See what George R. R. Martin's Iron Throne from A Game of Thrones really looks like!

Author George R.R. Martin has just revealed what the Iron Throne from his A Game of Thrones series really looks like. Fans of the HBO series all know what the throne looks like on the show. Moderate size, put together by melted swords. The throne from the HBO show can be seen below.

 

 

This, however, is not what the throne looks like in the books. At least it's not what Martin envisions when he writes them.

"A dozen different artists have done versions of the Iron Throne over the years. Some have been very striking, some less so, but none of them have ever been quite RIGHT. Their versions never quite matched what I saw in my mind's eye."

Martin certainly acknowledges the HBO version of the throne and realizes that when you mention his novels that that is the throne that most will picture. However, it's still not right.

"The HBO throne has become iconic. And well it might. It's a terrific design, and it has served the show very well. There are replicas and paperweights of it in three different sizes. Everyone knows it. I love it. I have all those replicas right here, sitting on my shelves.

And yet, and yet... it's still not right. It's not the Iron Throne I see when I'm working on THE WINDS OF WINTER. It's not the Iron Throne I want my readers to see. The way the throne is described in the books... HUGE, hulking, black and twisted, with the steep iron stairs in front, the high seat from which the king looks DOWN on everyone in the court... my throne is a hunched beast looming over the throne room, ugly and assymetric... "

Take a look at a painting by artist Marc Simonetti that shows us the best interpretation of the Iron Throne that Martin has yet seen. At the moment, this has become the official image of the Iron Throne backed by Martin himself.



Now that is a throne! I have to admit that this throne is seriously much more intimidating than the show's throne and I personally like it a lot better. Wow!

"That's the Iron Throne as painted by the amazing Marc Simonetti (and if you haven't gotten his 2013 Ice & Fire calendar, better hurry, the year's half over) for the upcoming concordance, THE WORLD OF ICE & FIRE. It's a rough, not a final version, so what you see in the book will be more polished. But Marc has come closer here to capturing the Iron Throne as I picture it than any other artist to tackle it. From now on, THIS will be the reference I give to every other artist tackling a throne room scene. This Iron Throne is massive. Ugly. Assymetric. It's a throne made by blacksmiths hammering together half-melted, broken, twisted swords, wrenched from the hands of dead men or yielded up by defeated foes... a symbol of conquest... it has the steps I describe, and the height. From on top, the king dominates the throne room. And there are thousands of swords in it, not just a few.

This Iron Throne is scary. And not at all a comfortable seat, just as Aegon intended."

So which Iron Throne do you like better? Do you prefer the more regal looking throne from the show or the hulking, assymetric look that Martin's throne has in the books?

Source: George R.R. Martin - Not A Blog