Game of Thrones: A Pop-Up Guide to Westeros

By Matthew Reinhart (Designer) & Michael Komarck (Illustrator)

Published by Transworld/Bantam and Insight editions, 10th April 2014

ISBN: 978 0 593 07345 2

Review by Mark Yon

As Season Four of the TV series begins on television, it must be said that the enthusiasm for Game of Thrones ephemera has hardly been higher.

Opportunely then, we have the arrival of a pop-up three-dimensional version of a map of Westeros – all very useful for following the machinations of the TV series (and the books.)

I must admit that I wasn’t sure about this, at first. However, having spent a few hours reading, folding and unfolding I must say that I am completely won over.

From the detailed, embossed cover to the sheer complexity of the pop-up mechanisms, this is a treat. Winterfell, The Eyrie, the capital King’s Landing, not to mention the inevitable Wall are all here. There are also details of the main characters: the main families, Daenrys, direwolves, and yes, dragons in mini-pullout points on the map itself. For the reader of the books there’s not a lot of new material here, but they cumulatively form a nice summary of key aspects of the world for those wanting to refresh themselves of the details. No spoilers were noticed, though.

The illustrations are from the renowned Hugo Award nominated artist Michael Komarck, whose previous work for Tolkien and George RR Martin are shown to good effect here.

But what most impresses is the engineering skills used by Matthew Reinhart. The way the Wall pops up of the book, for example, is rather remarkable. On some of the others there are towers, walkways and gantries, all designed to open up without tangling. They really are quite clever.

It’s the first time I’ve had an assembly instruction leaflet attached to a books cover. The map itself is pretty impressive, but you need a lot of space to fold it out properly. The full map is 46” x 30” (or 117 cm x 76cm, for those metrically minded.) Once folded and unfolded once, it becomes easier, but probably not the sort of thing you’d leave lying around open for too long.

In summary, a nice little object that is informative, attractively presented and great fun to look at, assemble and disassemble. One that fans of the books and the TV series will like a great deal.

Mark Yon, April 2014.

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