I’ve already discussed on this blog the unparalleled genius of George R. R. Martin’s worldbuilding and narrative history in the universe of A Song of Ice and Fire, but what I have yet to review are any of his actual stories. I’m still not ready to review the main books, but what I have had the pleasure of reading recently is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a collection of the first three novellas of Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg series.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is Martin at his best. It’s a microcosm of the main series, and it highlights all of the things that make A Song of Ice and Fire so captivating. Delightful, varied and complex characters; grounding in and insight into a breathtakingly detailed world and history; plots filled with intrigue, action, scheming and surprise; a refreshing focus on the common people in a genre obsessed with lords and ladies and heroes; and cutting commentary on the hierarchies of power that underlie the societies of fantasy.
Having read all of Martin’s other works in the A Song of Ice and Fire canon before reading A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, I found that the novellas gave me a much better understanding of the characters of Dunk and Egg, whose names I had previously only known from their references in the historical catalog of The World of Ice and Fire; and an understanding of the way that the Blackfyre Rebellions shaped the realm and its people. I also loved the insight into the way the realm viewed Lord Bloodraven, something that I understood only abstractly before but now have a much more intimate familiarity with. How many eyes does Lord Bloodraven have? A thousand eyes, and one.
The novellas, despite having the complexity and frequent dark undercurrents and nuances that Martin is famous for, were a relatively light, refreshing and fun series of reads. They were the perfect length; long enough to feel full and complete but short enough to be an easy read. Although they are sequential, each is self-contained, and I highly recommend them to any fans of Martin’s work.
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