Book Review: Fire and Blood

By this present point, George R.R. Martin’s World of Ice and Fire has become a vast and complex fantastical entity. Spanning well past the initial five books he wrote for the Song of Ice and Fire, this world of knights, lords and dragons has grown and developed in other formats too. Whether it’s the hit HBO show or the many other books Martin released to expand on the lore, there’s a serious sense of depth and scope to this world that makes diving into it feel worth while.  That’s why I was so inclined to sit down and read through Fire and Blood, Martin’s 700-page recounting of the vast and bloody history behind the Targaryen dynasty. From Aegon’s mighty conquest and the forging of the Iron Throne, all the way to the tragic and costly Dance of the Dragon; this book covers the rise and falls behind Westeros’ most renowned ruling family. As with most projects of Martin’s, this is only first entry believe it not, with a 2nd entry planned to span from Aegon the Unlucky well up to the reign of Aerys II, otherwise known as the Mad King. While we all wait with baited breath for that entry as we do for the Winds of Winter, let us discuss the first entry and the breadth of quality that it exudes.

There’s no core storyline running through Fire and Blood, as it’s structured more so with a historical perspective in mind. Archmaester Gyldayn is an Archmaester of the Citadel, a place of scholarly learning within Westeros.  His work recounting the history of the Targaryen reign is scribed and titled Fire & Blood, Being a History of the Targaryen Kings of Westeros. In this recounting, Gyldayn cites many sources throughout the initial 157 years of Targaryen rule as he serves to construct a proper retelling of the coming of the old Valyrian family and their turbulent history ruling over the seven kingdoms.  The book starts firstly by focusing on the Conqueror himself, King Aegon and the war he started to bring all of the seven kingdoms to yield.  From there the book recounts the history of his sons Aenys and Maegor, the latter of which earned the name Maegor the Cruel for stealing the Iron Throne and killing any who might oppose him; family included. In the wake of Maegor’s tyrannical reign, the book then follows the peaceful times under King Jaehaerys and his many sons and daughters. Then the most bloody and tragic of events follows his rule with the Dance of Dragons which looks at the war for the Iron Throne between the Greens and the Blacks.

While the lack of a focused plot may throw a lot of people off, I appreciated the different approach this book takes in outlining it’s chosen narratives.  Its writing and structure feel inherent to the world it claims to belong to. The idea that this is a potentially biased re-telling of history is realized with it’s numerous accountings and cited sources. It offers the reader a great opportunity to form their own interpretations about the finer detailing and reasoning behind a lot of these key events.  The sense of depth behind the history is something only George R.R. Martin can portray with such ease.  His familiarity with this world he’s created comes to the forefront with how easily he portrays all these great houses and names all of their members from the highest lord to the lowest bastards.  The fact that this sheds a lot of light on events only touted or mentioned ever so briefly in A Song of Ice and Fire is really appreciated too.  I like how much effort is put into fleshing out the magnitude of the Targaryen reign across the years. There’s a reason HBO choose to adapt the events of The Dance of the Dragons, it’s just one example of the books amazing ability to showcase these variety of conflicts and expand on them in many clever ways. 

Pacing is probably the only place you will draw a minor complaint from me. I think you can really feel the books 700-page count all throughout.  That determination to span out all of these events in meticulous detail means making a proper dent through the book a notable challenge.  Sometimes it’s not all that noticeable, but sometimes it is and it’s all down to the subject and element of the portion you are reading.  I think for me I didn’t take as much umbrage from it because I really did enjoy learning about these events even in light of their excruciating detail. The tone is another thing that can draw either praise or criticism.  Again, this isn’t a story as much as it is a history book, so the objective way in which it’s portrayed can come off as flat at times, but again it wasn’t all that much of a detractor for me because I immersed myself fully into the idea of this being an Archmeaster’s attempt to transcribe this tumultuous history. 

Fire and Blood engaged me like no other book has done this year.  It felt genuinely refreshing to dive into the World of Ice and Fire once again after so many years away.  I appreciated the depth George R.R. Martin went to go expand on the world he’s crafted through an interesting and unconventional storytelling process.  Even with its minor flaws, it’s not enough to detract any sense of enjoyment that came from reading this mighty tome and I look forward to re-reading it again one day far in the future.