Fire & Blood: 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones (The Targaryen Dynasty: The House of the Dragon) Paperback – August 4, 2020

J. R. R. Tolkien labored at his mythology for a majority of his adult life, from the trenches of World War I until his death. He mostly thought it unpublishable. He was interested in the great histories, in the sweeping sagas, in the stories that were written not as modern novels, but as texts that might have jumped straight out of the world he created. Some of Tolkien's mythological material made it into 'The Lord of the Rings.' Much of it did not. He wanted to publish the histories--the Silmarillion saga--alongside the books we all know today, but the publishers turned him down repeatedly. He died without seeing any of that work published, and when his son Christopher tried to make one cohesive text from the massive amounts of material, much of it was bastardized. Only later did Christopher edit and release over a dozen volumes of original texts, showing us a bit more of the scope of the history Tolkien had imagined.Why am I telling you this about Tolkien in a review for GRR Martin? This should seem fairly obvious by now: GRR Martin has the same longing Tolkien did. He has the same love of the grand, sweeping historical epic. So far he has been giving us his 'Lord of the Rings,' his drama of the minutiae, but in the process he got caught up in the grand and glorious visions of the Targaryens, just as Tolkien was swept up into the glories of the First Age. It’s no mistake this book is being called the “GRRMillion.”Martin's popularity is granting him a chance that Tolkien unfortunately never had in his lifetime: To create his myth IN FULL. To give us the grand sweep of things in the greater world, beyond just the characters we know and love in 'A Song of Ice and Fire.'Please accept this book for what it is, rather than complaining about what it does not aim to be. And what exactly is it? An artefact from Westeros. It should be read not as a book Martin wrote, but one he transcribed, from the original text by Archmaester Gyldayn. It will require some work on the part of the reader. The lines have been drawn, and we are being asked to fill in the colors with our imaginations. This participatory reading is what can make history so engaging—it takes work, but the work pays off.We have two choices: We can claw after the next GoT book, complaining that the author hasn’t yet met our demands. Or we can allow the author a chance to fill out his universe. For my part, this stuff is more exciting than the series proper. We get to see the bigger picture that all of the Song of Ice and Fire is a part of. If you don't want this sort of thing, simply move on rather than ruining the experience for others.I remember what it felt like to sit down one day as a boy and open 'The Silmarillion.' I was holding the Bible of the Elves. It was a piece of that world. It was a text that might have been read by a scholar in Minas Tirith. It was magic. Martin has the chance to give us this now. Imagine being Samwell Tarly, sitting in the Citadel's library, opening up this ponderous and magical tome about the history of the Targaryens for the first time.Why now, though? Why not wait until he's finished telling the main story? For my part, I'd rather follow the passion of a writer than get mediocre work demanded by fans. Martin created this universe for us; let him follow his vision for how it should proceed. He was caught up in the glorious history of his universe as he was telling his story, and he wants us to have it in all of its rich complexity. I can only wish that Tolkien had had the same opportunity in his lifetime. We only see fragments of what that might have been. But Martin is giving us his own great mythology, in his own lifetime, whole and complete; and I am a boy again with wonder.This, my friends, is going to be a feast.

This book was like a history book with stories of the Targaryen family through the eyes of different maesters and a “fool”. It was a good read, and it helped me understand the lineage of the Targaryen’s. I was sad when finishing the last page. If you’re a GOT fan, I highly recommend. The book also helped you gain more information on dragons before their “extinction”.

The book is very much like a history book and not really any character building. But it did help give context to the show. Unfortunately, the story telling was biased by the maesters. I was VERY disappointed at how the book was packed and the cover was bubbled and some of it chipped off.

Really good book. I don’t read a lot but this book hooked me

People criticize George R.R. Martin for writing such books as The World of Ice and Fire and Fire and Blood because they think these books are interfering with the completion and publication of the next books in the Song of Ice and Fire Series. But I think I know why he writes this type of book. It is to provide for himself the backstory to the Song of Ice and Fire. Of course, in the case of Fire and Blood, I believe there was supposed to be a television series that was to have taken this as its premise, although I heard recently that it was canceled.Anyway, as the Song of Ice and Fire Series is inspired by actual history, and in the case of actual history the events of one generation are frequently heavily influenced by those of previous generations, the events in the Song of Ice and Fire are similarly tied up with those of the preceding generations of the rulers and nobles of Westeros. And given the complicated nature of the place, it must have been difficult to keep all that straight without a map of some sort. Hence the two books of the history of Westeros, with a possibility of others to come.It is worth comparing Fire and Blood to the earlier The World of Ice and Fire. The World of Ice and Fire was written in the style of a history book that covered not only the history of Westeros but also the history and geography of the other lands in their world. Fire and Blood, in contrast, focuses primarily on the Targaryen family after Aegon the Conqueror took over Westeros. This one reads much more like a story, although the conventions that would apply to a scholarly history are still preserved, such as citing multiple and sometimes conflicting sources and giving several versions of events where the true story is supposedly unknown.Like a real history, it appears to be a story without a plot, as instead of plot twists, the supposed nature of the ‘real’ events sometimes rears up and sends events off in a sudden new direction. For example, certain people die of a random plague foiling all their plots without the benefit of other intervention, or the kingdom is deprived of a popular princess unexpectedly.Anyway, there is a sizeable gap between the end of this book and the beginning of A Game of Thrones, so that there could be a sequel to this book. If so, that would be a highly interesting read.But I still want to read the ending to the Song of Ice and Fire series too.

I was honestly surprised how easily this book read, and despite its length, a lot of it goes by very quickly. The middle section, which serves as the basis for the TV show, is far and away the best part of the book. The biggest problem with the book is when the Dance of the Dragons ends, and there’s still a couple hundred pages left. Eventually the final section of the book hits its stride, but there’s a rough transition.Still, the impressive part of this book is how Martin was able to craft a history of a world that works as a narrative too. One advantage he finds is that in history, life takes on many genres. One moment horrific, one moment peaceful, the next chaos. So he’s able to keep momentum up through the whole experience.

This book arrived and was in perfect condition. The illustrations are amazing and give you a sense of imagination through pictures. I haven’t finished the reading yet, but as a House of the Dragons and Game of Thrones fan, I know this book will make a huge impression in this series of books for myself.

El libro me llegó mucho antes de lo que esperaba en muy buen estado , mucho mejor de lo que esperaba. Pedí la versión pasta dura vale completamente la pena.

Great price, interesting read, definitely a must buy for HOTD fans

Enquanto os primeiros livros da saga de Westeros são mais aprofundados e muitas vezes difíceis de ler, especialmente quando se está ansioso para saber em que cada pequena trama resultará, este livro tem uma leitura bem mais corrida, já que conta as várias tramas de forma rápida, sem muito detalhamento, se compararmos com Uma Canção de Gelo e Fogo. Então é uma benção para os ansiosos, como eu, que não precisam esperar muito para conhecer o resultado de cada conspiração. Quase não se consegue respirar durante sua leitura, de tão rapidamente as muitas histórias vão dando lugar às seguintes. É um livro para se ler de um só fôlego, mas deve-se ter ótimos pulmões para tanto.

Etant un grand fan de la série et de l'univers de Game of Thrones en général, j'avais vraiment envie de me lancer dans la lecture de l'histoire des TargaryenLe livre est d'excellente qualité, cette édition Harper Voyager est vvraiment magnifique et je trouve que cette version originale est vraiment meilleure que la version traduite en français (le vocabulaire n'est vraiment pas très compliqué en plus)Je recommande !

George RR Martin Really did a great job🔥