Story Review: The Rogue Prince or A King's Brother

And I'm back! I plan on doing a bunch of posts so just be prepared for the deluge. Anyway, I've actually been reading a decent amount so I figured I can come back with some reviews to get this blog started back up again.

The first is a story from an anthology set in the Song of Ice and Fire universe set nearly 200 years before A Game of Thrones.

Anthology Title: Rogues
Editors: George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois

Source

Story: The Rogue Prince or A King's Brother
Author: George R.R. Martin

Characters:

Prince Daemon Targaryen- the younger brother of the king, his behavior leads to many conflicts and confrontations. A very driven man, he will do whatever it takes to get the crown that he believes he deserves. Caraxes is his dragon.

Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen- the would-be queen. She is the only surviving child of her father's first marriage to Aemma Arryn and is the oldest sibling by ten years, leading her father to declare her the heir to the Iron Throne (which may be due to the fact that she has more Targaryen blood tha her half-siblings). Syrax is her dragon.

King Viserys I Targaryen- the firstborn son of Prince Baelon, who died before he ever could become king, devastating the Good King Jaehaerys and throwing Viserys into king hood. He doesn't like confrontation, which leads to a lot of future problems due to his inaction at times.

Queen Alicent Hightower- the second wife of the king. She will do whatever it takes to maintain her power and see her children on the throne/the line of succession. She previously was a caretaker to the Good King and her father serves as Hand of the King.

Setting: During the years 103 AC-129 AC, which cover the period beginning with the death of King Jaehaerys and the ending with the death of King Viserys. The Targaryens are at the peak of their rule and there are numerous dragons (and some wild ones to boot).

Overview: It's hard to describe the plot as this is more of a historical retelling rather than an actual story. Like The Princess and the Queen, Rogues has less focus on the title (meaning the brother) and more focus on the overall conflicts and scandals leading up to the Dance (read: Death) of the Dragons. The most interesting aspect of this story is the fact that we get three different ideas of what could have happened from chaste to salacious which are left open ended, so the reader can decide their own truths. I feel like this was less of a story and more of a prologue info dump but I still found all of the new information interesting. Guidance would be to read this and then read The Princess and the Queen for the most complete story (well...with all of the editing, it'll be the most complete story until we can get the complete unedited version of the entire before, during , after of the war).

FanGirl Rating: 3.5/5 Stars