FIRE & BLOOD: A TARGARYEN HISTORY VOL. 1 by George R. R. Martin

Whew! Finally finished, this took me forever due to life things getting in the way. 

Here’s a book made for us Song of Ice and Fire nerds! 

Seriously, if you’re new to Martin’s epic world, don’t make this the first thing you read. Start with the main series or watch the Game of Thrones show instead. It’s written as an historical account rather than a novel and that might be a turn off to someone who isn’t a big fan already. I thought it was going to be a difficult read but I was pleasantly surprised by how well this flowed! I was always overwhelmed by the history of the Targaryen dynasty but this book actually showed me that’s it’s actually not to difficult to get a grasp on. 

The book is styled as a translation of a text by Grandmaester Gyldayne from information gleaned from historical texts. It covers the reign of the Targaryen Dynasty in the continent of Westeros from the initial conquest by Aegon, Visenya, and Rhaenys Targaryen through the end of the tumultuous civil war that nearly saw the end of the dysnasty. It takes place during a period of roughly 150 years, which in itself begins 300 years before the events in A Game of Thrones. 

The material could’ve been tedious but the writing style happened to be pretty engrossing, making the whole thing very readable. And of course there are all the betrayals, backstabbing, murder, sex, and tragedy that fans have come to expect from anything involving the Iron Throne! My favorite parts were the ones focused on the Dance of the Dragons (which is really the heart of the book) and the part focused on Maegor the Cruel, which was dramatic and fascinating! The book dragged slightly during the Jaehaerys part (mostly because the kingdom was at relative peace), except for the Elissa Farman story, and the Aegon III parts (because he was so sullen). 

Anyway, fans that love diving deep in Westeros and Game of Thrones lore should snatch this up!

GRADE: A-