I am one of these persons who have actually read George R. R. Martin’s “Song of Ice and Fire” book series. At least as far as there are books yet. I can really recommend this book series. And having read the books I more and more started disliking the TV series. Anyways. This post is not about the TV series or the book series but about another book by George R.R. Martin.

Actually “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” consists of 3 books: “The Hedge Knight”, “The Sworn Sword” and “The Mystery Knight”.

Blurb

Almost a century bfore A Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros…

A young, naïve but courageous hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall towers above his rivals – in stature if not experience. Tagging along with him is his diminutive squire, a boy called Egg – whose true identity must be hidden from all he and Dunk encounter: for in reality he is Aegon Targaryen, and one day he will be king. Improbable heroes though they be, great destinies lie ahead of Dunk and Egg; as do powerful foes, royal intrigue and outrageous exploits.

Review

The story is set in the same world as the “Song of Ice and Fire” series but it takes place many years before the story of the other book series starts. Nevertheless there are parts that sound familiar if you have read the book series. The names of the houses, the places of course,.. and also some of the characters have been mentioned in the other books. Especially the story of the 2 main characters of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”, Dunk and Egg, has been told in short in the “Song of Ice and Fire” series. The only character that is still alive in the “Song of Ice and Fire” series (at least in the beginning) is Maester Aemon, here only referred to as Aemon, as he is not a Maester yet. It is interesting to see the way he is presented here. He is not really part of the story, but he is mentioned. In the “Song of Ice and Fire” series he is presented as a wise old man and a great Maester. Here he is said to be an unpromising son, which is the reason why he was send to the Citadel to become a Maester.

But back to “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”. The story is easy to read but in my opinion it needs some time to really get going. All three stories build up some supense but conflicts are solved quite easily. Only in the third story the plot finally becomes more complex. Nevertheless it is fun to read and I especially recommend it to all fans of the “Song of Ice and Fire” series. It is interesting to see the development of Dunk, who will one day become the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and also the development of the friendship to Egg, whose real name is Aegon Targaryen and who will become King one day. Knowing what both of them will become does not spoil the plot at all, it makes it interesting. Because during the story of these three books it still seems very unlikely for them to become Lord Commander and King one day.