A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Author: George R.R. Martin
Genre: Fantasy
Grade: A-
Well, I read the first Dunk and Egg story a while back and enjoyed it I figured then that I would wait unit I could get all three stories combined. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms not only combined the three tales it illustrated them and was an absolutely lovely Christmas present.
The stories of Dunk the Hedge Knight take place about a hundred years before our current Westeros time while he wonders the country with his squire Egg, who also happens to be…
Well, if you don’t know I won’t spoil it for you. The book was a lot of fun. Westeros during Dunk’s time was recovering from a great war and you can see that all over the story. War and it’s effect on the small folk is one of Martin’s great themes. It was interesting to because despite the fact that Dunk is technically just a hedge Knight you get a good deal of politicking and intrigue.
It was nice to finally read about Rohanne Webber and meet her as a character instead of just hearing people in fandom talk about her. Also there are lots of theories on who Dunk’s descendants might be. I didn’t really pick up anything for sure from these three stories but it’s fun to guess.
The illustrations are lovely. Black and white and very simple. They definitely don’t take away from or overpower the tales. While Dunk is a little bit “thick” as he says and Egg is definitely not it’s fun to read about their adventures. Despite intrigue and backstabbing and some serious violence this is definitely a simpler and more simplistic story.
The problem at this point with all of my forays into Martin’s Westeros is I read this thinking I want more! I want more of the Targ’s and everything that yes, you know is coming but still… I want Dunk and Egg in Winterfell and to see if they make it to the wall and I want (and it’s probably important) more of Bloodraven and the story with him and his brother. I have a feeling he’s going to be super important to ASOIAF.
And at this point I can’t help but think I’m probably not going to get any of it. It may be cynical yes but it’s hard to enjoy these stories and doubt that the author will ever finish any of them or provide the answers.
Recommend: Yes. Even despite my cynicism this is a fun, good read. You don’t have to know ASOIAF, in fact I would say if you want to visit the world without the complete darkness of that series this is a good place to jump into and Dunk and Egg are excellent guides to Westeros of old.