Exploring the Game of Thrones

Works by Valerie Estelle Frankel

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Many Different Game of Thrones Guides from Valerie Estelle Frankel

Go to Winning the Game of Thrones (fan guide to characters and easter eggs) Amazon Page. Read a Sample on Wattpad

Go to Winter is Coming (prophecy guide, now in Audio Book!) Amazon Page

Go to Women in Game of Thrones: Power, Conformity and Resistance Amazon Page

Go to Symbols in Game of Thrones (guide to the symbolism of beasts, colors, food, etc.) Amazon Page. Read a Sample onWattpad

Go to How Game of Thrones Will End: The History, Politics, and Pop Culture Driving the Show to its Finish (humorous examination of likely endings) Amazon Page

Go to Mythology in Game of Thrones Amazon Page

Special Presentation: Game of Thrones: A Look Beyond the Wall

Saturday, February 28, 2015 – 8:00 pm.

Company Theater, Norwell, MA

Game of Thrones Presentation at the Company Theater near Boston! Award-winning author Valerie Estelle Frankel discussesGame of Thrones, inspiration for her five books including Symbols in Game of Thrones and How Game of Thrones Will End. Learn how George RR Martin’s prophecies and the classic heroine’s journey foretell the ending. Daenerys’s surprising path becomes clear as she “wakes the dragon” and harnesses a surprising magic. Is Jon Snow destined to be her lover, her nemesis, her sacrifice, or all three? And what of Tyrion? Or Arya? What does Varys really want? Discover the deeper meaning of black dragons, golden roses, seasons, heraldic colors, and all the symbols of ice and fire. Share your secret longings and fears for the upcoming season, as we prepare for the oncoming storm. Saturday, February 28, 2015 – 8:00 pm. Company Theater, Norwell, MA. Tickets are on sale for only a short time longer! http://companytheatre.com/game-of-thrones-a-look-beyond-the-wall/

Winning the Game of Thrones

The Host of Characters and their Agendas

Available in paperback, kindle, epub and other formats from LitCrit Press May 2013

This book explores characters’ agendas, from Sansa’s secret schemes to Arya’s ultimate goal. What is Cersei’s true fear? What do trout or golden roses symbolize? Is the show a feminist success or a male playground? This book answers all these and more, revealing the enigmas and surprises hidden deep within the series. Martin’s interviews, homages, and past works hint at the pattern he’s chosen, while the classic pattern of the hero’s and heroine’s journey indicate the path of each protagonist and their ultimate destinies. From the Norse myth of ice covering all the world and the winter of wolves, to the War of the Roses that inspired much of the plot, the Game of Thrones is revealed secret by secret…including how it may be won.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

THE CHRONICLE OF THE TARGARYENS

The Loss of Valyria

Aegon the Conqueror

Targaryen History

Dunk and Egg

Rhaegar and the Trident

The Saga Begins

YOU WIN OR YOU DIE: AGENDAS ON GAME OF THRONES

Petyr Baelish’s Obsession

What’s Ned Hiding – Who’s Jon Snow’s Mother?

What Is the Night Watch’s True Mission?

Why Did Benjen Join the Watch?

What’s Sansa’s Deal?

Why Is Brienne so Loyal to Renly?

What Does Craster Do with the Sons?

Who or What is Jaqen H’ghar?

Why Didn’t Arya Kill Someone Important?

Why Was the Freys’ Bridge so Essential?

Who Killed Jon Arryn and Attacked Bran?

What Does Melisandre Want?

What Happened to Winterfell?

Why is Tywin so Useless?

How Does Guest-Right Work?

Where Did Daenerys’s Eggs Come From?

Illyrio Mopatis and Varys the Spider

Winter is Coming: Symbols and Hidden Meanings in A Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones fans watch in delight as the epic battle of Lannister and Stark entangles the Seven Kingdoms. But only the sharpest notice how these houses echo Lancaster and York in the War of the Roses. Druids, Catholics, and even Zoroastrians wander through Westeros, reframing their religions for a new world of fantasy. But how medieval is Westeros? Did lady knights and pirates really battle across Europe? The book Winter is Coming: Symbols and Hidden Meanings in A Game of Thrones explores all this and more, from the echoes of history to the symbols and omens our beloved characters. Who is Jon Snow’s mother and why is she a secret? What is Daenerys’s real power, unknown even to her? Will these two characters share a destiny? Where is the red priestess’s real Lightbringer and when will it arrive? Through dreams and prophecies, imagery and allegory, the deepest secrets of the series unfold, in an exploration friendly to watchers and readers alike.

Also available in audio book at Audible.com!

Winter is Coming: Symbols and Hidden Meanings in A Game of Thrones
Written by: Valerie Estelle Frankel
Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
Thought Catalog

iTunes
Introduction
Chapter 1: You Know Nothing, Jon Snow: The Real Conflict of Fire and Ice
Chapter 2: Jon’s Mystery Mother
Chapter 3: The Coming of the Chosen One
Chapter 4: Daenerys’s Prophecies
Chapter 6: Visions of the Future
Chapter 7: The Old Gods and the New: Religion Retold
Chapter 8: Henry Tudor, Prince Who Was Promised, and English History
Chapter 9: Women’s Roles in History and Westeros
Conclusion

A Song of Ice and Fire Bibliography

Spring 2014: Women in Game of Thrones: Power, Conformity and Resistance Amazon Page

Paperback: 277 pages
Publisher: McFarland & Company
ISBN-10: 0786494166
ISBN-13: 978-0786494163

Game of Thrones, one of the hottest series on television, leaves hundreds of critics divided on how “feminist” the show really is. Certainly the female characters, strong and weak, embody a spectrum of archetypes—widow queens, warrior women, damsels in distress, career women, priestesses, crones, mothers and maidens. However, the problematic area is that most of them play a single role without nuance—even the “strong women” have little to do besides strut about as one-note characters.

This book analyzes the women and their portrayals one by one, along with their historical inspirations. Accompanying issues in television studies also appear, from the male gaze to depiction of race. How these characters are treated in the series and how they treat themselves becomes central, as many strip for the pleasure of men or are sacrificed as pawns. Some scenes are fetishized and filmed to tantalize, while others show the women’s trauma and attempt to identify with the scene’s female perspective. The key is whether the characters break out of their traditional roles and become multidimensional.
Introduction 1
Part I: Controversial Issues in the Series
Gratuitous Relations?
Rape
Male Gaze
Fake Lesbian Scenes
Race
Independent Action versus Acting for Others
Part II: Exploring Archetypes and Tropes
Female Archetypes
The Strong Females
The Warrior Woman Archetype
The Warrior: Arya and Brienne
The Bodyguard: Osha and Meera
The Pirate: Asha/Yara
The Career Woman: Talisa
The Warrior Anima
The Feminized Females
Widows and Mothers: The Chatelaines and Queen Consorts
Maidens: The Innocent, the Orphan, and the Femme Fatale
The Working Girls
The Crones
The Seers
Tricksters: The Sand Snakes
Great Goddess: The Heart Trees
Monstrous Woman: Stoneheart
The Hero Queen: Daenerys
Part III: Gender Roles in Westeros
Women in Westeros
Men in the Gender Biased System
Women Despise Men by Despising Women
Men’s Attitudes Toward Women
Fan Reactions
Conclusion
Appendix 1. Cast
Appendix 2. Episode List
Appendix 3. Archetypes
Works Cited
Index

How Game of Thrones Will End: The History, Politics, and Pop Culture Driving the Show to its Finish Thought Catalog (May 29, 2014) Amazon Page

As many know, Game of Thrones takes its story from many influences: the War of the Roses, Catherine de Medici, Norse and Celtic myth as well as medieval ballads. Modern readers find parallels with politics, the corporate world, and conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. Will the story end like Lord of the Rings or completely invert it? How about King Arthur? Pop culture and parody author Valerie Estelle Frankel examines the sources and predicts a Game of Thrones ending for each one. What will the Ragnarok ending look like? Or the Narnia ending? Who will live, who will die, and how goofy can the war of ice and fire possibly get?

Table of Contents

Introduction
Medieval-Renaissance History
The War of the Roses: York and Lancaster
Empress Mathilda
The Jacobites
Catherine de Medici
Myth
King Arthur
The Volsung Saga
Norse Myth
Ragnarök
Celtic Myth
The Legends of Bran
The Tain
Classics and Historical Fiction
Julius Caesar
Trojan War
Ivanhoe and Robin Hood
Sharpe by Bernard Cornwell
The Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell
The White Queen and Phillippa Gregory
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Fire and Ice
Fantasy
The Chosen One
The Anti-Chosen One
Sword and Sorcery
Ballads and Fairytales
Gormanghast by Mervyn Peake
The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams
The Dying Earth by Jack Vance
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Anti-Tolkien Model
TV structure
Modern History
Plotting, Secrets, and the Buildup of World War I
Just War Theory, Ethics, and World War II
Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq: Imperialism and Ethics
Modern Life
Gaming
The Job Market
Politics
The Environment
So How Will It End?
Appendix
Actors and Creators
Episode List
A Song of Ice and Fire Bibliography
Works Cited

Mythology in Game of Thrones

Contents
Introduction
Stone and Ancient Powers
The Lord of Light and the Other
Magic and Miracles
Valyrians
Dragonglass and Dragonsteel
The Wall and the Horns
The Doom of Valyria
Hardhome
Oily Stone and Deep Ones
Mazemakers
Comets, Swords, and Proto-Valyrians
Stone Men and Water Magic
Human Magic
Shadowbinders
The Chosen One
Faceless Men
Sorcerers
Moonsingers
Skinchangers
Greenseers
Maesters
Mythical Creatures
Dragons
Ice Dragons
Sea Dragons
Merlings
Kraken
Children of the Forest
Griffon
Basilisks
Manticores
Wyverns
Harpy
Sphinxes
Unicorn
Ice Spiders
Giants
Ghosts and Hauntings
Centaurs
Swan Maidens
Worldwide Myth
Pantheons of Gods
Celtic Myth
Green Man
Bran the Raven
The Year-King
Tree Magic and Sacrifice
Weirwoods
White Animals
Wargs and Animal Transformation
Barrows
Drowned God
King Arthur
Magical Thrones
European Myth
Christianity and the New Gods
Human Legends
Matriarchy and the Double Ax
Greek Myth
Ages of the World
Greek and Roman Gods
The Trojan War
Planets
Atlantis and Valyria
Near East Myth
Hetaera
Magic Mirrors and Dragonglass Candles
Black Goat of Qohor
R’hllor and the Persians
Norse Myth
Ragnarök
Ravens and Crows
Mysteries
Runes
The Volsung Saga
Appendix
Actors and Creators
A Song of Ice and Fire Bibliography
Places of the World
Works Cited
Secondary Sources
About the Author

Symbols in Game of Thrones: The Deeper Meanings of Animals, Colors, Seasons, Food, and Much More April 2014 Amazon Page

Amazon Kindle Page
With dogs, wolves, ravens, blood flies, and so many more, animal symbolism is endlessly significant in Game of Thrones. Why does Daenerys receive magical eggs in particular? What does a hand symbolize or a horn? There are meaningful towers and water gardens, stretching from the pyramids of Meereen to the infamous Iron Throne. Meanwhile, George R.R. Martin’s characters chomp on bloody beef, blood oranges, red wine, beets, and pomegranates between the inevitable bloodbaths. The intricately crafted world of books and show has endless depth, revealed in this companion for fans of every flavor.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Animals
Bat
Bear
Birds
Cats
Dragons
Dragonflies
Eagle
Falcon
Goat
Griffon
Harpy
Horse
Hound
Insects
Kraken
Lion
Mockingbird
Ravens and Crows
Sphinx
Spider
Stag
Trout
Unicorn
Viper
Wolves
Food
Apples
Arbor Gold
Beets and Turnips
Blackberries
Blood Oranges
Boar
Bread and Salt
Chestnuts
Dates and Figs
Grapes
Lambs and Sheep
Lamprey
Lemons
Nuts
Olives
Onions
Peaches
Pears
Spicy Peppers
Persimmons
Pie
Pigeon
Pike
Plums and Prunes
Pomegranates
Red Wine
Seasons Sky and Weather
Autumn
Comet
Dawn/Morning
Darkness
Moon
Night
Rains of Castamere
Smoke
Spring
Storms
Summer
Sun
Winter
Colors
Black and White
Black
Blue
Brown
Gold
Green
Grey
Orange
Pink
Purple
Rainbow
Red
Silver
Symbols of Ice and Fire
White and Ice
Red and Fire
Ice and Fire
Weirwoods
Other Symbolism
Armor
Birth
Blood
Books
Candles
Chains
Chair Jostling
Circles
Cyvasse
Credits
Crossbows
Dagger
Dragon Eggs
Dragonglass
Game of Thrones
Gates
Hair
Hand
Hexagon
Horn
Iron and Bronze
Iron Throne
Magic
Needle
Pyramids
Rose
Sacrifice
Salt
Seven
Shadows
Skulls
Spear
Stone
Straw Men
Swords
Three
Towers
Twins
Underground
Valar Morghulis
The Wall
Water Gardens
Weddings
What is Dead Will Never Die
Appendix
Actors and Creators
Episode List
A Song of Ice and Fire Bibliography
Index

Valerie Estelle Frankel's Author Page

Everything Pop Culture and Scifi-Fantasy

Game of Thrones

Exploring the Game of Thrones

Winter is Coming: Symbols and Hidden Meanings in A Game of Thrones

Exploring the Game of Thrones

Winter is Coming: Symbols and Hidden Meanings in A Game of Thrones

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