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Can’t wait for season 8 of Game of Thrones to come around? “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” might ha
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, by George R.R. Martin (Novel Review #1)
What's it about?
It’s a collection of three stories, all featuring the same two protagonists: Ser Dunk, and his companion Egg, who harbours a great secret (not telling). The three stories take place a century before the events of A Song of Ice and Fire (or Game of Thrones for fans of the TV show), and any veteran of the series will enjoy the familiar family names and settings within the book.
How does it compare to Game of Thrones?
Where George RR’s popular adapted series Game of Thrones is one of drama, intrigue, magic and violence, with a sprawling narrative and endless protagonists, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is more of an adventure tale, solely featuring the unconventionally tall and impossible-to-not-love protagonist, Dunk. Where Game of Thrones has white walkers, dragons and demon-babies, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has a landless knight, trying to be a good man in an awful world.
The book has a more easygoing feeling to it. Where the stakes of the world are in the balance in Game of Thrones, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is more about the plight of a single landless knight, making his way about the world. Because of this, the story is much less convoluted and complex - rather than tracking 10 characters, and the 10 characters related to each of them, we’re simply tracking the pair. It makes for a much breezier read.
Illustrations? 'Dunk' and 'Egg'? Is this a children's book?
One mistake I made going into this book was assuming that it was written for a younger audience. This was very much a wrong assumption. George haphazardly drops c-bombs throughout the book, and the more unseemly happenings of Westeros featured in both the book and television series are very much present in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The simple yet thematically appropriate illustrations by Gary Gianni really compliment the narrative.
Final Verdict:
For me, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a better read than the A Song of Ice and Fire series. I will admit to stopping at A Feast for Crows in my reading of that series. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed the first three books - but I did find them occasionally overwhelming, a tad too dense, and I wasn’t in love with all of the many protagonists - only with most of them. Where A Song of Ice and Fire is a fantasy epic, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a fun adventure romp. It’s more The Hobbit than The Lord of the Rings. It's the kind of book that anyone could pick up and enjoy, with or without prior investment in the story. A fun, engaging read.
4/5 if you’ve read or watched any Game of Thrones.
3/5 if you haven’t. There’s definitely an element of excitement that you’ll miss in not having any of the backstory - or forwardstory(?) rather.
Who should pick this up?
The best audience for this book would be the fans of the television show, Game of Thrones, who have yet to read (or struggled to read) A Song of Ice and Fire. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is much shorter, much easier to read, and, while it's a familiar setting, it won't feel like a rehash of Game of Thrones. In honesty, though, any fan of George RR Martin, or just the adventure genre in general, should give this one a whirl.
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