Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Before Game of Thrones started.

Before Game of Thrones started. Ser Duncan the Tall roamed the countryside. But maybe it was just Dunk drinking the poop out of Flea's ass. That remains to be seen in three successive novellas set some 80 years before A Song of Ice and Fire and G. R. R. Martin proves here, in a relatively small space, what a great writer he is.
The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms contains three stories of Duncan the Tall, who, instead of using the subtle finesse of courtiers, much prefers to use his common sense and his sword. His companion is the squire Egg, who is someone a little different than it might seem at first glance.
G. R. R. Martin has written these novels for various anthologies over a number of years, and they show how detailed his world is. The story is set in the aftermath of the rebellion of Temnozar. Who's the Tempest Bearer? Left-hand man of Targaryen Aegon IV. A disgraceful one, who inherited from his father the sword that many believed entitled him to rule. Daeron II, the rightful heir, had to face the rebellion of half of Westeros...
And it is in the aftermath of the rebellion, but long before the overthrow of the Targaryens, that our three stories take place. Although they are about a wandering knight of very low birth, the main characters in all the novellas get much closer to dark intrigue than they would like. G. R. R. Martin slowly but uncompromisingly reveals what the mutiny was all about and gives the naive young knight a hard time. Never mind the virtues of chivalry! And the truth? Which one is the right one? With the Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, you won't be bored for a moment.
The first of these novels has already been published in Czech without much notice (and in a different translation)... But it's been many years now and from G. R. R. Martina, meanwhile, has become a writing star of the first magnitude. Also thanks to the Game of Thrones series, we can expect Dunk and his squire Egg to appeal to a much larger readership this time around.