When Is A Game Of Thrones Prequel Not A Prequel? When It's The First Book Of The Series You've Read

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well as regular readers to this blog will know taken as a rule I'm not a fan of prequels. My view is that what's the point of knowing the route when you know the destination? I use the TV series Gotham as the example of this. We all know Bruce Wayne is going to be Batman. So where's the tension?

Similarly I'm not a fan of fantasy novels  as a rule either. Books where a writer makes up their own worlds with fantasy names and words with the occasional bit of "magic" thrown in. So far in my reading life the one and only exception has been the Helliconia series by the late Brian Aldiss.

And so...as I go into my local library the next book on their display which I am honour bound to read by wish to read every "practical" book there turns out to be this.

George R R Martin - A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms

This is in fact three novellas set a hundred years before the Game Of Thrones years where roaming Westeros are our heroes. A "hedge" knight called Dunk and his child servant Egg. A land where there are some exotic places as Cockswindle, Osgrey, Standfast and Ashford (isn't that in Kent?)

I remember vaguely watching the first ever episode of Game Of Thrones years ago. I was half asleep and really unaware about what was going on. Other than that I've passed it by.

Now I know that sounds snobby on my part. Not my intention. But I hope it explains that when  picking the book up I had probably the unique advantage of being able to treat this book not as a prequel but as book one of the whole saga. In other words through luck rather than design I was starting from the beginning.

So did it change my mind regarding this type of book? Well slightly. It's certainly readable. The best novella of the three was the final one which had a mystery at it's core. If I was able to read the next instalment of this (prodigious) series for free I wouldn't baulk at the opportunity.

But whilst interesting and readable I can't say I was excited by it. Even though it was for me book one it still lacked any degree of tension for me. I suppose therefore it was a prequel after all what ever you approach it.

In any case. Helliconia still wins.

Until the next time.