A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Want some companion stories to Game of Thrones? Of course you do, you addict. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a compilation of the three "prequel" short stories set about 100 years before the Fire and Ice books. You may have heard of these as the Tales of Dunk and Egg.  That sounds like the adventures of randy British schoolboys. Like a medieval Porky's.  It isn't. Sorry.

Dave says George must have made up those names while eating breakfast, and I didn't even tell him of the adventures of Quisp and Special K. Quisp really does sound like a Game of Thrones character, I wonder if he gets confused with the notorious sea pirate Cap'n Crunch.

If you've read the Fire and Ice books and think you'll just breeze through knowing who all these characters are....you'll get a whole lot of nope. You think you'll be able to sort these names, nope, nope and nope. You'll need the internet or be comfortable with the confusion.

This book is illustrated by Gary Gianni which may trick you to think it is more children-friendly. Is it not. It is a little violent and it doesn't have explicit sex but two of illustrations have naked ladies.  My friend Richard does illustration work for a D&D derivative game called Harn. One time he used me as a model for a peasant. If you are ever having a good day but want to turn it into a bad day...just look at yourself in a rendered drawing as a peasant. Yes, I had clothes on, the type of clothes that come straight from the streets of Bucharest during the war. The Russo-Turkish War of 1887.  

Anyway, the book is ok, but not amazing.  It could get you through an uncertain but distant future before the next book if you need a Game of Thrones fix. If you are interested in Richard's work he has a separate blog just for his illustration work. luschekillustrationblog.blogspot.com  For the right price he could draw you as a peasant and ruin your day too.

Drinks: In honor of our beloved Egg character why not drink a famous cocktail that uses an egg white? Egg whites make cocktails all frothy, but use safety precautions because raw eggs put you at risk of Salmonella, which feels like something you would pick up quite easily in Westeros. Ramos Fizz: 1&1/2 oz. gin, 1/2 oz. lime juice, 1/2 lemon juice, 1&1/4 oz. simple syrup, 2 oz. milk or half-and-half, 1 small egg white, 2 dashes orange flower water, club soda. Combine everything but the club soda in a shaker with ice.  Shake, strain and put in a highball glass with ice and top with the club soda.