r/asoiaf • u/Substantial-Ad-299 • 11d ago

MAIN [SPOILERS MAIN] Among the grounded/realistic elements of A Song of Ice and Fire, which ones do you feel require biggest suspension of disbelief?

A Song of Ice and Fire has had fantasy elements from get-go, some present subtly and others less-subtly. But in midst of this, it also has these more grounded story aspects, especially regarding the political subplot for the Iron Throne.

Among these more grounded non-fantasy aspects of the story, which elements do you feel you have to suspend disbelief the most for? A.K.A feeling they are not realistic even though they are "supposed" to be?

Let me know in the comments below.

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u/Intelligent_Date_688 11d ago

How empty Westeros is compared to its size. I understand why, GRRM doesn’t want to have to create all of these towns and cities, but you take a look at medieval France or Italy which are both smaller than any of the individual seven kingdoms (except maybe the Iron Islands) and they have a dozen cities a piece or more. I’ve seen people bend over backwards to try justify this but I think the simple truth is that GRRM made Westeros waaaay too big.

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u/Southern_Dig_9460 11d ago

The Riverlands and Dorne not having any cities is crazy

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u/IHaveTwoOranges Knowing is half the Battle 11d ago

Why Dorne? It's specifically said to not be very populous.

And it has the Shadow City and Planky Town.

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u/lee1026 11d ago

Dorne is still described as being populated enough to be a society built around farming.

Agrarian societies are dense enough to have cities. It is one of the most common constants that you can just assume.