A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

December 21, 2015
The three interlocking novellas in this collection, all previously published, make for a rousing prelude to Martin's bestselling Song of Ice and Fire saga. Set 90 years before the events in A Game of Thrones, they chronicle the experiences of Ser Duncan the Tall, a humble hedge knight whose honorable comportment is often at odds with the schemes of the royals who rule the Seven Kingdoms. In "The Hedge Knight," Duncan is forced to fight a brutal trial by combat for defending a commoner against a cruel prince's son. In both "The Sworn Sword" and "The Mystery Knight," Duncan advances further toward fulfilling his destiny as a knight of the Kingsguard, foreseen in dreams throughout the stories. The stories are top-heavy with tournaments and bloody battles, but also rich in human drama and the colorful worldbuilding that distinguishes other books in the series. The appearance of youthful versions of characters who figure in the later novels makes this collection a must-read for Martin's legions of fans.

Starred review from October 15, 2015
Huzzah! Martin (The Ice Dragon, 2014, etc.) delivers just what fans have been waiting for: stirring tales of the founding of the Targaryen line. Duncan--Dunk for short--has his hapless moments. He's big, nearly gigantic, "hugely tall for his age, a shambling, shaggy, big-boned boy of sixteen or seventeen." Uncertain of himself, clumsy, and alone in the world, he has every one of the makings of a hero, if only events will turn in that direction. They do, courtesy of a tiny boy who steals into the "hedge knight" Dunk's life and eventually reveals a name to match that of Ser Duncan the Tall--an altogether better name, at that, than Duncan of Flea Bottom would have been. Egg, as the squire calls himself, has a strange light about him, as if he will be destined to go on to better things, as indeed he will. Reminiscent of a simpler Arthur Rackham, the illustrations capture that light, as they do the growing friendship between Dunk and Egg--think Manute Bol and Muggsy Bogues, if your knowledge of basketball matches your interest in fantasy. This being Martin, that friendship will not be without its fraught moments, its dangers and double crosses and knightly politics. There are plenty of goopily violent episodes as well, from jousts ("this time Lord Leo Tyrell aimed his point so expertly he ripped the Grey Lion's helm cleanly off his head") to medieval torture ("Egg...used the hat to fan away the flies. There were hundreds crawling on the dead men, and more drifting lazily through the still, hot air."). Throughout, Martin delivers thoughtful foreshadowing of the themes and lineages that will populate his Ice and Fire series, in which Egg, it turns out, is much less fragile than he seems. As Tolkien had his Silmarillion, so Martin has this trilogy of foundational tales. They succeed on their own, but in addition, they succeed in making fans want more--and with luck, Martin will oblige them with more of these early yarns.

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November 1, 2015
Martin has long established himself as an unstoppable force in the fantasy genre. His flagship series, A Song of Ice and Fire, has drawn a breadth of modern readers into the fold of sf/fantasy nerds much the same as The Lord of the Rings did in its time and continues to do today. But chronologically predating Martin's darkly cutthroat series full of power, lust, and vengeance are the more sweetly idealized Tales of Dunk and Eggthree novellas written between 1998 and 2010 tracing the lives of Sir Duncan the Tall and the young prince Aegon V, now collected in Martin's newest release, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Bringing a new offering to both devotees and newcomers is Prince Valiant, artist Gary Gianni, whose gorgeously nostalgic illustrations would do justice to the classics of J. R. R. Tolkien or T. H. White, let alone Martin, whose modestly self-contained prequel stories of personal and regional conflict are elevated by the grandiose style. Readers who already love Martin and his ability to bring visceral human drama out of any story will be thrilled to find this trilogy brought together and injected with extra life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

May 15, 2015

A great stopgap for fans awaiting the next entry in the phenomenal "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, these three never-before-collected novellas take place 90 years before the Game of Thrones era and feature hedge knight Duncan and his squire, Egg. Egg, whose real name is Aegon Targaryen, becomes King Aegon V, the Unlikely, and the great-grandfather of leading "Ice and Fire" protagonist Daenerys. With 160 black-and-white illustrations.

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