George R.R. Martin is the subject of yet another fan’s opinion of his epic A Song of Ice and Fire series. On a Reddit thread posted on r/asoiaf, a fan calls the author out on the geography of Westeros.
The fan in question finds the detailed Westeros map unrealistic, specifically pointing out that the North is sparsely populated after existing for thousands of years. The fan doesn’t take a lot of details into account when it comes to the environment of the North.
Why the North Is Sparsely Populated Despite Existing for Thousands of Years
The North has seen its fair share of long winters and terrains that are tough to traverse. The lands are ruled by Kings in the North and are the largest region of Westeros. The only city in the region is the White Harbor. Here are more details of Westeros.
The books depict a vast wilderness with moors, forests, and snow-covered hills, that hold only a handful of villages with land that is not as fertile as down South. The winters are known to cause frost death and even famine during each cycle. There is snowfall even during summer, resulting in the populous stockpiling food for the winter. Why would people want to live in such conditions?
Given the amount of wilderness and landmass, most villages are isolated from one another, making travel difficult even during good months. Even White Harbor is known for being smaller than major cities in the South, despite its status as a city. This results in communities being separated, and even fewer ones further up.
The culture up North relies heavily on independent farming and familial values that tie to their resilience. Centuries of war created hostile conditions that worsened the lifestyle of Northern inhabitants, and let’s not forget the looming danger beyond the Wall. Folks closer to the Wall are in constant danger of being killed and are looked upon as prey.
George R.R. Martin’s Westeros Is Often Nitpicked for Accuracies by Edgy Fans
The major nitpick by fans is most often regarding the scale of Westeros, with many claiming that the lands are far too large for the unbelievably short traversals made by characters.
The Medium article referred to in the Reddit post nitpicks the geographical accuracy of the size of Westeros, with the author writing:
George RR Martin has compared Westeros to South America in size. But this is weird. South America is about 6.9 million square miles. The European Union is about 1.7 million square miles. So we have a very big problem already, the author doesn’t seem to have any idea how large his world is.
George R.R. Martin deliberately keeps the geography vague, as he prioritises storytelling narratives over fine accuracy, focusing more on worldbuilding rather than geography. Despite Martin pushing ASOFAI as a gritty and realistic tale, fans are raising their eyebrows when it comes to just how realistic the fantasy setting is.
George R.R. Martin has grown increasingly frustrated with fans demanding the final book in the series, Winds of Winter. Martin frequently takes to his personal Not A Blog blog to share his thoughts and, of late, rants:
You have given up on me, or on the book. I am going to die soon anyway, because I am so old. I lost all interest in A Song of Ice and Fire decades ago. I don’t give a shit about writing any longer, I just sit around and spend my money.
Authors are welcome to take their time on their work, whether they wish to pursue it or not. Clearly, fans don’t understand this simple concept, choosing to be cringy and edgy about their opinions behind the safe wall of the internet.
What do you think of the fans’ comments? Let us know in the comments.
