“The song of ice and fire” by George RR Martin | EUROtoday

The novels of the fantasy sequence “The Song of Ice and Fire” have been bought greater than 85 million occasions and translated into about fifty languages. Depending on the version, the books comprise greater than 5000 print pages and current a number of hundred talking characters. If you learn all of the 5 volumes of the American creator George RR Martin Nonstop, which was printed to date between 1996 and 2011, you want greater than per week.

Stefan Kaminski, some of the skilled German audiobook spokesman, wanted 100 days within the recording studio for the unabridged studying of the “song”, whereby he not solely needed to take note of all instructions of Martin within the novel (one thing like: “He said dreamily”), but additionally tried to provide every determine his personal character. The outcome was greater than 200 hours of play, which match on 34 MP3 CDs and fill a 25-page album in a long-playing plate format, which additionally comprises details about an important rulers and several other maps, together with one in a poster dimension.

This extra materials can be crucial to be able to not lose orientation in Martin’s subtle fantasy world, the outlines of that are roughly with which England and continental Europe, together with anatolia. However, just a few interventions within the earlier e book world have been allowed in audio e book manufacturing: As within the early German e book version after the interpretation of Jörn Ingwersen and Andreas Helweg, the 5 authentic novels have been divided into ten volumes with their very own title, the names have been typically adjusted to the English authentic – for instance, Jon Snow turned “Jon Snow”.

Even if you understand the tv sequence “Game of Thrones”, the audio e book studying opens up a newly fascinating cosmos. And when you’ve got no data of the Fantasierich George RR Martin, you’ll rapidly be drawn up by the particular capability of the creator to offer cultural-historically acquainted with an correct fantasy twist. Martin’s world is aware of Knight, Kings, Burgen, Ships and appears to obey the legal guidelines of the historic Middle Ages in some ways – so there are hints to the Ritter Order, the Hundred Years’ War or the Intrigant Court in Constantinople -, solely it’s nonetheless populated by fabulous figures similar to undead, dragons and quite a few new formations of Martin such because the “Shadow Wolves”, a reasonably volte – a reasonably volte – a reasonably volte – are thought of extinct firstly. The query of when all of this performs takes a again seat. There are varied time calculations and genealogies within the novel, which return to the navy wooden bushes, the semi -magnificent “children of the forest”, the “first people” and the “Andalen”, however loads is simply gimmick. It dominates the latest time degree of the novel, which is described from altering determine perspective.

Admirable what sure Martin succeeds in letting the names sound properly -trusted: The patina on “Valyrian steel” is alleged to be seen in entrance of the phrase, an “archon” could be nothing greater than a political chief, and who would hesitate to value tires “fire plums”? An exchanged or extra letter is usually sufficient for the creator to provide previous phrases a brand new that means. So the “Maester” is a type of common scholar with an advisory operate, a ser is a knight, and from the Khan of the Mongols, Martin turns into the “Khal” above the Steppen folks of the Dothraki. It is splendidly overwhelming that Martin not solely invented previous -fashioned idioms, but additionally exhibits his narrator at one level that the ruling of the ruling home strongly, the well-known “winter is approaching”, is definitely not an actual sentence in any respect. Martin additionally blurs the boundaries to actuality with such sophistry.

The most important distinction between the occasions within the “song of ice and fire” and Western historical past is the proper absence of Christianity. The most important characters primarily imagine within the gods of their ancestors, their morality, in fact, hardly falls under that of the actual medieval rulers. The plot is pushed by the descendants of the ability of people, that are extra randomly restricted by elementary powers. The refugee flows and local weather extremes that pull by way of the novels could be simply transferred to the current. With the large wall invented by George RR Martin, which is meant to separate the supposedly good from the supposedly unhealthy and stranger, the creator has lengthy earlier than Trump created a signature of the present international political scenario.

In distinction to the sequence, which shakes her template on the one hand, however triggered the viewer with components of the horror and gentle porn film- which is why HBO additionally needed to make the youthful figures from the “song” for 2 to a few years older- the unique is surprisingly typically harking back to a youth e book during which youngsters like Arya strongly attempt to discover their place in an enemy world. If “Game of Thrones” is spectacular to catapult the viewer with concise photos right into a parallel world, the novels aren’t any much less of their subtle reader administration. It is a pleasure to observe George RR Martin within the gradual unfold of his cloth. In the prologue, which is positioned within the freezing chilly north of the wall and reads the Stefan Kaminski so shivering, as if he wished to get again into the nice and cozy as quickly as doable, the pure legal guidelines are slowly overriding. “The others” (within the sequence they’re referred to as “white hikers”) are formed their murderous work within the ranks of the night time watch. Uncertainty grabs itself, however in the interim there can’t be a circles.

From the freezing chilly, the snow -covered medieval world of the household Stark in Winterfell, the place an execution is being carried out. The listener will get to know most important characters similar to Eddard and Catelyn Stark and the “Bastard” Jon, the primary connections between the rulers of Westeros are rising. In a standard novel, the courageous Starks could be constructed into sympathizers who would finally win as the great. But George RR Martin undertakes this expectation, quickly the stroke of destiny is piling up on the Starks; The tragedy created in some figures mercilessly takes its course.

A totally totally different world opens up within the “Essos”, which is just a few hundred kilometers east. In the type of Daenerys Targaryens, which is able to later be referred to as the “mother of the dragons”, the fiery ingredient steps into the occasion. Now the bookphone can be unpacked the massive card within the CD album on the newest to find the various locations that the princess goes again on reflection. After just a few chapters, the whole spectrum of the e book is measured in time and spatially, the extremes of ice and fireplace have appeared, however with out being utterly revealed. In characters similar to Bran or Hodor, George RR Martin created motifs proper from the beginning, the complete significance of which is able to solely be carried out by 1000’s of e book pages later.

Jon Snow is entertaining concerning the lavish pageant in honor of King Roberts, which on the identical time affords the chance to get to know the bold households Baratheon and Lannister. Jon, who’s rather more humorous and smarter within the e book than within the sequence, is comfortable to be a “bastard” that day, as a result of he can get drunk undisturbed on the desk of the protect. His clear, unpaid outsider view combines him with the considerably youthful Arya and the witty-ironish “Gnom” Tyrion Lannister, who may come from a Shakespeare drama.

Stefan Kaminski, a reader that’s overwhelmed with audiobook costs, is moderately withdrawn his narrator voice. He doesn’t create a synthetic rigidity and doesn’t attempt to hit an epic sounding “song” tone that the books don’t quit. Kaminski takes astonishingly many breaks between the sentences, which all the time takes a pleasing calm over the whole studying. In the determine speech, however, it may be very spirited. Every character sits, with Kaminski returning to a database with lots of of voice samples. He acknowledges pitches similar to that of the “blood dog” Sandor Clegane to the tv sequence, spectacular which vocal quantity he offers figures from greater weight lessons. Sometimes you’ve the sensation that he can knead his voice.

The audio e book has acquired huge audio competitors from streaming suppliers and the apps of the general public broadcaster in recent times; The CD is nearly useless. But if you happen to let the format revive with as a lot love and ambition as Random House Audio does on this mission, it seems as important as earlier than.

George RR Martin: “The song of ice and fire.” Unabridged studying by Stefan Kaminski. Random House Audio, Munich 2025. 34 MP3 CDs, 212 hours, € 150.