The Hedge Knight [graphic novel]

This review is actually for the audiobook of The Hedge Knight.

A novella set in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, this is set around a hundred years before the events in Martin's huge work and is slighter in every way. The Hedge Knight of the title is Dunk, a young man raised by a poor masterless knight and trained in the ways of combat and chivalry. We meet him as as he sets out into the world following his elderly mentor's death, heading to a tourney to prove himself.

The tale lacks the intricacy of plot that characterises A Song of Ice and Fire, although things of course do not run smoothly for the would-be knight. Martin's achievement in all the books is create a living, breathing world in the classic fantasy faux-medieval mold and show more divest it entirely of the romantic gloss that usually lends such literature a rosy glow. Combat is brutal, even for men covered in heavy plates of steel and linked mail, and peasants without training or proper weapons have no chance. Life is nasty, brutish and short for all but a favoured elite, and even they are subject to the natural shocks and the treacheries of power. People die, not because of some all controlling destiny or plan of the gods or the universal balance, but simply through bad luck. The mood is often reminiscent of some of the grittier takes on the Arthurian legends, like the movie Excalibur or [a:T.H. White|426944|T.H. White|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1246071532p2/426944.jpg]'s [b:The Once and Future King|43545|The Once and Future King|T.H. White|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1219625031s/43545.jpg|1140206]

Yet the world view is not necessarily bleak. Dunk, like many of Martin's heroes is a truly moral person, who does the right simply because it is the right thing to do. He believes in the true code of chivalry - that the strong should protect the weak and not abuse their power, that promises and bonds are to be kept, that someone with the ability to stop wrongdoing should not stand idly by - even when he sees that his social superiors do not act that way. If good does triumph, it isn't because it is good but because there are people willing to fight for their principles.

This book also helps to fill in a little history of the later saga. We get to see the near ancestors of some of the great houses ad understand more about how the political situation at the start of A Song of Ice and Fire came about.

This novella and the ones that follow it are a nice, light introduction to Martin's world for those who don't yet know it and an interesting snack for those of us waiting the next table-straining course. show less

The graphic novel adaptation of the first 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 Hedge Knight" gives both "Game of Thrones" book and show fans a great look into the history of the Seven Kingdoms by seeing the beginnings of two individuals, Ser Duncan (Dunk) the Tall and the future King Aegon (Egg) V, who impact the series even a century later.

The story begins with Dunk burying his mentor Ser Arlan Pennytree before taking his arms and horses to the Tourney at Ashford Meadow in an attempt to win a place in a lord's show more house by winning a tilt and becoming a champion if only for a little while. Unfortunately Dunk finds himself broiled in a family feud, but this family happens to be the dynasty of the dragonkings--the Targaryens. Not only does Dunk find his temporary squire to be a Prince, but he punches and kicks Egg's older (cruel) brother Aerion which could either leave him dead or maimed. Dunk's fate comes down to a unique form of trial by combat, which has ramifications not only for him but knightly families and the realm itself.

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. If anything after viewing their work I'm tempted to find more graphic novel either man has worked on given the good quality of work each put in this book.

If you're a fan of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" world and haven't gotten this book yet I recommend you get it; if you're a television fan of "Game of Thrones" I highly recommend you get this book to see how the ancestors of some of your favorite and least favorite characters interacted while also seeing the Targaryens on the throne. show less

oh what a treat! I've put this book off for so long - I'm not sure what I thought it was going to be, but this wasn't it. Set in the same world as the ice and fire books (game of thrones etc) but long before them - no characters we know but a few names we know here and there - it's a great short sweet tale of honour and chivalry and jousting and morals. I saw some jousting a couple of months back by some brave and interesting reenactment types - one of whom I fell a little bit in love with, as his squire dressed him and he told us about his armour, and greatly admired my 'hunting hound' (also known as the idiot beagle). He may have clanked as he walked away, but it certainly made this book feel real. As ever with Mr Martin, the show more characters are wonderfully written and believable, and while it was extremely short, I honestly don't think it's one I'm likely to forget any time soon. I seen to be reading a lot of short, exciting 'romps' as the moment, but it was most certainly exciting and kept me reading. in fact, I'd planned to get an early night today as tomorrow I'm off to a convention to meet "Daniel Jackson" from Stargate Sg1 but instead it's gone 11pm and I'm still up and my Stargate uniform isn't even ironed yet. But more importantly, I finished this book... show less

Better-written than the main Game of Thrones books, possibly because it contains fewer viewpoint shifts and is relieved of the necessity to clearly signpost differences in character. A pleasure to read.

oh what a treat! I've put this book off for so long - I'm not sure what I thought it was going to be, but this wasn't it. Set in the same world as the ice and fire books (game of thrones etc) but long before them - no characters we know but a few names we know here and there - it's a great short sweet tale of honour and chivalry and jousting and morals. I saw some jousting a couple of months back by some brave and interesting reenactment types - one of whom I fell a little bit in love with, as his squire dressed him and he told us about his armour, and greatly admired my 'hunting hound' (also known as the idiot beagle). He may have clanked as he walked away, but it certainly made this book feel real. As ever with Mr Martin, the show more characters are wonderfully written and believable, and while it was extremely short, I honestly don't think it's one I'm likely to forget any time soon. I seen to be reading a lot of short, exciting 'romps' as the moment, but it was most certainly exciting and kept me reading. in fact, I'd planned to get an early night today as tomorrow I'm off to a convention to meet "Daniel Jackson" from Stargate Sg1 but instead it's gone 11pm and I'm still up and my Stargate uniform isn't even ironed yet. But more importantly, I finished this book... show less

This is my son Daniel's book, which I borrowed to read as it is a prequel to Martin's famous Song of Ice and Fire series. I just read Game of Thrones for the first time last year, and it was a five star read for me - highly entertaining and well written with characters that have depth. This book, The Hedge Knight is a graphic novel that is based on a series of novellas that Martin wrote as prequels to Game of Thrones. This story takes place about 90 years before the Game of Thrones story. Here, Dunk, a young squire to a Hedge Knight that has just died must decide what he will do next. With limited options available to him, he decides to compete in an upcoming tourney as a knight (he will claim to have been knighted by his previous show more master). So, taking the dead knight's armor and his remaining possessions, Dunk morphs into Ser Duncan the Tall, heads to Ashford, meeting up with Egg, a young boy, on the way. Egg is not happy with his job at an inn and offers to become Duncan's squire, but Duncan turns him down. Egg follows him anyway, eventually talking Duncan into taking him on as squire. Getting entered into the tourney, however, is easier said than done. Someone must sponsor Duncan, getting armor that fits him is much more expensive than he thought, and because he is not a blood relative of the knight that he served, he cannot inherit his arms - he must come of with a sigil of his own for his shield. Still, things are coming together nicely until Duncan comes to blows with the wrong man - Prince Aerion Targaryen. What unfolds is legend and sets events into play that will lead to the rich history that precedes the story in A Game of Thrones.

Not only is the storyline very interesting and well written here, but the artwork is just excellent. Rich and detailed, it brings the story to life. This was a fun and fast read that did not disappoint on any level. I am giving it 5 stars (for a GN). Highly recommended. show less

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in The Tales of Dunk and Egg, there are three graphic novels in this series. I borrowed this from the library.

Story (3/5): This follows the story of Dunk who was a squire to a Hedge Knight who passed away. Dunk is looking for a sponsor to become a Hedge Knight himself and compete in a tournament. However, when he defends a puppeteer from a noble's unwanted attention his very life is at stake.

This was okay. It’s basically “A Knight’s Tale” in comic book format, without the romance, and with a lot of random Game of Thrones characters I couldn’t remember. It’s a typical story of an underdog getting pulled into noble politics and coming out ahead. There is a ton of nobility from the show more main series pulled into here that I neither remembered nor care about. I ended up just scanning parts of this because I didn’t really care which noble did what.

Characters (3/5): Dunk is your typical underdog, he is exactly what you expect and doesn’t grow or change as a character throughout the book. I liked Egg a lot better, he was a lot more complex than Dunk. The rest of the side characters are various nobility that were forgettable. There are a couple other side characters that hold potential to be interesting (the puppeteer that Dunk likes being one) but they are very in the background in this book.

Setting (3/5): This is a very typical fantasy setting. Dunk and Egg journey through some generic fantasy woods and then end up at a jousting tournament.

Writing/Drawing Style (3/5): The drawing was well done but nothing unique, there is a decent amount of detail, good color and it’s easy to follow. The story was okay, pretty typical and nothing too exciting. As I mentioned above there are a ton of nobles from Game of Thrones in here and lots and lots of names thrown around that I just didn’t care about.

My Summary (3/5): Overall this okay but I would have been fine skipping it too. I don’t plan on continuing the series. If you are a die-hard Game of Thrones fan you might enjoy some of the background here. I personally thought there were way too many characters thrown in here that I didn’t care about. I also thought the story was really predictable, the setting was boring, and the characters were poorly developed. show less