Review: The George R.R. Martin Box
Happy Monday after Thanksgiving! I hope you stuffed your faces and took plenty of naps while watching your favorite football team win or lose. Today is Cyber Monday, when folks can log onto the internet and find fantastic bargains. Happily, some retailers extend their Cyber Monday deals beyond Monday, as we’ll see later.
Today, thanks to the wonderful folks at Penguin Random House, we get to review the George R.R. Martin Box, aka an ornate box filled with Song of Ice and Fire merchandise. The Box comes in three varieties (Limited Edition, Special Edition and Ultra Limited Edition). We’ll be reviewing the Limited Edition GRRM Box, which costs $200. Right now, the Limited Edition and the Special Edition ($75) are the only two editions available. The Ultra Limited Edition is currently sold out. You can peruse your options here.
First things first: if you’re into collecting Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire memorabilia, then these GRRM Box’s are probably going to be right up your alley, as there are unique items in each edition.
The Limited Edition GRRM Box is itself a collector’s item, and each one is individually numbered. (Only 3000 were made. Limit of five per customer.) As you can see, the box comes with the George R.R. Martin insignia on top, with nice design work on the front. It’s a durable box, so if you plan on storing some of your GoT/ASOIAF memorabilia in there, the box can take it.
Now let’s take a look at the items inside. As you can see, the front of the journal is beautifully done with the astrolabe design from the intro of Game of Thrones. If you keep a journal like me, this is a natural fit.
Behold the Dead Man Set of coins, which feature the faces of Ned Stark, Robb Stark (with Grey Wind), Joffrey Baratheon, Walder Frey, Tywin Lannister and Prince Oberyn Martell. The set also has and Iron Coin of the Faceless Man, naturally.
These two beautiful figures from Dark Sword Miniatures represent Lord Commander Jon Snow and Queen Daenerys Targaryen. They are tiny and surprisingly sturdy and heavy for their size. To me, Jon looks much older, while Dany looks a little too much like Cersei.
Ah, the really fun part: getting to learn to speak Dothraki! Well, it’s fun until you’re the only one at the party telling knock-knock jokes in a guttural language someone is sure to confuse with Klingon. Oh, the life of a nerd. The card pictured above has a code on the back that you can enter online. From there, you have a year to complete the course.
Just in time for the holidays, the Limited Edition GRRM Box includes a light string set. As you can see above, Houses Stark, Lannister, Baratheon, Tyrell and Targaryen are represented. Each House’s shield lights up when plugged in. The lights are rated for both indoor and outdoor use and the stringer is roughly 11 feet in length.
This beauty is the highly collectible 20th anniversary illustrated edition of A Game of Thrones. The book is bound in eco-trim fiber, and features gilded edged paper (it’s amazing to the touch), beautifully colored illustrations, color endpaper maps, and a red ribbon marker.
As a collector of the A Song of Ice and Fire books, this definitely ranks as one of, if not the, most beautiful book in that particular collection.
Simply put, this is a very cool t-shirt featuring a map of Westeros and the major Houses sigils.
And now: props.
This is the infamous letter that Ned Stark wrote at the behest of a dying Robert Baratheon, naming Ned as ruler until Robert’s son came of age. However, if you remember, the honorable Lord Eddard Stark altered that last line.
This makes a pretty darn neat addition to any collection.
The Limited Edition GRRM Box also comes with A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Second Edition, and an exclusive Daenerys Targaryen as Khaleesi card from Fantasy Flight. We recently reviewed this game and think it is well worth your time to learn and play.
Finally, this edition comes with a two foot-by-three foot silk map of King’s Landing. This map is pretty neat, and worth framing. I would not, however, suggest pressing thumbtacks in it to hang it on the wall. The Silk will begin to fray and sag, and before you know it, your map of King’s Landing will look like Cersei set off caches of wildfire all over the place.
At $200, the Limited Edition of the GRRM Box may be too pricey for many. However, the $75 Special Edition includes:
- Exclusive book: Collectible 20th anniversary illustrated edition of A Game of Thrones
- Exclusive HBO Game of Thrones t-shirt, featuring map of Westeros and sigils
- Exclusive reproduction of Robert Baratheon’s Will from the HBO series
- Living Language Dothraki online course
- Iron Coin of the Faceless Man from Shire Post Mint
The Special Edition does not come with the numbered box.
All in all, the Limited Edition GRRM Box is a great addition to any fan’s collection. Finally, Penguin Random House is running a special Cyber Monday deal on the GRRM Box. The deal starts today and runs through Friday. Just enter the code CYBERGRRM in the “Discount” field on the Checkout screen and you can get 15% off your purchase! Head here to oder.
