Icewall...(I`ve read the books)...like Hadrian`s wall with barbarians and nasty winter creatures beyond....the Watch are a special unit drawn from all kingdoms to protect the frontier. As winter comes..and they last for decades in this world...the barbarians and white walkers will move south.
Starks...don`t get attached to characters...things just keep getting worse....no character is really sacred.
I read the books after first coming across the author as a sci-fi writer. He is good on horror too. The short story book` Sandkings` makes a good intro to his work.
The series has exceeeded my expectations..I could not see it working, as the books are so complex and there is no one lead character. How anyone could understand what is going on without reading them is beyond me..yet they do...my wife gets it easily.