Graphic Novel Review – The Hedge Knight by George R. R. Martin, Ben Avery, Mike S. Miller (3/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Graphic Novel
Length: 184 pages
Publisher: WJet City Comics
Release Date: November 5, 2013
ISBN-13 : 978-1477849101
Stand Alone or Series: 1st volume in The Tales of Dunk and Egg
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 3/5 stars
“ In this comic book/graphic novel adaptation set one hundred years before the events in George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Hedge Knight chronicles a young squire as he travels the cruel and complex path to knighthood in the Seven Kingdoms.
Shouldering his fallen master’s sword and shield, Duncan (or “Dunk”) is determined to reinvent himself as a knight in a nearby tournament. But first Dunk needs a sponsor, and that requirement sends him down a road studded with friends, foes, adventure, and hidden agendas. One such friend is Egg, who becomes Dunk’s squire, yet even he may hold secret motivations of his own.
In this gripping prequel, Dunk and Egg seek glory in a world both familiar and new to Game of Thrones fans. What the two fortune seekers encounter, however, is a world of distrust and political machinations. Chivalry is not lost while Dunk holds fast to his dreams of honor. But such outdated virtues make him a target—and they may even lead to his ruin. This vivid and elaborately wrought tale brings new dimension to George R. R. Martin’s beloved world.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in The Tales of Dunk and Egg, there are three graphic novels in this series. I borrowed this from the library.
Story (3/5): This follows the story of Dunk who was a squire to a Hedge Knight who passed away. Dunk is looking for a sponsor to become a Hedge Knight himself and compete in a tournament. However, when he defends a puppeteer from a noble’s unwanted attention his very life is at stake.
This was okay. It’s basically “A Knight’s Tale” in comic book format, without the romance, and with a lot of random Game of Thrones characters I couldn’t remember. It’s a typical story of an underdog getting pulled into noble politics and coming out ahead. There is a ton of nobility from the main series pulled into here that I neither remembered nor care about. I ended up just scanning parts of this because I didn’t really care which noble did what.
Characters (3/5): Dunk is your typical underdog, he is exactly what you expect and doesn’t grow or change as a character throughout the book. I liked Egg a lot better, he was a lot more complex than Dunk. The rest of the side characters are various nobility that were forgettable. There are a couple other side characters that hold potential to be interesting (the puppeteer that Dunk likes being one) but they are very in the background in this book.
Setting (3/5): This is a very typical fantasy setting. Dunk and Egg journey through some generic fantasy woods and then end up at a jousting tournament.
Writing/Drawing Style (3/5): The drawing was well done but nothing unique, there is a decent amount of detail, good color and it’s easy to follow. The story was okay, pretty typical and nothing too exciting. As I mentioned above there are a ton of nobles from Game of Thrones in here and lots and lots of names thrown around that I just didn’t care about.
My Summary (3/5): Overall this okay but I would have been fine skipping it too. I don’t plan on continuing the series. If you are a die-hard Game of Thrones fan you might enjoy some of the background here. I personally thought there were way too many characters thrown in here that I didn’t care about. I also thought the story was really predictable, the setting was boring, and the characters were poorly developed.
