The Ice Dragon (George R.R. Martin)

The Ice Dragon is a nice companion story to the standard Song of Ice and Fire world. First published as a short story in a compendium titled Dragons of Light, this 1980′s tale was given a new treatment in the 2006 Tor rerelease.

Featuring illustrations by Yvonne Gilbert, The Ice Dragon is the story of a young girl born in the winter of the cold north. She is emotionless and awkward. Her skin is as cold as her personality. She is very reminiscent of a wight from the core series, but alive and obviously human. She is frequently and secretly visited by an ice dragon, whose breath can freeze and kill in seconds, and who cannot be tamed or touched by humans.. Except for her.

Martin fans should take thirty minutes out to read this. It occurs in the years before the ice and fire series, and there is no mention of the ruling families or even of a wall to the north.. So how far in the past I couldn’t say, but far enough that there are armies of dragon riders in the war.

I would be curious after reading this how the wights fit in, are all of them truly undead or are they (similar to cold hands) something else, perhaps joyless emotionless humans like the girl in this tale.

I digress into theory though. This was excellent. Good for adults or children alike.