#A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE BOOKS SERIES#

Robert asks Eddard to become the new Hand of the King after the death of the previous office holder, Lord Jon Arryn. The queen's twin brother, Ser Jaime Lannister of the Kingsguard, and their younger brother Tyrion, the Imp (so named for his dwarfism), also accompany the group. King Robert I Baratheon arrives at Winterfell with his court and many retainers, including his wife, Queen Cersei of House Lannister, and his children: Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen. Unexpectedly, Jon finds a sixth pup lying separately nearby: an albino runt with white fur and red eyes. Eddard's youngest, three-year-old Rickon, names his Shaggydog.

There are five pups, one for each of Eddard's trueborn children: Robb names his Grey Wind and Bran names his Summer, whilst Eddard's daughters Sansa and Arya name theirs Lady and Nymeria respectively. Robb and his brothers ask to keep them and Eddard consents, on the condition that the children themselves take care of them, rather than leaving the matter to the servants of House Stark. After the beheading, Robb finds a dead direwolf (the sigil of House Stark), killed by the antlers of a stag (the sigil of House Baratheon), which had given birth to five pups before it died. His sons Robb and Bran, his bastard son Jon Snow, and his ward Theon Greyjoy all attend. The story continues for many months, until 299Р’В AC.Р”В®ddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, performs the execution of a man of the Night's Watch who has betrayed his vows and fled from the Wall. The most storylines begin in the year 298Р’В AC (After Conquest), whilst the prologue takes place in 297Р’В AC. Balon's two eldest sons were killed and his youngest son, Theon, was given to the care of Eddard Stark as a ward.Р”Р„ Game of Thrones follows three principal storylines as they develop in tandem with one another. Six years later, King Robert proved his resolve by defeating a rebellion by Lord Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands. After the war House Martell chose a path of isolation, since Prince Doran's sister Elia Martell (Prince Rhaegar's wife) and her young children had been killed by knights sworn to House Lannister during the storming of the capital.

Despite Robert's victory, the Mad King's younger son Viserys and only daughter Daenerys were taken to safety across the sea by loyal retainers. Unfortunately, during the war, Lyanna Stark had died, apparently of illness shortly after her brother captured the fortress where she'd been held captive Robert Baratheon instead married Cersei Lannister to cement the alliance with her House.

The Tyrells and remaining royalists surrendered and Robert Baratheon was declared King of the Seven Kingdoms. Jaime Lannister of the Kingsguard betrayed and murdered King Aerys and House Lannister swore loyalty to Robert Baratheon. The Lannisters finally agreed to support King Aerys, but then brutally turned against him, sacking the capital at King's Landing. The civil war climaxed with the Battle of the Trident, when Prince Rhaegar was killed in battle by Robert Baratheon. The powerful House Tyrell continued to support the King, but House Lannister and House Martell both stalled due to insults against their houses by the Targaryens. Her second brother, Eddard, joined his boyhood friend Robert Baratheon and Jon Arryn, with whom they had been fostered as children, in declaring war against the ruling Targaryen dynasty, securing the allegiances of House Tully and House Arryn through a network of dynastic marriages (Lord Eddard to Catelyn Tully and Lord Arryn to Lysa Tully). The Mad King, Aerys II Targaryen, had Lyanna's father and eldest brother executed when they demanded her safe return. In Westeros the seasons last for years, sometimes decades, at a time.Р”Р‡ifteen years prior to the novel, the Seven Kingdoms were torn apart by a civil war, known alternately as 'Robert's Rebellion' and the 'War of the Usurper.' Prince Rhaegar Targaryen kidnapped Lyanna Stark, arousing the ire of her family and of her betrothed, Lord Robert Baratheon (the war's titular rebel). The novella Blood of the Dragon, comprising the Daenerys Targaryen chapters from the novel, won the 1997 Hugo Award for Best Novella.Р”Р„ Game of Thrones is set in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, a land reminiscent of Medieval Europe. The novel was nominated for the 1998 Nebula Award and the 1997 World Fantasy Award, and won the 1997 Locus Award.

#A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE BOOKS SERIES#

A Game of Thrones is the first of seven planned novels in A Song of Ice and Fire, an epic fantasy series by American author George R.

A song of ice and fire books