741 pages
Published June 13, 2003 by Harper Voyage.
From the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shore of Winterfell, chao reigns as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims. As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky - a comet the colour of blood and flame - five factions struggle for control of a divided land. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of gloryis measured in blood.