Title: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Author: George R. R. Martin
Genre: Fantasy
Publication date: 2013
Number of pages: 355
Length of audiobook: 9:59:35
Story:
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms follows Duncan, a knight from poor origin. With his master gone, he travels alone. He meets a young boy named Egg, who is actually, unbeknown to others, Aegon Targaryen, heir to the throne. This book follows their adventures. The first of which is a tourney, seven knights on each side.
If you have read or watched Game of Thrones, you will recognise many of the family names in this book, which is great to see and try to work out connections with the characters.
One thing that I found strange was that Egg, a prince, was made to be a squire (someone that serves their master, drinks and arms them). Egg had brothers but he was still a prince and from watching Game of Thrones, the entire royal family was treated as a separate entity, I can not imagine any of them being squires, unless they were distantly related to the King or Queen.
Characters:
Duncan was a fleshed-out character. He had a background and we learned about his life so far. His goals are suitable for his character. I found Egg to be a more interesting character. His brother shaved his hair so no one would notice that Egg was actually a Targaryen. Egg was a mysterious character and I wanted to find out more about him.
Unfortunately, I just did not feel invested in these characters. I did not care about Duncan after a while and I only wanted to see how Egg develops. However, the pacing just felt so slow! Nothing really seemed to happen. There were a bunch of side characters added, who weren't really developed and there were so many different ones that they started to blend together.
Final thoughts:
I was really excited to read this prequel novel but I was left disappointed. It was a good premise but ultimately this book fell way short of the Game of Thrones name.
Star rating: 2.5 stars
*I DNFed (did not finish) this book so this is a partial review
Lucy, I didn't know George R. R. Martin had deviations from the main Game of Thrones conflict. I have to say, his names for the characters in this book are wonderful. Egg and Dunk. I took a peruse around your site but I couldn't see if you've read the other books by him. Are you a fan of the show and the books or do you prefer one over the other? I am too traumatized by what I have seen from the show's first episode. Totally too intense for me. Do you have favorite shows beside Game of Thrones? And, how do you decide what show you want to watch? Do you have go-to's depending on your mood?
ReplyDeleteHave a good one!
Hello! I have read a little bit of the first Game of Thrones book but I have seen all the episodes of the show. From what I read of the first Game of Thrones book, it was great and way better than this novel. Hmm I may do a post about the shows I watch!
DeleteLove the Song of Ice and Fire interesting to read your review and wonder if I'll like it
ReplyDeleteThank you! I hope you enjoy it if you decide to read it!
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