A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: Season 1

It is the year 209 After the Conquest, eighty years after the Dance of Dragons and eighty-nine before the War of the Five Kings. The realm of the Seven Kingdoms is at peace. To celebrate his daughter's nameday, the Lord of Ashford is holding a great tourney, and knights and lords of renown from across the realm are arriving to show their prowess in personal combat and jousting. Amongst them are several princes of House Targaryen, now dragonless but still holding the Iron Throne...and a newly-anointed hedge knight by the name of Ser Duncan the Tall. Dunk sees to acquit himself well in the lists, but his lack of coin makes his prospects precarious. A chance encounter with a young boy named Egg, who volunteers to squire for him, changes his fortunes, and those of the Seven Kingdoms themselves.

For the third time, HBO has decided to visit the lands of Westeros and create a new hit television series. Set in the same world as Game of Thrones (set later) and House of the Dragon (set earlier), A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms adapts the Dunk & Egg series of novellas by George R.R. Martin, with three currently published. This first season of six episodes adapts the first and best (to date) novella in the sequence, The Hedge Knight (1998), and tries once again to right the ship that is Westeros-on-TV after a shaky previous season.

Once again, HBO has defied the odds and delivered a stand-up season of quality television. Here writer and showrunner Ira Parker, working with George R.R. Martin and Ti Mikkel, amongst others, has had to thread a needle of creating something that's identifiably part of the same world as the other shows whilst also ploughing its own path and unique identity. He is helped here by the source material, which is exceptional. The Hedge Knight may be George's strongest piece of writing in the world of Westeros and Essos, and maybe even his finest piece of writing as a whole. It's a story operating on multiple levels as Dunk has to consider the price of honour in a land where violence is still used to solve problems, and fairness and justice are relative concepts. The novella moves its pieces around with precision which click into place at the end in an artistically satisfying way.

At first, the TV take on the same story feels like it's a little stretched. Extensive new flashback sequences explore Dunk's background in Flea Bottom, a rough slum in King's Landing (the previous, or rather future, home of characters like Gendry and Davos), and his period as squire to Ser Arlan of Pennytree. Multiple new subplots have been inserted into the story of the tourney itself, with Dunk refusing an offer for an opponent to throw a match to satisfy the betting crowd and seeking wise advice from the local working girls. More minor characters in the novella like Ser Raymun Fossoway and Lord Lyonel Baratheon, the Laughing Storm, are here fleshed out in greater detail, with distinct character arcs of their own. The show also leans into the lighter and less-ominous tone with more humour, including a lot of toilet humour (quite literally, in some cases)

This expansion of the novella is good, in that minor characters are given more depth and more motivation for helping Dunk, but it does slow down the action. One of the novella's strengths is how it moves with a purpose, says its peace and is done. The TV show slows things down perhaps a tad too much in its opening episodes, with the impact of making the episodes feel both too short (only one exceeds 40 minutes, and several barely crack 30) but also risking feeling like there is too much filler.

This problem quickly evaporates in the third episode, however, as the main plot from the novella kicks into gear and suddenly the season catches fire and does not let up. The infamous tourney battle which is the centrepiece of the novella is rendered here as one of the finest medieval combat sequences ever staged on the screen, with a refreshing use of helmets (often inexplicably absent from Game of Thrones) and intelligent use of weapons. The plotting is impressive, dialogue often poetic and the acting throughout is outstanding, particularly by Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall and Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg, both outrageously good finds. Bertie Carvel (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell) is also outstanding as Prince Baelor "Breakspear" Targaryen, Daniel Ings is a very different Lyonel Baratheon from the book but a compelling performer, and Youssef Kerkour excels in a small role as the blacksmith Steely Pate.

The production values, as you would expect, are excellent. That this is a cheaper show than House of the Dragon and the last couple of seasons of Thrones is to be expected. There are no dragons in the story and the whole show takes place in one castle and the field next door, as well as some miscellaneous Northern Ireland scenery. But it's clearly not cheap. There are vast crowds of spectators, the extras budget alone must have been exceptional, and there's a lot of action sequences involving trained fighters and horses. HBO are their most relatively frugal for this franchise, is still capable of delivering stunning imagery. Dan Romer also delivers a superbly atmospheric soundtrack.

But what makes the show work the best is the relationship between Dunk and Egg. Claffey and Ansell sell the characters' relationship extremely well, with Dunk's pragmatism and idealism (or naivete) counterpointed by his inexperience, whilst Egg's book smarts lacking real-world application is charmingly handled. When the season ends, you immediately want to see more of these characters and their adventures. And there's good news on that, with Season 2, based on The Sworn Sword, already in production for a 2027 release.

The first season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (****½) has a slow start but quickly picks up, delivering a relentless battery of well-judged character moments, action, worldbuilding and pathos. It's refreshing to take a visit to a time in Westeros's history when decency and compassion are still respected, and the two leads should be well established for great careers by their performances here. The show is currently streaming around the world and will be released on DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K in the summer.

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A Preview of A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS

On Friday night, I attended the London premiere of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the latest foray into the Known World of Westeros and Essos. The six-part show starts airing tonight in the United States and tomorrow in much of the rest of the world.

This six-part series adapts George R.R. Martin's 1998 novella The Hedge Knight. Like the novella it sees the newly-dubbed hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall seek to make his name and fortune at the great tourney at Ashford Meadow, eighty-nine years before the events of Game of Thrones. Dunk runs into problems proving his identity and legitimacy to take part in the tourney, but taking on an unusually resourceful squire, Egg, soon sees him succeed in his mission. Unfortunately, Dunk earns the ire of a powerful foe and has to fight for his honour and even his life in a brutal melee.

Martin would follow up the novella with The Sworn Sword (2002) and The Mystery Knight (2010) (all three collected in 2015's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms), eventually mooting anything from nine to twelve stories in total that would follow the life stories of Dunk and Egg across the next fifty-one years, through tumultuous years in the Seven Kingdoms as the authority of the now-dragon-less Targaryens is increasingly tested.

At the premiere we saw the first two episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and it was interesting to note that the first season of the show is no less than the eleventh season of television set in Westeros. However, the show still manages to feel fresh. The tone is a little lighter than the two preceding series and there is no immediately foreboding feeling of full-scale civil war about to erupt. The entire season takes place in a field and the neighbouring castle (though some flashbacks do take us to King's Landing), and if the show is cheaper than House of the Dragon and the later seasons of Thrones, it's very clearly still not cheap. There are some superbly-staged jousts and melee scenes, crowd scenes with hundreds of people in shot at once, and a lot of spectacular location footage. Some may bemoan a lack of hardcore dragon action, but there's still a lot of visual spectacle.

The casting is exceptional, with Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall and Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg both being incredible finds. Claffey embodies Dunk's mixture of resolve and naivete to perfection, and Ansell is as impressive a find as Maisie Williams was for Arya fifteen years ago. Bertie Carvel is outstanding as Prince Baelor "Breakspear" Targaryen, Daniel Ings is a very different Lyonel Baratheon from the book but a compelling performer, and Youssef Kerkour excels in a small role as the blacksmith Steely Pate.

One criticism I do have is that the pacing of the show can be best described as "relaxed." After two full episodes we still hadn't reached the event that kicks the plot of the novella properly in motion (Prince Aerion's disagreement with a performer over a story about his family). Some of the new scenes introduced to expand the story are excellent, such as more action for Lyonel Baratheon, but others feel a bit overdone. A new subplot about Dunk seeking advice from some camp followers who feel sorry for him feels weird, at best. Taking a 100-ish page novella and turning it into six episodes of TV (even six episodes that are somewhat shorter than the Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon norm) has required a lot of invention and for some people maybe too much invention; how the remaining four episodes handle this remain to be seen.

The more-humorous tone is also an interesting choice. There are a couple of moments that veer from dark comedy or character humour into outright slapstick, and one scene that makes use of the stirringly epic score of Game of Thrones to comic effect only to undercut it in the basest way possible, is both funny but borders on the too much side of things. Again, seeing how the rest of the season handles this will be interesting.

Ultimately, I think that the first two episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms are a promising start. The production values, acting, sets and action setpieces are outstanding, and after House of the Dragon's increasingly wild swings from the source material, it's a refreshing relief to find a lot of scenes here translated 1:1 from the book to the screen, complete with Martin's laser-sharp characterisation and dialogue. Some of the new scenes to fill out the runtime are well-judged and handled, a few less so, but not disastrously. The more humorous tone starts off promisingly but by the end of the second episode, I was ready for them to reign it in a bit.

Trailer for A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS released

HBO has released the first full-length trailer for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, its TV adaptation of George R.R. Martin's Dunk & Egg series of novellas, set in the same world as Game of Thrones.

Set 89 years before the events of Game of Thrones, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms tells the story of Ser Duncan the Tall, a penniless "hedge knight" who has to make his way in the world without riches. His fortunes change when he meets Egg, a young boy willing to serve as his squire for the great tourney at Ashford Meadow, where hedge knights mingle with the great and good of the land.

There are three novellas in the series, comprising The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2002) and The Mystery Knight (2010), all assembled in the collection A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2015). Martin has a partially-completed fourth novella in the series, The She-Wolves (working title only) and a planned fifth, The Village Hero, although their current status is unknown. He has mooted writing further novellas in the series, taking the story of Dunk and Egg up through their whole lives.

At the moment HBO are planning to only adapt the existing stories and releasing them between seasons of their other Westeros-set show, House of the Dragon, which is due to air its third season later in 2026.

Season 1 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms begins airing on 18 January 2026.

A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS castmembers announced

HBO has unveiled the cast for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, its forthcoming adaptation of George R.R. Martin's "Dunk & Egg" series of short stories, which act as a prequel to A Song of Ice and Fire and its TV adaptation, Game of Thrones. The show just started shooting in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall in the first officially-released image from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

The show had already announced Irish actor Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall and Dexter Soll Ansell as his squire, Egg. Ser Duncan the Tall, popularly called Dunk, is a young hedge knight, a warrior of humble birth with no family name or backing, who has to make his name through his skill at arms alone. Egg is a young boy he meets on the road with a canny intelligence, whom he reluctantly takes on as a squire.

Joining the cast is Finn Bennett (True Detective: Night Country) as Prince Aerion Targaryen. The second son of Prince Maekar Targaryen, himself the fourth son of King Daeron II, the king at the time of the series, Prince Aerion is known his flights of fancy and bullying nature.

Bertie Carvel (The Crown, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, where he played Jonathan Strange) is playing Prince Baelor Targaryen. Known as Baelor Breakspear, the prince is the oldest son of King Daeron II and his heir, also serving as Hand of the King. He is known for his honour, valour in battle and political savvy. He is honouring the great tourney at Ashford Meadow with his presence.

Tanzyn Crawford (Tiny Beautiful Things) is playing Tanselle. Taneselle is a puppet-maker and player, providing entertainment for the commons.

Daniel Ings (Sex Education) is playing Ser Lyonel Baratheon, popularly called "the Laughing Storm." Lyonel is the heir to Storm's End and is also known for his honour and valour, but he is an outgoing man with a sense of humour. He is a formidable tourney knight.

Sam Spruell (Fargo) is playing Prince Maekar Targaryen. The younger brother of Prince Baelor, Maekar is known for his prickly pride and sternness, but he also has a sense of honour and fairness, if reminded of it. He is driven to distraction by his sons, who seem to delight in frustrating him.

The first season will adapt The Hedge Knight, the first of the three (so far) Dunk & Egg stories, across six episodes. Sarah Adina Smith will direct three episodes, Owen Harris the other three. Ira Parker is serving as showrunner and main writer.

The show is expected to debut on HBO in 2025.

Westeros Timeline

• 1 AC: Conquest of the Seven Kingdoms by Aegon the Conqueror.
• 101 - 131 AC: The events of House of the Dragon take place, ending in the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons (129 - 131 AC).
• 209 AC: Tourney at Ashford Meadow, the events of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms begin.
• 281 AC*: Robert's Rebellion, deposing of the Mad King.
• 298 AC: The events of Game of Thrones begin.

* In the TV show timeline, in the book timeline the Rebellion takes place in 283 AC.

HBO casts Dunk & Egg for A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS: THE HEDGE KNIGHT

HBO has announced that it has found the leads for its upcoming Game of Thrones spin-off series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. The show takes place about seventy years after the events of House of the Dragon and ninety years before Game of Thrones itself, and offers a more ground-level look at the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros during a time of (relative) peace.

Irish actor Peter Claffey will play the role of Ser Duncan the Tall, popularly known as Dunk. Claffey is a relative newcomer, picking up guest spots on Harry Wild and Bad Sisters before winning a lead role as Cormac Kelly on Wreck. He also had roles on Emmerdale and the film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Before that he played professional rugby for Connacht. 

Ser Duncan the Tall is a hedge knight, an honourable and dedicated warrior but who comes from poor beginnings and does not have the wealth, status and privilege that the sons of lords have. Taking up the mantle of a knight after the death of his master, Ser Duncan sets out to win renown at the great tourney of Ashford Meadow, only to inadvertently start mixing with some of the greatest figures in the realm.

At eight years old, Dexter Soll Ansell is even more of a newcomer, having also appeared in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes alongside The Midwich Cuckoos and Christmas on Mistletoe Farm.

Ansell will play Egg, a young runaway boy that Dunk meets on the road who wants to become a squire. Egg joins Dunk in his misadventures, despite Dunk's misgivings.

George R.R. Martin has written three novellas about Dunk & Egg, namely The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2002) and The Mystery Knight (2010). He has also partially written a fourth story, The She-Wolves (not the final title), and planned out a fifth, The Village Hero. The three completed stories are available in an omnibus version, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

Unlike the grand epic events of the novel series A Song of Ice and Fire (adapted to television as Game of Thrones), the Dunk & Egg stories are set in a period of (relative) peace in the Seven Kingdoms, with King Daeron II Targaryen, "The Good," repairing the damages caused by the brief civil war known as the Blackfyre Rebellion and the entry of Dorne into the realm through marriage. Dunk & Egg's adventures bring them to the notice of the powerful, who are not above using a mere hedge knight and his squire for their own ends, even in the back roads of the Seven Kingdoms. 

Ira Parker is the head writer and showrunner for the project, which was greenlit last year. George R.R. Martin will act as a producer and consultant, as will House of the Dragon head honcho Ryan Condal. The show is expected to film this summer for a 2025 debut on HBO.

Several additional Game of Thrones-related projects are in development as animated series or further live-action shows, although HBO seems to have taken its foot off the throttle regarding the number of projects in development. House of the Dragon Season 2 is currently due to debut on 16 June this year.

HBO greenlights second GAME OF THRONES spin-off show, KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS

HBO has taken the plunge on a second Game of Thrones spin-off show. Joining House of the Dragon will be A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight.

The new show will be based on George R.R. Martin's Dunk & Egg series of novellas, of which he has so far published three: The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2002) and The Mystery Knight (2009). Two more novellas are partially written or planned, The Village Hero and The She-Wolves. The first three novellas are available in an omnibus edition called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, hence the inspiration for the series title.

The novellas begin eighty-nine years before the events of Game of Thrones, during the surprisingly peaceful reign of Good King Daeron the Second. The Targaryen dragons are long gone, but the family's hold on the Iron Throne seems secure. A young, tall but poor hedge knight named Ser Duncan the Tall sets out to make his fortune at the Ashford tourney, where his paths cross with a young boy named "Egg." Duncan takes the young boy under his wing as dramatic events unfold from a very minor incident that will completely change the future history of Westeros.

George R.R. Martin has around twelve Dunk & Egg novellas planned in total, but his plan to release them between novels of the mainline series has suffered from the lengthy delays affecting the main novels. It is unclear if the TV show will adapt all of the planned-but-unwritten novellas as well as the published ones, or - if the title suggests - it will adapt The Hedge Knight by itself and then maybe focus on original adventures in the same time period. Unlike the main books, the Dunk & Egg stories are more standalone and also span a much vaster span of time, with the novellas planned to cover the period 209-259 AC (Game of Thrones begins in 298 AC; House of the Dragon will conclude in 131 AC), with years-long gaps between each one.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will be executive produced by George R.R. Martin and House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal. Ira Parker is expected to be head writer and showrunner, having previously written for The Nevers, House of the Dragon, Better Things, The Last Ship, Four in the Morning, Rogue and The Pinkertons.

HBO is also considering a spin-off movie and accompanying TV series about Aegon the Conqueror, and is working with Kit Harington on a possible Game of Thrones sequel series about Jon Snow.

GAME OF THRONES prequel series based on Dunk & Egg in development at HBO

In surprising news, Variety has learned that HBO are developing another Game of Thrones prequel series, this time based on George R.R. Martin's Dunk & Egg series of novellas. This is in addition to House of the Dragon, which is currently in pre-production and casting, and the Long Night pilot, Bloodmoon, which was shot in 2019 but HBO declined to pursue to series.

The Dunk & Egg stories begin eighty-nine years before the events of Game of Thrones (or the first Song of Ice and Fire novel, A Game of Thrones) and chart the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall, a newly-minted common or hedge knight, and his squire, "Egg," a young boy who is more than he seems. George R.R. Martin has so far written three novellas about the characters: The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2002) and The Mystery Knight (2010), with these three stories combined and released as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms in 2015. Martin had planned for around twelve stories in total spanning some fifty years, with the next two, The She-Wolves (not the final title) and The Village Hero, already sketched out and partly written, but on hold until he completes the next Song of Ice and Fire novel. He also alludes to Dunk and Egg's further adventures in his companion book, The World of Ice and Fire (2014), as well as seeding mentions of their adventures in the mainline series novels. Duncan is also mentioned several times in the Game of Thrones TV series.

The Dunk & Egg stories are extremely popular with fans and have seemed ripe for adaptation for many years. Martin has downplayed such a possibility due to his disappointment that HBO overtook him with the main TV series and did not want to repeat the process with Dunk & Egg. Martin has reiterated this many times over the years, to the point of refusing even to hear pitches about the idea. Martin's contract with HBO gives Martin veto over future Game of Thrones spin-offs that do not meet his approval (at the cost that he cannot take material set in the same world to other networks or studios).

The fact that a series is now in development indicates that Martin has changed his mind. It may be that Martin has concluded that with The Winds of Winter already nine years in the works and a further novel to follow, it will simply be far too long before he is able to focus on Dunk & Egg and the stories will not get written in a reasonable timeframe if he continues to wait. This way, he can provide outlines for each of the twelve stories and have other writers develop them into scripts, and they can reach fans much more quickly.

From HBO's point of view, there is tremendous value to the project. It is much closer to the timeframe of Game of Thrones itself and characters from the earlier series can actually appear (the notorious Walder Frey actually appears as a baby in The Mystery Knight). The stories are more straightforward, eschewing the high-budget magic and massive battles of the parent series in favour of more focused adventures on the roads of Westeros. A more episodic road-trip of a series would also contrast favourably with House of the Dragon, which is likely to be very expensive and complex in its storytelling.

The project is in very early days at HBO and HBO have not yet made a pilot or series order, and it may yet not make the grade. However, it sounds like HBO are very keen to get the ball rolling on a series. If so, we should hear more news later this year.

Meanwhile, House of the Dragon is currently knee-deep in casting. It recently added Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Emma D'Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Olivia Cooke as Lady Alicent Hightower, along with Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen. Shooting is expected to begin at the Warner Brothers Studios, Leavesden, in the next few weeks for a 2022 debut.

EDIT: James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly has added more information, confirming that a number of other Game of Thrones-related pitches are currently circulating at HBO and that the network is looking to woo back Bruno Heller, who created and ran the series Rome for them in 2005-07, to get involved. Apparently one pitch under discussion is a show based on Robert's Rebellion, the civil war that brought King Robert Baratheon to power, and is set only seventeen years before the events of Game of Thrones itself, with younger versions of characters like Ned Stark, Littlefinger, Ser Barristan Selmy and Jaime and Tywin Lannister playing key roles. George has been much more vociferous that a Rebellion-era series is unnecessary, which makes me wonder if all these reported pitches are actually pitches to George rather than having already consulted with him. If so that may cast the likelihood of a Dunk & Egg series in some doubt (although I could see George relenting on D&E long before the Rebellion).

Hibberd reports that HBO are looking at Game of Thrones as a streamer-establishing franchise for the HBO Max service, hoping to replicate the huge success of the various Star Wars and MCU shows (so far) on Disney+ and the multiple Star Trek shows on CBS All Access, and it sounds like projects are also in development.

Dunk & Egg heading back to comics

Dunk & Egg, the stars of George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire prequel novella series, are heading back to comics. Bantam Books will release a graphic novel version of the third story, The Mystery Knight, next year.

Dunk and Egg's adventures start eighty-nine years before the events of A Game of Thrones, during the reign of King Daeron II Targaryen. Dunk is a hedge knight who is reluctantly drawn into the orbit of the Targaryen royal family when a royal prince, "Egg", is given to him as a squire. They travel the Seven Kingdoms, with Egg's true identity kept a secret, getting involved in various scrapes. The first two novellas, The Hedge Knight and The Sworn Sword, are both available as graphic novels.

I worked on The Sworn Sword adaptation in a minor capacity, detailing geographic and location descriptions to help the artist.

Mike S. Miller is returning to provide the artwork for the new adaptation, which will be released on 4 July 2017.

Those looking for the prose version of The Mystery Knight can find it, along with its two forebears, in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. George R.R. Martin has two more stories in the planning stages, with the working titles The She-Wolves and The Village Hero, but will not work on either until The Winds of Winter is completed.

Over at Atlas of Ice and Fire, I'm just about to reach the same time period in the cartographic history of the Seven Kingdoms.

A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS is released

Bantam (in the USA) and HarperCollins Voyager (in the UK) released A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms today.

This book is a collection of George R.R. Martin's three Dunk and Egg novellas, short novels spanning a period of time beginning eighty-nine years before the events of A Game of Thrones and expected to conclude approximately fifty years later. The series chronicles the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall, a hedge knight who rises from obscurity to great fame and high office, and his squire "Egg", who is more than he seems.

The collection consists of The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2002) and The Mystery Knight (2010). Martin is working on the fourth story in the series, which has the working (but not final) title of The She-Wolves of Winterfell, but he decided some time ago to rework the story. It will not be released until after The Winds of Winter comes out. A working title of the planned fifth story in the series, The Village Hero, has also been disclosed. Martin has said there may be up to a dozen of these stories in total. Existing Song of Ice and Fire characters have appeared in the Dunk and Egg books, such as a very young Walder Frey, whilst Aemon Targaryen has been mentioned, but as the novellas progress and get closer to the present other characters are likely to appear. Fan speculation is high that the final story will take place at Summerhall on the fateful night of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen's birth.

Of course, in the meantime Martin does have two rather large novels to finish.

A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS cover art

George R.R. Martin has released the cover art for the American edition of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. This is the omnibus which collects together The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight, the three novellas about Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg, set 89 years before the events of A Game of Thrones.

This is the first time the prose editions of the three stories have been collected together in one volume. This edition will be heavily illustrated by Gary Gianni and will be published on 6 October in the UK and USA. The book is already available - minus the illustrations - in some parts of Europe.

George R.R. Martin on A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS and the future of Dunk 'n' Egg

George R.R. Martin has expanded on the forthcoming omnibus re-release of his three Song of Ice and Fire novellas featuring the adventures of the hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his squire Egg.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is already available now in several countries, but Martin confirms that the UK and US releases have been delayed so they can be enhanced with artwork. Artist Gary Gianni is working on a substantial number of illustrations which will be added to The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight for their omnibus appearance. The book is still expected to appear in late 2015.

Martin also clarifies what had been informally known for some time: that HBO do not have the rights to the Dunk 'n' Egg novellas and would have to buy them in a separate deal (the same is true for The Princess and the Queen, The Rogue Prince and historical material like Robert's Rebellion). However, HBO's Game of Thrones rights do include the screen rights to all material set in Westeros, meaning that Dunk 'n' Egg can't be made anywhere else either. Martin does suggest that HBO adapting Dunk 'n' Egg is a possibility, but not for some considerable time.

GRRM confirms that the next story remains the so-called She-Wolves of Winterfell, although that won't be the final title, to be followed by The Village Hero, set back in the Riverlands. Neither of these stories will be worked on prior to him delivering The Winds of Winter, however.