Context:

Tom discusses reading the early books before the TV show started, describing it as 'one of the great reading experiences of my life' and mentioning he 'devoured' the first book and queued to get the second

Context:

Mentioned multiple times as a comparison to Game of Thrones, discussing how Tolkien 'basically invents high fantasy' and comparing the two works' approaches to religion, violence, and the medieval world

Context:

Listed alongside Lord of the Rings as part of a continuum of Victorian historical evocations of the Middle Ages that influenced how people think about the medieval past

Context:

Described as George R.R. Martin's stated inspiration - 'a series of French novels set in the 13th, early 14th century'

Context:

Referenced in discussion of the origins of the undead/zombies in literature, noting that Ishtar threatens to raise the dead from their graves

Context:

Mentioned alongside the Epic of Gilgamesh as another ancient text featuring the dead rising

Context:

Referenced in discussion of Norse/Scandinavian traditions of the undead, noting 'in a sense, Beowulf is kind of, you know, the monster'

Context:

Explicitly mentioned as a book - 'Judith Heron writes about her in her book Ravenna' - in discussion of Galla Placidia as a historical parallel to Daenerys Targaryen

Context:

Tom mentions reading Chaucer during lockdown, specifically discussing 'the knight's tale' and 'the wife of Bath's tale' in relation to medieval attitudes toward rape and chivalry

Context:

Referenced as a major influence on 21st century American TV dramas including Game of Thrones, noting the actor who plays Joffrey is 'clearly channeling John Hurt in I, Claudius'

Context:

Described as 'a very George R.R. Martin story' in discussion of Kipling's influence and British imperial writing about frontiers

Context:

Referenced as an example of earlier colonial adventure novels featuring 'white hunters or white heroes going to remote cities' that modern sensibilities wouldn't permit