CRB: Dungeons and Dragons

This morning we conclude our preview of the new (Spring) issue of the Claremont Review of Books (subscribe here and get immediate online access). It is, as usual, an incredibly rich issue; I have sought to select pieces conveying the breadth and depth on display. The issue is chock full of essays and reviews on contemporary politics and constitutionalism, political philosophy, literature and culture.

In the latter category, for example, Matthew Continetti undertakes a survey of the writings of George R. R. Martin, the man who wrote the story behind the immensely successful HBO series Game of Thrones, now in its second season. The show brings to life A Song of Ice and Fire, the multi-volume series of books that Martin is still writing. Five volumes so far and over 4200 pages long, the story has gained a huge following around the world.

Continetti argues that it is so popular because it is intensely political. The show asks the most serious questions about politics: who ought to govern, and for what end? What effect does power have on rulers and subjects? In the essay, Continetti reviews all of the books in the series along with some of Martin’s earlier works. The political philosophy of George R. R. Martin, he finds, is serious and worthy of consideration. Continetti’s review/essay is “Dungeons and Dragons.”

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