The book chronicles the rise of the dragonlords in Westeros, beginning with and concluding with the bloody civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons .

: Unlike the "maester's history" narrative of Fire & Blood , Martin describes this book as being written in a more straightforward, encyclopedic style, similar to The World of Ice & Fire .

Choosing between these two titles depends largely on whether you prefer deep narrative text or high-quality visual art. Fire & Blood The Rise of the Dragon Narrative History (Dense Text) Illustrated Reference (Art-Heavy) Page Count ~700+ pages ~352 pages Illustrations Limited black-and-white 180+ full-colour plates Writing Style Detailed "in-universe" account Condensed and encyclopedic