When Game of Thrones first premiered in 2011, it came with a pre-existing fanbase thanks to the Song of ice and Fire novel series.
Written by George R.R. Martin, so far there are five books in the series, with two more hopefully coming later down the line.
His last book in the main series, A Dance of Dragons, released in 2011 and since then the author has been busy working on other projects.
He has been working alongside HBO on the series and its spin-offs, including an upcoming John Snow sequel show, as well as the immensely popular video game Elden Ring.
R.R. Martin has also been writing additions, side-stories and lore expanding material to his main books, with some of it being used for the new show.
What is House of the Dragon about?
House of the Dragon is a prequel series set around 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones.
It follows the Targaryens at the tail-end of their prime and rule.
It tells the tale of how the Targaryen’s collapsed into a civil war between Daemon (played by Matt Smith) and Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock).
This is an event known as the Dance of Dragons, when the giant fire-breathing lizards were all killed off and went extinct.
However, as Game of Thrones viewers know, only three eggs survived which Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clark) revived as the Mother of Dragons in the original show.
Is House of the Dragon based on a book?
House of the Dragon is based on material from R.R. Martin's 2018 novel Fire & Blood.
However, the show is only taking inspiration from the events found in the final third of the book because it is not a novel in the traditional sense.
Instead, it is a fake history that catalogues the reign of Targaryen kings.
From Aegon the Conqueror the end of the Dance of the Dragons, the book is more of an in-universe compendium to flesh out the established lore and backstory from the original series.
The book covers around 150 years of Westeros history, with the Dance of Dragons only covering the final moments of the novel.
When is the next Song of Ice and Fire novel out?
Now this is the ultimate question, and the answer largely comes down to whether you are an optimist of a pessimist.
For over a decade now, book fans have been awaiting the release of The Winds of Winter, the sixth book in The Song of Ice and Fire saga.
Many have given up hope in the intervening years, as R.R. Martin looks continually distracted by new projects in and around Hollywood.
However, on July 16, 2022, the author paraphrased a poem by Robert Frost, with R.R. Martin writing: “The woods were lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep and books to write before I sleep."
It seemed to be a hint at more news to come, but it comes after a April 2021 update in which he disappointed fans by revealing he was massively behind with the book.
On his Not A Blog website, the 73-year-old wrote: "I am hugely behind right now, and the prospect of trying to catch up is increasingly oppressive.”
The Winds of Winter is the sixth book in what is planned to be a seven-book series, with A Dream of Spring also coming later down the line.
However, at the current pace R.R. Martin is plodding along at, fans shouldn’t hold their breath for it.
House of the Dragon will premiere on 21 August 2022 on HBO Max in the USA and 2 August on Sky Atlantic in the UK.
