A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

⭐ 8.5/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

Somebody on this app forgot to include the author's name in his entry, but this is a collection of short stories by George RR Martin. It follows Dunk, a travelling knight, and his squire Egg who is an energetic, likable, little boy with a mysterious background.

These are pretty great. The dynamic between the two main characters is always entertaining and endearing, and Dunk is a terrific leading man. He is the rare character in the Martin-verse who is pretty much flawless, and you can't help but cheer for him as he navigates these tricky dilemmas he finds himself in.

Martin is an expert at getting the setting just right. You feel fully immersed in his world. These stories have essentially zero fantastic elements, so it is basically a story set in medieval England which is always fine by me.

That said, I had a few issues. The biggest is just the absurd amount of characters in each story. I would say there are no less than 50 characters named and described in each story. It is so, so hard to keep track of who is who and what their motivations are. It's hard to be invested in a character's outcome when you can't remember who they are. All of these characters do a good job of helping fill in the world and making it feel real and alive, but it gets pretty ridiculous in these.

Still, overall, I thought these were great. I love this style for Martin and I'm hoping he puts out more (though I get he has his hands full). I love Dunk and Egg, and I love learning the difference between a destrier and a palfrey. Totally recommended as a starting point for Martin, and for fans of the genre.