Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin is a standalone novel in the Game of Thrones series. The novel hundreds of years before the present timeline and focuses on the Targaryen family and how they ruled. Keep reading to find out all the epic stories of the Targaryens’ and their dragons.
Fire and Blood Summary
Fire and Blood focuses on the history of the Targaryen family from 300 years before the setting of the first GOT book. They are the first family after Westeros was united and brought under one ruler. We follow the rise and the fall of the family that set up the foundation for the rest of Westeros. Martin goes in depth with legendary battles and famous Targaryen figures we have heard about but not in detail.
What makes Fire and Blood interesting is that it has a lot of focus on dragons. The Targaryen family owned and rode dragons. Their rule was violent and the power and fear of dragons was their triumph card. I personally loved all the dragons introduced in the book and it finally felt like we got a book about dragons from Martin.
Commentary
Originally, Fire & Blood was supposed to be included in A Song of Ice and Fire but the manuscript was removed and instead it was made into a standalone book. I think that was the best decision because this book is a long read that feels like a history book. The pace would have been slow if it was within another novel. What is crazy is how much Martin wrote and how big the Fire and Ice book would have been if they didn’t remove the original manuscript.
While the book has received a lot of criticism, I enjoyed reading it a lot. I loved it a lot and was finally got to read about the Targaryen family that is revered and feared in the Game of Throne. The stories are epic and knowing the history of Westeros and the Targaryens helps follow the overall plotline and understand how things came to be as they are.
Conclusion
If you have seen the show but have not read the books, then I recommend you do so. You can read this book first if you want because it is a standalone novel. The series is still ongoing as Martin plans to release two more novels as well as TV shows centered on the history of Westeros. Also, if you love fantasy books and complex world building, then this book is definitely for you.
Cool, I always wanted to know more about the Targaryen. They are named a lot in the Song of Fire and Ice. Thanks for sharing!
Hello,
Do you know why there are 2 different covers for fire and blood?
They most likely released another one due to the show House of the Dragon to increase sales.