George R.R. Martin kicked off his epic fantasy series, A Song Of Fire And Ice, with A Game Of Thrones, which was first published in August 1996. That means your copy’s probably yellowed (if not lost) by now—that is, unless you picked up a newer paperback edition or audiobook. But even if you have been clinging to your dog-eared books, you might be ready for Random House’s upgrade to the series. The Associated Press reports that digitally-enhanced editions of the first five ASOFAI books will roll out over the next couple of months.
These extra-special e-books will be available exclusively through Apple iBooks. The first one, A Game Of Thrones, is already available (for $8.99; preorders for the rest of the books are $11.99 each). Readers now have have access to interactive character maps, glossary terms, house summaries, and detailed annotations to reacquaint or otherwise introduce themselves to the Lannisters, Baratheons, and the like. Each book will “grow in glossary content as the storylines develop,” but the Appendix is already packed with 92 House Sigils, including this handsome fellow.
Martin’s fully behind the project, telling the AP that these digital versions feature “rich secondary material” that you won’t in pulp. And in Apple’s statement, Martin professed that “We’re now entering a new period in the history of publishing. The digital book gives readers the ability to experience all this rich secondary material that had not been possible before. These enhanced editions available only on iBooks include sigils and family trees and glossaries. Anything that confuses you, anything you want to know more about, it’s right there at your fingertips. It’s an amazing next step in the world of books.” Does that make you feel any better about there only being 13 episodes left in the HBO series?