A collection of three novellas set a hundred years before A Game of Thrones, featuring hedge knight Dunk (Ser Duncan the Tall) and his boy squire Egg (a disguised Aegon V Targaryen).

The first novella, The Hedge Knight, provides background on how Dunk became a knight and while travelling to compete in a jousting tournament encountered Egg, subsequently adopted as Dunk’s squire.

In the second novella, The Sworn Sword, Dunk is a knight in the house of a decrepit has-been who dwells on ancient rivalries with a neighbouring noble family. Dunk finds himself at the forefront of their latest dispute.

The last novella in this collection, The Mystery Knight, tells the tale of the second Blackfyre Rebellion (in short, the efforts of a pretender to the iron throne). This is the only tale in the collection to contain fantastical elements, the previous two presented more like historical fiction. Quite a large amount of characters in this one and sometimes a challenge to keep abreast of who is who and their motivations.

The collection is less grandiose than the main entries in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. An amusing and uncomplicated read.