Book Review: Fire & Blood (A Targaryen History #1)

Excerpt:

With all the fire and fury fans have come to expect from internationally bestselling author George R. R. Martin, this is the first volume of the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens in Westeros.

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 and Blood begin 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 did it become so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What is the origin of Daenerys’s three dragon eggs? 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 all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley. 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 and Blood is the ultimate game of thrones, giving readers a whole new appreciation for the dynamic, often bloody, and always fascinating history of Westeros.

My Review:

The story of the novel begins 3 centuries before the events of ASOIAF, it tells the story of House Targaryen, the only family to survive the Doom of Valyria and settle on Dragonstone. It begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, who built the Iron Throne with the swords of his fallen enemies during the conquest and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryen’s who fought to hold the Iron Throne, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.

Archmaester Gyldaynand describes the political and different background of history through the words and stories he wrote and told about other people in power and their perspective of the Targaryens. Some of the parts of the novel are worth revisiting because they give an insight into the different families in Westeros that were allies and enemies of each other during that period. The second part of the novel depicts the tales of Birth, Death, and Betrayal in the reign of King Jaeheiry I. The story concludes with his marriage to his sister-wife, Alysanne.

The dragons are depicted as a fearless mythical creature that is a symbol and pride of the Targaryen Family and their Dynasty — not just a flying beast but with an intelligence and intellect so great that they outsmart most Kings and Queens. In the lifetime of a Targaryen ruler, this is the strongest weapon he or she could control and command to rule the seven kingdoms.

Final Verdict: I really liked it because it gives us a glimpse at the Targaryen’s rulers until Jaeherys I and their different traits, along with how the politics and history unfold whenever someone determines they are going to be Westeros’ new ruler.