That was a fun little introduction to a Song of Ice and fire, though I wonder if I wouldn't have gotten more out of it had I read it after the series. As it is, I often wished for a family tree to know just how the characters here are related to the ones in the show. I did like that it showed there was good as well as evil in the Targaryen clan, and that history could have been different. George R.R. Martin's themes are already clear; people who defend the weak are good, but goodness does not necessarily protect.