Watch out print books: ebooks just got a whole lot more interesting. George R.R. Martin, in collaboration with Apple, has released an interactive Game of Thrones book. Anybody familiar with the story knows how incredibly difficult it is to keep track of all the people, locations, and events. These ‘enchanced editions’ will work like a Wikipedia page, except the reader never has to leave the text for deeper research on the topic that’s confusing them.

A Game of Thrones: Enhanced edition is the first book in the series to receive the illustration upgrade which will include everything from, “interactive character maps to detailed annotations, character journeys and timelines, family trees and audio clips” according to a recent Guardian article. This is HarperCollins’s way of celebrating the 20 year anniversary of such a legendary books series. In time, each book will turn into an illustrated version: A Clash of Kings is scheduled to be released on October 27th, and A Storm of Swords on December 15th. You can see Martin’s promotional video here:

This is not only a milestone for the Game of Thrones series, it marks a whole new way we think about ebooks. Martin himself even proclaimed: “We’re now entering a new period in the history of publishing…It’s an amazing next step in the world of books.”

Will print books be able to compete with the in-depth backgrounds e-books will be able to provide in the future? Nobody knows, so for now, cherish your print books while you can! A whole new generation of e-reading may just wash over us.

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