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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   913 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for June 26, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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One thing bugging me about the dragon show and perhaps the biggest thing in the whole series that makes no sense is how did the Targaryen’s remain in charge for 129 years between the last dragon and Robert’s Rebellion. They didn’t heavily intermarry or have a lot of people related to them. They were basically aliens who lost their special ability. I would expect them to last like 6 months without dragons.

Are there any historical parallels? The Europeans to the new world were few for a time but maintained better technology and most likely 10-15 IQ points higher intelligence. The show gives no indication targs were smarter.

It seems to me that for all Martin's talk about what is Aragon's tax policy, he really didn't think very hard about the details of his world building. See the size of the kingdom, the height of the wall (the show halfed the book's described size and he thought it was too tall upon seeing it) and many others.

I suspect he liked William the Conqueror so stuck him in without including all the details that allowed William to actually secure authority.

It seems to me that for all Martin's talk about what is Aragon's tax policy, he really didn't think very hard about the details of his world building.

If JRRT was economics nerd instead of linguistic one, the trilogy would definitely have 50 page appendix about Sauron's tax policy and full org chart of Mordor internal revenue service. Be careful what you wish for.

Are there any novels with economics appendices?

ACKS (the Adventurer Conqueror King System) has a 12-page economics appendix, but it's a tabletop RPG, not a novel.

Not originally, but classical regency romances now need massive appendices explaining the social and economic structure of vanished world of early 19th century Britain, world as strange and foreign to 21st century as Shire or Gondor.

Reading the Regency

How accurate is that guide? I'm surprised that the author doesn't try to build up their own cred in the foreword, unless I missed it, although she does seem to cite her sources in the comments.

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