Books
Yes, the rumors are true: George R.R. Martin has a new book coming out this year, and it's not The Winds of Winter. I know. Take all the time you need. But once you're done feeling sad that we'll have to wait an unspecified amount of time before we find out what the hell happens to our precious baby Davos up in Skagos, you're going to want to get hyped about Fire and Blood. Martin's newest book is going to be an in-depth history of House Targaryen. So if you're craving dragons and blood feuds, this book will most definitely take the edge off.
We already know that the Targaryens united the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and kicked off one hell of a dynasty. Where we are in A Song of Ice and Fire, Dany and probably Jon (and maybe Fake Aegon) are the only Targaryens left. But this book will take us all the way back to Aegon the Conqueror and his sister-wives, and the very start of House Targaryen. We're going to get the inside scoop on Westeros's previous Civil Wars. We're also going to get the backstory of some characters who are still alive in A Song of Ice and Fire. This book might actually unlock a lot of ongoing mysteries, or at least drop a few tantalizing clues.
Fire & Blood by George R. R. Martin, $20.99, Amazon
Here are a few of the historical Targs (and friends) we'd like to see in Fire and Blood:
1Daenys the Dreamer
OK, OK, I know that Fire and Blood is probably going to start with Aegon, the first Targaryen to invade Westeros. But I also know that George likes his extraneous backstory, and I'd sure like to know a little more about Daenys the Dreamer. She's an ancestor of Aegon who had a prophetic vision of the Doom of Valyria, and saved her family by urging them to skip town before it exploded. What was her deal? Why was she the only Valyrian able to predict the coming destruction? Is she the reason that Dany and Jon have such funky dreams?
2Bloodraven
Brynden Rivers, A.K.A. Bloodraven, A.K.A. the Three-Eyed Crow (or The Three-Eyed Raven if you're watching the TV show) had better make an appearance. I want to know exactly how and why he ended up living in that dang tree. So far we only know that Bloodraven was an albino Targaryen bastard, who fought for his "legitimate" brother in the Blackfyre Rebellion. He ended up getting sent to the Wall, and then disappearing years before the action in A Song of Ice and Fire.
3Bittersteel
Ser Aegor Rivers, called Bittersteel, was one of the Bloodraven's many half-brothers. He fought against Bloodraven in the Blackfyre Rebellion, and ended up founding the Golden Company over in Essos. He was all about retaking Westeros for the Blackfyres, and there's a very good chance that the Golden Company is still following his orders all these years after his death.
4Shiera Seastar
Both Bittersteel and Bloodraven had the hots for their half-sister, Shiera Seastar (because it's not Game of Thrones without at least a little incest). But Shiera wasn't just known for her beauty: she was supposedly skilled in the dark arts. She was rumored to bathe in blood and use sorcery to help Bloodraven with his spy network, and I am very here for it.
5Egg
Aegon V Targaryen was nicknamed "Egg" as a kid, especially after he shaved his head. He appears in the Dunk and Egg stories, set about a hundred years before A Song of Ice and Fire, as bright the young squire to the hedge knight Ser Duncan. He was also the brother to Maester Aemon, and we might finally get a look at what that kid was like as a king. I mean yes, Egg grew up the be the grandfather of the Mad King, and he did kind of kill most of the other Targaryens in a fire that one time, but other than that it seems like he was a pretty sweet guy.
6Jenny of Oldstones
Egg's oldest son gave up his claim to the throne because he fell for a mysterious girl known only as Jenny of Oldstones. She was a commoner and maybe a witch? Or like... just a hippie? Either way, she was definitely present for Egg's botched fire-ritual experiment, which killed most of the family, and I for one would like to know her deal. What was so great about her that a prince gave up the Iron Throne?
7Ghost of High Heart
The Ghost of High Heart appears in A Song of Ice and Fire as a weird, ancient, children-of-the-forest looking witch woman who is obsessed with Jenny of Oldstones. It seems like she may have been Jenny's friend (or mother?), and that she went to court with Jenny all those years ago. Does she know what really went wrong with Egg's fire extravaganza? Is she related to the weirwoods and those knock-off hobbits? Or is she just a very old, very sad ghost?
8Princess Rhaenyra
Princess Rhaenyra was groomed to be her dad's sole heir and take over the kingdom one day. She learned dragon-riding and diplomacy. But then her dad re-married, and after he died her baby half-brother was declared the new heir in her place. Rhaenyra called B.S. on that sexist reasoning, and went to war over the throne, starting the Dance of the Dragons.
9Nettles
Princess Rhaenyra's team in the Dance of the Dragons was running out of dragonriders way too fast. So they started pulling from commoners who had any amount of Targaryen blood. One of these cool teens was Nettles, a young girl who tamed the wild dragon Sheepstealer, rode him into battle, and then eventually disappeared with her dragon, leaving behind no trace of where she went.
10Savage Sam Tarly
So there's probably not a ton of character backstory here... but in A World of Ice and Fire, Martin refers to an ancestor of Sam's who was called Savage Sam Tarly. More of him, please.
11Balerion
Let's be real, we're all in it for the dragons. Balerion the Black Dread was Aegon I's own personal dragon. He's definitely the best known dragon of all time (besides sweet baby Drogon, of course). So let's get some sweet dragon anecdotes. Could the other Targaryens control their dragons? Is Dany alone in her struggles? Is Drogon a direct descent of that first big black lizard? And whatever happened to that kitten who was named after him?
