Synopsis

With all the fire and fury fans have come to expect from internationally bestselling author George R. R. Martin, this is the first volume of the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens in Westeros.

Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire and Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.

What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why did it become so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What is the origin of Daenerys’s three dragon eggs? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more than eighty all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley. Readers have glimpsed small parts of this narrative in such volumes as The World of Ice & Fire, but now, for the first time, the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed.

With all the scope and grandeur of Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Fire and Blood is the ultimate game of thrones, giving readers a whole new appreciation for the dynamic, often bloody, and always fascinating history of Westeros.

Thoughts

George R. R. Martin is probably my favourite author and I love all things A Song of Ice and Fire. I’m obviously desperate to read The Winds of Winter and I know a lot of fans are annoyed about the release of Fire and Blood but I’m actually really looking forward to reading it. George R. R. Martin seems pretty excited about it and I love the idea of a history textbook about the Targaryen line. I really love my copy of The World of Ice and Fire and I think this will be in a similar vein.

I really adore George’s writing style and any new book from him is pretty much going to be a must read for me. The cover is also so stunning and I’ve always been so fascinated by Aegon the Conqueror so this is definitely right up my alley. I’ve pre-ordered this beautiful book so that I can dive in as soon as it arrives and I’m pretty sure it will be a five star read for me. Fire and Blood is publishing November 20th from Harper Voyager UK.