I'm a GOT/ASOIAF junkie, and had sought out the three "Dunk & Egg" stories in print after finishing "A Dance of Dragons." To be honest, it was "The Mystery Knight" (D&E #3) that got me to read "A Game of Thrones." I didn't even know it was a story in the same world until midway through, and by the end, I was hooked.
The 3 (so far) "Dunk & Egg" tales take place a few generations before the events of A Game of Thrones- and they cover life in the fall out of the Targaryen schism known as the "Blackfyre" rebellion. Long story short, some Targ bastards got legitimized upon their King/Father's death, and an uprising for the Iron Throne happened. The Blackfyres lost, leaving the question of "Did you support the Black or the Red [Dragon]?" to be a dangerous political statement in its own right.
15 years after that uprising, its affects are still felt across Westeros.
The first 2 Dunk & Egg tales were made into graphic novels, and these editions are great. #1, the Hedge Knight introduces you Dunk & Egg and #2, the Sworn Sword, is a bit of standalone adventure. From what I understand, George RR Martin has plans for more of these, and they tend to be a bit more stand-alone in nature than his other writing.
In short, if you like the politics and intricacy of Westeros, but long for something a little less grim (but no less bittersweet), READ THESE. Ser Duncan the Tall (Dunk) is what Sansa Stark would call a "true knight," and would make good pals with the likes of Ned Stark, Davos Seaworth, and Brienne of Tarth.
The graphic novel adaptation of the second of George R.R. Martin's Dunk & Egg novellas, not only stays true to the originally written story but gives it life with fantastic renderings of all the characters, the locales, and the action. Drawn by artist Mike S. Miller and livened by colorist Mike Crowell, "The Sworn Sword" gives both "Game of Thrones" book and show fans a great look into the history of the Seven Kingdoms as Ser Duncan (Dunk) the Tall and the future King Aegon (Egg) V learn about the greatest threat to the Targaryen throne nearly a century before Robert’s Rebellion—the Blackfyre Rebellion.
The story begins almost two years after "The Hedge Knight", Dunk and Egg are in the service to Sir Eustace Osgrey who holds a small tower but reminisces about his family’s ancient glory and his own immediate family’s misfortune. A nearly two year drought has gripped Westeros after the Great Spring Sickness—think the Black Death—resulting in water and people being short, which is when Ser Eustace’s stream disappears. After Dunk and another sworn sword, Ser Bennis, search upstream they discover that Ser Eustace’s neighbor Lady Webber has built a dam to divert the water. Soon things escalate and the two nobles begin to lob threats and promise blood vengeance as Dunk tries to find a way to make peace.
Of the work surrounding the graphic novel itself, I can only praise the work of Miller and Crowell who not only brought into visual life Dunk and Egg but so many other historically important characters in very consistent way throughout the entire book. It is hard to find fault with the work of these two men save with pointing out a few continuity errors, which unfortunately happen in every graphic novel. But when it came to the memories of Ser Eustace Osgrey about the Battle of the Redgrass Field that ended the threat of Daemon Blackfyre, the artwork is fantastic and brings the memories of the battle alive and giving justice to some of Martin’s best writing.
If you're a fan of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" world and haven't gotten this book yet I, what are you waiting for? I highly recommend this graphic novel adaptation of "The Sworn Sword" as well as the novella itself, you won’t be disappointed.
The Sworn Sword is the second in a novella series from the Game of Thrones author George RR Martin. This follows the story of Dunk and Egg, a knight and his squire, from the GOT world. I did not read the first story but I don't think it was necessary to follow this one. In typical Game of Thrones fashion, there's a lot of misogyny in this story as well as superstition, classism, violence, etc... Still, this isn't a bad story. I would probably give it a 3.5 overall, but I feel comfortable bumping it up to a 4 simply because I really enjoy the artwork. This isn’t a hard read, but it is a bit long, and that’s even considering that it’s a graphic novella. Still, I’m glad I read it.
Recommended to adult (and mature teen) fans of Games of Thrones, fans of knights tales, and comic book fans who like a bit of sword and sorcery.
This is a great interpretation of the novel written by George RR Martin. I've read the book as well and this graphic novel is almost exactly the same as the book. The only difference is that there are a few subtle things that can be lost in the comic, (eg. someone wearing fancy rich people clothes that just appear to be regular medieval clothes in the comic book.) Other than that, this graphic novel is great and can be enjoyed by all ages. As an adult, I love it and the content is fine for a kid too unlike the other GoT books. This book takes place a hundred years before the GoT a Song of Ice and Fire series takes place. The content is much less mature in that it lacks the sex, violence, and incest of the other series. There are lots of tourneys and knights though which is great. Also you get to see more Targaryens before they became nearly extinct.
The second graphic novel in the Dunk and Egg series, and an interesting on in what it sets up for both Ser Duncan and Aegon. The Red Window story is actually fairly trivial and somewhat predictable, but it enables Martin to give some necessary character development as well as background to the Blackfyre rebellion, which is of much more importance to the "Song of Ice and Fire." These Dunk and Egg stories are interesting in the world-building they give in the background as well as insights into political situation before Robert's rebellion.
Feature Product
- Tthis comic book/graphic novel adaptation is set one hundred years before the events in George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire. The Sworn Sword is the exciting sequel to The Hedge Knight.
- The Sworn Sword follows the adventures of Ser Duncan and his squire, Egg, as they quest for honor and glory in the Seven Kingdoms.
- 176 pages
- Paperback.
- Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.8 x 10 inches
Description
In this comic book/graphic novel adaptation set one hundred years before the events in George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Sworn Sword follows the adventures of Ser Duncan and his squire, Egg, as they quest for honor and glory in the Seven Kingdoms.
After the deaths, surprises, and heroics in The Hedge Knight, Dunk and Egg continue their journey in search of the fair puppeteer Tanselle. Along the way, the elderly knight Ser Eustace takes both men under his charge, alongside another knight—and this one promises trouble. Peace is ever elusive for Dunk and Egg, as they are soon embroiled in the schemes of local nobility, while a darker, greater thread threatens to unravel long-held truths of the Battle of Redgrass Field.
In classic George R.R. Martin fashion, heroes and villains are never clear-cut, and political alliances threaten to slice the deepest. Yet one path lies ahead for Dunk and Egg: onward toward destiny. Join them as they venture along a now-familiar world but in a time all-new!
Collecting The Hedge Knight II: The Sworn Sword #1-6, this special edition comes packed with over twenty-five pages of bonus material!
The illustrations are great, story is deep and has the GRRM twist on everything. What made me laugh is I was watching Season 4 of GoT and Joffrey was looking at the book of the great men of the Kings Guard and mentioned Sir Duncan the Tall, "4 pages on his deeds, thats impressive" he said. Thats the character that this graphic novel series is about so I thought that was pretty cool. There was also another GoT episode where a character mentions certain Knights that sleep under Hedges or by Hedges (The Hedge Knight), clearly a little nod to the graphic novels as well. Well done GRRM well done.
George R R Martin has been slipping us bits of Ser Dunk and Egg, so you may well be familiar with this prequel to Game of Throwns/Fire and Ice.
Drawings in the excellent style adorn many of the Westeros guidebooks and fan wikis, so you may already know their charm - it takes quite a it of charm, visual imagination, to keep up with the HBO special effects, platoons of bare breasted actresses and also a number of excellent actors.
But these graphic novels could stand alone, independent of the books and the seasons of TV. Perhaps the males have the de rigeur ultra defined musculature, and Dunk's love interests are tall and independent and even stronger than in Lake Woebegone - but the graphics truly put you in the Seven Kingdoms.
As I said in "The Hedge Knight" graphic novel review, this is a fantastic read! We follow "Dunk" and "Egg" on another adventure in the land of Westeros. I'll post my Hedge Knight review below since the same applies to this:
Although I don't have the novels, this was a fantastic story and well worth the money! These could make for an interesting spin-off TV series if HBO & GRRM ever decided to. Inside, the art and colors are well done, with characters drawn looking more realistic. [And the same artists who did the work on "The Hedge Knight" are back for this -- thankfully!] There is plenty of speaking and background given, so don't dismiss this as being a "picture book." I already want to re-read both Hedge Knight graphic novels to pick up more details I may have missed. There's a lot going on, and a lot of characters.
The 2nd book of the series "The Hedge Knight" is a very interesting tale of a Knight named "Sir Dunkin The Tall", who travels with his companion, Egg. As a hedge knight, they travel the fantasy continent of Westeros, often times running into trouble of their own and taking service for Lords who live within the Kingdom of which Sir Dunkin serves; in this age before the current events of A Song of Ice and Fire/ Game of Thrones, and about 200 years before Roberts Rebellion, this is just an amazing spin off to the classics of R.R. Martins work. I enjoyed this read, the pictures are a work of art, and the story behind the story is addictive in its own right when it comes to details about this fairytale kingdom. Only problem I have is that it's too short. (Still took me a little over a couple hours to read.)
Everything about these graphic novels is entertaining: The storylines are reminiscent of The Game of Throne novels, as these stories are written as prequels to those and are located in the seven kingdoms. The Art work is excellent and beautifully detailed. The characters take on an appealing realness, with genuine interactions, faults, emotions and strengths, which I would not expect from a graphic novel but then this was written by George R.R. Martin after all. I did find the second novel: The Sworn Sword Hedge Knight II to be somewhat more appealing then The Hedge Knight, but both are highly recommended.
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