Gather up Game of Thrones fans, we have got some things to talk about. First things first, a Game of Thrones prequel called “House of the Dragon” is coming, and has officially been announced by HBO and Game of Thrones. Many sources claim that the release date will lie somewhere in 2022, but only time will tell.
#HouseOfTheDragon, a #GameofThrones prequel is coming to @HBO.
The series is co-created by @GRRMSpeaking and Ryan Condal. Miguel Sapochnik will partner with Condal as showrunner and will direct the pilot and additional episodes. Condal will be writing the series. pic.twitter.com/9ttMzElgXm
— Game of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) October 29, 2019
The Game of Thrones prequel will be all about the Targaryen family, set in Westeros some 300 years before Daenerys Targaryen takes her reign. So all ye sulking Danny fans, time for you to rejoice. Also, this show is based on George R.R. Martin’s new book “Fire & Blood”, whose release date is just around the corner.
Happy to announce that Fire & Blood, the inspiration behind the upcoming House of the Dragon, will release in paperback on May 5th in the US, Canada, and UK. This paperback edition will include 5 brand new illustrations. Pre-orders begin soon! https://t.co/yluQ0zFfcJ pic.twitter.com/sYq0HwTPjJ
— George RR Martin (@GRRMspeaking) January 13, 2020
In his Not a Blog, GRRM has written accolades for the show-runners of the Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon – Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik. Whereas, on his website, he says the book will walk us through the tale of the creator of the Iron Throne, the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, and his generations to come after him on the throne. GRRM suggests to wait out the time before the show and the book
You might want to pick up a copy of two anthologies I did with Gardner Dozois, DANGEROUS WOMEN and ROGUES, and then move on to Archmaester Gyldayn’s history, FIRE & BLOOD.
Old Martin’s fans are pissed
Why though? Well the thing is, GRRM hasn’t delivered on his long due promise. To be exact, a promise that has been dangling since 2011, with an ever-delaying release date. Let me give you a little background first. Following list contains the names of seven books which will complete the series “A Song of Ice and Fire”, on which the entire season of Game of Thrones was based:
- A Game of Thrones, 1996
- A Clash of Kings, 1999
- A Storm of Swords, 2000
- A Feast for Crows, 2005
- A Dance with Dragons, 2011
- The Winds of Winter, forthcoming
- A Dream of Spring, forthcoming
If it were a perfect world, GRRM would have found the time to pen down his books. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss would have taken it slow to adapt each book into more than one season. But it’s not a perfect world. Is it? GRRM couldn’t catch up with the lads in time, and they had no choice but to take the inevitable route of a different ending from the book. After the disappointment that was felt by many when the show ended, and the way it ended, the fans still clung to one hope. The hope that the old guy will deliver them the closure they had been longing for, one fine day. And when GRRM tweeted about the release date of his new book “Fire & Blood” instead of “The Winds of Winter”, they lost it.
In his defense
Well, he stated that his publishers asked him to prioritize Fire & Blood before anything else. Strange right? Even GRRM has to answer to someone.
