All Men Must Die: Power and Passion in Game of Thrones

'All men must die': or 'Valar Morghulis', as the traditional Essos greeting is rendered in High Valyrian. And die they do – in prodigious numbers; in imaginatively varied and gruesome ways; and often in terror within the viciously unpredictable world that is HBO's sensational evocation of Game of Thrones. Epic in scope and in imaginative breadth, the stories that are brought to life tell of the dramatic rise and fall of nations, the brutal sweeping away of old orders and the advent of new autarchs in the eternal quest for dominion. Yet, as this book reveals, many potent and intimate narratives of love and passion can be found within these grand landscapes of heroism, honour and death. They focus on strong relationships between women and family, as well as among the anti-heroes, the 'cripples, bastards and broken things'. In this vital follow-up to Winter Is Coming (2015), acclaimed medievalist Carolyne Larrington explores themes of power, blood-kin, lust and sex in order to draw entirely fresh meanings out of the show of the century.

Kavita Mudan Finn, Lecturer in Medieval Literature, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

“All Men Must Die interrogates and analyses the eight-season arc of HBO's Game of Thrones on its own terms-not as an adaptation. Carolyne Larrington succeeds in explaining how, in spite of the glaring flaws of the latter seasons, the 'narrative, themes, and characters' of the show nonetheless represent a compelling version of contemporary medievalist storytelling. Incisively argued and deftly written, this is a worthy follow-up to her earlier, impressive, exploration of the world of Game of Thrones, and an enjoyable read in its own right.”

Dr. Shiloh Carroll, PhD, Tennessee State University, USA.

“A thorough and insightful dive into various aspects of the worldbuilding in Game of Thrones.”

About the Author

Carolyne Larrington is Professor of Medieval Literature at University of Oxford, UK. She is the author of The Women's Companion to Mythology (1997), Morgan and her Sisters in Arthurian Tradition (2006), The Land of the Green Man (2015) and Winter is Coming (2015), among others.

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