In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and sinister forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall.

Here is the third volume in Martin's cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. Magic, mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill these pages. The Seven Kingdoms are torn by strife as the three surviving contenders for the throne continue their struggle for power, Robb Stark defends his fledgling kingdom from the ravaging Greyjoys, Winterfell lies in ruins, Jon Snow confronts an escalating threat from behind the Wall,...

New threats emerge to endanger the future of the Seven Kingdoms, as Daenerys Targaryen, ruling in the East, fights off a multitude of enemies, while Jon Snow, Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, faces his foes both in the Watch and beyond the great Wall of ice and stone.

The first volume of a definitive two-part history of the Targaryens in Westeros is set centuries before the events of "A Game of Thrones" and answers key questions about the dynasty's origins, conflicts and relationships with dragons. House Targaryen was the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria, and took up residence on Dragonstone. Rehear tales of the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne. Meet the generations...