Tweaking Things a Little. Essays on the Epic Fantasy of J.R.R. Tolkien and G.R.R. Martin

"World-building, name-finding, language-crafting; the flaws in chivalric practice, and the ethics (Machiavellian and otherwise) that produce the moral complexities of Middle-earth and the Known World are thus the topics that Tweaking Things a Little considers. The modest title belies what lies within these covers: nimble readings, profound knowledge of the medieval world, original and provocative reading of both books and the TV show await the reader here. Pointing both back in time to the medieval underpinnings of Tolkien's creation and outwards to the contemporary world that informs Martin's pragmatic and politically astute thinking, these essays enthral, astonish and challenge. Best of all, they encourage us to journey back into Middle-earth and the Known World, with newly opened eyes and ears, to rediscover their wonders anew."

Carolyne Larrington, Professor of Medieval European Literature (University of Oxford), author of Winter is Coming: The Medieval World of 'Game of Thrones' (2015) and All Men Must Die: Power and Passion in 'Game of Thrones' (2021).