The Bottled Imp - Episode 24

Fantasy Book Review.

‘The Iron King’
by Maurice Druon

The Imp takes a look at ‘The Iron King’ Book One of The Accursed Kings by Maurice Druon, published by HarperVoyager in 2013.

George R. R. Martin calls this ‘the original ‘Game of Thrones’! Wow! That’s quite a claim. Martin has written the foreword to this edition, explaining the reason why. He states that his book series ‘A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones)’ has been described by reviewers, as ‘historical fiction about history that never happened, flavoured with a dash of sorcery and spiced with dragons’. He continues to argue that historical fiction and fantasy are ‘sisters under the skin, two genres separated at birth’.

I’d agree with that assessment whole-heartedly and so ‘The Iron King’ is a strong contender for being a Game of Thrones sibling. Or maybe more of a father or mother as ‘The Iron King’ was published way back in 1955 whereas A Song of Ice and Fire was first published in 1996. I can see many influences from ‘The Iron King’ that Martin has been inspired by when creating his book series but I can also see enough differences too. Fiction, and all creative arts, inspires and influences each creator in turn and it’s fascinating to trace the history of ideas and creativity. The King is dead, long live the King!

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The Bottled Imp
Exploring the Realms of Fantasy.

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Presented by Ken Boyter
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Produced by Julian Newman Turner
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Music by Greg Breden
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Artwork by Richard Nairn
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