George R.R. Martin has included a large number of tributes and homages to other authors, friends and fans in the text of A Song of Ice and Fire and its related novellas, as well as to some of his earlier works. A list of such tributes follows:

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Earlier works Edit

And Seven Times Never Kill Man! Edit

And Seven Times Never Kill Man! was an SF short story published in 1975. A deity named Bakkalon is mentioned in this story.

Bakkalon, known as the Pale Child, is a god (presumably of the east) mentioned in the House of Black and White in Braavos.

Nightflyers Edit

Nightflyers was an SF novella published in 1980. It was adapted as an unsuccessful film in 1987.

Lord Baelor Blacktyde's ship is called Nightflyer.

Fevre Dream Edit

Fevre Dream was a vampire novel published in 1982 and was Martin's biggest-selling pre-A Song of Ice and Fire novel.

The Fever River, which runs from Saltspear almost to Moat Cailin, is a formidable obstacle for those attempting to invade the North from southern Westeros.

Songs the Dead Men Sing Edit

Songs the Dead Men Sing was a novella published by Martin in 1983.

In the prologue to A Game of Thrones, Will recalls a story that says "Dead men sing no songs."

Authors Edit

Mikhail Bulgakov Edit

Mikhail Bulgakov (1891-1940) was a Russian writer and playwright. He is best known for his novel The Master and Margarita.





Tyrion Lannister has one green eye and one black one. Professor Woland, a major character in The Master and Margarita, also has one green eye and one black one.

Thomas B. Costain Edit

Thomas B. Costain (1885-1965) was a noted author of historical fiction, and is one of George R.R. Martin's favourite historical authors.

House Costayne of Three Towers is a reference to Costain. The house's arms show a silver chalice and a black rose, a reference to Costain's novel The Silver Chalice and the movie The Black Rose, based on Costain's work.

David Eddings Edit

David Eddings (1931-2009) was an American fantasy author, best-known for his series The Belgariad and numerous sequels and prequels.

House Deddings of the Riverlands is noted as having been badly mauled by Lannister forces during the War of the Five Kings, with both Lord and Lady Deddings slain. The Deddings were noted as being extremely rich. It should be noted that at the time Martin wrote this reference, both David and his wife (and co-writer) Leigh Eddings were still alive.

Phyllis Eisenstein Edit

Phyllis Eisenstein (1946-present) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. She is a friend of George R.R. Martin's. She had a big influence on A Song of Ice and Fire when, during the earliest period of Martin writing the series, she suggested to him that he include dragons and magic when he was more inclined to leave out the fantastical elements. A Storm of Swords is dedicated to her, as Martin thanks her for making him "put the dragons in".

Alaric of Eysen, noted as a well-travelled bard, is a troubadour and minstrel hired to play at the wedding of Joffrey I Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell. Before he can do so, Joffrey chokes to death. The character is named for the protagonist of Eisenstein's novels Born to Exile and In the Red Lord's Reach.

Robert E. Howard Edit

Robert E. Howard (1906-1936) was a famous fantasy author and the creator of many works of dark fantasy, most notably Conan the Barbarian. He is credited for writing the first works of "sword and sorcery," set in worlds with minimal amounts of magic and fantastical races, yet with weird-horror elements and wizards abounding. Was friends with Lovecraft and included many elements of Lovecraft's work in his own stories, and vice versa.

Young Robert Baratheon is Conan the Barbarian in many ways. A man who loves nothing more than battle, drinking, eating and wenching, Baratheon is described as a towering giant with black hair and blue eyes: "Clean shaven, clear eyed and muscled like a maiden's fantasy." This description and others describe Conan exactly, particularly the piercing blue eyes.

King Robert's quick ascension to kingship through battle and his troubled reign mirror Conan's own self-doubts after his easy snatching of power in many of Howard's stories.

Mention is made of "lizard-men" in "A World of ice and fire," representing the lost lizard men of Valusia from Howard's Kull series.

series. Stygia, a continent representing a proto-egypt, was featured as a city of the dead past Asshai in "A World of Ice and Fire."

In A Dance with Dragons, the narrator says about Daenerys that she "trod the cities of the slavers to dust beneath her dainty sandaled feet." This seems to be a tribute to the text of the Nemedian Chronicles that opens "The Phoenix on the Sword," the first of Howard's stories about Conan: "Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian . . . to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet."

Robert Jordan Edit

Robert Jordan (1948-2007) was an epic fantasy author best known for his internationally best-selling Wheel of Time sequence. Martin and Jordan were friends, with Martin citing Jordan's positive cover blurb for A Game of Thrones as helping drive sales of the paperback edition of the novel.

H.P. Lovecraft Edit

H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) was a noted fantasy and horror author, best-known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos.

The Drowned God, the ironborn motto "What is dead may never die," and the name of Lord Dagon Greyjoy are all references to Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos .

. The maps in The Lands of Ice and Fire reveal the existence of a city in the distant east of Essos called Carcosa. Carcosa is a fictional city created by Ambrose Bierce for his 1891 short story, An Inhabitant of Carcosa . It was then used by Robert Chambers in his 1895 book The King in Yellow , which was influential on Lovecraft.

reveal the existence of a city in the distant east of Essos called Carcosa. Carcosa is a fictional city created by Ambrose Bierce for his 1891 short story, . It was then used by Robert Chambers in his 1895 book , which was influential on Lovecraft. The map of Eastern Essos also features the City of K'Dath, a clear referrence to Lovecraft's story, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath .

. Many more references appear in "The World of Ice and Fire", including the island of Leng, K'dath in the Grey Wastes and oblique references to the Old Ones and the Deep Ones.

Michael Moorcock Edit

Michael Moorcock (1939-present) is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published literary novels. He is best known for his novels about the anti-hero Elric of Melniboné, a seminal influence on the field of fantasy in the 1960s and 1970s.

Brynden Rivers was inspired by the character "Elric of Melniboné" created by Michael Moorcock.

Mervyn Peake Edit

Mervyn Peake (1911-1968) was the author of the Gormenghast Trilogy, widely regarded as one of the most seminal and important works of the genre.

Lord Titus Peake of House Peake is a reference to both Peake and the protagonist of the Gormenghast series, Lord Titus Groan.

Titus Peake's ancestor, Lord Gorman Peake, appears in The Mystery Knight , and is even more of a blatant reference to Mervyn Peake's work.

, and is even more of a blatant reference to Mervyn Peake's work. Sandor Clegane suffers a burn to his face that disfigures him and gives him an irrational fear of fire. In the Gormenghast series, this is a trait of the villainous Steerpike.

J.K. Rowling Edit

J.K. Rowling (1965-present) is the author of the Harry Potter series of novels. Although he has expressed his appreciation of Rowling for widening the appeal of the fantasy genre, Martin was critical of her decision to not accept the Hugo Award (for Best Novel for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2001) in person, especially after it beat A Storm of Swords in the running.

Harry Sawyer and Robin Potter are two mock-suitors of Brienne of Tarth. She paid them for their insolence in the Bitterbridge melee, unhorsing Sawyer and giving Potter a nasty scar on his forehead (Harry Potter is noted for having a distinctive lightning-bolt scar on his forehead).

Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun, the giant found by the Night Watch in the Haunted Forest, is usually called Wun Wun by the Black Brothers. J. K. Rowling's character Ron Weasley, Harry Potter's best friend, was given a near-homonymous nickname Won-Won by his then-girlfriend Lavender Brown.

J.R.R. Tolkien Edit

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) is the most famous author in the history of fantasy, the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Martin has cited him as one of his most favourite authors.

Samwell Tarly was partially inspired by, and shares some traits with, the hobbit Samwise Gamgee.

Ser Theodan the True is a reference to King Theoden of Rohan in The Lord of the Rings.

Oakenshield, a castle on the wall, shares a name with Thorin II Oakenshield in The Hobbit .

. Khal Drogo shares his name with Frodo's father.

Valar Morgulis is a common saying in Martin's novels. The Valar are gods/archangels in Tolkien's mythology. Minas Morgul is a fortress in The Lord of the Rings.

Jack Vance Edit

Jack Vance (1915-2013) is one of the most influential fantasy authors of all time, through his famous Dying Earth series (amongst many other works). He is also Martin's favourite author and Martin co-edited an anthology in his honor, Songs of the Dying Earth, in 2009.

Tad Williams Edit

Tad Williams (1957-present) is an American fantasy author, best-known for his Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy. Martin has cited this work as an example of one of the first fantasy series to treat the genre as a serious vehicle for telling adult stories, and was an inspiration on A Song of Ice and Fire (which Martin started three years after the first book in Memory, Sorrow and Thorn was published).

House Willum is noted as being divided by a bitter quarrel between the lord's sons, Josua and Elyas. This is a reference to Memory, Sorrow and Thorn , where Prince Josua's ascent to the throne is usurped by his brother Elias, triggering a bitter civil war.

, where Prince Josua's ascent to the throne is usurped by his brother Elias, triggering a bitter civil war. House Willum's arms show a skeletal dragon and three swords. The skeletal dragon is a nod towards the title of the first novel, The Dragonbone Chair , whilst the three swords refer to the titular blades of the trilogy.

, whilst the three swords refer to the titular blades of the trilogy. Sandor Clegane (AKA 'The Hound') wears a helmet styled as a hound, as does Ingen Jegger in Memory, Sorrow and Thorn.

Roger Zelazny Edit

Roger Zelazny (1937-1995) was a famous American science fiction and fantasy novelist, best-known for his Chronicles of Amber series and his Hindu-inspired SF novel Lord of Light. Zelazny was a friend of Martin's, participating in his Wild Cards project.

The title "Lord of Light", given to the red god R'hllor, is a reference to Zelazny's most famous single novel.

House Rogers of Ambrose is a reference to Zelazny: the house's sigil features nine unicorns circling a maze. Both unicorns and a maze feature in the first Amber novel, Nine Princes in Amber .

novel, . On the "Isle of the gods" in Braavos Aria sees the entrance to the "Pattern-Maker's" maze. Martin adds: "Only those who learn to walk it properly will ever find their way to wisdom" Referencing the pattern maze underneath Amber, and Dworkin it's creator .

and it's creator In the "Courts of Chaos" the three dragons at Oberon's funeral are black, gold, and green.

Comics Edit

The sigil of House Sarsfield is a green arrow, a reference to the DC Comics superhero Oliver Queen, who uses the alias Green Arrow.

In A Dance With Dragons when Arya was temporarily blinded, she was nicknamed "Stick" by Uma. Stick is the name of a Marvel Comics character who is blind and is a ninja.

Films and television Edit

Blackadder Edit

King Robert Baratheon's traits of being a large man with a huge sense of humor and a fondness for battle are strongly based on the fictitious King Richard IV, as played by Brian Blessed in the first season of the British sitcom Blackadder .

. House Wyl of Wyl features a black adder on its arms, another nod to the television series.

The Three Stooges Edit

Lharys, Kurleket and Mohar - the three men-at-arms in service to House Bracken whom Catelyn Stark recruits to help arrest Tyrion Lannister - are named for Larry, Curly and Moe of the Three Stooges .

The Muppets and Sesame Street Edit

Rock music Edit

The minstrel Marillion is named after the British progressive rock band of the same name.

The weirwood trees that grow throughout Westeros are named after Bob Weir, guitarist and singer for The Grateful Dead.

Sports Edit

Fans Edit

Patrick St. Denis Edit

Patrick St. Denis is a noted genre blogger. His website, Pat's Fantasy Hotlist, has given favourable reviews to Martin and his works for many years. Martin and St. Denis had a wager for several years straight over who would win the American football season. Martin won the first two bets and made St. Denis read books of his choice. For the third season, Martin lost and agreed to feature St. Denis in one of his novels.

The aforementioned Ser Patrek of King's Mountain is directly based on Patrick St. Denis, and his gory death was part of the wager. King's Mountain refers to St-Denis's home city of Montreal (Quebec, Canada), which would translate from old French as "Royal Mountain"

Richard Courtenay and Peter Greenhill Edit

Richard Courtenay and Peter Greenhill are two noted creators of model knights, which Martin collects.

Ser Courtenay Greenhill is a knight in the retinue of Margaery Tyrell at King's Landing.