Game of Thrones Pop-Up

Game of Thrones: A Pop-Up Guide to Westeros

I got this book a while back—actually, before I started reading the books. I bought it because it was a good pop-up that showed some ingenuity. And it was on sale.

Now, this bit of art by Matthew Reinhart was produced in 2014 and is said to have been inspired by the opening sequence to the HBO show. That opening sequence inspires a lot of us. 

Technically speaking, this is not a book. It unfolds to wide layout that generally speaking can be described as a map. It can be opened as a book, though, and that's even preferable if you want to catch all the details in each section. 

Of course, I still had to give the full layout a try. 

I don't have a huge dining table, but it's not tiny, either. And this map required that the extensions be used. In this shot, I don't have all the mini pop-ups unfolded, so Pyke and The Twins look like they're missing, but they're in there:

Pyke

The first time I encountered mini pop-ups I had a little squee moment. There have often been little add-on bits in pop-up books, usually (especially in children's books) a little interactive tab that can be pulled to create action in the scene. 

The Twins

Sometimes a flap can be opened to show an action that takes place as part of the scene, or reveal a secret that's not known to the protagonist. In the "Ology" books (I will eventually do a post about those) the bonus sections contain everything from examples of inventions to coloured lenses to help a reader see a hidden feature on the page. 


Most bonus pop-ups are simpler, because they're smaller than the main art on the page, size allows for greater complexity, so more detailed pops. But for some designers, the mini's are equally, or at least nearly as complex. 

If you're wondering why these pop-ups aren't standing firmly upright, that's because I'm more concerned with collecting than displaying. I don't force paper to do a lot of extending. They will last a lot longer as paper art by not unfolding them too often, or too far. 

So, I have to say that the most breathtaking of the sections of this book was "The Wall," one of the larger pop-ups, and one of the tallest. In the books, and the show, the Wall is depicted as formidable, massive and awe inspiring. I think this book did that justice: 

The Wall

You see four mini pop-ups and a fold out at the bottom of this spread. The fold out is for information on "The Black" the uniform of the men who are sent to the wall to defend Westeros from the Wildlings and other dangers north of it. The fold outs each contain their own descriptive text.

Down at the other end of the map, one of the fold outs for Kings Landing is a depiction of the Battle of Blackwater Bay, complete with explosions of green "wildfire" through the attacking fleet of Stannis Baratheon. 

The Iron throne is tucked into one of these mini pop-ups, too. I again have to say that I would not give in to the temptation of properly opening the throne. You will have to cope with this almost-open version or buy your own GoT pop-up book and stretch it out as you please.