Fire & Blood: 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones
George R. R. Martin, Doug Wheatley
Hardcover
(Bantam, Nov. 20, 2018)
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ⢠The history of the Targaryens comes to life in this masterly work, the inspiration for HBOâs upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series House of the DragonâThe thrill of Fire & Blood is the thrill of all Martinâs fantasy work: familiar myths debunked, the whole trope table flipped.ââEntertainment WeeklyCenturies before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryenâthe only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyriaâtook up residence on Dragonstone. Fire & 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 was it so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What were Maegor the Cruelâs worst crimes? What was it like in Westeros when dragons ruled the skies? 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 Gibbonâs The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Fire & Blood is the the first volume of the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens, giving readers a whole new appreciation for the dynamic, often bloody, and always fascinating history of Westeros.Praise for Fire & Blood âA masterpiece of popular historical fiction.â âThe Sunday Times âThe saga is a rich and dark one, full of both the titleâs promised elements. . . . Itâs hard not to thrill to the descriptions of dragons engaging in airborne combat, or the dilemma of whether defeated rulers should âbend the knee,â âtake the blackâ and join the Nightâs Watch, or simply meet an inventive and horrible end.ââThe Guardian