Through my little birds, I was lucky enough to (legally) get a hard copy of the worldbook a few days early, so here are some thoughts on it. As far as spoilers go, I’ll talk about what types of things and topics are in the book, and tease a few things, but I won’t give away any specific new details that are revealed inside.

This book is called “The World of Ice and Fire” and it’s obvious why — this is a world here that GRRM has built, and the level of detail he’s put into it is simply incredible. Every place mentioned has a history and some complexity to it — often a great deal of complexity. There’s far more information here than could ever be communicated during exposition in the main series, and tons of information about lands, peoples, and historical twists and turns. And it’s a world that’s unmistakably GRRM’s, with his own inexorable series of plots, brutal reversals, and some heroism in every nook and cranny. Indeed, there’s more where that came from — the book is a condensation by Elio Garcia and Linda Antonsson, writing as “Maester Yandel,” of an even greater amount of notes and information provided to them by GRRM.

About half the book is comprised of an overview of the Targaryen kings, organized in chronological order. No two reigns are alike, each has its own set of royals, plotters, challenges, and quarrels. Readers not too familiar with all this background information should find these tales quite compelling. Die-hard fans who’ve spent a lot of time on the Wiki of Ice and Fire, and who have read the novellas and devoured reports of readings at cons, will be familiar with much of it. The sections on Maegor, Aegon III, and Aegon V will contain much of the most new and interesting material for those fans. Many minor questions are answered — who the key Targaryens married, how they died, what each of their reigns was like. A few loose ends from The Princess and the Queen are cleared up, but others are left hanging. Other questions, particularly about the more minor figures of the era, are certain to remain unanswered for many more years, until GRRM finishes his longer history of the Targaryens, “Fire and Blood.”

The book excels when it lets vivid characters shine through. Highlights include the glories and blunders of the various Targaryen kings, the harrowing voyage of Queen Nymeria, the First Dornish War, and the story of Tywin and the Reynes. Elio and Linda, writing as Maester Yandel, clearly have a lot of fun with the material, often offering several potential explanations for mysterious or disputed events before dismissing one as silly, or mischievously skipping over material they can’t reveal by claiming it must be already well-known to the reader (no, it’s not!). However, bear in mind that this is written as history, and is even more condensed than The Princess and the Queen was, which often gives off the feeling of reading a summary. We are frequently only given a few details on characters or events that I found particularly compelling, and I was often left wanting more. Sometimes this is to tease future stories — especially in the case of Dunk and Egg, where I’m desperate to read novella-length accounts of 5 or 6 of the future events in their lives that are summarized briefly here. Elsewhere, the condensation is understandable considering there’s so much packed in the book, but still a bit frustrating.

Most of the rest of the book is organized as profiles of regions — mainly each of the kingdoms, and various places in Essos, and the people who live and rule in each. In my view, as it gets further removed from the main story and its plotlines, both chronologically and geographically, it becomes less compelling. For instance, I would have preferred more information about the Starks during the Targaryen era, of which we get quite little, than the several pages devoted to long-ago quarrels involving long-extinguished Riverlands families. But this is not a book you have to read cover to cover (I jumped around a lot). Some parts will particularly trigger the imaginations of some, while not really speaking to others.

As for the theories about the deepest secrets of the main series, I doubt the book will affect the conversation on them very much — with a very notable exception, as one particularly controversial theory is about to become more popular than ever. I’m noticing some growing hopes that huge questions will be answered in the book — this doesn’t happen. What we get instead are a lot of tidbits and context — for instance, about the planning of the Harrenhal Tourney, and about Lyanna’s disappearance. The brief bit on Summerhall is particularly tantalizing, and doesn’t give you much at all, but the fragment that’s there was enough to change my impression of the event somewhat and make me desperate to learn more.

The design of the book is impeccable — it is a big and impressive piece of work, deserving its “coffee table” moniker. There is a ton of art that is a great deal of fun to look at. When it comes to character depictions, I must say that there were a few too many “generic beautiful fantasy women” for my taste, and I was hoping for some more unique and memorable faces. But the depictions of locations are frequently astonishing, with many vivid images that will trigger flights of imagination. For instance, a tiny aside about feuding noble families and potential magical murders in Valyria just before the Doom — combined with a beautiful, fearsome illustration of the Fourteen Flames — made me fantasize about a story set there.

Overall, it is a deep, rich, and dense book. I come away from it with a new respect for GRRM’s achievement in creating this world, and astonishment at how many stories that could conceivably be told in it. It won’t satisfy the itch that we’ve been left with since ADWD — what could? — but I’m looking forward to readers on the various forums poring over the various details in its 300+ pages, and finding the interesting bits hidden throughout.

http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/2jc7u5/spoilers_all_advance_review_the_world_of_ice_and/

The First Men is split into many kingdoms: The King of the Fingers, the King of Runestone (House Royce), the King of Gulltown (House Shett).

First Men are stupid and use the the Andal invaders as sellsword against their enemies (strong enmity especially between Gulltown and Runestone). A Corbray kills the King of the Fingers with Lady Forlorn, and takes over the Fingers as 'Lord of the Five Fingers' (no king).

The Shett King takes a Grafton in his service and seals the pact with a number of marriages between himself, his children, and the children of the Grafton warlord, believing he could thus ensure Andal loyalty (he can't). King Shett dies in battle against the Royce King (which is won), but the King Shett is killed, by the Grafton warlord, it is said, who then takes over Gulltown.

The First Men are still stupid, the Andals keep pushing and pushing and they are about to be driven into the Mountains of the Moon two generations later. But then the Andal stupidity sets in, and the Andal petty kings begin fighting each other. This weakness is then exploited by Robar Royce, the grandson of the above mentioned Royce King, who charismatic enough to unite all the warring First Men clans and petty kings, and is then named High King of the Vale (Ursula Upcliffe is among them).

Robar allies with various Andal petty kings against their neighbors and thus topples both the King of the Fingers (the Lord Corbray is slain by Robar with Lady Forlorn which is could take from him during the fight). Gulltown is taken by the First Men with the help of the remaining Shetts, who rise against their Grafton king.

Finally the Andals realize what's going on, and unite under a war leader of their own - Ser Artys Arryn, the finest warrior of the Vale, of an impeccable Andal blood line (apparently descended from King Hugor of the Hill himself), who was born in the Vale near the foot of the Giant's Lance. He himself is neither Lord nor petty king, though, merely a knight chosen as war leader.

The battle is named after the Seven Stars that are seen at dawn of the day the battle is fought (which are, of course, interpreted as a sign of the Seven). Robar Royce and his allies are there first, have the high ground, with the mountain behind them, and secured their lines with pikes, trenches, and stuff.

Artys Arryn is called 'the Falcon Knight' because he has winged helmet. He wears silvered steel which is seen from afar. The battle begins at dawn, and the Andals charge seven times, and Torgold Tollett (and Andal, not a First Man) breaks through and wreaks havoc. The man is named 'the Grim', but he is not dolorous at all, but laughs at every turn, knowing neither fear nor pain. He kills Lord Redfort, Ursula. Robar eventually slays him with Lady Forlorn (which he tries to catch with his bare hands, but such an attempt is deadly when you try it with Valyrian steel - it cuts straight through his fingers and his body (he did not wear armor and fought with two axes until he lost them).

Robar targets Ser Artys and makes short work out of the knight in silvery steel, only to learn that this man was not the Falcon Knight. Ser Artys, who grew up at the foot of the Giant's Lance, led his best knights up a goat track circumvented the First Men unseen, and takes them from the rear. The rest is slaughter. Conflicting stories who killed High King Robar, the Corbrays claim they did it (and thus reclaimed Lady Forlorn), but other names are put forth, including Ser Artys himself.

Afterwards, the Falcon Knight becomes the first Andal King of the Vale of Arryn (as it is now named), and there are no longer any petty kings.

http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/119082-new-twoiaf-excerpt-from-the-app-spoiler/