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Game of Thrones author George RR Martin to republish The Ice Dragon with illustrations by Luis Royo

Jon Snow spoke of the story in A Song of Ice and Fire

Kashmira Gander

Wednesday 06 August 2014 14:40 BST

A sample sketch for a new edition of George RR Martin's 'The Ice Dragon' by Spanish artist Luis Royo (Tor/Macmillan/Luis Royo)

Game of Thrones author George RR Martin is to republish his children’s book The Ice Dragon, over 30 years after he first released it.

The new edition will feature a series of new original paintings by Spanish fantasy artist Luis Royo. Initial sketches by the artist give a flavour of the images that will appear in the book, and show ethereal, wintry scenes in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire.

Fans of the Westeros saga may recall that Jon Snow mentions that The Ice Dragon was a bedtime story of courage and sacrifice that Old Nan would tell the Stark children.

The Ice Dragon was first published as part of the Dragons of Light anthology in 1980, and was re-worked in 2007 with artwork by Yvonne Gilbert.

In pictures: Game of Thrones characters

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1/9In pictures: Game of Thrones characters

In pictures: Game of Thrones characters

Daenerys Targaryen

Forced to flee Westeros after her father's throne was usurped when she was a baby, Daenerys is busy making plans to build an army and take back the Seven Kingdoms. She also has three small dragons which plans to use to retake her throne, it's significant because dragons are thought to be extinct in this world.

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In pictures: Game of Thrones characters

Cersei Lannister

She's the queen of Westeros and mother to Joffrey who ascended to the throne. She hates her dwarf brother Tyrion and is involved in an incestuous relationship with her twin brother Jaime, in fact Joffrey is the offspring of her union with Jaime.

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In pictures: Game of Thrones characters

Jaime Lannister

Also known as the 'Kingslayer' after killing Daenerys' father the 'Mad King' Aerys Targaryen. In the last season he was captured during battle and became a prisoner of war. He was eventually released as part of an unofficial hostage exchange and was being escorted back to the capital of Westeros King's Landing but not before having his right hand chopped off.

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In pictures: Game of Thrones characters

Joffrey Lannister

Cruel, sadistic and the character everyone loves to hate the most. He ascended to the Iron Throne after his father Robert Baratheon died. However, he's heard rumours his father might actually be his uncle Jaime. He was also bethrothed to Sansa stark but this was dissolved at the end of the season 2.

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In pictures: Game of Thrones characters

Tyrion Lannister

A dwarf and sometimes referred to as the 'Imp' depending on who's asking, Tyrion is the best character in Game of Thrones. Not only does he get the best lines but he is a wonderfully complex character and probably the only likeable member of his family. He's also slapped Joffrey which is never a bad thing.

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In pictures: Game of Thrones characters

Bran Stark

Another one of the five Stark children, he was crippled by Jaime Lannister who threw him out of a tower after Bran accidentally stumbled across one of Cersei and his trysts. Bran had to flee his home when it was invaded and razed to the ground.

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In pictures: Game of Thrones characters

Arya Stark

The younger stark daughter and a complete tomboy who prefers sword fighting to sewing. Unsurprisingly, she is often mistaken for be a boy. She was in King's Landing and saw Joffrey sentence her father to death, luckily during the chaos she managed to escape the city. She is still on the run with a character called The Hound.

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In pictures: Game of Thrones characters

Sansa Stark

The complete opposite of her sister Arya and the eldest Stark girl, Sansa is beautiful if naive. She is being held captive in King's Landing by the Lannisters. Her engagement to Joffrey has been broken off much to her delight but she's not safe yet and hopes to escape the city.

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In pictures: Game of Thrones characters

Jon Snow

The illegitimate son of Ned Stark. Jon is part of an ancient order known as the Night's Watch who guard the realm from savage people known as wildings and other dangerous creatures that live on the other side of the Wall - a mammoth structure that divides Westeros and the frozen wastes beyond. In the last season Jon was captured by the wildings but managed to escape.

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A far cry from the sex and violence of A Song of Ice and Fire and the HBO Game of Thrones series, The Ice Dragon follows the story of a young girl, Adara, who is born in the heart of winter.

She is the only person from her village able to connect with the mysterious and legendary Ice Dragon, who visits only when the weather turns cold.

Fans of the more adult A Song of Ice and Fire are currently waiting for George RR Martin – who is notoriously slow at writing - to finish Winds of Winter.

Last month, the sexagenarian hit back at concerns posed to him during an interview that he might die before finishing the Westeros saga, and said he found the question “pretty offensive”.

“I find that question pretty offensive, frankly, when people start speculating as to my death and my health.

“So, f*** you to those people,” he added, gesturing at the camera with his middle-finger.

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