An amazing labor of love from Redditor Confused_Shelf will make you wonder how fans of epic fantasy ever kept up with sprawling casts in years past. Confused_Shelf's A Song of Ice and Fire spreadsheet took two and a half years to make, lists 1599 characters, and isn't completely up-to-date. Put simply, it's mind-blowing.
Whenever I make a spreadsheet, I always feel as though I'm locked in a never-ending struggle to make sure the document's format is both fully accessible and meets my needs to a T. That being said, I wonder how many times Confused_Shelf had to revamp their A Song of Ice and Fire spreadsheet to keep it as informative as possible. The shareable Google Sheet sorts characters by their order of appearance in George R.R. Martin's fantasy series, right down to the chapter. Confused_Shelf also lists nicknames, relationships, house alliances, and — naturally — causes of death.
The A Song of Ice and Fire spreadsheet isn't finished yet. Confused_Shelf says they have yet to read A Dance with Dragons, and so their information is only up-to-date through the end of A Feast for Crows. Still, it's quite impressive.
For anyone who — like me — wonders why on Earth anyone would ever do such a thing, the Redditor explains:
"Why would you do such a thing?" Spreadsheets are a hobby of mine. I can't explain it. This started out as a means of helping me keep track of the hundreds (maybe thousands by the time I'm finished) of characters. My first time reading I had real trouble remembering whether someone was new or not and where I had seen them before. This spreadsheet has done wonders for bringing the minor characters to life for me.
Check out Confused_Shelf's A Song of Ice and Fire spreadsheet in full here.
Image: HBO
