Game of Thrones Psychology: The Mind is Dark and Full of Terrors by Travis Langley

Game of Thrones Psychology: The Mind is Dark and Full of Terrors Reviews

• 
  Baba

  A deep-dive look at the psychology of Games of Thrones, and not only the characters, but also why we watched it. Essentially a book that looks at personality types of people with seemingly psychotic tendencies like Bolton, Joffrey, Cersei etc.; at parenting and relationship styles, Ned Stark, Baratheon, Lysa etc. and the impact on their children and their partners; how people respond to trauma in different ways such as Theon, Sansa, DAenerys etc. amongst numerous other areas.
  
  More a very accessible text book using the Game of Thrones reality as examples and reference points this works remarkably well. It also offers up as overview guide on how to not only survive the Game of Thrones, but how to survive life itself for us viewers and readers! 8 out of 12.
  
  2022 read
• 
  Sarah Sherrin

  I won this book on a Goodreads giveaway and I entered in to see how the author was really going to break down the psychology of the characters in the books and the series. I was very impressed. There are enough opinions and facts to let the reader understand the mind of not only the characters but the reader as well and it made the reader think about people in the world today. I would highly recommend this book!
• 
  Buck Wilde

  That was fun!
  An easy read that discusses a handful of psychological theories of self, morality, and pathology (with a somewhat lazy tendency to revisit Maslow's hierarchy of needs over and over again) as applied to Game of Thrones characters. A nice terminology refresher. I appreciate these pop culture philosophy/psychology books because they always italicize the technical concepts so you don't need to devote conscious attention to retaining them as specialized vocabulary. It also explored what must be a new development, the study of what makes a hero, which, while trending a little too heavily toward positive psychology for my tastes, the avid fiction consumer, aspiring novelist, and tremendous high-fantasy dweeb in me all find irresistible.
  
  I'ma wikipedia it like, right now.
• 
  William

  Best book in the series yet! I've enjoyed them all (The Walking Dead Psychology, Star Wars Psychology, Captain America vs. Iron Man), and this is the most thought-provoking entry. Somehow it manages to go even more in-depth into the psychology and cover a wider variety of psych concepts while remaining very readable for the general audience member who never studied psychology. Excellently written and highest production value. This is one good-looking book.
• 
  Craig Ranallo

  A fun, easily-accessible collection of essays examining the psychology of Game of Thrones and how that might relate to the viewer/reader. All of the essays are relatively short and require only a basic understanding of psychology to understand and enjoy. I found the essays on postraumatic growth, torture as transformation, marriage, parenting styles, motherhood, sexism, heroism, self-control, and the psychological effects of complex storytelling to be the most fascinating, though each essay and topic contained some nuggets. There's an interesting reflection on participatory media that I also thought was well-presented and insightful. A worthy read for fans of the series.
• 
  Stephanie Dique

  A good idea in theory... just not for a book. Maybe a blog or a paper. I liked the part about serial killer traits and parenting types as they relate to Game of Thrones characters but the rest just seemed like puffed up repetitive psychology babble stretched into 270 pages.
• 
  Cassandra

  The premises is very interesting and the author does a great job using examples from the show and how certain characters embody certain psychological studies. My favorite chapter dealt with why certain characters had a better grip on their leadership and what characters make the best leaders. Langley's view on sexism and the 2 main types really spoke with clear examples of both while allowing for readers without degrees to about social and psychological disorders that can be clearly seen in the book.
• 
  Beatrice

  Being a Game of Thrones lover into psychology, I had to have high high hopes for this book, but I completed it feelings utterly disappointed. The references to the universe created by George R.R Martin were too few and too superficial.
  I did enjoy the essay about the different way to raise children, the one about women fighting sexism and - of course - the one about Theon.
• 
  Bookwarrior

  This book is a easy to read and understand. It explains basic psychology ideas and theories in an easy to understand matter and in context with both Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire. (acknowledging the difference between the two, which is awesome).
• 
  Liam Walker

  This is so bad. I am not reading it. This is a book of psychology loosely referencing game of thrones. Not my bag.
• 
  Tiffany

  I find this book difficult to give a star-based rating to as I am quite mixed on my feelings for it. On one hand, I absolutely adore the fact that my love & passion for psychology has been combined with my love for Game of Thrones. On the other hand, I despise the fact that the book remained at such a shallow level when GOT provides such easy material to dive in deep with. I understand that the goal of this was to be fun and accessible, yet it could have been all of that while still presenting deeper psychological application.
  
  The book is composed of several sections written by multiple contributors. Because of this, some sections were far better than others. Some sections provided such loosely based connections to psychological theory that it was misguided at best, and irresponsible at worst. Additionally, there were quite a few times when research studies were inaccurately described (in a way that significantly skews the reader's idea of what the methods and the results were--most notably the Milgram experiment). Not only were the psychological theories described in a shallow way, many times, the characters motives and complex mindsets were described in a similarly over simplified manner.
  
  Finally, at times there was awkward discontinuity between the different sections. I understand that the different parts were written by different contributors, however, it could have been flowed together a little better.
  
  For all my concerns and complaints, this book wasn't so far off the path that it was utterly offensive. I really did enjoy getting brought into one of my favorite fictional worlds doing what I love best--behavior analysis. And I always appreciate when psychology and psychological theory are brought to the mass culture in a way that renders them wanting and willing to engage with it.
  
  Perhaps that, above all, is why I have a significant appreciation for this book despite my many criticisms.
• 
  Aspasia

  "We keep reading George R.R. Martin's stories and watching their onscreen depictions because we hope enough and believe enough of the characters will gain enough insight into their own natures and enough understanding of what really matters in time to save their world. Letting ourselves hope and believe in them helps us practice hoping and believing in ourselves and the future before us all" (p.3).
  
  
  
  If you are looking for a book to compliment the Game of Thrones TV show now that the series has ended, I would like to recommend Game of Thrones Psychology. This anthology was published in 2016, so if you are one of the few people that hasn’t watched the final season, this book will give nothing away. Each chapter is written by a different psychologist who explains a psychological theory, model, or personality trait and then applies to a specific character in the show or to the overall world of Westeros. Thankfully, the theories and models are explained in layman’s terms and in short chapters, so a non-psychologist will not be overwhelmed by psychological jargon. General topics covered include: freedom versus security, safety versus security, love and marriage, parenting styles, death and mourning, love and belonging, leadership, sexism, self-esteem, problem solving, self-control, and story complexity and the brain (the complex nature of the GoT universe makes you think and is good for you!). Chapters that focus on a psychological trait within a specific character focus on: greed (ahem, Cersei), psychopathy (Ramsay Bolton), overcoming abuse (Danerys Targaryen), trauma and posttraumatic growth (Arya, Sansa, Dany), rape (Sansa), torture (Theon), The Great Mother Archetype (Cersei versus Dany), phobias (The Hound), serial killers (Ramsay again), heroism (Jon Snow, The Hound), and self-actualization (Master Aemon).
  
  You can read more of my reviews at
  https://thesouthernbookworm.blogspot....
• 
  K

  With it's diverse set of complex characters, Game of Thrones must be the most interesting TV-show to be viewed from a psychological point of view - that's why I grabbed this book from the local library minute after I laid my eyes on it.
  
  In this book, the author dives deep into characters and how and why the hardships they've faced have molded their characteristics, what we can learn from a character by observing their actions or choices they make, all this and more while explaining some basic psychological concepts along the way. In all honesty, I'm not into psychology that much, but it was certainly very easy and pleasant to get a good grab of it, when they're presented in this kind of context. Definitely got me interested in reading authors other works as well!
  
  So whether you're interested in psychology or not, I'd say any fan of GoT will find this an interesting read.
• 
  Kelli Santistevan

  Here’s what this book is about:”In George R.R. Martin's richly detailed world, deceit, manipulation, and greed rule the day, and almost everyone fights for power over the realm or simply over their own lives. How do love and hate, good and evil, need and greed, altruism and narcissism drive the very best and very worst human behaviors? With no moral boundaries honored, the psychological games played by the series' conniving protagonists are seemingly limitless. Game of Thrones Psychology: The Mind is Dark and Full of Terrors explores motivations, relations, personality disorders, psychopathy, trauma, and much more. What kind of person can survive the game of thrones, much less hope to win?”
  
  As a fan of the A Song Of Ice And Fire series and the tv show Game Of Thrones and also as someone who likes the subject of psychology, this book was interesting to me. I enjoyed this book.
• 
  Katie Evans

  While the book raised some interesting applications of modern psychology to the fictional world of Westeros, the essays were rather short and limited. I was hoping for perhaps more in-depth analysis and comparison of characters, instead of these rather brief, surface-level essays. That aside, the book was enjoyable and included a range of interesting topics.
• 
  Miriam Rose

  This book was an amazing idea. I literally could not put it down for hours on end. Travis Langley and his co-writers brought about new ideas and explanations that I never considered about the Game of Thrones universe. I truly cannot express how much enjoyment this book has brought me. No, I am not exaggerating.
• 
  JSH Placie

  This is part of an entire series of pop culture related psychology books written in a fun way by serious researchers. In particular I enjoyed the section on parenting. Turns out that I fall into the Ned Stark-like Authoritative style of parenting. So yay, me.
• 
  Chicokc

  Un libro dividido en ensayos, que analiza los casos psicológicos de los personajes de GoT. Podemos ver los análisis de un personaje como Joffrey, o casos severos, como Ramsay.
• 
  Cindy

  Great introduction to psychological themes in bite-sized pieces with examples from the Game of Thrones show and the Song of Ice & Fire books.
• 
  Ked Dixon

  Basic pych. The best chapters are about the traumatic growth of Sonsa Stark and the self actualization of Maester Aemon
• 
  Whitney Stanfield

  This book could have gone much more in-depth on many of the topics presented. It was still a nice listen for GOT fans but it will leave you wanting more.
• 
  Elena

  it was quite an interesting reading
• 
  Valentine

  I know so many people hate pop-psych but I love it. The essays are pretty simple if you have any background in psychology, but it's still fun to see concepts applied in a world I love so much.
• 
  Krystie Kalashnikov

  Great read! Really goes in depth of personalities and character motives based on psychology.
• 
  Trent Gillespie

  Heard on audiobook. I couldn’t finish this book… lost interest in the studies after the second chapter… maybe if I was more a diehard fan of the books as well as the show.