Recently, George R.R. Martin announced his upcoming text in his Westeros world, and it’s NOT Winds of Winter. Instead, fans will buy (you know you will) and will read Fire & Blood, a “history of the Targaryens as kings (and queens) in Westeros—from Aegon I, the Conqueror, to the regency (not rule) of Aegon III, the Dragonbane.” This insight into the Targaryens will be an entertaining and an interesting read. And, this is only the first volume in this series!
And yet, several fans are annoyed, again, that this upcoming release is NOT Winds of Winter. I have mentioned my beliefs surrounding the publication and the release of Winds of Winter (read that post), and I don’t mind waiting a bit longer for a good story. I believe we’re missing the silver lining of the announcement. George R.R. Martin said in his blog “…there are dragons too. LOTS of dragons.” His “imaginary history” will give us a look into the dragons and their behaviors and their characteristics, and how the dragon lords tamed them. You know what has NOT been mentioned in any of George R.R. Martin’s other stories from Westeros, other dragons. Both A Song of Ice and Fire and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms take place after the death of the last dragon. Readers will get some insight into how the dragons were tamed by the Targaryens. In addition, according to Tor.com, we could get some questions answered about the dragons. Personally, I’ve been wondering where Daenerys’ dragon eggs came from. I have some theories, but that’s for another time.
I want Winds of Winter as much as you do, but, similar to Harry Potter and Mistborn, I am willing to wait longer for a good story over a rushed one. Also, since this upcoming text takes place within Westeros history, we could learn more of what could happen in Winds of Winter. The first half of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has given us a look into how the Targaryens ruled the Seven—yes, all 7—Kingdoms, the Blackfyres are mentioned, and Bloodraven demonstrates how good of a Hand he was for the Targaryens. All of these names are mentioned throughout A Song of Ice and Fire series. We still don’t know a lot about dragons, so there should be some useful information about them, hopefully.
Fire & Blood is 640 pages with “more than 75 black and white illustrations” (http://georgerrmartin.com/notablog/2018/04/25/fire-blood-on-the-way/). That’s a lot of content surrounding the Targaryens, and their dragons. We could learn more about the Targaryen Valyrian swords: Blackfyre and Dark Sister, or whether or not this is the “book” Jaqen H’ghar is looking for in the Citadel. This book will be a plethora of information for the last two books of A Song of Ice and Fire.
Unfortunately, we won’t get Volume II until after A Dream of Spring is released. And, yes, I know that could be years from now, but George R.R. Martin cannot give us spoilers about Aegon IV, the Unworthy, and the Blackfyres before we find out what happens to the Others! So, while I (continue) to wait for Winds of Winter, I will be reading, analyzing, and theorizing about the Targaryens, and their dragons along with the rest of you!
What do you think about this upcoming “imaginary history”?
