Westeros’ past becomes a blockbuster present as A Knight of Seven Kingdoms lands on the New York Times bestseller list. Here’s what George R. R. Martin had to say on the subject on his Not A Blog (note Martin’s little nod at author Bernard Cornwell, who recently called the A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones series “very, very dull”):
"Cool news from both sides of the Atlantic. The new illustrated hardcover of A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS has debuted on the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list as #2 in hardcover fiction. Over in the UK, the British edition has landed as #3 on the TIMES list (Bernard Cornwell’s new Uhtred novel is number 1, of course) … Pretty good for a collection of three previously published novellas."
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a collection of Martin’s three “Dunk and Egg” novellas: The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword, and The Mystery Knight, spiced up this time around by Gary Gianni’s brilliant illustrations. In addition to its #2 spot on the Hardcover Fiction list, the book also claimed the #3 spot on the Combined Print & E-Book fiction list. So yes, not bad for a collection of three previously published novellas, indeed.
The slow build-up of accolades for the Song of Ice and Fire series reached its fever pitch with Martin’s fourth installment, A Feast for Crows, which instantly hit number one on the New York Times Hardcover Fiction Bestseller List when it came out in November of 2005. That was the first time a Song of Ice and Fire book went to the top spot right out of the gate, although A Dance with Dragons also landed at #1 upon its release in July of 2011.
The success of the Martin’s following novels and derived works has continued unabated. For example, Martin’s novella, The Princess and the Queen, or, the Blacks and the Greens, another Song of Ice and Fire prequel, was nominated for a Locus Award after its release in Tor Books’ Dangerous Women anthology in 2013. With interest in Game of Thrones higher than ever, we can expect The Winds of Winter to tear the charts up when it’s released…eventually.
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