A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

I almost feel like this should get two separate ratings - 5 stars if you're already invested in Westeros and A Song of Ice and Fire, three starts if you are not. Given that I can only enter one, and I am so invested, then it's an easy 5 stars for me.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdom follows Ser Duncan (“Dunk”) the Tall, squire to a hedge knight who is knighted himself and then becomes involved with the Targaryen family, especially young Aegon, a century before Robert's Rebellion. Readers of ASOIAF might recognize those names - the latter series tells us that Dunk becomes Lord Commander of Aegon's Kingsguard, and it's hinted that Brienne of Tarth is a descendant of his as well. So we know these are characters destined for great things. At this point, though, that greatness has yet to be thrust upon them, and we see them engaged in smaller acts, like setting quarrels over streams and getting involved in tourneys. The smaller scale of their actions provides a nice break from the epic structure of the larger story, and highlights the quiet nobility that the characters have.

This collection isn't a replacement for ASOIAF, and it's not intended to be such - but what it is is a beautiful, enjoyable look into the larger world of Martin's creation.