George R.R. Martin Announces ‘Fire And Blood’ – A Two-Volume Westerosi History
George R.R. Martin has announced that two new books are in the works. No, neither is the long-awaited sixth installment of his A Song of Ice And Fire series, The Winds of Winter. They are, however, very welcome additions to the Westerosi historical annals.
In a LiveJournal post on July 22, Martin reminded his followers of “our plan to assemble an entire book of my fake histories of the Targaryen kings, a volume we called (in jest) the GRRMarillion or (more seriously) FIRE AND BLOOD.” Not only will Martin soon publish those histories, there could be more.
“We have so much material,” he said, “that it’s been decided to publish the book in two volumes.” Together, both volumes will make up the Fire and Blood series, which chronicles, in detail, the history of the fantastical world of Westeros.
The first volume, Martin said, will cover “from Aegon’s Conquest up to and through the regency of the boy king, Aegon III.”
The story, clarified Nerdist, is set approximately 160 years prior to the events in the A Song of Ice and Fire saga. It takes us through Westeros’ history, and ends in the year, “136 AC (AC = After Aegon’s Conquest) when Aegon III, known as the Dragonbane, formally assumed the Iron Throne for himself.”
Readers of Martin’s short stories “The Princess and the Queen,” from the anthology, Dangerous Women, and “The Rogue Prince,” from Rogues, may find some familiar elements, since those stories “were abridged versions of the same histories,” Martin shared in his post. Fear not, however. All has not been revealed. For the first time, Game of Thrones enthusiasts will learn what happened during the Targaryen civil war, also called the Dance of Dragons, during which the last dragons died (until Daenerys, that is), “which was the major turning point for House Targaryen’s reign,” according to Nerdist.
Volume two of Fire and Blood, Martin said, will pick up from the reign of Aegon III and take us through Robert’s rebellion, in which Jamie Lannister kills Mad King Aerys.
Though no publication date has been set, Martin said that the first book is “largely written,” and expected to be published between late 2018 and early 2019. The second is “largely unwritten,” and so “will be a few more years in coming.”
Martin also commented on the status of The Winds of Winter, debunking rumors that he has either finished with the book and is sitting on it “for some nefarious reason,” or has yet to start writing it.
“Both ‘reports,'” he said, “are equally false and equally moronic.” He did, however, offer his eager (sometimes, understandably, impatient) fans a gauge as to when they can expect Winds of Winter to hit the shelves.
“I am still working on it, I am still months away (how many? good question), I still have good days and bad days, and that’s all I care to say. Whether WINDS or the first volume of FIRE AND BLOOD will be the first to hit the bookstores is hard to say at this juncture, but I do think you will have a Westeros book from me in 2018… and who knows, maybe two. A boy can dream…”
[Featured Image by Matt Sayles/AP Images]
