Fire & Blood, G.R.R. Martin's prequel novel about the dragon-riding Targaryens, was described by The Times as "interminable, self-indulgent crap" — the perfect lore-bound expository raw material for House of the Dragon, HBO's forthcoming effort to revive a franchise left stone cold dead by the last season of Game of Thrones.
It looks great, though, with an excellent cast of thesps such as Emma D'Arcy and Matt Smith, who appears to have thoroughly stripmined the cinematic potential of Michael Moorcock antihero Elric of Melniboné. The 10-episode show will debut in 2022.
