George R. R. Martin on Sothoryos

George R. R. Martin on the lands of Ice and Fire: • George RR Martin on th...

[@thepinoykolokoy]

What about the much more distant and mysterious land of Australios and its ancient city of Brysbane?

[@ethanreads8504]

Oh those mysterious, dangerous and legendary Drop Bears.

[@joshuacrane2397]

I've lived in that fabled land for years now. Its quite safe, as long as you leave the bogans to their rum drinking and wife bashing.

[@jakefitzsimons4245]

Pretty sure your making that up Only westeros essos ulthos and sothoryos exist in the WOIAF

[@timewalker6654]

And the pouch beast

[@timewalker6654]

@@jakefitzsimons4245 nice job genius

[@healfirst875]

According to The World of Ice & Fire (2014), Sothoryos is a massive continent that is at least as long north-south as Essos is east-west, and possibly larger. A dragon-rider from Valyria once flew her dragon south explicitly to attempt to find the southern end of the continent, but she returned three years later reporting that there was no end in sight when she turned around.

[@theforest9131]

It can't be that big .... There was something else for sure

[@guywithdreads]

Sothoryos also is supposed to have wyverns that hunt in 100 group packs. There’s no way a line dragon rider would be able to survive something like that. Especially if Euron Greyjoy can just kill dragons with ballistae on boats.

[@maheshnamboodiri4097]

@@guywithdreads But then again, that was a small dragon. We're talking hundreds of years back, when dragons were far more huge. And Valyria was still standing unhurt.

[@username.exenotfound2943]

whos to say she was telling the truth perhaps there was something out there that was better for people not to kniow

[@nelcomargaming6612]

​@@guywithdreads Bad writing is what killed the dragon and Euron. Hell Euron Grejoy could kill omni man if dnd where the writers.

[@Sizifus]

I feel frustrated by the ambiguous nature of Sothoryos and Ulthos, because I'm very curious what are those places and what secrets they hold but I applaud him not getting in detail with those places as they are not known to the inhabitants of the world we're reading about. Our perspective is omnipresent but is limited to the knowledge and location of the characters.

[@evandempsey7613]

Not mention that sometimes the mystery is more exciting than the truth.

[@mrdonut6512]

@@evandempsey7613 That's Gay

[@oversizedlegalfees7351]

@@mrdonut6512 no u

[@ilhanemreakman3273]

Our knowledge is not really omnipresent in the context of far parts of the world. Sothoryos and Far East, only mentioned by the maesters or their students, so info about them is more like a view of westerosi academic community. It is also worth noting that there are only a handful of westerosi who saw the mentioned lands and realms with their own eyes; the rest are mainly a consolidation of merchant stories and speculation.

[@fingolfinthefirsthighkingo823]

Its also more fun, because the mystey is enthralling.

[@MrBobwatman]

He's like the complete antithesis of j. k. Rowling. He understands the draw of creating a mystery and leaving it unexplained.

[@noeytindol5529]

Who do you think is a better writer out of the two?

[@luissapicho]

@@noeytindol5529 Stephenie Meyer

[@cWjkL8ysxOkrH66]

@@luissapicho no irony tho

[@theviniso]

Rowling is a good writer, but she really has to tone down the retcons.

[@Corc-Duibhne]

@popnlock No it isn't. What I've started to hate about Harry Potter is we're only introduced to something right before it's important. Sirius Black, most notorious death eater after Voldemort who betrayed Harry's parents, Harry only hears about him after two years, really prestigious wizarding tournament, Harry only hears about it after 3 years. Went on a bit of a rant there but yeah Harry Potter isn't exactly intricate.

[@j.r.mocksly5996]

I really like that he embraces the ambiguity and mystery of life in his fiction. That's the mark of a good author: he wants to replicate reality, even though he uses a fantasy setting, not go overboard in indulging people's curiosity. That's what keeps readers coming back and makes his world so fascinating, as well as making it feel like a big world with a deep history.

[@abrahamp1203]

To mention this is a complete contradiction to the very idea of mystery. Now knowing that he doesn't have any answers tell us means that there is nothing there. He should have the whole lore lined up to make sense.

[@THEPELADOMASTER]

@@abrahamp1203 he doesn't have an answer because he better planned to go there in his novels. It's pointless to extensively build the entirety of the planet if you're just gonna focus on a small portion of it. Some things in world building only go as far as "this exists, we don't know anything about it, but everyone that tried going there is dead". It's a way of saying the world is much bigger than what you see, and maybe even more dangerous. You don't need to know what's there, cause you're not going to go there while reading the story.

[@barddany676]

A hollow story....ok

[@j.r.mocksly5996]

@@barddany676 Well as it turns out it is a hollow story, but it's because either 1. the pressure got to George with the insane success of the show, and because he spent a lot of effort consulting on it he wasn't writing his books, and to see it dramatically fail was a huge hit to him and he lost his nerve, or 2. it really always was a hollow story with no satisfying conclusion. This would make sense seeing how grandiose it all was and really, how is he going to tie this all up neat in a bow? Or it could be a never-ending story. Or he just lost the plot along the way, hard to say, but the world building is great

[@Huckle777]

This is lazy and uninspired writing imo. Yes a level of unknowing is great, but to leave things totally unexplained and without reason is not good writing.

[@gmanor20]

I would love to read more about Asshai and about the five forts in the far east.

[@Gamenetreviews]

A lot of that is stolen from HP love craft. I think the city of Asshai is actually closely based on one of his books.

[@Gamenetreviews]

Aljeane A As In outright plagiarism of non copyrighted material. It’s funny how much Martin hates fan fiction, when maybe 60% of his extended world is copied from lovecraft, He will never write a book about it because it’s not his idea. If you want to know more there is a book Asshai is based on you can find.

[@Gamenetreviews]

Aljeane A Parts of it in “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, “The Call of Cthulhu” and “He”. I’d start with Cthulhu if you were looking to get into it.

[@RubelliteFae]

This! I don't think Martin will ever write that far though. So, I think that's what HBO's spinoff should be, The Further East. They can't too badly screw it up if it hasn't been written, right?

[@skull16cr]

There is even a city called Carcosa in Asshai, I don't think Martin stole it but instead is a an homage to the works of Lovecraft, Chambers and Bierce! Actually when I first read about the mysterious Asshai I inmediatly associate it to a Lovecraftian place.

[@rakaman27]

Seven years, George. It's been SEVEN YEARS. Edit: 10 years now George! You didn't even leave the house for a whole 12 months and you're still not done?!

[@silverblaize]

Hang on tight. Winter is coming.... any minute now....

[@MmmMmm-yf5fz]

Dude needs Ritalin

[@tomw4955]

And sometimes when I wanna laugh I look at the epilogue of Dance with Dragons (Where he was like This book was a bitch to write... ect. Next one should be faster along since now there wont be any more Geographical Seperation of stories. I think the show is to blame mostly. As he said he cant write on the road. So every convention or press tour cut into the time of his writing. I know sometimes recharge is needed but we arent even at the last book and if this pattern continues Dream of Spring wont be out till 2030. Some fans might die before seeing the end of the book series.

[@Holypikemanz]

George is busy eating himself to death like a good hippie, stfu.

[@JohnDoeTheGoodGuy]

George is done with all of this. He's working on the HBO prequels now. He wants money, like 99% of us.

[@blueshit199]

too bad most fiction writers nowadays assume that fiction needs to be overexplained and stripped off of any mystery and room for interpretation...

[@mrgaudy1954]

JK Rowling should take note

[@MultiDanial1234]

@@mrgaudy1954 Yeah, but she was targeting a whole different demographic initially!

[@mrgaudy1954]

Laughing Chicken well I’m more referring to her feeling the need to retconn/leave absolutely no room for ambiguity after the fact; sort of reduces the magic and mystery of the books a bit , regardless of the demographic

[@MultiDanial1234]

@@mrgaudy1954 yeah yeah I totally get what you're saying and I somewhat agree! I was just noting that she might've done that due to the demographic maybe?

[@sionhughes9044]

343 and Halo should take note

[@viniciusvyller9458]

I wish we could at least see the lush jungles, exotic animals and the brindledman in a POV from a westeori adventurer like Corlys Velaryon, the character wouldn't need to uncover the mysteries of Yeen and Zamettar, just see them and taste it's dangers.

[@itsnotatoober]

you write terribly. but good idea

[@selfrighteousjerk2739]

itsnotatoober take a good look at what you wrote and then apologize for being a hypocrite!

[@SinisterPlotter]

@@selfrighteousjerk2739 lol so glad someone else noticed

[@RubelliteFae]

I mean, you could read Ser Arthur Conan Doyle?

[@DominicanMetal]

"I want it to remain mysterious" Translation: I don't want to write anymore *cries* Please help me!

[@iPostPwnedU]

Considering he already stated the endings might be similar I doubt it at this point.

[@cd852]

He just released an 800-page book...

[@DominicanMetal]

@@cd852 and I just finnished filing some files. But I Wish I could work on something else and get paid the same or more

[@bretth1385]

since Game of thrones the 1st book, theres been a common theme of nebulous and uncertain history/events, the histories and lores given have been ill defined and contradictory, multiple times a character mentions that history is written by the winners and the characters have questions about the veracity and reliability of the history and legends that are known.

[@bretth1385]

@@DominicanMetal A Song of Ice and Fire is going to be Mr Martin's legacy, it will outlive by a long shot. Mr. Martin is already rich and has more money than he knows what to do with. He has no children. If he could finish the series w a satisfactory narrative, im sure he would. I would rather it incomplete than a narrative that is forced.

[@HamCubes]

I had forgotten what a jolly soul GRRM is. I spent the twenty-tens wishing I could party with George! 🤩

[@svan81]

Thats how it was in the early Fandom with the Brotherhood Withour Banners. GRRM would knight new members in a party room after he sent them on a quest to get a gyro or something.

[@fibo4108]

0:44 "Here take the mic... SIKE"

[@squamish4244]

"Green Hell" is also the term that was used to refer to the brutal penal colony in French Guiana known as Devil's Island. Speaking of Charles XII of Sweden, I read a fantastic historical fiction novel called 'Wolf Winter' set in northern Sweden during the early 18th Century that used the ambiguity of his death as a central part of its plot. So the unknown can be a great source of storytelling.

[@joshuacrane2397]

Its also the nickname of the nurburgring race track in Germany.

[@RogueSeraph]

I totally understand these questions, the world he created is so beautiful and full of history that people want to know everything about it. We heard so much about Westeros and Essos, but know people are very curious of Sothoryos.

[@timewalker6654]

Oh yeah sure there are plenty of books about essos , every mystery is answered. the biggest continent is solved so les move to south

[@AWMK101]

Let alone Ulthos

[@DamianFloresRF]

This subject carries the contradiction that it's so cool in a fantasy world to have an unknown part of the world about which we only get vague data from unreliable narrators, and at the same time, just by knowing such a place exists, you wanna learn more about it and see what's beyond it; like those non-cannon maps of Middle-Earth which include a sea to the east, and also the western coast of Valinor.

[@davilopes5925]

True! I'm dying to get to know more about the lands beyond asshai and stygai, even though it is certain we won't ever get a glance of what lies around there D:

[@kevingibson7654]

I still believe the five forts and lands of always winter connect.. maybe sothoryos also wraps around behind and stands between westeros and far east essos. We will prolly never know. Dude cant finish his boookscnevermind his world

[@Conorp77]

@@kevingibson7654 hes said they dont connect :( master theory ruined, or hes just cant admit thats right potentially

[@wschippr1]

Melodic Meerkat There's a theory that Westeros and Essos connects, at least kind of like how North America and Eurasia connect, via ice bridges.

[@Conorp77]

Yes I know and Martin has denied this, but the thing about it is, it's such a great theory and explains so much (How the East experienced the Long Night) it's almost crazy that it isnt true. He may simply have to deny this when asked or else he's ruining a reveal the wants to happen later. Maybe, or else we're back to square one. But i'm not banking on it.

[@baleedat8560]

Every time GRRM laughs a Stark gets his wings

[@RareCandeh]

If he decides he wants to make a story based in that area of his world, only then would I be interested in it. If Sothorys had any impact on that Song of Ice and Fire novels, then would it be necessary to know about the place. I would however love to see a full map of Sothoryos based on what Jaenaera Belaerys saw.

[@Haltboy]

i would love a book just dedicated to the travels of Euron, seeming as he's been like everywhere

[@killlamas57]

That’s how I feel about Arya’s plot tbh. It doesn’t seem to have any relevance to the main plot.

[@SantomPh]

thing is Sothoryos is not impactful at all on the world as it is, since no major character comes from there

[@scotthadden9816]

Well, a "full map" doesn't exist. She was on dragon back for over a year and still never saw the southern coast.

[@peli-nel3248]

@@killlamas57 *to be honest

[@WaaDoku]

I love George's approach he explains at the end. Just adds more realism to his storytelling.

[@Fischstix95]

westeros and essos can't take up all of the planet, there always needs to be these massive uncharted and mysterious continents in these fantasy stories to take up most of the space.

[@notmareelnam7545]

Planetos is ~33% larger than Earth. The map we have currently is the "known world", the map of the world as canonized by the Maestors of westeros. It's similar to maps before the days of Columbus and Cook. There are absolutely other continents we've yet to discover. Sothoryos should be mapped, as one of the Targaryens or Valyrians flew one of their dragons to its southern tip and back without landing, but they didn't bring a cartographer. It seems likely the the entire world *was* charted by the Valyrians from dragonback, but that info was lost during the doom. Or maybe not. The Targaryens would've brought maps with them when they left. Don't know. We'll have to wait a few decades until the current stories are finished developing before we get Martin or his heir to begin exploring the rest of Planetos.

[@pauldavis5665]

Eventually someone in Westeros will set sail due west and discover a brand new continent the same way Europeans discovered America. It would be interesting if they eventually do a sequel series that covers that story, would love to learn about a strange newly discovered continent and the people that live there.

[@mybawzarerichie]

@@pauldavis5665 Elissa Farman did that although she never returned. However it is suggested she lived, as a man called Corys Velaryon saw what he believed to be her ship in the port of Asshai, in the far east.

[@liamv7713]

@@notmareelnam7545 where did u hear planetos was 33% larger than earth? Not trying to argue but is that canon? If so then it's kind of an error since it would mean a difference in gravity.

[@agustinl2302]

@@liamv7713 I think it's based off the approximate distances from the northernmost lands of Westeros to the Summer Islands (working under the fair assumption that these are more or less on the equator). Don't quote me on that though. And I have no idea if the distances themselves are canon.

[@baz5042]

George I love you...but please finish the books!!!

[@PRGMRav]

I kinda hopes he dies before he finishes the books.. so that all the over-entitled, whiny fans that signed that petition against the show get the what they deserve. haha.

[@qwertyuiop627]

@@PRGMRav I wonder why people are upset about the rushed, badly written ending of the show... :/

[@christianmohammed3728]

@@saumyadeepbhattacharjee280 this is the man FBI man

[@teamrainbow7674]

I want a spin-off story/movie focusing on Sothoryos with horror/adventure elements

[@teamrainbow7674]

lady galadriel Well George R.R Martin ain’t exactly a fast writer, so that would seems unlikely

[@mangamania5725]

Never gonna happen.. like LucasArts gonna have jedis in all of their stuff, HBO wanna have dragonriders in all their stuff..

[@AFPLJohnny]

It’s now canon that the people of Norvos keep pet grasshoppers and talk backwards. 😂

[@ThoseColoniesAreMine]

Him saying that in itself keeps it from being a mystery, because we know there literally isn’t an answer

[@Yusuf1187]

That's the thing. Just my opinion here but this is my view on it: I'm not a fan of the philosophy he expounded there, because IMO what makes a mystery interesting is the ability to make connections to achieve an answer. It doesn't have to be spelled out plainly and spoon fed to readers, but there should be an answer the author has in mind, and it should be possible for readers to figure it out. This doesn't have to be done with every little detail in the series or with the basic foundation mechanisms (like how does magic in general exist), but it should be done for the elements that have strong plot relevance and have been treated as mysteries that have really important, compelling answers. I think that's the best balance. This also pertains to his rhetorical question about why shouldn't fiction have these ambiguous mysteries left if we have it IRL. The reason is that in fiction, we know it's a constructed world and that the inability to determine an answer most likely just means the author didn't have an answer, so it's essentially just random info to give the illusion of a mystery. No actual connections. No actual answer. And like you said, that actually prevents it from being mysterious. Whereas IRL we know there is an answer, and often there is even potentially always still some new evidence to be found in the future. This is disappointing because I had just gotten quite interested in reading ASOIAF after watching lore videos and videos on the mysteries in the series. But if he has no answer, then that kills my interest in the series. Because what makes it interesting to me is the potential to learn what awesome idea the author had that reveals how these events connect together and what those implications are.

[@ThoseColoniesAreMine]

Yep. Now that we know we literally won’t be seeing the gods or sothoryos, there’s no point in even having discussions about them like he said he wanted us to, as there’s no reason for it now

[@Blake_Stone]

Nor is there an answer to what happened to the two Princes in the Tower. Or who Jack the Ripper was. Or where D. B. Cooper went. Not unless we suddenly discover some hidden historical document. Just like, there could be an answer to those questions if GRRM later decides out of the blue to write about them. So it is actually pretty similar to real life mysteries.

[@ThoseColoniesAreMine]

Except for those there is actually an answer out there somewhere, whereas for grr there is not

[@wschippr1]

Blake Stone No, because he just stated that he doesn't have any answers for us, he would actually have to make them up. Some authors actually have incredibly detailed worlds that they could give out, if they so choose, even about places that were only mentioned in passing. Most don't, because they often tend to save that in case they ever want to write about it again, but the answers are out there. Honestly, GRRM has pretty much stated that he's done with this world (and based on interviews it doesn't seem like he even wishes to finish this series) so I would not be surprised if he licenses out the world for people to write about in other areas other that Westeros.

[@greasysox]

George RR Martin is such a cute old man, like that old neighbor that has a big garden and is just super friendly to everyone on the block

[@notmareelnam7545]

But during the intricate stories he tells over campfire in the backyard, sometimes delves waaaay too far into detailed description of a coupling followed by even more detail about cutting a head off

[@greasysox]

@@notmareelnam7545 lol yeah

[@frodobaggins6684]

Sothoryos always reminded me of a skull-island kind of vibe (original and 2005 king Kong). Just a nearly uninhabited land that has been protected by the wrath of nature and dark secrets.

[@apollosungod2819]

For a long time the African continent was mostly written about in terms of tall tales and legends of exotic animals, fauna and people as well as extreme climate that foreigners wouldn't be able to survive. Sothoryos is essentially Africa which is a super massive continent compared to the U.K. and Europe but the world of Ice and Fire doesn't seem to have a name as a planet and we haven't really been told if their Moon has a name given that he established that there used to be two moons orbiting the planet and his fictional world is based on sword and sorcery and fantasy... It would be nice to have a lot more stories taking place in Sothoryos and Asshai but maybe the problem is that we might discover over empires that used dragons in the southern regions or it would be too complicated give GRRM's age and where his writing is focused on.

[@robertmilanese1523]

I realize it's a selfish thought of mine. But this man has created such a rich world with so much history and substance. I personally want to see it all. I almost wish the lands besides Westeros and Essos weren't created. But knowing they're out there just leaves so much story to be told. I want it all. 😫

[@tinyspeaker]

The worst thing about doing a spin off of sothoryos would be how underwhelming it would be. Grrm has obviously no time to write/flesh out sothoryos so it'll be HBO writers. As good as the writers are, they aren't fantasy authors.

[@sisyr5615]

Moreover, it's comparatively very difficult to do proper world building in a TV format, no matter how good of a writer you are.

[@luvenpelagius1072]

"As good as the writers are" - let's hold that thought and wait for the finale first

[@sharkbait1228]

It could be a TV series with a different settings every season, like maybe it's a horror TV show about trying to survive in an unknown place or about yi ti or the valaryian wars

[@StillNoPickles69]

D&D are shit writers lmao

[@luvenpelagius1072]

Yeah so season 8 was top tier thrash. Like really, I'm devastated and angry

[@Bestialce2007]

The Lord of teasing. This guy must be a legend during foreplay.

[@tammyvanlue2511]

Very well said!!I love the mystery of how you answer each and every question. Love All your work Keep it up 😊👍👍

[@captainclockwork9284]

Westeros - West Essos - East Sothoryos - South Northoros - North ???

[@jomarivelasco5260]

But there's nothing up there. If there was a Nothoryos or Northoros, then it would probably be just the "Land of Always Winter" like the land beyond the wall. A more important question is what's west of Westeros?

[@kyle857]

@@jomarivelasco5260 Essos

[@prinznikitaiii]

@@jomarivelasco5260 Farwesteros

[@MagisterVeritas]

you cracked it, well done

[@Sam-gy3ok]

Norvos, the most northernish of the free cities

[@dustinharrison8666]

I hope you live long and prosper!

[@bartolomeestebanmurillo4459]

The way Sothoryos is described, it's a good idea to maintain a level of mystery. People who have ventured there in that world, have mentioned terrifying monsters and extinct civilizations and other unspeakable horrors that accentuate that ambiguity and mystery!

[@sclair2854]

The smuggled out and saved bit makes me wonder if he will ever actually resolve whether Aegon is Targ or Blackfyre.

[@kraftmuppen]

Man, I really want him to finish the main story First, but then I’d be happy ti read about the entire history of the world of Ice and fire. From birth of the gods to the end times.

[@kanyewest6539]

im 99pct sure most people obsessed with sothoryos etc play the ck2 agot mod and have explored colonizing the area.

[@doc-holliday-]

Rick Ross Damn its been a while since I played but they didnt even have all of essos back then.

[@jovalin5939]

and then promptly stopped colonizing the area because the red death kills everything they love.

[@VoodooJungler]

Rick ross with the facts

[@choiyenaenjoyer]

shout out to all the pear

[@DefyThemAll]

Ambiguity is a _very good_ thing. Certain things are best left a mystery. Without uncertainty there is no need for imagination.

[@JuanBahiaBlanca]

The guy really didn't appreciate how much we love this Universe... he just put some land over there and said it was mysterious... but never realized we wanted more of it... we want more of you men

[@jasonb290]

I believe curiosity for the unknown is one of the greatest reasons to live. Imagine if we knew everything about our world. In time we would just lose interest in it. That being said, i think every fantasy writer who respects himself and tries to make his world as realistic as possible, should definitely have the "mystery" element in his works. And I am 100% sure George understands that more than anyone.

[@tomtruyens9804]

I wish more fans (of many settings) would share that mindset. Most people just want to have everything explained to them, but I much prefer the feeling of mystery surrounding certain people or places..

[@resonatingtruths]

Game of Thrones map kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYfCmqFjnMxrhsk

[@jackbharucha1475]

It could be a great setting for a tabletop game.

[@ic.xc.]

Game of thrones boardgame is pretty awesome. There is even an expansion with house targaryon with essos map too

[@JurassicLion2049]

I love whenever GRRM talks bout his books because he doesnt talk like a writer but like if his worlds exist and hes a historian.

[@24Fanboy]

So I guess Arya is sailing to Canadios now, eh?

[@siasleopard2668]

She even might be going to the isles of Reasynus Serjerios. Who knows??? Big Mystery

[@kallekallessons]

She's sailing to America.

[@njnmnm]

@@kallekallessons I think the name will by Aryos than or who ever gonna be the one that make the maps

[@kallekallessons]

​@@njnmnm​ Nah hopefully dumb and dumbers take on GoT will be scrapped altogether and the books revitalised.

[@Dredgen_Bantai]

I mean she could re-discover the islands of aegon,rhaenys and visenya the ones who were first discovered by ellisa farman(with either norman or eustace hightower cuz one of em died) and also ellisa's ship The Sun Catcher was later seen in asshai of all places which means she did really went around and circumvented the globe. So either there is nothing west of westeros other than small islands or american version of this world and essos again.

[@jonesreviews4613]

I think the ambiguity of his stories should be kept because it leaves a sense of realism to the story, but i also hope the world and timeline opens up to future writers who are canonized by himself or his estate when he's gone. The world of ice and fire really needs to be expanded upon after the final book in the series, and i think it's great enough to open up to writers the same way lovecraft opened his mythos up to other writers like Martin to use.

[@Dibelchii300]

Sothoryos is basically Africa, South America, Southeast Asia and Australia combined. It's a dangerous place where no human could hope to survive. It's a place of other species than humankind.

[@undarkwin]

Greetings from South America

[@QueenDaenerysTargaryen]

Good video🎥👍🔥🎥👍🔥

[@brandonhall7498]

Would love to see Sothoryos and the Sunset Sea explored.

[@profo4544]

Sothoryos i think is supposed to come off like the Amazon and south america, one of the targayens spent years riding the western coast, aerial on dragonback in search of the southern coast/edge, and never found it. Thats alot like south america, very long western coast, and a southern coast line that basically doesnt exist. Part of the reason why the Targaryen was able to safely scout it, for years, without having to deal with alot of the horrors were that on its western side, its mostly mountains, juuuust like south america. She flew for i think 2-3 years aerially in search of its southern coastline and never found it, assumed it was endless. She had to land every once in a while during those years to feed her dragon and rest, the western mountains of Sothoryos gave her the ability to do that. South americas western mountains are also known to have a unique wind element from it coming off the ocean that keep things airborne for a long time. It just totally makes sense to me that, sothoryos is modeled after south america. Also alot of places in game of thrones first letter or prefix will represent its location, for instance westeros (west), essos (east), So-thoryos i think is named after south. like South america. The northern giant jungle and winding rivers running through its northernmost area also just totally reflect the amazon, idk how more people dont pick up on this. In the thumbnail pic you can see it, after the jungle disperses in the north, the mountains on the western side are visible.

[@braxxian]

While it’s a pity that Sothyros will never be explored in any detail it’s probably also a good thing. The air of mystery makes the place so much more fascinating..

[@shortstuff780]

Are dinosaurs truly in southoryos? As Rawist hopes

[@CorvinTheSwasian]

"terrible walking lizards with scythes for claws. Syrio Forel has seen these things" sounds like raptors to me

[@CorvinTheSwasian]

@@josharntt thx, now I'm just imagining giant chickens holding knives running around in the jungle and some traumatised Braavosi trader observing

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

@@josharntt "dinosaurs, chickens, what's the difference, they both taste like chicken" - The Hound

[@ToxicFaithPHD]

Don't listen to her. Redheads are all liars. (old nan voice)

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

@@josharntt actually there is zero actual evidence deinonychus (the skeletons JP raptors are based off them) had feathers, hell the only 'evidence' for dino feathers are marks on some velociraptor arms that some scientists think are feather nodes, but mammal and bird scientists say they look nothing like feather nodes and instead look like normal attachment points for muscles. so there is no actual evidence raptors had feathers, the only 'evidence' being a distant relative from a different subfamily and different continent, and this evidence is not even definative and may be something else entirely. now they may have had 'proto-feathers' (which have no structural or material relationship with feathers, and many scientists even argue that they don't exist as the evidence for it is identical to what happens to collagen fibers in lizard skin) now if you want to believe that they had feathers, sure whatever. just don't go spreading the unproven, highly debated theories as absolute fact when its far from the truth.

[@shawnbeaulieu413]

His final comments here make me think about Dany's fate in the show. At this point she's beginning to look like the "mad queen", but it would be interesting if she were killed and we weren't told who did it.

[@raymondfair7822]

George RR writes about all these distant lands like how John Manderville writes about the islands of Asia

[@leontrotsky8505]

westeros-west essos-east sothoryos-south ulthos-south east

[@einarblood-axe9328]

The cursed lands-super west The land of always winter-north.

[@Mayeur000Donz]

I'm super about mysteries not meant to be solved, and I like the idea of bringing it into my own writing. The challenge is establishing the hint of something, as George does with Sothoryos, without it coming across as foreshadowing that ends up with no payoff.

[@sheevpalpatine1105]

George got a nice laugh

[@timomastosalo]

Good point on the unresolved history. We tend to want closures to the story threads hanging loose.But we can't always get them. Besides, those who wrote the history, wrote it from their perspective, and often with limited information, to narow it down even further. So some even commonly interesting insidents have surely vanished without a story left behind. If there was some like the Atlantis, there was nobody leeft to wite records to us. Or maybe it's just one more version of the Flood story, which most of the nations of the world have in some form. Then we're all the survivors of 'Atlantis'. The thousands of years apart, the stories have drifetd apart too. But water came and destroyed the ancient world - that much they share.

[@kingsleycy3450]

A mystery is more enticing than the answer. Just look at Lovecraftian mytho: Cthulhu was supposed to be this unknowable being, but because we love lore, we wrote about its family, its power level and its agenda, to the point that it just became an octopus monster.

[@tobiaskreuzer3091]

Where is the map from the Thumpnail from ?

[@konstancjan8951]

Google "Worldbuilding in Sothoryos geography build", the first link includes the map

[@SurvivingAnotherDay]

his nickname is thumper

[@bdc2320]

I would like Yeen fleshed out a bit. An outpost of The Empire of the Dawn perhaps and was corrupted like Asshai was.

[@ieatyourbrain8478]

eight years... AND COUNTING!

[@bailey32121]

Anyone on a game of thrones KZbin videos binge and getting sick of having the discover Ireland advert pop every video😂

[@prinstyrio0]

I'm quite glad he mentioned the stuff about mystery and so forth. As an avid enthusiast in writing my own novel one day which I've done a lot of world building, one thing I always love about reality and fiction is the mystery of some things. It's fun to have a mystery and solve it, but I've always wondered but mysterious that are left untold cause there's no ways to find out or certain land or locations so far away that the characters you focus on can merely wonder. It does suck as the reader knowing that something, a certain mystery, you truly like and wants to explore only to have the author say it wasn't meant to. Still I'm glad GRRM brought it up that such things can make the world feel richer without going too much into detail, and it's left to the readers to wonder and imagine for the time being.

[@waroftheageaudiobookreads6104]

I like George R.R. Martin's laugh

[@XDivineSouljax]

I hope he allows other to continue to expand upon this massive world hes created after he retires or passes away

[@alphagamer9505]

I really hope once george finish the books,he writes a novel in sothoryos

[@SankofaNYC]

He is so fucking brilliant

[@BlackValyria]

Well ths is tragic 😢 Guess at least I can die peacefully knowing I won't miss anything

[@wanabeguitarguy]

Holy crap its Elio and Linda!

[@sono_chi_no_sodium_chlorid7635]

Fans: 'Will we ever see more of the cool lore bits from-' Marting: 'No.'

[@QueenDaenerysTargaryen]

Wyverns and dinosaurs, it would be interesting to have a new POV character from there, it would be quite the character. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🐲🐉🐲🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@rbasi25]

The Game of Thrones universe is so fascinating, and it is a shame that the author will not be writing more about it. Sothoryos is incredibly intriguing. I really want to hear more about this fictional place.

[@MDLi0n]

I think those things should be covered in separate spin off series, made separately by others

[@hobnobhead4043]

Why? Like he said its sometimes better to have a little mystery about things

[@murphyjack90]

I heard somewhere what the sixth book is actually finished, he just wouldn't release it until the show finished.

[@Gew219]

Where does this map in the thumbnail come from? It's not from The Lands of Ice and Fire.

[@ignaerium487]

Peapole's theories, just like ulthos.

[@lennyrose5852]

Nice Islands pic

[@erikadlloyd5586]

Yeah, leave all up to fan fiction.🤪

[@midnightpredator18]

He knows how to keep people talking about his work. Or arguing about it 😂

[@centurionyt4472]

All I know is that it’s basically like a mega jungle and there’s wyverns that live there

[@theloweffortchannel7211]

I heard that Burgeros is the land with ships that go now without the wind, hulls of metal that sheareth rock and stone.

[@caesarshotdogchampion8738]

Where did you get the picture in the thumbnail from?

[@tereziamarkova2822]

I get it. I suppose this isn't one of the parts of worldbuilding that doesn't need to be elaborated upon; it's cool if you want to write more about it, but if you don't set any stories there, keeping it a mystery is also cool. That's also why Braavos has so much written about it - George probably thought more about it, since it's a setting in ASoIaF.

[@drd9136]

Hopefully we learn about these places in the later books such as WoW and DoS. Before he dies, that is...

[@adamsalama643]

He basically said the gods came from sothoryos. Basically the origins of magic

[@joshuacrane2397]

Kind of like the way all human civilization came out of Africa and whats now called the middle east. If you read between he lines its easy to see where he gets his ideas from.

[@justphil84]

Norvos? That’s a new one for me.

[@dylanholding98]

George R R Martin just referred to Carolus Rex. I'm happy

[@jamesstudholme3161]

I just hope he doesn't take any ideas from his death, Jon randomly taking an arrow to the face would be anti climactic but in fitting with his trend of nicking from history.

[@Jocelyn_Jade]

Oh, ok. How about Ulthos?

[@ameykulkarni7491]

I'd love to learn about ulthos more than sothoryos, to be honest. I mean, we know nothing about it other than the name.

[@decoyoctopod8514]

This is why I love these books and I don’t think people understand; all the novels could be published and Roose could still be a vampire possibly. Bran may or may not be possessed by Bloodraven. He’s not going to give us explicit answers to anything, I don’t think even R+L=J.

[@daishan2377]

Seven Fucking Years damnit.

[@Lightwish01]

It’s almost like he is intentionally delaying The Winds of Winter to see just how crazy his fans will get in anticipation. I don’t know for sure but I think this has been the longest stretch between books ever for him. It’s a shame really. How long until A Dream of Spring? Likely a decade or never if I had to guess.

[@joshuacrane2397]

Can we all sue HBO for damages when GRRM dies before publishing WoW and DoS?

[@kalebbruwer]

Maybe if we get a prequel series?

[@casualcraftman1599]

There is nothing wrong with a mystery, George R. R. Martin problem is that he made Sothoryos and the Shadow Lands to interesting to be left mysterious and unexplored.

[@kaula17]

I would love to know more about Sothoryos. Even if it’s just to know how big it is

[@ElBrunno12]

I wish we had a movie about Robert's Rebelion

[@brainlet8494]

Maybe one of the spinoff series there's meant to be like 5 in the works

[@crerx]

Well, I guess your wish is going to become real now lol

[@abhishekjhurry6636]

Got is all about Westeros and the Iron Throne but the world that George R.R Martin has created is so much bigger than that. I've been watching youtube videos about the Map of Planetos and just kinda realised how petty the Wars in Westeros really are.

[@Lieutenant_Scrotes]

So unless a war is global in scale you consider it petty? No war is petty for the people involved and the civilians it affects. GoT spent a significant amount of time focused on Essos in the earlier seasons, coupled with Westeros the vast majority of Planetos' human populace are settled on those two continents.

[@connor4435]

It does make sense that we won’t hear anymore about Sothoryos because what we know is written by the maesters of Westeros and the people of Westeros won’t have been able to go into Sothoryos and return without being brutally killed

[@simohayha6031]

That thumbnail is a map of Genabackis from the world of Malazan. Lol tf.

[@BlackstreetBoys2Men]

I love how Sothoryos is pretty much Africa, and Westeros knows as much about it as the old world knew about Africa during the Bronze Age

[@jaojao1768]

Was he interviewed in Livrustkammaren?

[@joweydelanota7421]

I wish George would work on a side story to Sothryous just to develop the world for its readers. It trully doesnt need to be part of the main story

[@matiasrochaix2234]

What an iconic lazy man

[@james0522]

LOL. The camera panned out to show Elia and Lindo, and I just knew it was time to turn the video off.

[@forrestperry7278]

So we have Westeros, Essos, Sothoryos, is there a Northoros too?