Description: "Within these pages, the story of the Targaryen rulers unfolds--the good and the bad, the dreamers and the schemers, the mad and the magnificent. Beginning with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, this volume recounts the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to The Dance of the Dragons--the bloody civil war that nearly put an end to Targaryen rule for good. Straight from the pen of George R. R. Martin, and featuring more than eighty-five illustrations, Fire & Blood gives readers a whole new appreciation for the dynamic, often bloody, and always fascinating history of Westeros." -- Back cover.
Review Quotes: "I love it so much. Fire & Blood is Martin Unbound . . . and I couldn't put it down. . . . There's an addictive quality to the prose that's outright gossipy. . . . The obvious comparison here is J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. . . . Writing centuries after the events he's describing, the Gyldayn voice complicates this game of thrones with a clash of perspectives and a storm of debatable facts. . . . Heavy stuff, but Fire & Blood flies."--Entertainment Weekly
"A brilliant book . . . vivid, memorable and personal."--The Times "Lean and efficient and slyly seductive and instructive . . . The text is filled with such a wealth of incident and so many colorful characters."--Locus "The overall narrative of the book is wonderfully fluid. . . . Fire & Blood was a great surprise to me. I found myself becoming deeply emotionally invested in the Targaryens, thrilling when they achieved great victories and lamenting when they succumbed to their more idiotic desires. (And they have a lot of idiotic desires.) This book feels like A Song of Ice and Fire. And you know how I know? Because I want the next book right away." --Tordotcom "An absolutely irresistible, dragon-filled delight."--Bustle "[There are] treasures hidden in this new Targaryen history."--Vanity Fair "The world of ice and fire only gets more fascinating the more we learn about it."--Mashable "Martin is still a powerfully gifted, inventive writer. . . . [Fire & Blood] has hundreds of fascinating anecdotes, ranging from the cruel fate of a jester named Tom Turnip to a dragon that, tellingly, refuses to venture beyond the Wall. . . . Fire & Blood is a lavish object, with charts, family trees, and stunning illustrations by comic book artist Doug Wheatley. . . . In this sense it fits into a venerable tradition, from J.R.R. Tolkien in his Silmarillion to Diana Gabaldon in her companion to the Outlander series."--USA Today "[Fire & Blood] explores the dragon-fueled secrets upon which the current saga is built."--The Hollywood Reporter "Martin has done it again. . . . [Fire & Blood is] a beautiful weaving of the wars, marriages, deaths, dragons, and politics that shape the world Martin has created, leaving the reader feeling like this is a true history rather than a piece of fantasy. This is a masterpiece of world-building. . . . Beyond Martin's legions of fans, anyone with a taste for richly, even obsessively detailed historical fiction or fantasy about royalty will enjoy this extraordinary work."--Booklist (starred review)