Review: A Knight of Seven Kingdoms

A Knight of Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin came to me wrapped in a beautiful Christmas paper. Originally, I have not intended to read it and when finally reading it, I did not intent to review it either. However, as I closed the book, I found myself incredibly confused. There were some many things about the book that annoyed me, with my fatigue from  A Song of Ice and Fire series contributing to that too, to be completely honest. Yet I couldn’t stop reading it. Moreover, despite trying to hate it going in, I ended up liking it, and  quite a lot. So I carefully considered the book, trying to understand if I liked it for its own merits or as reluctant fan of the George R.R. Martin universe.

If you are slightly confused about what A Song Of Ice And Fire series (further referred to as ASOIAF) is, you might have also heard of it as Game Of Thrones, an HBO TV show that is the current big thing and is based on the series. The story is set in medieval and magical (although quite subtly so, with an exception of dragons and frost zombies) world of Westeros. You might have heard of Daenerys Targaryen, or Dany, whose family once ruled over the Westeros but has been overthrown by a rebellion led by Robert Baratheon. You are probably aware of other ASOIAF characters, like Jon Snow, Ned Stark, Tyrion Lannister, but for the purposes of the discussion of A Knight of Seven Kingdoms it would be easier to stick with Targaryen family. Trust me, this book will have enough names, family relations and secret royal members to give you a headache.

Artwork by Gary Gianni

A Knight of Seven Kingdoms is set 100 years prior to the events of the first ASOIAF  book, A Game of Thrones. It was originally three separate novellas published in three different anthologies, and now brought together in one book. The stories follow a Knight Duncan the Tall, known as Dunk, and his squire, Egg, as they travel around Westeros and stumble upon all kinds of trouble. The hook for the story, and this is not really spoiler and can be found in the back cover description of the book, is that Egg is actually Prince Aegon Targaryen. If you have no involvement with ASOIAF universe through the books or TV series, your reaction to this revelation would probably be: “What’s the big deal?’ A royal in disguise travelling around the world among the common folk is not such a novel idea after all. However, for those invested in the story of Daenerys Targaryen, Aegon’s great grand daughter, this is slightly more meaningful.

When Game of Thrones takes place, Targaryen family, Dragon Lords, who first invaded Westeros flying on the backs of the dragons, are not kings anymore. The remaining members of their family are in hiding and running away from Westeros. However, during A Knight of Seven Kingdoms, the Targaryens are still in power, although already without their infamous dragons. In fact, they have a large family, where every prince has several children, and together with their lovely tradition of family inbreeding and Martin giving several members of the family same first names, makes grasping ‘the who’s who’ a bit complicated.

Artwork by Gary Gianni

This is where I struggle to understand how a newcomer to this universe will enjoy at least the first story of the book, The Hedge Knight. In the first story, Dunk attends a tourney with many Lord and Ladies present as well as, of course, the members of the royal family. In the first couple of pages, Martin throws the names of the knight from that house to the lord from that house right, left and centre. Then, because you clearly did not have enough names and relations to remember, he brings in a numerous Targaryen family into play. There is a King Daeron, whose son’s son is also named Daeron, but there was also a false King Daemon, along with Aemons, Aegons and Aerions, and that’s just the cliff notes. Now, I may not be proficient in the history of Westeros, but I consider myself quite knowledgeable about its characters and story. Yet, several pages in I had to google the Targaryen family tree, because there was no way I could hold all those ‘-ons’ and their relations in my head. I am, however, happy to announce that by the middle of the seconds story, I have finally managed to digest all of this information. But please don’t ask me about other non-Targaryen lords, because keeping all those connections in my head too is frankly far beyond my brain capacity.

If and when you get your ‘who’s who’ down, you can finally enjoy the story. The first story is about a tourney, the second story is a bout a dispute over a river and a third story is about raising, although quickly killed, rebellion. The first two topics make me want to yawn, while the third topic is mildly interesting. If this was all I knew about the book and there was no George R.R. Martin or ASOIAF names standing behind it, I would probably never read it. These topics are just not very exciting. You could argue with me about the tourney being quite interesting, but why would anyone be looking forward to reading about the dispute over a river is beyond me. Yet, this is where Martin works his magic, because I loved and was invested in all three stories equally. I was intrigued and couldn’t wait to turn over the page to find what happens next.

Artwork by Gary Gianni

Here, again, I look to a new reader and wonder how much were they able to grasp from the book. In ASOIAF series Martin took his time to explain the Universe related terms like – the Hand of the King, Maester and Night’s Watch. In A Knight of Seven Kingdoms, Martin seems to just assume that either the reader will catch up or they have read the other books. On the other hand, there is what I can only assume future books plot relevant information, that Martin drills into the readers’ head every other page. The Blackfyer rebellion and the bastardy of the current Hand are discussed so much, sometimes in almost repeating sentences, that I now can recite the whole story by heart almost word for word.

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The main strength of the book were the characters. Having considered it quite closely after I have finished the book, I have realised that there isn’t that much action in the story, mostly it is just characters talking to each other. While I have many grumbles with Martin’s writing style, one thing is completely clear to me – he writes fascinating characters. Even if all the characters do in the chapter is talk to each other, the reader learns about interesting stories, intrigues and mysteries.

The main character’s themselves are also instantly likable. Dunk, although not exceptionally bright, is incredibly good hearted and kind which is a rarity in Westeros. Egg, despite his youth, is clever and knowledgeable, but as one would expect from a child of 8 years, is also quite mischievous. I instantly cared about their journey, down to their horses and straw hat wearing mule.

Another interesting addition to this issue of the book, are the wonderful illustrations by Gary Gianni on almost every single page of the book. Simple, black and white line drawings are very beautiful and illustrate the story perfectly.

While I have enjoyed the book a lot, I also understand that part of my caring came from knowing the future of these characters. I know that Dunk’s biggest dreams will come true and it warms me to read about his struggles, knowing they pay off. I know how much effect travelling and squiring for Dunk had an Egg, and that he becomes a better person for it, and especially better than other members of his family, baked in privilege. I am also aware how some of the major events of the Westeros echo in the books that are set in future. I care because this is Dany’s family, and I love Dany. Anyone who starts with A Knight of Seven Kingdoms lacks this perspective and consequently will feel less involved.

However, there is also no denying that this an excellently written book that is enjoyable on the merits of its own stories and character development. While I still think new readers will struggle to get into the world, if they persevere, especially through a first couple of pages, they will get a lot of enjoyment out of the book.