The Hedge Knight is the first installment in the three-part Tales of Dunk and Egg series, written by George R.R. Martin. All three stories are set in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, taking place roughly 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones. The second story, The Sworn Sword, will likely serve as the foundation for the second season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms — which I’m currently reading. And the third entry is called The Mystery Knight.
All three stories were adapted into comic book and graphic novel form. A format I’ve always gravitated toward, especially when it comes to sci-fi — This story is essentially the foundation for the first season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
Anyhow, here are a few quick thoughts on The Hedge Knight graphic novel I just finished reading, and how satisfying it is to spend time in Westeros in an illustrated format.
This isn’t the kind of story people expect from a world like Game of Thrones. No dragons. No grand battles. No kings sitting on thrones making speeches. No spectacle disguised as mythology. Just men grinding through loyalty, and pride.
Dunk moves through it like a man slightly out of place — too honest for the world he’s in, too stubborn to change. Trying to do the right thing with instincts that don’t always match the moment. Still carrying the memory of Ser Arlan of Pennytree like it’s something that can guide him… or maybe just weigh him down.
Egg is running in the opposite direction. Escaping the suffocating comfort of royalty, trying to understand the world from the ground level. Not as a prince, but as a boy pretending to be something simpler. Searching for something real — something that court life could never teach him.
The HBO series got all those things right.
The drawings don’t romanticize any of it. It depicts the violence as it is, and I feel like the TV series also captured the claustrophobic nature of the final combat sequence beautifully.
This is a graphic novel every Game of Thrones fan should have in their collection.
THE HEDGE KNIGHT. Written by George R.R. Martin. Adapted by Ben Avery. Illustrated by: Mike S. Miller, and Mike Crowell.
Rod Rioja 