George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is among the longest epic fantasy series yet written, and it’s not even finished. The epic tale of ambition, betrayal, dragons and zombies can be dizzyingly complex, with dozens of plot threads, rich lore and literally thousands of characters to keep track of.
And yes, I did say thousands of characters. Of course, most of these characters don’t have prominent roles in the story, but still, we have no idea how Martin comes up with this many names. If you want an idea of just how many lords and ladies and mercenaries and direwolves are at large in A Song of Ice and Fire, look no further than this epic spreadsheet put together by the Redditor Confused_Shelf.
Made by Redditor Confused_Shelf
This really is something else. Confused_Shelf walks through the five ASOIAF books yet published — A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons — chapter by chapter, noting all the new characters as they’re introduced. He gives us their name, sigils, nickname, occupation, family relation, and mode of death, assuming they’re dead, and a lot of them are.
All in all, there are upwards of 2,000 characters recorded, and Confused_Shelf is only including named characters here — if the books only mention that “Lord and Lady such and such have two sons,” those sons aren’t going on the sheet, but the lord and lady will.
And imagine: George R.R. Martin has to keep all this straight in his head. It’s hard to wrap my brain around this. As he writes The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, maybe he can consult this spreadsheet If he’s trying to remember the fate of some minor character three books back.
And it’s great to have for the rest of us, too. Part of what makes A Song of Ice and Fire so special is its sprawl; even if many of these characters aren’t particularly important, the fact that they’re here adds to the richness and vividness of this story. They make the world feel real and lived in.
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