#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The thrilling history of the Targaryens comes to life in this
masterly work the inspiration for HBO's upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series House of the
Dragon The thrill of Fire & Blood is the thrill of all Martin's fantasy work: familiar myths
debunked the whole trope table flipped.-Entertainment Weekly Centuries before the events of A
Game of Thrones House Targaryen-the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of
Valyria-took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire & Blood begins their tale with the legendary
Aegon the Conqueror creator of the Iron Throne and goes on to recount the generations of
Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat all the way up to the civil war that nearly
tore their dynasty apart. What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why was it so
deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What were Maegor the Cruel's worst crimes? What was it
like in Westeros when dragons ruled the skies? These are but a few of the questions answered in
this essential chronicle as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more
than eighty all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley-including five
all-new illustrations exclusive to this edition. Readers have glimpsed small parts of this
narrative in such volumes as The World of Ice & Fire but now for the first time the full
tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed. With all the scope and grandeur of Gibbon's The
History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Fire & Blood is the the first volume of
the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens giving readers a whole new appreciation for
the dynamic often bloody and always fascinating history of Westeros. Praise for Fire & Blood
A masterpiece of popular historical fiction. -The Sunday Times The saga is a rich and dark one
full of both the title's promised elements. . . . It's hard not to thrill to the descriptions
of dragons engaging in airborne combat or the dilemma of whether defeated rulers should 'bend
the knee ' 'take the black' and join the Night's Watch or simply meet an inventive and
horrible end.-The Guardian
