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Fire & Blood: 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones (The Targaryen Dynasty: The House of the Dragon)
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The thrilling history of the Targaryens comes to life in this masterly work, the inspiration for HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon
"The thrill of Fire & Blood is the thrill of all Martin's fantasy work: familiar myths debunked, the whole trope table flipped."-Entertainment Weekly
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 & 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 Cruel's 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-five black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley-including five illustrations exclusive to the trade paperback edition. 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 & Blood is 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
"A masterpiece of popular historical fiction."-The Sunday Times
"The saga is a rich and dark one, full of both the title's promised elements. . . . It's hard not to thrill to the descriptions of dragons engaging in airborne combat, or the dilemma of whether defeated rulers should ‘bend the knee,' ‘take the black' and join the Night's Watch, or simply meet an inventive and horrible end."-The Guardian
"The thrill of Fire & Blood is the thrill of all Martin's fantasy work: familiar myths debunked, the whole trope table flipped."-Entertainment Weekly
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 & 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 Cruel's 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-five black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley-including five illustrations exclusive to the trade paperback edition. 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 & Blood is 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
"A masterpiece of popular historical fiction."-The Sunday Times
"The saga is a rich and dark one, full of both the title's promised elements. . . . It's hard not to thrill to the descriptions of dragons engaging in airborne combat, or the dilemma of whether defeated rulers should ‘bend the knee,' ‘take the black' and join the Night's Watch, or simply meet an inventive and horrible end."-The Guardian
Editorial Reviews
"I love it so much. Fire & Blood is Martin Unbound . . . and I couldn't put it down. . . . There's an addictive quality to the prose that's outright gossipy. . . . The obvious comparison here is J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. . . . Writing centuries after the events he's describing, the Gyldayn voice complicates this game of thrones with a clash of perspectives and a storm of debatable facts. . . . Heavy stuff, but Fire & Blood flies."-Entertainment Weekly
"A brilliant book . . . vivid, memorable and personal."-The Times
"Lean and efficient and slyly seductive and instructive . . . The text is filled with such a wealth of incident and so many colorful characters."-Locus
"The overall narrative of the book is wonderfully fluid. . . . Fire & Blood was a great surprise to me. I found myself becoming deeply emotionally invested in the Targaryens, thrilling when they achieved great victories and lamenting when they succumbed to their more idiotic desires. (And they have a lot of idiotic desires.) This book feels like A Song of Ice and Fire. And you know how I know? Because I want the next book right away." -Tordotcom
"An absolutely irresistible, dragon-filled delight."-Bustle
"[There are] treasures hidden in this new Targaryen history."-Vanity Fair
"The world of ice and fire only gets more fascinating the more we learn about it."-Mashable
"Martin is still a powerfully gifted, inventive writer. . . . [Fire & Blood] has hundreds of fascinating anecdotes, ranging from the cruel fate of a jester named Tom Turnip to a dragon that, tellingly, refuses to venture beyond the Wall. . . . Fire & Blood is a lavish object, with charts, family ...
"A brilliant book . . . vivid, memorable and personal."-The Times
"Lean and efficient and slyly seductive and instructive . . . The text is filled with such a wealth of incident and so many colorful characters."-Locus
"The overall narrative of the book is wonderfully fluid. . . . Fire & Blood was a great surprise to me. I found myself becoming deeply emotionally invested in the Targaryens, thrilling when they achieved great victories and lamenting when they succumbed to their more idiotic desires. (And they have a lot of idiotic desires.) This book feels like A Song of Ice and Fire. And you know how I know? Because I want the next book right away." -Tordotcom
"An absolutely irresistible, dragon-filled delight."-Bustle
"[There are] treasures hidden in this new Targaryen history."-Vanity Fair
"The world of ice and fire only gets more fascinating the more we learn about it."-Mashable
"Martin is still a powerfully gifted, inventive writer. . . . [Fire & Blood] has hundreds of fascinating anecdotes, ranging from the cruel fate of a jester named Tom Turnip to a dragon that, tellingly, refuses to venture beyond the Wall. . . . Fire & Blood is a lavish object, with charts, family ...
Readers Top Reviews
MRS PATRICIA M
Disappointed. Reminds me of my 1960’s History textbook, but without the flair or wit. Cannot believe GRRM contemplated producing this before finishing TWOW. Is this just about money?
Brad S.Clive MR
This is almost word for word identical to "The World of Fire and Ice" What an absolute money cow. I'm fuming.
David HowlettBrad
Do NOT believe those who claim this book is identical to "World" - although one chapter of the previous book is indeed replicated in this one, it comprises 25 pages of the total 736 pages and the vast majority of the remaining book is either entirely new, substantially expanded from earlier material, or comprises material previously only available in fantasy short story compilations. Having a new ASOIAF book instead *would* have been great, or even preferable, but this does not mean Fire and Blood should be cast aside or (as seems to be the case in some corners of the internet) poorly-reviewed by people who refuse to read it because of what it is not. In short - an enjoyable read containing many of the tropes, themes and writing hallmarks which many readers love from the main series, and well-worth reading.
C.T. David Howlet
George R.R. Martin released A Dance with Dragons in 2011 and we've been waiting eleven years for the sequel, The Winds of Winter. However, that doesn't mean that he hasn't been active during this time. He has been laying the groundwork for multiple new television series, wrote part of The World of Ice and Fire, and hinted at continuing his Dunk and Egg series that I quite enjoy. However, I think the thing he accomplished most in that time is Fire and Blood. I should note I don't hold the long wait between books against George R.R. Martin before I continue. I'm one of the people who believes the issue is less not working on it than the fact the story has grown like tree branches from the main trunk with no end in sight. People want the story of Daenerys, Jon, Arya, and Tyrion but he's become caught up in the tales of Young Griff as well as Penny the Jester. Mind you, my suggestion would be to do side-series and have a hundred books like Dragonlance but I'm terrible that way. Fire and Blood is a crypto history of Westeros, specifically the Rise and Fall of the Targaryen Dynasty starting with Aegon the Conqueror then moving through each successive generation until reaching Aerys the Mad. This is an expansion of the history found in The World of Ice and Fire as well as the Song of Fire and Ice books themselves. This might seem to be boring, but George R.R. Martin maintains his deft touch creating fascinating relationships and bringing characters to life that could each be the base of their own series of books or shows. George remains perfectly capable of creating vivid personalities that leap from the page even when they don't have any dialogue or appearance on page save descriptions about them. My favorite of the Targaryen dynasties is the Dance of the Dragons between Rhaenyra Targaryen versus Aegon the Second and his mother, Alicent Hightower. This is going to be the basis of the House of the Dragon show so I'm not going to get to into the details, but it is a fascinating story of primogeniture, backstabbing, love, and dragons. The fact it's about a Targaryen Civil War that has dragonriders on both sides means that I am very excited to see it onscreen. This is primarily a work for those who absolutely love Westeros history and world-building, but it is never boring despite being a history text. George is smart enough to keep all the salacious and twisted details about the Targaryens intact throughout the text while real-life history often downplays these elements. Was Aegon I's eldest child really his or a singer’s? Was Maegor the Cruel resurrected as a zombie? What really was going on at Summerhall? George R.R. Martin is the master of the "Mystery Box" form of storytelling and leaves all manner of breadcrumbs as well as clues to lead his readers on. However, unlike the majority of said users of this trope al...
Short Excerpt Teaser
Several years had passed since the king had last made a progress, so plans were laid in 58 AC for Jaehaerys and Alysanne to make their first visit to Winterfell and the North. Their dragons would be with them, of course, but beyond the Neck the distances were great and the roads poor, and the king had grown tired of flying ahead and waiting for his escort to catch up. This time, he decreed, his Kingsguard, servants, and retainers would go ahead of him, to make things ready for his arrival. And thus it was that three ships set sail from King's Landing for White Harbor, where he and the queen were to make their first stop.
The gods and the Free Cities had other plans, however. Even as the king's ships were beating their way north, envoys from Pentos and Tyrosh called upon His Grace in the Red Keep. The two cities had been at war for three years and were now desirous of making peace, but could not agree on where they might meet to discuss terms. The conflict had caused serious disruption to trade upon the narrow sea, to the extent that King Jaehaerys had offered both cities his help in ending their hostilities. After long discussion, the Archon of Tyrosh and the Prince of Pentos had agreed to meet in King's Landing to settle their differences, provided that Jaehaerys would act as an intermediary between them, and guarantee the terms of any resulting treaty.
It was a proposal that neither the king nor his council felt he could refuse, but it would mean postponing His Grace's planned progress to the North, and there was concern that the notoriously prickly Lord of Winterfell might take that for a slight. Queen Alysanne provided the solution. She would go ahead as planned, alone, whilst the king played host to the Prince and Archon. Jaehaerys could join her at Winterfell as soon as the peace had been concluded. And so it was agreed.
Queen Alysanne's travels began in the city of White Harbor, where tens of thousands of northerners turned out to cheer her and gape at Silverwing with awe, and a bit of terror. It was the first time any of them had seen a dragon. The size of the crowds surprised even their lord. "I had not known there were so many smallfolk in the city," Theomore Manderly is reported to have said. "Where did they all come from?"
The Manderlys were unique amongst the great houses of the North. Having originated in the Reach centuries before, they had found refuge near the mouth of the White Knife when rivals drove them from their rich lands along the Mander. Though fiercely loyal to the Starks of Winterfell, they had brought their own gods with them from the south, and still worshipped the Seven and kept the traditions of knighthood. Alysanne Targaryen, ever desirous of binding the Seven Kingdoms closer together, saw an opportunity in Lord Theomore's famously large family, and promptly set about arranging marriages. By the time she took her leave, two of her ladies-in-waiting had been betrothed to his lordship's younger sons and a third to a nephew; his eldest daughter and three nieces, meanwhile, had been added to the queen's own party, with the understanding that they would travel south with her and there be pledged to suitable lords and knights of the king's court.
Lord Manderly entertained the queen lavishly. At the welcoming feast an entire aurochs was roasted, and his lordship's daughter Jessamyn acted as the queen's cupbearer, filling her tankard with a strong northern ale that Her Grace pronounced finer than any wine she had ever tasted. Manderly also staged a small tourney in the queen's honor, to show the prowess of his knights. One of the fighters (though no knight) was revealed to be a woman, a wildling girl who had been captured by rangers north of the Wall and given to one of Lord Manderly's household knights to foster. Delighted by the girl's daring, Alysanne summoned her own sworn shield, Jonquil Darke, and the wildling and the Scarlet Shadow dueled spear against sword whilst the northmen roared in approval.
A few days later, the queen convened her women's court in Lord Manderly's own hall, a thing hitherto unheard of in the North, and more than two hundred women and girls gathered to share their thoughts, concerns, and grievances with Her Grace.
After taking leave of White Harbor, the queen's retinue sailed up the White Knife to its rapids, then proceeded overland to Winterfell, whilst Alysanne herself flew ahead on Silverwing. The warmth of her reception at White Harbor was not to be duplicated at the ancient seat of the Kings in the North, where Alaric Stark and his sons alone emerged to greet her when her dragon landed before his castle gates. Lord Alaric had a flinty reputation; a hard man, people said, stern and unforgiving, tight-fisted almost to the point of being ...
The gods and the Free Cities had other plans, however. Even as the king's ships were beating their way north, envoys from Pentos and Tyrosh called upon His Grace in the Red Keep. The two cities had been at war for three years and were now desirous of making peace, but could not agree on where they might meet to discuss terms. The conflict had caused serious disruption to trade upon the narrow sea, to the extent that King Jaehaerys had offered both cities his help in ending their hostilities. After long discussion, the Archon of Tyrosh and the Prince of Pentos had agreed to meet in King's Landing to settle their differences, provided that Jaehaerys would act as an intermediary between them, and guarantee the terms of any resulting treaty.
It was a proposal that neither the king nor his council felt he could refuse, but it would mean postponing His Grace's planned progress to the North, and there was concern that the notoriously prickly Lord of Winterfell might take that for a slight. Queen Alysanne provided the solution. She would go ahead as planned, alone, whilst the king played host to the Prince and Archon. Jaehaerys could join her at Winterfell as soon as the peace had been concluded. And so it was agreed.
Queen Alysanne's travels began in the city of White Harbor, where tens of thousands of northerners turned out to cheer her and gape at Silverwing with awe, and a bit of terror. It was the first time any of them had seen a dragon. The size of the crowds surprised even their lord. "I had not known there were so many smallfolk in the city," Theomore Manderly is reported to have said. "Where did they all come from?"
The Manderlys were unique amongst the great houses of the North. Having originated in the Reach centuries before, they had found refuge near the mouth of the White Knife when rivals drove them from their rich lands along the Mander. Though fiercely loyal to the Starks of Winterfell, they had brought their own gods with them from the south, and still worshipped the Seven and kept the traditions of knighthood. Alysanne Targaryen, ever desirous of binding the Seven Kingdoms closer together, saw an opportunity in Lord Theomore's famously large family, and promptly set about arranging marriages. By the time she took her leave, two of her ladies-in-waiting had been betrothed to his lordship's younger sons and a third to a nephew; his eldest daughter and three nieces, meanwhile, had been added to the queen's own party, with the understanding that they would travel south with her and there be pledged to suitable lords and knights of the king's court.
Lord Manderly entertained the queen lavishly. At the welcoming feast an entire aurochs was roasted, and his lordship's daughter Jessamyn acted as the queen's cupbearer, filling her tankard with a strong northern ale that Her Grace pronounced finer than any wine she had ever tasted. Manderly also staged a small tourney in the queen's honor, to show the prowess of his knights. One of the fighters (though no knight) was revealed to be a woman, a wildling girl who had been captured by rangers north of the Wall and given to one of Lord Manderly's household knights to foster. Delighted by the girl's daring, Alysanne summoned her own sworn shield, Jonquil Darke, and the wildling and the Scarlet Shadow dueled spear against sword whilst the northmen roared in approval.
A few days later, the queen convened her women's court in Lord Manderly's own hall, a thing hitherto unheard of in the North, and more than two hundred women and girls gathered to share their thoughts, concerns, and grievances with Her Grace.
After taking leave of White Harbor, the queen's retinue sailed up the White Knife to its rapids, then proceeded overland to Winterfell, whilst Alysanne herself flew ahead on Silverwing. The warmth of her reception at White Harbor was not to be duplicated at the ancient seat of the Kings in the North, where Alaric Stark and his sons alone emerged to greet her when her dragon landed before his castle gates. Lord Alaric had a flinty reputation; a hard man, people said, stern and unforgiving, tight-fisted almost to the point of being ...
