What book is House of the Dragon based on?

One of the biggest series in the history of TV is getting a new lease of life, with House of the Dragon set to return to the world of Game of Thrones.

The series is based on the work of George RR Martin and marks the first time viewers get to visit Westeros on screen since the original show ended in 2019.

The trailer was revealed earlier this summer - and people were even saying back that it looked better than the original.

The new fantasy drama stars Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen and Emma D’Arcy as his royal rival Rhaenyra Targaryen.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Other cast members include Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Paddy Considine as Viserys Targaryen, Eve Best as Rhaenys Targaryen, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, and Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon.

Here’s everything you need to know about the inspiration behind the show.

What book is House of the Dragon based on?

The new series delves deep into Game of Thrones loreHBO

House of the Dragon is based on the George RR Martin novel Fire and Blood.

It was published in 2018 - the year before the final season of Game of Thrones was released.

The prequel series tells the story of Rhaenyra and Aegon Targaryen, and is set 200 years before the events of the hugely popular fantasy series.

A grand anthology book, Fire and Blood is only one half of the works Martin has planned to fill in the story before the beginning of the novels that make up the main A Song of Ice and Fire series.

The show is expected to focus on the events found around half of the way through Fire and Blood, exploring the fourth Targaryen king’s rule and his search for an heir.

The source book is packed with details and hundreds of characters as you’d expect.

Sadly though, for fans who are familiar with the material, there isn’t going to be space in the TV series for one of the favourite characters in the book.

Mushroom the fool, who is described as “a three-foot-tall dwarf possessed of an enormous head” won’t be appearing - despite him been behind some of the most engaging moments in the novel.

House Of The Dragon will air on Sky and streaming service Now from August 22.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.