Great stuff! - Edit 1
Before modification by Shannow at 07/04/2011 02:36:14 PM
Thanks to HBO, we now have the first canon maps of the Free Cities of Essos.
Long-term ASoIaF fans know that the action of the series takes place on two continents, Westeros and Essos (the latter is a newish name coined by GRRM a few years ago and has not been used in the novels so far, but will appear in the TV series). Whilst Westeros has lots of excellent, detailed and attractive maps (though oddly the ones in the books are pretty rubbish), the only map of Essos that has been published is a small one of Slaver's Bay, not encompassing the Free Cities (where Dany's journey in AGoT begins), the Dothraki Sea, Red Wastes or the city of Qarth.
ADWD will have a map of the Free Cities in it, and GRRM has given HBO access to this map to help create the TV show's title sequence (which shows the locations featured in that particular episode and changes every week). Thanks to an early preview of a new and official website dedicated to the TV series, we now have access to some of those maps.
Two are featured after the jump. The first shows the full continent of Westeros and how the coastline of Essos aligns with it (and yes, the Narrow Sea is surprisingly narrow). The second is a more detailed map of the coastline of the Free Cities.
Note that the map doesn't cover the full area: Norvos and Qohor are located inland due east of Pentos and are just off the edge of this map. Volantis is just off the south-eastern edge of the map and Lorath (the runt of the Free Cities, which don't get no respect) is MIA. But other frequently-mentioned and visited locations - Braavos, Pentos, the Stepstones, Myr, Tyrosh, Lys and the Stepstones - do appear.
Long-term ASoIaF fans know that the action of the series takes place on two continents, Westeros and Essos (the latter is a newish name coined by GRRM a few years ago and has not been used in the novels so far, but will appear in the TV series). Whilst Westeros has lots of excellent, detailed and attractive maps (though oddly the ones in the books are pretty rubbish), the only map of Essos that has been published is a small one of Slaver's Bay, not encompassing the Free Cities (where Dany's journey in AGoT begins), the Dothraki Sea, Red Wastes or the city of Qarth.
ADWD will have a map of the Free Cities in it, and GRRM has given HBO access to this map to help create the TV show's title sequence (which shows the locations featured in that particular episode and changes every week). Thanks to an early preview of a new and official website dedicated to the TV series, we now have access to some of those maps.
Two are featured after the jump. The first shows the full continent of Westeros and how the coastline of Essos aligns with it (and yes, the Narrow Sea is surprisingly narrow). The second is a more detailed map of the coastline of the Free Cities.
Note that the map doesn't cover the full area: Norvos and Qohor are located inland due east of Pentos and are just off the edge of this map. Volantis is just off the south-eastern edge of the map and Lorath (the runt of the Free Cities, which don't get no respect) is MIA. But other frequently-mentioned and visited locations - Braavos, Pentos, the Stepstones, Myr, Tyrosh, Lys and the Stepstones - do appear.
I love maps and in fact I struggle to read a fantasy book without constantly referencing to the map. I usually end up spending almost as much time studying the map as reading the story.
I love comparing the size of the North to the rest of Westeros, working out the number of people per square mile that would give me a rough estimate of the North's population and hence their minimum number of armed men, calculating the size of the Vale, the size of the Dornish desert etc.
In fact, one of the biggest weaknesses of the Wheel of Time, in my view, was the relatively bland and unimaginative Randland map that RJ came up with. It's just a rounded rectangle of land, with very little shape to it.
Contrast that to the intricacies of Westeros, the Neck, the North, the Narrow Sea etc. etc.
I always felt RJ could have put a lot more effort into making the Randland map look more interesting.