A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (The Tales of Dunk and Egg #1-3) by George R. R. Martin
Summary (from the publisher): These never-before-collected adventures recount an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living consciousness. Before Tyrion Lannister and Podrick Payne, there was Dunk and Egg. A young, naïve but ultimately courageous hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall towers above his rivals—in stature if not experience. Tagging along is his diminutive squire, a boy called Egg—whose true name is hidden from all he and Dunk encounter. Though more improbable heroes may not be found in all of Westeros, great destinies lay ahead for these two . . . as do powerful foes, royal intrigue, and outrageous exploits.
Review: This is a collection of three Game of Thrones prequel novellas that are set a century ahead of the series, when Targaryens still sit on the Iron Throne. It follows a hedge knight who styles himself as Ser Duncan the Tall, or Dunk for short and boy named Egg, who has a secret identity and a much more distinguished full name.
We meet Dunk in the first novella at a crossroads. The hedge knight that he served, the only real father figure he has known, has died and he is burying him. But just at this ending, a new beginning: Dunk meets Egg shortly after this, the boy who ultimately becomes his squire, but is much more than that. I loved the revelation of Egg's identity and that the pair are allowed to stay together. Their connection seems pure and true in a world where most relationships seem built on connections or gain. I also just really liked Dunk. He is good natured and kind and in some ways still very innocent and naive about the world.
Martin remains a writer who is skilled at character development and world-building. I very quickly felt reeled into Dunk and Egg's story. I felt empathy for Dunk's complete lack of knowledge of his parents or origins. I worried about their safety. I was pleased when they were allowed to continue on together.
But these are all quite short. They do follow the same characters, so it helped to ground them all together in one text. I listened to this on audio and it was well done but I will also say I struggled with the audio. There are a lot of detailed tournament and fight scenes in this, with complicated descriptions of swords coming down here and blows raining up there. As a visual person, it was hard to follow, and I found my mind wandering a lot during much of those sections. If I could do it over, I probably would read this with my eyeballs because I think I would have gotten a lot more out of it.
Stars: 3
Related Titles:
Comments
Post a Comment