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Dunk and Egg


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So I've read all 5 ASOIAF books and am currently re-reading the series. My question is do people here recommend the Tales of Dunk & Egg novellas? I see a lot of talk about them in the forum so I assume many people would. Could you guys maybe give me an idea of why they are worth reading. Are characters similarly grey as they are in ASOIAF? Are there interesting political struggles? Epic battles? Any information would be of help.


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So I've read all 5 ASOIAF books and am currently re-reading the series. My question is do people here recommend the Tales of Dunk & Egg novellas? I see a lot of talk about them in the forum so I assume many people would. Could you guys maybe give me an idea of why they are worth reading. Are characters similarly grey as they are in ASOIAF? Are there interesting political struggles? Epic battles? Any information would be of help.

I really enjoyed them. A lot of interesting information on the Targaryens and the Blackfyre Rebellion. Great characters that you'll enjoy following.

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I just recently read The Hedge Knight for the first time and while it was a little slow at first, it picked up the pace massively halfway through and became great. It has some amazing characters like Baelor Breakspear in it, and has my favourite moment in all of A Song of Ice and Fire and The Hedge Knight combined. "ARE THERE NO TRUE KNIGHTS AMONG YOU?!" I seriously got goosebumps reading that scene.

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It has a lighter tone. Main characters are hardly gray. Dunk is a simple man living simpler times. He's a Hedge Knight in a peaceful time (so far), so his battles are not really 'epic', they have a smaller scale. Though he does get involved in important business eventually.



But... they're great. I love the novellas.


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I recommend Dunk and Egg unreservedly.



There are no epic battles actually experienced, the politics is often oblique and the principal characters are not particularly grey in that their sins are but lies, spoken to achieve their fondest dreams.



In other words, what is great and enjoyable about the stories are things are that are different to the ASOIAF novels.



They are the adventures of a not particularly sharp witted hedge knight and his not particularly ferocious squire. They seek decent service round Westeros and on their way encounter early Targaryens, take part in struggles between nobles, tournaments, duels as well as showing us Westeros from the bottom side up. It is eighty or so years before ASOIAF and it is a surprisingly different world.



The other thing about the stories is that they make clear parts of the background to ASOIAF and give fresh insights to characters we know from there and their backgrounds.


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They are well worth reading, since they are set in a time when there are a lot more Targaryens around (no dragons though), and the Blackfyre Rebellion(s) are explored retrospectively.



Since they are short stories, there is not much scope within each tale for "supporting cast" members to be developed much, therefore there are not many "grey" characters - the two central characters that are in each story are, so far, both fairly straighforward and 'good'.



No epic battles yet, but plenty of action, mainly in the form of jousting and one-to-one fights.

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The ? Is why not read them. If your engrossed in ASOIAF then they will just make the series more interesting. Also, like said above you get to meet some interesting characters. And eventually I think the novellas will finish with the tragedy at summerhall. So it goes without saying YES, you NEED to read them. If your a true fan of ASOIAF its your responsibility.

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I highly recommend them. They are much more straight forward, meaning we only get to see Dunk's POV. They show an easier time, meaning that the Targs are the generally respected royals, besides the Blackfyres there are no real contenders. Dunk is a hedge knight, a commoner from the uglier parts of KL, so we see the world out of eyes that are not nobility. I really enjoyed them.


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I didn't think I was going to enjoy them, because I was never really interested in the Targaryans, and it all seemed too long ago to have any relevance, but I'll admit that I was pleasantly surprised.



They're brilliant, and you become involved in the political struggles of the time in just the same way that you would with ASOIAF.


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I've only read The Hedge Knight, so out of curiosity, which of the three is you guys' favourite?

They all have their great moments to recommend them, the sexual come ons in the mystery knight that Dunk is completely oblivious too are hilarious, the dreams and recollections in the sworn sword are powerful, "are there no true knights?" from the hedge knight is as was mentioned above an incredible moment.

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Can somebody please link me to where i can get them? I searched for a long time for THK finally bought it for £8 and when it arrived it was a graphic novel :dunce: , any help would be fantasic!

you can find the answer in the first post of this thread

the stories have all been published in different short story anthologies. There is plan to publish a volume of collected stories but that will probably come out after TWOW.

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