‘House of the Dragon’: George R.R. Martin Sent the Cast Signed Copies of ‘Fire & Blood’
TL;DR:
- The House of the Dragon cast is depicting events from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood.
- According to Steve Toussaint, the author gifted signed copies of Fire & Blood to the stars.
- House of the Dragon will likely delve deeper into the Dance of the Dragons than the book.
House of the Dragon is expanding HBO’s Game of Thrones universe, with the prequel series delving into the Targaryen civil war outlined in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. The show seems poised to explore the Dance of the Dragons in further depth than the book. Still, the actors could get insight into their characters’ circumstances from Martin’s writings. Perhaps that’s why the author sent signed copies of Fire & Blood to the House of the Dragon cast.
‘House of the Dragon’ covers events from George R.R. Martin’s ‘Fire & Blood’
While HBO’s Game of Thrones adapts George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, House of the Dragon brings portions of Fire & Blood to life. The book outlines the lengthy history of House Targaryen. And the HBO prequel zooms in on one specific event: the Dance of the Dragons.
The Dance of the Dragons saw the Targaryens fighting amongst themselves for the Iron Throne, with King Viserys (Paddy Considine) naming his daughter Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock/Emma D’Arcy) his heir. That didn’t go over so well with his brother, Daemon (Matt Smith), or the realm — especially after Viserys fathered sons.
The series will show the results of Viserys’ decision, bringing viewers into another fight for the Iron Throne. And fans can learn more about what the Game of Thrones prequel will cover by reading Fire & Blood. Apparently, Martin even gifted the book to the House of the Dragon cast, offering them further insight into this story if they wanted it.
The ‘House of the Dragon’ cast received signed copies of the book
One wouldn’t need to read Fire & Blood in its entirety to understand House of the Dragon, but the cast could certainly get some insight into the story from George R.R. Martin’s book. And according to Corlys Velaryon actor Steve Toussaint, Martin sent the actors signed copies of Fire & Blood.
During an interview with Men’s Health, Toussaint admitted he didn’t read it — mostly because he wants to stick to what’s in the script:
“George Martin sent us all signed copies of the book. I was going to read it, then I thought, no. What I have to represent is what they’ve written in the script, and they’re going to take liberties with it for dramatic purposes. So I didn’t want to read his interpretation or know what happened to my character.”
It’s a fair point, though it does raise one question: how true to Fire & Blood is the Game of Thrones prequel? The show seems to be sticking to the historical outline Martin provided, but it’s likely to go deeper than the descriptions in the book.
How true to the book is the ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel?
Unlike A Song of Ice and Fire, Fire & Blood isn’t a narrative told from the perspective of multiple characters. Instead, George R.R. Martin’s text details history from a distant, third-person lens — one that’s describing events without being involved.
As such, House of the Dragon will indeed be able to take liberties with the source material. It would have to, as Martin’s writings don’t explore the Dance of the Dragons nearly as thoroughly as the show will. The series will have to expand upon the character dynamics mentioned in the book. And it may go beyond the writing in some ways, especially now that it’s been renewed for season 2.
We’ll have to wait and see just where House of the Dragon takes us. Wherever it goes, viewers can count on plenty of drama in future installments.
New episodes of House of the Dragon air every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.
