Fire and Blood: A History of the Targaryen Kings from Aegon the Conqueror to Aegon III
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- Create Date：2021-10-07 09:57:42
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：George R.R. Martin
- ISBN：0008307733
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Summary
From the masterly imagination behind A Game of Thrones - one of the greatest fantasy epics of all time and an unmissable HBO hit series - comes a definitive history of Westeros’s past as told by Archmaester Gyldayn。
Unravelling events that led to A Song of Ice and Fire， Fire and Blood is the first volume of the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens in Westeros。 Revealing long-buried secrets and untold lasting enmity， it sets the scene for the heart-stopping series conclusion， The Winds of Winter。
300 years before the events of A Song of Ice and Fire， long before the schism that set the houses of Westeros at each other’s throats， one house ruled supreme and indomitable。 House Targaryen， the house of the last remaining dragonlords。
After surviving the Doom of Valyria the Targaryen’s established themselves on Dragonstone。 This volume traces their legendary lineage from Aegon the Conqueror to the bloody Dance of Dragons; a civil war that pitted Aegon II and his half-sister Rhaenyra in a bitter conflict for the throne of their father， nearly wiping out the Targaryen dynasty forever。
What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons？ Why did it become so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom？ What is the origin of Daenerys’s three dragon eggs？ These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle， as related by a learned maester of the Citadel。
With all the scope and grandeur of Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire， Fire and Blood is the ultimate guide to Westeros’s past。 Featuring more than eighty all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley this is an essential volume for any Game of Thrones fan’s library。 For the first time the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed。
Unravelling events that led to A Song of Ice and Fire， Fire and Blood is the first volume of the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens in Westeros。 Revealing long-buried secrets and untold lasting enmity， it sets the scene for the heart-stopping series conclusion， The Winds of Winter。
300 years before the events of A Song of Ice and Fire， long before the schism that set the houses of Westeros at each other’s throats， one house ruled supreme and indomitable。 House Targaryen， the house of the last remaining dragonlords。
After surviving the Doom of Valyria the Targaryen’s established themselves on Dragonstone。 This volume traces their legendary lineage from Aegon the Conqueror to the bloody Dance of Dragons; a civil war that pitted Aegon II and his half-sister Rhaenyra in a bitter conflict for the throne of their father， nearly wiping out the Targaryen dynasty forever。
What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons？ Why did it become so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom？ What is the origin of Daenerys’s three dragon eggs？ These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle， as related by a learned maester of the Citadel。
With all the scope and grandeur of Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire， Fire and Blood is the ultimate guide to Westeros’s past。 Featuring more than eighty all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley this is an essential volume for any Game of Thrones fan’s library。 For the first time the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed。
Reviews
Alexander Billington
，
A fantastic read for game of thrones fans or anyone with a desire to escape to a distant world。 I spent the first fee days so immersed in the world Martin creates。 It really is excellent right up until the end of the dance of dragons。 When that ends， you feel Martin’s passion end and he struggles to end the book。 You can feel he has no desire to write about what comes next， why he does I’m not sure。 The book would have been 5 stars if it ended with the dance of dragons。
Rachel
，
I found this book to be boring， for me it read like the book of judges from the bible， so and so begot ，so and so and so on。 It was just a brief summary of each different generations。 It should be easy to adapt for television， because it's a brief outline。 The t。v。 Writers have a lot of storytelling freedom with this。 I found this book to be boring， for me it read like the book of judges from the bible， so and so begot ，so and so and so on。 It was just a brief summary of each different generations。 It should be easy to adapt for television， because it's a brief outline。 The t。v。 Writers have a lot of storytelling freedom with this。 。。。more
Riek Puik
，
It's a fine book。 Not a masterpiece like the original Game of Thrones series but for a Game of Thrones fan it is definitley worth a read。 The book gives insight in the family history of the Targaryens: The rise of the dragons but also the decline of the dragons。 The book is slowly paced， the writing style is not very intriguing （it's written like an actual history book from Westeros） and the amount and similar names of the characters can be confusing。 I give the book 3 stars。 It's fun to read fo It's a fine book。 Not a masterpiece like the original Game of Thrones series but for a Game of Thrones fan it is definitley worth a read。 The book gives insight in the family history of the Targaryens: The rise of the dragons but also the decline of the dragons。 The book is slowly paced， the writing style is not very intriguing （it's written like an actual history book from Westeros） and the amount and similar names of the characters can be confusing。 I give the book 3 stars。 It's fun to read for once but I would Not be interested in reading it again。 I might read part 2 but it will not be my biggest priority。 。。。more
Tabish Khan
，
Despite loving the Game of Thrones series I've never read any George RR Martin until this book。 It's written in a divisive style as a maester's re-telling of the history of the Targaryen family so it reads like a non-fiction book， which makes a long read feel even longer。The characters are great even if there are so many of them that it's hard to keep track of them and it's much more fun when it's all action rather than a re-telling of political machinations。 One disappointment is it's only half Despite loving the Game of Thrones series I've never read any George RR Martin until this book。 It's written in a divisive style as a maester's re-telling of the history of the Targaryen family so it reads like a non-fiction book， which makes a long read feel even longer。The characters are great even if there are so many of them that it's hard to keep track of them and it's much more fun when it's all action rather than a re-telling of political machinations。 One disappointment is it's only half the history so I was hoping it would get to the mad king but we'll have to wait for a second book for that。 I enjoyed reading it even if it was too long for what it's trying to cover。 。。。more
Jaxon
，
This is honestly more interesting to me than the books and makes me wanna read them。 Targaryean history is endlessly fascinating to me， I'm not sure why。 This is honestly more interesting to me than the books and makes me wanna read them。 Targaryean history is endlessly fascinating to me， I'm not sure why。 。。。more
Mark Reid
，
Good but flawedIt reads like an appendix rather than a story which adds to the richness of the world but it does lack a true narrative
Murphies_law
，
For me it is very hard to rate a book like this， as it is both fiction and more or less a history book。 It strongly reminded me of reading Tolkien´s Simarillion， which i truly and utterly hated as it depressed me。I only would recommend this book to the most starved hard core fans of the main series as it is not really helpful in any way to understand the main story， it contains no humour， hardly dialogues worth mentioning and effects the main AGOT story hardly at all。 You get to know some early For me it is very hard to rate a book like this， as it is both fiction and more or less a history book。 It strongly reminded me of reading Tolkien´s Simarillion， which i truly and utterly hated as it depressed me。I only would recommend this book to the most starved hard core fans of the main series as it is not really helpful in any way to understand the main story， it contains no humour， hardly dialogues worth mentioning and effects the main AGOT story hardly at all。 You get to know some early Targaryens and their contemporaries， loads of ancient intrigues， wars， murders， tragedies， plagues and mayhem。 On the plus side you read a bit about the old dragons in action。 I was quite sad that the subject Valyria itself was hardly explored and the dragon emperor Aurion was not mentioned at all。 Come to think about it i rather would have read a （non history） book about Aurion as this book was really only mildly interesting - just like any rather dry history book about ancient dynasties - just with more rather unrealistic wokish elements。Interesting history 3 StarsInteresting characters 4 StarsDragons 3 StarsEntertainment 1-2 StarsTragedy 4 StarsAction 2 StarsRealism 4 Stars 。。。more
Felicity March
，
In a lonely watchtower overlooking the waters of Blackwater Bay， a guard had glimpsed dark wings in the distance and sounded the alarum。 He sounded the horn again as the wings grew larger， and a third time when he saw the dragon plain， black against the clouds。 Balerion had returned to King’s Landing。Whilst the world waits for the next instalment of the Game of Thrones series （as if it’s EVER coming！！！） I chose to satisfy my Westeros cravings with this latest novel by George R R Martin （though I In a lonely watchtower overlooking the waters of Blackwater Bay， a guard had glimpsed dark wings in the distance and sounded the alarum。 He sounded the horn again as the wings grew larger， and a third time when he saw the dragon plain， black against the clouds。 Balerion had returned to King’s Landing。Whilst the world waits for the next instalment of the Game of Thrones series （as if it’s EVER coming！！！） I chose to satisfy my Westeros cravings with this latest novel by George R R Martin （though I’m still low key pissed he wrote this instead on focusing on Winds of Winter。。）‘Fire and Blood’ transports us back to the Targaryens’ reign over the Seven Kingdoms and the battles between family， foes， and dragons over the course of several generations。 I’ll start off by saying that no， I don’t think it is necessarily needed for you to have read the Game of Thrones before this novel。 Though you may have a clearer idea of the family names and locations， these characters are set decades before the books and can be followed along easily enough。 Having said that， however， I understand this prequel was created as a kind of ‘filler’ for those of us waiting for the next GOT instalment and I wouldn’t recommend this novel to someone looking to ease into Martin’s work， as I believe the first GOT novel would be the one for that。 Having really enjoyed the GOT novels and thoroughly enjoyed the drama and detail displayed， I was a little disappointed after the first few pages of this novel as I soon realised it was written *literally* as a history， dictated by someone else。 There was very little dialogue or fleshed out scenes， it was more of a historic retelling which felt a bit flat and monotonous compared to the excitement of the previous novels。 I was hoping to really get inside the heads of the notorious and infamous dragon riders but felt a little shut out instead。 I was also a little disappointed that the novel didn’t complete the family line and that there is supposedly *another* novel to come， as I was hoping I would at least get a full picture of what led to the GOT novels。 However， it must be said that Martin does have a fantastic mind when it comes to fantasy and family relations。 Thought it’s easy to be muddled between the repeated names and various characters， there are still strong individuals that stand out and stake their claim in Westeros history。 I found the use of the dragons and their relationships with each other， their riders and other characters in the novels really interesting and would actually love a book just about the dragons themselves and their histories。 I enjoyed the early part of the novel most， covering the longer reign of the early Kings， while the later reigns were shorter and felt a little rushed and muddled。 At this point I was also lacking enthusiasm since it was hundreds of pages with little dialogue so I probably didn’t give them the most attention。 Overall， this novel didn’t quite live up to the GOT novels or satisfy my cravings while we wait for the sixth instalment。 I wanted more depth and insight into the characters， more drama and personality。 I was disappointed that the novel was not as I had expected it to read and I didn’t enjoy it enough to invest in the next instalment of the Targaryens history。 However， yet again Martin displays his vast， seemingly unending， imagination and creativity so I suppose I will begrudgingly wait a little longer （and still with baited breath） for ‘Winds of Winter’ as he clearly has a lot more to give… 。。。more
Jeffrey
，
This book is a slog。 It has the same brutal feel of Game Of Thrones， but presented as history it lacks emotional buttressing from the characters。By the end it becomes torture porn where everything always goes wrong and people suffer with no meaningful conclusion。
Ali Black
，
Worth a read if you're into the GoT world。 Plus it has some nice illustrations！ Fun to hear about the history of Targaryens in Westeros Worth a read if you're into the GoT world。 Plus it has some nice illustrations！ Fun to hear about the history of Targaryens in Westeros 。。。more
NovaCane
，
Me personally I loved this book a lot ！ The only downside was that towards the 200s or so the book dragged for me but tbh GRRM’s books drag around that area but overall the book was amazing！！ I do want to warn people who want to read this， if you are expecting this book to be like the main series you are going to be disappointed。 What I mean by that is how the story is told。 In the main series the books are told by POV characters。 Yes， these characters are biased but having multiple characters m Me personally I loved this book a lot ！ The only downside was that towards the 200s or so the book dragged for me but tbh GRRM’s books drag around that area but overall the book was amazing！！ I do want to warn people who want to read this， if you are expecting this book to be like the main series you are going to be disappointed。 What I mean by that is how the story is told。 In the main series the books are told by POV characters。 Yes， these characters are biased but having multiple characters makes the world seem more rounded （no pun intended🗿） F&B doesn’t use this type of story telling it uses only one POV and that one POV is Archmaester Gyldayn。 So obviously this book is going to be more bias than usual and less “rounded” because there are no other POVs （other than the different accounts of different maesters and our boy Mushroom）。 Since a maester is writing all these beautiful tales of Targaryen kings， queens， princess， and princes without knowing any of them， it’s going to be a lot of “he said， she said”。 So basically…。。 a fantasy history book。 Which is better than how it sounds。 （Have faith in GRRM） I won’t lie， this book is for die hard fans or Targaryen fanboy/girls。 If you’re really into the lore of ASOIAF this book is for you because it goes into great detail about the Targaryens from Aegon l to the regency of Aegon lll。 The highlights were definitely Jaehaerys’ reign to the Dance of the Dragons。 Well I won’t go into too much detail but like I said this book is more of a history book for Targaryens。 。。。more
Michelle
，
The history of the house Targaryen。 The Dragonlords of Westeros。 It goes through some of the best and worst of the dragonlords。 It explains where they came from， how they conquered Westeros and how they ultimately through arrogance and excess destroyed themselves and their dragons。 It reads like a collection of short stories snippets of various Targaryens lives。 I enjoyed it but it plodded a bit here and there。
Amber
，
This was interesting and really gave a lot of background of the Targaryens。 I am looking forward to the HBO series in January and am curious where they will start it。
Alexandros Karachatzis
，
Great structure。 Immersive stories。
Becky Leslie
，
Had to give 5 stars because of the immense richness of the world he's created with this series， which is just beyond comparison in my opinion。 It did take some getting used to， as it was written like a history text book rather than a novel and I prefer the style of his other books。。。 but the backstory given in this prequel is so detailed， full of deep and flawed characters， betrayal， tragedy， hope and horror。 Once I got into it properly I couldn't put it down and can't wait for the TV adaptation Had to give 5 stars because of the immense richness of the world he's created with this series， which is just beyond comparison in my opinion。 It did take some getting used to， as it was written like a history text book rather than a novel and I prefer the style of his other books。。。 but the backstory given in this prequel is so detailed， full of deep and flawed characters， betrayal， tragedy， hope and horror。 Once I got into it properly I couldn't put it down and can't wait for the TV adaptation。 。。。more
Cas Rocha
，
Eu quero um dragão！
Jo Sé
，
Whilst I enjoyed reading this book and learning the history of the Targaryens， from Aegon the Conqueror right up to the start of A Game of Thrones， I couldn’t help thinking every 5 minutes “God I wish he’d written Winds of Winter instead。 It just doesn’t quite feel right as a GoT novel， the prose is the same high quality， as is the character building， but it’s not GoT。 My main gripe is the WAY it’s written。 It’s written from the perspective of someone telling the history as written by maesters， Whilst I enjoyed reading this book and learning the history of the Targaryens， from Aegon the Conqueror right up to the start of A Game of Thrones， I couldn’t help thinking every 5 minutes “God I wish he’d written Winds of Winter instead。 It just doesn’t quite feel right as a GoT novel， the prose is the same high quality， as is the character building， but it’s not GoT。 My main gripe is the WAY it’s written。 It’s written from the perspective of someone telling the history as written by maesters， which means it’s entirely third person removed which means an awful lot of detail is left out， probably in my opinion， the strongest part of GoT， the attention to detail。 It also starts to get a little repetitive as with the detail removed that I mentioned， it essentially boils down to attempts to usurp the King， sexual misadventure and battle， but all told with a bare minimum of detail。 At the end of the day it’s still a GRRM book， so it’s worth the read and IS enjoyable， but it’s not GoT or Winds of Winter。 3* 。。。more
sacha
，
a true masterwork
Ian
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 When I started A Game of Thrones in December of 2018， I'm pretty sure I hadn't read a book recreationally since middle school。 Since then， I've read 65 books and I can't imagine what the hell I'd do if I didn't have a hundred good books to look forward to reading。 I've read a lot of amazing books that I'll reread， that I'll write and think about years after， that I'll recommend to friends， etc。， but I still have never read anything I've loved as much as George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire When I started A Game of Thrones in December of 2018， I'm pretty sure I hadn't read a book recreationally since middle school。 Since then， I've read 65 books and I can't imagine what the hell I'd do if I didn't have a hundred good books to look forward to reading。 I've read a lot of amazing books that I'll reread， that I'll write and think about years after， that I'll recommend to friends， etc。， but I still have never read anything I've loved as much as George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series。 This isn't a sad thing， its not like I'm constantly disappointed by how everything pales in comparison， but its just to say that I almost don't even feel like I can compare reading a GRRM book to reading a book by any other author。 And now that I've come around to reading this book， Fire and Blood， I really can't say things have changed—reading GRRM continues to be one of my absolute favorite things， and I still am astounded by how incredible this world George has made is （and by how much I love so many characters of his in a book that spans ~150 years and thus has a ridiculous amount of characters who， at most， live for a few dozen pages）。So， I loved it， of course。 Very sad I've read the last of GRRM's published works on Westeros （though technically I could and probably will read The World of Ice and Fire companion/illustrated/atlas book）。 Came into this thinking I'd of course love it because it was George RR Martin， but I think I enjoyed it way more than I even thought。 I literally liked reading about some Targaryen king's tax policies as much as I enjoyed any of the court intrigues or wars。 There are a ton of characters that I now want random spin-off stories for， à la Dunk & Egg， but Lord knows George has （put） enough on his plate already。 To name a few （or more than a few） despite that， though: Mushroom， Cregan Stark & Alysanne Blackwood， Alaric Stark， Rego Draz， Elissa Farman， Corlys Velaryon， Alyn Oakenfist， Marilda of Hull， Jonquil Darke， Aerea Targaryen， Baelon & Aemon Targaryen （and quite literally just any Targaryen named Aemon）， Rhaena Targaryen， tons of other relatively more minor characters， etc。Also， very excited for the House of the Dragons show after this， as the Dance of the Dragons is a fucking terrific basis for a story。 。。。more
Kelsey
，
did the nerd in me love this？ yes。 do I wish that GRRM has expanded on the doom of Valyria？ of course I do。 am I salty that this is part 1 of 2？ tbh I've resigned myself to never having closure on this series did the nerd in me love this？ yes。 do I wish that GRRM has expanded on the doom of Valyria？ of course I do。 am I salty that this is part 1 of 2？ tbh I've resigned myself to never having closure on this series 。。。more
Krispo
，
This is a history book and it reads like one， so while I loved getting more info because I’m into deep dives， this is not for a casual reading day hahaha。 I enjoyed getting more info on the Targaryens and I gotta say I am stoked to see how the new show is。
Janet
，
I wish this guy would actually finish anything in book form
M。 A。 González Gómez
，
Una crónica de gran parte del reinado de los Targaryen （incluida su famosa Danza de Dragones） que se aleja mucho de las novelas de Canción de Hielo y Fuego， pero que está maravillosamente escrita y posee un realismo que la vuelve muy entretenida， especialmente para aquellos que estén acostumbrado a este tipo de lectura。
Dreamer Girl
，
so good
Mijail Montero
，
It seems like the main complaint of this book is that it reads too much like a history book。 If you're reading this review just be aware that is a fact。 Don't go into it thinking you're going to get the same style of writing as all the other ASOIAF books。 What you will get is an extended history of the beginning and up until more or less the middle of the Targaryen dynasty。 Don't be mistaken， this is a history book。 I enjoy this type of world building。 So much history about the dragons， the figh It seems like the main complaint of this book is that it reads too much like a history book。 If you're reading this review just be aware that is a fact。 Don't go into it thinking you're going to get the same style of writing as all the other ASOIAF books。 What you will get is an extended history of the beginning and up until more or less the middle of the Targaryen dynasty。 Don't be mistaken， this is a history book。 I enjoy this type of world building。 So much history about the dragons， the fights， what happened， who was Baelor the Blessed， why was he， etc。 In conclusion， this book is good for what it is。 。。。more
Luisra
，
Es prácticamente un libro de historia， de lo que pasó 300 años antes de la serie。 Está muy chulo， aunque em ocasiones te pierdes con tantos personajes。
Martina
，
Pre mnohých už asi samotný názov knihy naznačuje， o čom bude - Oheň a krv - heslo rodu Targaryenovcov， sľubný začiatok a nabudenie na rozsiahle a komplexné dielo， resp。 kroniku tohto vládnuceho rodu。 Kniha， ktorej dej sa odohráva 300 rokov pred začiatkom Hier o tróny， prináša siahodlhý prehľad targaryenovskej histórie， od príchodu Aegona Dobyvateľa do Západnej zeme cez nikdy nekončiace vojny， ale aj dlhé obdobia mieru， až po bolestivé vymretie drakov。 Typický martinovský štýl písania sa síce neč Pre mnohých už asi samotný názov knihy naznačuje， o čom bude - Oheň a krv - heslo rodu Targaryenovcov， sľubný začiatok a nabudenie na rozsiahle a komplexné dielo， resp。 kroniku tohto vládnuceho rodu。 Kniha， ktorej dej sa odohráva 300 rokov pred začiatkom Hier o tróny， prináša siahodlhý prehľad targaryenovskej histórie， od príchodu Aegona Dobyvateľa do Západnej zeme cez nikdy nekončiace vojny， ale aj dlhé obdobia mieru， až po bolestivé vymretie drakov。 Typický martinovský štýl písania sa síce nečíta ľahko - mnohé postavy， obsiahle opisy či podobné a opakujúce sa mená si vyžadujú veľkú dávku sústredenia， no určite je to niečo， čo si pozornosť čitateľov zaslúži （obzvlášť fanúšikom Piesne by táto kniha nemala chýbať v knižnici）。 Niektoré postavy si zamilujete， iné budete nenávidieť， no dozviete sa plno nových vecí a najmä dostanete možnosť opäť sa ponoriť do brilantne vystavaného sveta intríg， vnútorných sporov a roztržiek， dohonutých svadieb či krvavých aj pútavých momentov， ktoré objasňujú vznik a spopularizovanie mnohých zvykov a tradícií， ktoré čitatelia poznajú z Piesne ľadu。 Prekrásne ilustrácie， ktoré spestrujú už aj tak výnimočne vizuálne spracovaný literárny počin sú príjemnou čerešničkou na torte， ktorá ulahodí oku a nadšencov maliarskeho umenia zahreje na duši。 。。。more
Christine Power
，
Very interesting to learn the Targaryen history but after getting over half way through I was slightly weary of the text book style listings of kings following queens following kings etc。 Not a patch on game of thrones but still enjoyable for diehard fans。
Kimberly J Tilley
，
I purchased this book when it was first released。 I was excited to get a look into the Targaryen's lives。 I did enjoy the historical writing style to tell the story of this monarchy。 I purchased this book when it was first released。 I was excited to get a look into the Targaryen's lives。 I did enjoy the historical writing style to tell the story of this monarchy。 。。。more
Anna Trott-Herdrich
，