A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Audio CD – Unabridged, 6 Oct. 2015

A different style of writing from the Game of Thrones series that it spins out of, the tales of Dunk & Egg are squarely in the chivalry and derring-do arena of storytelling. It is fantasy, but but not fantastical, in as much as it has the flavour of something that could have happened, a ring of authenticity to it, but touched with myth all the same.It is grounded in the world of GoT, so readers of that series will have something to get their teeth into, though by no means is that required. You could come to this having read none of those books and seen nothing of the TV show. It also has a more innocent feel to it, in keeping with the chivalry/derring-do theme.Martin has a particularly easy writing style, fluent and unfussy, which makes for a smooth and engaging read and his skill with plotting and characterisation makes for a genuine page turner.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R R MartinIllustrations by Gary GianniWesteros, a century before Jon Snow encounters Aemon Targaryen up at the Wall, with delightful pen and ink drawings running alongside the text. What's not to love?In The Hedge Knight, Dunk and Egg meet quite by chance. Dunk wants to be a knight. He possesses the bare equipment, which he inherited from the knight he squired for. Sir Arlan of Pennytree has just died of a fever and Dunk now has to make his own way in the world. But his old knight taught him well. Egg is masquerading as a stable boy when Dunk stops at an inn for a rest. The little lad's real name is Aegon, and we all have a pretty good idea what that means even before we spot his silver hair and violet eyes. Dunk and Egg cross paths again, at a tourney in Ashford meadow."He felt foolish standing there with sword in hand over an eight-year-old orphan. He sheathed it, glowering so the boy would see that he would suffer no nonsense. I ought to give him a good beating at the least, he thought, but the child looked so pitiful he could not bring himself to hit him. He glanced around the camp. The fire was burning merrily with a neat circle of rocks. The horses had been brushed, and clothes were hanging from the elm, drying above the flames."Continuing their journey in the second tale, The Sworn Sword, Dunk and Egg are returning from a trip to Dorne. They are heading for the broken-down castle of Sir Eustace Osgrey. Drought has made the local villagers desperate and an adjoining landowner, the Red Widow, has diverted the river further upstream to irrigate her own crops. Dunk loyally raises the best army he can from among Sir Eustace's tenants."The next day a dozen would-be warriors found their way to Standfast to assemble among the chickens. One was too old, two were too young, and one skinny boy turned out to be a skinny girl. Those Dunk send back to their villages, leaving eight: three Wats, two Wills, a Lem, a Pate, and Big Rob the lackwit."In the final story, The Mystery Knight, Dunk and Egg make for Lord Butterwell's castle, hoping for a chance to enter the tourney and win a dragon's egg. The uproar of a wedding and bedding provides the perfect opportunity for someone to snatch the prize, rather than earning it on the field.Each tale was very different to the others, but all were thoroughly likeable in their own way. In fact, just like Dunk and Egg themselves! It was lovely to follow the two heroes as they faced a variety of enemies with good humour, and came to understand each other along the way. You can't ask for more than that in a book.Gary Gianni's drawings elevated my enjoyment of the book to a whole new level, informing the action and deepening the vivid portrayal of the wealth of secondary characters. The style of illustration was a perfect match for the writing. There are some books where the reviewer feels that the drawings were a late add-on or that the text could have done just fine without them. This isn't one of them!Enjoy!

I bought this book after reading the A Song of Ice and Fire series and seeing Game of Thrones season 1-7 on TV. It doesn’t have the intensity or scope of the big epic, but the three tales of Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg are a pretty good read, especially if you like the mediaeval milieu. There’s a good mix of action here: jousting, murder, hidden identity, treason. Ser Duncan has a very brief glimpse of possible romance (his first) with a young woman. Nothing happens and we’re told she’s crossed over the Narrow Sea, so there’s the prospect of something developing if there is a sequel. He has a second glimpse of romance with the enigmatic Red Widow but loses out to an old grey widower. Very poignant.I have to say that the illustrations didn’t do a great deal for me. I tend to think if a novel is worth reading it doesn’t need illustrations. They can be a distraction and aren’t needed if the characters and action are well described. I would have found a map of Westeros a lot more helpful. Of course the ASOIAF novels all have maps but it’s irritating to have to keep dashing over to the bookcase to check where Maidenpool or Lannisport are.It’s a good bit of escapism and I would read more books about these two characters. We’re told that Ser Duncan’s plan is to head north to Winterfell to fight against the Ironmen, which reminds me of Theon Greyjoy, and look what happened to him. No good ever came of trying to take Winterfell…..

It has been a few years since I read the other Song of Ice and Fire books. While reading this book, I was reminded why I enjoyed GRRM's books and why I've stuck with the TV show - despite it starting to suck.Split into 3 different short stories which are about 100'ish pages each. I consumed each story quite quickly, as they're excellent.The story is set 100 years before the Song of Ice and Fire story begins with Game of Thrones, so you could read this before starting that. It is quality, standalone writing which leaves you wanting more.

Really an excellent read - could not put it down once I started reading and wanted it to go on and on, very much like GoT - Dunk and Egg are really well drawn characters, and the descriptions of the heraldy of various knights and their houses is really interesting. Off to find anything else from Martin that relates to Westeros in any way.

Dunk's adventures begin with the death of his master and his decision to continue in his role as a knight. This decision often leads him into trouble, like the time he runs into a young boy who begs Dunk to take him on as a squire. And when the boy refuses to take Dunk's refusal as the last word and follows him to a tourney, it leads to trouble and travel and excitement. These stories depict Westeros, the setting of A Song of Ice and Fire, some hundred years before Robert's Rebellion and the War of Five Kings. This is the age of the Blackfyre Rebellions, of Baelor Breakspear and Blackraven, of four-year-old Walder Frey (who would have thought it?) and the boy Aegon, great-grandfather to Robert Baratheon.