Hedge Knight

Rating:
Summary: I don't know how he does it.
Review: Every book I have read by this man has ruined the one I read after his. There are so few writers who can reach the level on which this author writes. If you are a fantasy lover and have never read any of his novels you are missing out.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Addition to Martin's Series
Review: I first the discovered "The Hedge Knight" when reading the "Legends" short-stories collection -- it was my first introduction GRRM's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series and immediately led me to pick up "A Game of Thrones," which I had owned for nearly a year without reading. The great thing about this graphic novel is that is does a great job of bringing a visual aspect to Martin's written words. In many ways, the artists just "got" the feeling of the short story and Martin's series down to a tee. This a great addition for any collector of Martin's work and a must-read for fans of the series.

Rating:
Summary: A comic book? Oh, more than that!
Review: I had already read THE HEDGE KNIGHT as it appeared in a collection of short stories, but gladly accepted when a friend offered to loan me this "comic book" version.


First of all, I am a big fan of George R.R. Martin's SONG OF ICE AND FIRE saga, and I'm enduring withdrawal pains as I await the oft-postponed release of the next book. THE HEDGE KNIGHT actually predates the SONG OF ICE AND FIRE books (not by publishing date, but in the history of the world depicted). It is a wonderful tale of knights, rivalries, chivalry, and the true meaning of honor. The main character, Duncan the Tall, a.k.a. Dunk the Lunk, has a profound impact on the world around him, albeit not in the immediate sense, but through the ripple effect. His actions, and the actions of others in response to him, impact the future of the world in the SONG OF ICE AND FIRE series in ways that cannot be overstated. Duncan's squire, Egg, is also much mo9re than he initially appears to be. Fans of the SONG OF ICE AND FIRE series will also note that Sir Duncan the Tall is mentioned several times, historically, in A STORM OF SWORDS.


As to this particular rendition of THE HEDGE KNIGHT, it is faithful to the original short story, albeit slightly enhanced. The drawings are very well-done. It is certainly a temporary reprieve for those who long for A FEAST OF CROWS, the next book in the series.

Rating:
Summary: Nice Interpretation
Review: I'm a fan of Martin's series, "A Song of Ice and Fire", as well as his Dunk & Egg stories, and so I was understandably pleased to see that a graphic novel adaptation of the first Dunk & Egg tale had been collected. While no artist will fully capture the images and experience conjured by reading the story itself, the authors here have done a nice job. I was surprised (and pleased) at how the story was paced, and some of the interpretations of arms and armor, heraldry, characters, etc. was creatively done. Keep in mind, fans of fantasy, that there is very little of the fantastical in this story; only a dream sequence dealing with dragons, and a flashback, contain what could be considered fantasty elements, really. The rest is good old-fashioned knights and swashbuckling. Can't wait to see the next story.

Rating:
Summary: Nice Interpretation
Review: I'm a fan of Martin's series, "A Song of Ice and Fire", as well as his Dunk & Egg stories, and so I was understandably pleased to see that a graphic novel adaptation of the first Dunk & Egg tale had been collected. While no artist will fully capture the images and experience conjured by reading the story itself, the authors here have done a nice job. I was surprised (and pleased) at how the story was paced, and some of the interpretations of arms and armor, heraldry, characters, etc. was creatively done. Keep in mind, fans of fantasy, that there is very little of the fantastical in this story; only a dream sequence dealing with dragons, and a flashback, contain what could be considered fantasty elements, really. The rest is good old-fashioned knights and swashbuckling. Can't wait to see the next story.

Rating:
Summary: A knight who remembered his vows
Review: If I could, I'd give a copy of this comic book fantasy to every police officer, sheriff's deputy, and constable in the world. The story told is that of a Medieval morality play, in which what is right and what is "officially proper" are at odds with each other, as they often have been (and still are) in the real world. The "hedge knight" Duncan the Tall is a symbol for every good man who defies or fights an evil System for a noble cause. The story offers a reminder that while laws are written by men, morals are not, and that the world is sick when one forbids what the other requires.

Seeking fame as a knight, Dunk and his recently acquired young squire go to a tournament. During the games, one of the king's grandsons, Aerion, takes offense at a puppet show being shown by a young woman puppeteer, so he "arrests" her and begins to beat her, breaking her fingers, while his guards hold off the crowd. Duncan hears of the trouble, charges through the crowd, tosses the guards every which way, and falls on the princeling in a fury of fists and feet.

Knights must protect the weak and defend the innocent, even if the oppressor is someone with rank.

The princeling's guards finally subdue Dunk, and the Aerion has threatened to break out all of Duncan's teeth and then disembowel him, when suddenly Duncan's squire appears and orders Aerion's guards to back off. And they do. It turns out that the squire, whom Duncan had known as "Egg," is in reality a prince himself, shamed so badly by his brother's degeneracy that he ran away from home to live among the peasants.

Duncan is charged with treason and held in a prison cell, not allowed to participate in the tournament games. Ancient laws give Sir Duncan the choice, either of having a hand and a foot cut off, or to face the prince in single combat. Duncan chooses the combat. The same ancient laws, however, give the princeling an option. Instead of facing Duncan alone, he can insist that he (and his party) fight Dunk (and his) in a sort of collective duel in which seven knights face seven knights in a joust-like battle -- but with real weapons of war, not with tournament mock weapons. The battle would continue until one side yields or until all the knights on one side are dead.

The problem is that Duncan is a "nobody," whereas the princeling can count on the help of several of his royal relatives and can command members of the king's guard to fight on his side. When Duncan protests that he knows of no one who will take his part, he's told (by Aerion's father) that his failure to come up with six champions to fight beside him, in the single day before the battle is to begin, will prove his guilt - the idea being that the world is full of good men, and good men always fight for a just cause.

It is an assumption that is largely false, and the pretense to the contrary is no doubt highly convenient to those in power. But, nonetheless, Duncan does find six champions, despite the treacherous defection of one who was expected to volunteer. The last of the champions was Aerion's uncle, Prince Baelor, heir to his father's throne. Of all the royal characters, Baelor is the only one to concede that Duncan did right to punch Aerion in the face, and he is taking Duncan's side for the same reason that Duncan fought Aerion to save a puppetteer.

The best moment of the book, though, is when Duncan enters the field early and is joyously mobbed by affectionate peasants. Duncan - never the brightest knight in the realm - asks himself out loud why the peasants love him so well: "What am I to them?"

His answer is a reply from the armorer who made his shield: "A knight who remembered his vows."

Rating:
Summary: True to form
Review: Man, I just love King George! I really couldn't tell you how many times I could read and re-read his Song of Fire and Ice series. This is a great filler while you are painfully waiting for the Feast. The artwork is so well down in this "extended comic book." Characters are introduced that are prequels to the future series. The names wIll definitely ring a bell, if you are familiar to the series. This was just a well done short story, full of sacrifice, back-stabbing, characters that are more than they appear. Basically, everything you would expect from Mr. Martin, just in condensed form. A MUST READ FOR MARTIN FANS!

Rating:
Summary: A Tender Morsel
Review: Reading The Hedge knight is like selecting a small sample from a buffet. If you like the taste you can go back and heap your plate full of "A Song of Ice and Fire".

Martin sure likes names. Such a short book and there are so many names. Ser Humfrey Hardyng from the Vale of Arryn, Ser Donnel of Duskendale, Ser Ryam Redywne, Ser Steffon Fossoway, Ser Arlan of Pennytree... Dozens and dozens of names and places and the main character (The Hedge Knight) is called "Dunk". It adds an element of confusion to an otherwise simple little story.

It's an entertaining story that should be sampled by first time Martin readers before signing up for the phone book series (that has hundreds and hundreds of character names), or simply enjoyed by die hard Martin followers.


Rating:
Summary: Graphic Novel!
Review: So much more than a comic, it's a graphic novel. Well in this case a graphic short story. Near the end of "A Storm OF Swords" Jamie Lannister(The Kingslayer) is reading the white book of the Kingsguard and pondering his legacy, and the Great men who came before him. One of the great names is SIR DUNCAN THE TALL. So here we can see the begining of basic knightly virtues that make Dunk the Lunk, a man with the potential to rise as high as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. Dunk's a great guy. So is his squire Egg...or His Magisty Aegon Targaryen(the Unlikely) 5th of his name. Hopefully there will more Dunk and Egg stories after the Swron Sword(legends vol2). In the White Book, it mentions that Dunk wins a tourney or two...so he gets some skills as a Knight!!

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully drawn
Review: The book is beautifully drawn and a more than adequate graphic representation of the original Martin story. Unfortunately, like most books published these days, it suffers a little from bad proofreading / editing though the errors are not as many nor as glaring as some I have come across.