including the award for Outstanding Drama Series.[176] The seventh season premiered on July 16, 2017. The eighth and final season premiered on April 14, 2019.[177]
Other works[edit]
A Song of Ice and Fire has spawned an industry of spin-off products. Fantasy Flight Games released a collectible card game, a board game, and two collections of artwork inspired by A Song of Ice and Fire series.[178][179] Various roleplaying game products were released by Guardians of Order and Green Ronin.[180][181]Dynamite Entertainment adapted A Game of Thrones into a same-titled monthly comic in 2011.[182] Several video games are available or in production, including A Game of Thrones: Genesis (2011) and Game of Thrones (2012) by Cyanide;[183][184] both received mediocre ratings from critics.[185] A social network game titled Game of Thrones Ascent (2013) by Disruptor Beam allows players to live the life of a noble during the series' period setting.[186]Random House released an official map book called The Lands of Ice and Fire, which includes old and new maps of the Ice and Fire world.[187] The companion book The World of Ice & Fire by Martin and the Westeros.org owners Elio M. García Jr. and Linda Antonsson was published in October 2014.[49] Other licensed products include full-sized weapon reproductions,[188] a range of collectable figures,[189][190] Westeros coinage reproductions,[191] and a large number of gift and collectible items based on the HBO television series.[192] The popularity of the HBO series has made its version of the Iron Throne an icon of the entire media franchise.[193][194][195][196]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abcdefFlood, Alison (April 13, 2011). 'George RR Martin: Barbarians at the gate'. The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
- ^ abMilne, Ben (April 4, 2014). 'Game of Thrones: The cult French novel that inspired George RR Martin'. BBC. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
- ^ abKamin, Debra (May 20, 2014). 'The Jewish legacy behind Game of Thrones'. The Times of Israel. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
They struck gold, however, with their next attempt: a television series based on a French fantasy series which in turn was based on a seven-part set of stories by a French Jewish immigrant. Maurice Druon was born in France in 1918 to Jewish immigrants from Russia and first made a name for himself in the realm of academic journals.
- ^ ab'How Game of Thrones achieved world domination.. long before the TV show even aired'. The Independent. April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^''George RR Martin revolutionised how people think about fantasy' Books The Guardian'. theguardian.com. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
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- ^ abcdefgSmith, Dinitia (December 12, 2005). 'A Fantasy Realm Too Vile For Hobbits'. The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
- ^Kain, Erik (April 30, 2012). ''Game of Thrones' Sails into Darker Waters With 'Ghost of Harrenhal''. Forbes. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
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- ^ ab'Gallery of different language editions'. georgerrmartin.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
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- ^'A Game of Thrones Book Details'. AR BookFinder. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
- ^ abcd'Fiction review: A Clash of Kings'. Publishers Weekly. February 1, 1999. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
- ^'A Clash of Kings Book Details'. AR BookFinder. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
- ^ abcde'Fiction review: A Storm of Swords'. Publishers Weekly. October 30, 2000. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
- ^'A Storm of Swords Book Details'. AR BookFinder. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
- ^ abcd'Fiction review: A Feast for Crows: Book Four of A Song of Ice and Fire'. Publishers Weekly. October 3, 2005. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
- ^'A Feast for Crows Book Details'. AR BookFinder. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
- ^ abc'Fiction review: A Dance with Dragons: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 5'. Publishers Weekly. May 30, 2011. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
- ^'A Dance with Dragons'. AR BookFinder. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
- ^ abcdefghijkBrown, Rachael (July 11, 2011). 'George R.R. Martin on Sex, Fantasy, and A Dance With Dragons'. The Atlantic. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
- ^ abMartin, George R. R. (March 28, 2006). 'this, that, and the other thing'. grrm.livejournal.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ abcdefghijklHibberd, James (July 22, 2011). 'The Fantasy King'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
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- ^'Coins inspired by the fictional works of George R.R. Martin'. shirepost.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
- ^'HBO Shop ' Shows ' Game of Thrones'. hbo.com. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
- ^Acuna, Kirsten (October 28, 2014). 'George R.R. Martin: No One Ever Gets The Most Iconic Part Of Game Of Thrones Right'. Business Insider. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
- ^Martin, George R. R. (July 8, 2013). 'Not A Blog: The Real Iron Throne'. GRRM.livejournal.com. Archived from the original on December 25, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
- ^Jackson, Matthew (July 9, 2013). 'George R.R. Martin shows us what the Iron Throne REALLY looks like'. Blastr.com. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
- ^Hudson, Laura (July 10, 2013). 'Behold the Iron Throne the Way George R. R. Martin Intended It'. Wired. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
External links[edit]
Quotations related to A Song of Ice and Fire at Wikiquote
- So Spake Martin, Collection of statements, correspondences and interviews by George R. R. Martin.
- A Song of Ice and Fire series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- A Song of Ice and Fire at the Internet Book List
- A Song of Ice and Fire at Curlie
| ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
List of numbers — Integers | ||||
Cardinal | nine | |||
Ordinal | 9th (ninth) | |||
Numeral system | nonary | |||
Factorization | 32 | |||
Divisors | 1, 3, 9 | |||
Greek numeral | Θ´ | |||
Roman numeral | IX | |||
Unicode symbol(s) | Ⅸ, ⅸ | |||
ennea- | ||||
nona- | ||||
Binary | 10012 | |||
Ternary | 1003 | |||
Quaternary | 214 | |||
Quinary | 145 | |||
Senary | 136 | |||
Octal | 118 | |||
Duodecimal | 912 | |||
Hexadecimal | 916 | |||
Vigesimal | 920 | |||
Base 36 | 936 | |||
Amharic | ፱ | |||
Arabic & Kurdish | ٩ | |||
Urdu | ||||
Armenian numeral | Թ | |||
Bengali | ৯ | |||
Chinese/Japanese /Korean numeral | 九 玖 | |||
Devanāgarī | ९ | |||
Greek numeral | θ´ | |||
Hebrew numeral | ט | |||
Tamil numerals | ௯ | |||
Khmer | ៩ | |||
Telugu numeral | ౯ | |||
Thai numeral | ๙ |
Look up nine in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
9 (nine) is the natural number following 8 and preceding 10.
- 1Mathematics
- 6Culture and mythology
- 7Anthropology
- 12Science
Mathematics[edit]
9 is a composite number, its proper divisors being 1 and 3. It is 3 times 3 and hence the third square number. Nine is a Motzkin number.[1] It is the first composite lucky number, along with the first composite odd number and only single-digit composite odd number.
9 is the only positive perfect power that is one more than another positive perfect power, by Mihăilescu's Theorem.
9 is the highest single-digit number in the decimal system. It is the second non-unitary square prime of the form (p2) and the first that is odd. All subsequent squares of this form are odd.
Since 9 = 321, 9 is an exponential factorial.[2]
A polygon with nine sides is called a nonagon or enneagon.[3] A group of nine of anything is called an ennead.
In base 10 a positive number is divisible by 9 if and only if its digital root is 9.[4] That is, if any natural number is multiplied by 9, and the digits of the answer are repeatedly added until it is just one digit, the sum will be nine:
- 2 × 9 = 18 (1 + 8 = 9)
- 3 × 9 = 27 (2 + 7 = 9)
- 9 × 9 = 81 (8 + 1 = 9)
- 121 × 9 = 1089 (1 + 0 + 8 + 9 = 18; 1 + 8 = 9)
- 234 × 9 = 2106 (2 + 1 + 0 + 6 = 9)
- 578329 × 9 = 5204961 (5 + 2 + 0 + 4 + 9 + 6 + 1 = 27; 2 + 7 = 9)
- 482729235601 × 9 = 4344563120409 (4 + 3 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 3 + 1 + 2 + 0 + 4 + 0 + 9 = 45; 4 + 5 = 9)
There are other interesting patterns involving multiples of nine:
- 12345679 × 9 = 111111111
- 12345679 × 18 = 222222222
- 12345679 × 81 = 999999999
This works for all the multiples of 9. n = 3 is the only other n > 1 such that a number is divisible by n if and only if its digital root is divisible by n. In base-N, the divisors of N − 1 have this property. Another consequence of 9 being 10 − 1, is that it is also a Kaprekar number.
The difference between a base-10 positive integer and the sum of its digits is a whole multiple of nine. Examples:
For 2014 versions and later, you can find them in Autodesk Account, on the Management tab. Depending on your license type, you may not need a serial number to launch your product. Autodesk Account The Management tab of your Autodesk Account page stores the serial numbers and product keys for each licensed product. Autocad 2015 license key.
- The sum of the digits of 41 is 5, and 41 − 5 = 36. The digital root of 36 is 3 + 6 = 9, which, as explained above, demonstrates that it is divisible by nine.
- The sum of the digits of 35967930 is 3 + 5 + 9 + 6 + 7 + 9 + 3 + 0 = 42, and 35967930 − 42 = 35967888. The digital root of 35967888 is 3 + 5 + 9 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 54, 5 + 4 = 9.
Casting out nines is a quick way of testing the calculations of sums, differences, products, and quotients of integers, known as long ago as the 12th century.[5]
Six recurring nines appear in the decimal places 762 through 767 of π, see Six nines in pi.
If dividing a number by the amount of 9s corresponding to its number of digits, the number is turned into a repeating decimal. (e.g. 274/999 = 0.274274274274..)
There are nine Heegner numbers.[6]
Probability[edit]
In probability, the nine is a logarithmic measure of the probability of an event, defined as the negative of the base-10logarithm of the probability of the event's complement.[citation needed] For example, an event that is 99% likely to occur has an unlikelihood of 1% or 0.01, which amounts to −log10 0.01 = 2 nines of probability. Zero probability gives zero nines (−log10 1 = 0). A 100% probability is considered to be impossible in most circumstances: that results in infinite improbability. The effectivity of processes and the availability of systems can be expressed (as a rule of thumb, not explicitly) as a series of 'nines'. For example, 'five nines' (99.999%) availability implies a total downtime of no more than five minutes per year – typically a very high degree of reliability; but never 100%.
List of basic calculations[edit]
Multiplication | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 20 | 25 | 50 | 100 | 1000 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 × x | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 | 54 | 63 | 72 | 81 | 90 | 180 | 225 | 450 | 900 | 9000 |
Division | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 ÷ x | 9 | 4.5 | 3 | 2.25 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.285714 | 1.125 | 1 | 0.9 | 0.81 | 0.75 | 0.692307 | 0.6428571 | 0.6 |
'x ÷ 9 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.6 |
Exponentiation | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9x | 9 | 81 | 729 | 6561 | 59049 | 531441 | 4782969 | 43046721 | 387420489 | 3486784401 |
x9 | 1 | 512 | 19683 | 262144 | 1953125 | 10077696 | 40353607 | 134217728 | 387420489 | 1000000000 |
Radix | 1 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 100 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
110 | 120 | 130 | 140 | 150 | 200 | 250 | 500 | 1000 | 10000 | 100000 | 1000000 | |||
x9 | 1 | 5 | 119 | 169 | 229 | 279 | 339 | 449 | 559 | 669 | 779 | 889 | 1109 | 1219 |
1329 | 1439 | 1549 | 1659 | 1769 | 2429 | 3079 | 6159 | 13319 | 146419 | 1621519 | 17836619 |
Evolution of the glyph[edit]
According to Georges Ifrah, the origin of the 9 integers can be attributed to ancient Indian civilization, and was adopted by subsequent civilizations in conjunction with the 0.[7]
In the beginning, various Indians wrote 9 similar to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and Gupta started curving the bottom vertical line coming up with a 3-look-alike. The Nagari continued the bottom stroke to make a circle and enclose the 3-look-alike, in much the same way that the @ character encircles a lowercase a. As time went on, the enclosing circle became bigger and its line continued beyond the circle downwards, as the 3-look-alike became smaller. Soon, all that was left of the 3-look-alike was a squiggle. The Arabs simply connected that squiggle to the downward stroke at the middle and subsequent European change was purely cosmetic.
While the shape of the 9 character has an ascender in most modern typefaces, in typefaces with text figures the character usually has a descender, as, for example, in .
This numeral resembles an inverted 6. To disambiguate the two on objects and documents that can be inverted, the 9 is often underlined, as is done for the 6. Another distinction from the 6 is that it is sometimes handwritten with a straight stem, resembling a raised lower-case letter q.
Alphabets and codes[edit]
- In the NATO phonetic alphabet, the digit 9 is called 'Niner'.
- Five-digit producePLU codes that begin with 9 are organic.
Commerce[edit]
- Common terminal digit in psychological pricing.
Culture and mythology[edit]
Indian culture[edit]
Nine is a number that appears often in Indian culture and mythology. Some instances are enumerated below.
- Nine influencers are attested in Indian astrology.
- In the Vaisheshika branch of Hindu philosophy, there are nine universal substances or elements: Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Ether, Time, Space, Soul, and Mind.
- Navaratri is a nine-day festival dedicated to the nine forms of Durga.
- Navaratna, meaning 'nine jewels' may also refer to Navaratnas – accomplished courtiers, Navratan – a kind of dish, or a form of architecture.
- In Indian aesthetics, there are nine kinds of Rasa.
Chinese culture[edit]
- Nine (九pinyin jiǔ) is considered a good number in Chinese culture because it sounds the same as the word 'long-lasting' (久pinyin jiǔ).[citation needed]
- Nine is strongly associated with the Chinese dragon, a symbol of magic and power. There are nine forms of the dragon, it is described in terms of nine attributes, and it has nine children. It has 117 scales – 81 yang (masculine, heavenly) and 36 yin (feminine, earthly). All three numbers are multiples of 9 (9 × 13 = 117, 9 × 9 = 81, 9 × 4 = 36)[8] as well as having the same digital root of 9.
- The dragon often symbolizes the Emperor, and the number nine can be found in many ornaments in the Forbidden City.
- The circular altar platform (Earthly Mount) of the Temple of Heaven has one circular marble plate in the center, surrounded by a ring of nine plates, then by a ring of 18 plates, and so on, for a total of nine rings, with the outermost having 81 = 9 × 9 plates.
- The name of the area called Kowloon in Hong Kong literally means: nine dragons.
- The nine-dotted line (Chinese: 南海九段线; pinyin: nánhǎi jiǔduàn xiàn; literally: 'Nine-segment line of the South China Sea') delimits certain island claims by China in the South China Sea.
- The nine-rank system was a civil service nomination system used during certain Chinese dynasties.
- 9 Points of the Heart (Heal) / Heart Master (Immortality) Channels in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Ancient Egypt[edit]
- The nine bows is a term used in Ancient Egypt to represent the traditional enemies of Egypt.
- The Ennead is a group of nine Egyptian deities, who, in some versions of the Osiris myth, judged whether Horus or Set should inherit Egypt.
European culture[edit]
- The Nine Worthies are nine historical, or semi-legendary figures who, in the Middle Ages, were believed to personify the ideals of chivalry.
- In Norse mythology, the universe is divided into nine worlds which are all connected by the world treeYggdrasil
- In Norse mythology as well, the number nine is associated with Odin, as that is how many days he hung from the world treeYggdrasil before attaining knowledge of the runes.
Greek mythology[edit]
- The nine Muses in Greek mythology are Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Erato (erotic poetry), Euterpe (lyric poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Polyhymnia (song), Terpsichore (dance), Thalia (comedy), and Urania (astronomy).
- It takes nine days (for an anvil) to fall from heaven to earth, and nine more to fall from earth to Tartarus.
- Leto labored for nine days and nine nights for Apollo, according to the Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo.
Mesoamerican mythology[edit]
- The Lords of the Night, is a group of nine deities who each ruled over every ninth night forming a calendrical cycle
Aztec mythology[edit]
- Mictlan the underworld in Aztec mythology, consists of nine levels.
Mayan mythology[edit]
- The Mayan underworld Xibalba consists of nine levels.
- El Castillo the Mayan step-pyramid in Chichén Itzá, consists of nine steps. It is said that this was done to represent the nine levels of Xibalba.
Anthropology[edit]
Idioms[edit]
- 'to go the whole nine yards-'
- 'A cat-o'-nine-tails suggests perfect punishment and atonement.' – Robert Ripley.
- 'A cat has nine lives'
- 'to be on cloud nine'
- 'A stitch in time saves nine'
- 'found true 9 out of 10 times'
- 'possession is nine tenths of the law'
- The word 'K-9' pronounces the same as canine and is used in many U.S. police departments to denote the police dog unit. Despite not sounding like the translation of the word canine in other languages, many police and military units around the world use the same designation.
- Someone dressed 'to the nines' is dressed up as much as they can be.
- In North American urban culture, 'nine' is a slang word for a 9mmpistol or homicide, the latter from the Illinois Criminal Code for homicide.
Society[edit]
- The 9 on Yahoo!, hosted by Maria Sansone, was a daily video compilation show, or vlog, on Yahoo! featuring the nine top 'web finds' of the day.
- Nine justices sit on the United States Supreme Court.
Technique[edit]
- Stanines, a method of scaling test scores, range from 1 to 9.
- There are 9 square feet in a square yard.
Literature[edit]
- There are nine circles of Hell in Dante's Divine Comedy.
- The Nine Bright Shiners, characters in Garth Nix's Old Kingdom trilogy. The Nine Bright Shiners was a 1930s book of poems by Anne Ridler[9] and a 1988 fiction book by Anthea Fraser;[10] the name derives from 'a very curious old semi-pagan, semi-Christian' song.[11]
- The Nine Tailors is a 1934 mystery novel by British writer Dorothy L. Sayers, her ninth featuring sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey.
- Nine Unknown Men are, in occult legend, the custodians of the sciences of the world since ancient times.
- In J.R.R. Tolkien'sMiddle-earth, there are nine rings of power given to men, and consequently, nine ringwraiths. Additionally, The Fellowship of the Ring consists of nine companions.
- In Lorien Legacies there are nine Garde sent to Earth.
- Number Nine is a character in Lorien Legacies.
- In the series A Song of Ice and Fire, there are nine regions of Westeros (the Crownlands, the North, the Riverlands, the Westerlands, the Reach, the Stormlands, the Vale of Arryn, the Iron Islands and Dorne). Additionally, there is a group of nine city-states in western Essos known collectively as the Free Cities (Braavos, Lorath, Lys, Myr, Norvos, Pentos, Qohor, Tyrosh and Volantis).
Organizations[edit]
- Divine Nine – The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is a collaborative organization of nine historically African American, international Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities.
Places and thoroughfares[edit]
- Ninth Avenue is a major avenue in Manhattan.
- South Africa has 9 provinces
Wiki
Religion and philosophy[edit]
- Nine, as the highest single-digit number (in base ten), symbolizes completeness in the Bahá'í Faith. In addition, the word Bahá' in the Abjad notation has a value of 9, and a 9-pointed star is used to symbolize the religion.
- The number 9 is revered in Hinduism and considered a complete, perfected and divine number because it represents the end of a cycle in the decimal system, which originated from the Indian subcontinent as early as 3000 BC.
- In Buddhism, Gautama Buddha, was believed to have nine virtues, which he was (1) Accomplished, (2) Perfectly Enlightened, (3) Endowed with knowledge and Conduct or Practice, (4) Well-gone or Well-spoken, (5) the Knower of worlds, (6) the Guide Unsurpassed of men to be tamed, (7) the Teacher of gods and men, (8) Enlightened, and (9) Blessed.
- Important Buddhist rituals usually involve nine monks.
- The first nine days of the Hebrew month of Av are collectively known as 'The Nine Days' (Tisha HaYamim), and are a period of semi-mourning leading up to Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of Av on which both Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed.
- Nine is a significant number in Norse Mythology. Odin hung himself on an ash tree for nine days to learn the runes.
- The Fourth Way Enneagram is one system of knowledge which shows the correspondence between the 9 integers and the circle.
- In the Christian angelic hierarchy there are 9 choirs of angels.
- Ramadan, the month of fasting and prayer, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.
- Tian's Trigram Number, of Feng Shui, in Taoism.
Science[edit]
Astronomy[edit]
- Before 2006 (when Pluto was officially designated as a non-planet), there were nine planets in the solar system.
- Messier objectM9 is a magnitude 9.0 globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus.
- The New General CatalogueobjectNGC 9, a spiral galaxy in the constellationPegasus.
Chemistry[edit]
- The purity of chemicals (see Nine (purity)).
- Nine is the atomic number of fluorine.
Physiology[edit]
A human pregnancy normally lasts nine months, the basis of Naegele's rule.
Sports[edit]
- Nine-ball is the standard professional pocket billiards variant played in the United States.
- In association football (soccer), the centre-forward/striker traditionally (since at least the fifties) wears the number 9 shirt.
- In baseball:
- There are nine players on the field including the pitcher.
- There are nine innings in a standard game.
- 9 represents the right fielder's position.
- NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture, published by the University of Nebraska Press[12]
- In rugby league, the jersey number assigned to the hooker in most competitions. (An exception is the Super League, which uses static squad numbering.)
- In rugby union, the number worn by the starting scrum-half.
Technology[edit]
- ISO 9 is the ISO's standard for the transliteration of Cyrillic characters into Latin characters
- In the Rich Text Format specification, 9 is the language code for the English language. All codes for regional variants of English are congruent to 9 mod 256.
- The seven-segment display allows the number 9 to be constructed two ways, either with a hook at the end of its stem or without one. Most LCD calculators use the former, but some VFD models use the latter.
- The9 Limited (owner of the9.com) is a company in the video-game industry, including former ties to the extremely popular MMORPGWorld of Warcraft.
Music[edit]
- 'Revolution 9', a sound collage which appears on The Beatles' eponymous 1968 album The Beatles (aka The White Album), prominently features a loop of a man's voice repeating the phrase 'Number nine'.
- There are 9 semitones in a Major 6th interval in music.
- There was a superstition among some notable classical music composers that they would die after completing their ninth symphony. Some composers who died after composing their ninth symphony include Ludwig van Beethoven, Anton Bruckner, Antonin Dvorak and Gustav Mahler.
See also[edit]
Awoiaf Mod Wikipedia
References[edit]
- ^'Sloane's A001006 : Motzkin numbers'. The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences. OEIS Foundation. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
- ^'Sloane's A049384 : a(0)=1, a(n+1) = (n+1)^a(n)'. The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences. OEIS Foundation. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
- ^Robert Dixon, Mathographics. New York: Courier Dover Publications: 24
- ^Martin Gardner, A Gardner's Workout: Training the Mind and Entertaining the Spirit. New York: A. K. Peters (2001): 155
- ^Cajori, Florian (1991, 5e) A History of Mathematics, AMS. ISBN0-8218-2102-4. p.91
- ^Bryan Bunch, The Kingdom of Infinite Number. New York: W. H. Freeman & Company (2000): 93
- ^Georges Ifrah (1985). From One to Zero: A Universal History of Numbers. Viking. ISBN0-670-37395-8.
- ^Donald Alexander Mackenzie (2005). Myths of China And Japan. Kessinger. ISBN1-4179-6429-4.
- ^Jane Dowson (1996). Women's Poetry of the 1930s: A Critical Anthology. Routledge. ISBN0-415-13095-6.
- ^Anthea Fraser (1988). The Nine Bright Shiners. Doubleday. ISBN0-385-24323-5.
- ^Charles Herbert Malden (1905). Recollections of an Eton Colleger, 1898-1902. Spottiswoode.
- ^'Web site for NINE: A Journal of Baseball History & Culture'. Archived from the original on 2009-11-04. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
Further reading[edit]
- Cecil Balmond, 'Number 9, the search for the sigma code' 1998, Prestel 2008, ISBN3-7913-1933-7, ISBN978-3-7913-1933-9