Ned seldom put much stock in gossip, but the things said of Ser Gregor were more than ominous. He was soon to be married for the third time, and one heard dark whisperings about the deaths of his first two wives. It was said that his keep was a grim place where servants disappeared unaccountably and even the dogs were afraid to enter the hall. And there had been a sister who had died young under queer circumstances, and the fire that had disfigured his brother, and the hunting accident that had killed their father. Gregor had inherited the keep, the gold, and the family estates. His younger brother Sandor had left the same day to take service with the Lannisters as a sworn sword, and it was said that he had never returned, not even to visit.

背景介紹:

《權力的游戲》是一部中世紀史詩奇幻題材的電視連續劇。該劇以美國作家喬治·R·R·馬丁的奇幻巨作《冰與火之歌》七部曲為基礎改編創作，由大衛·貝尼奧夫和丹尼爾·威斯編劇、HBO電視網推出。喬治·雷蒙德·理查德·馬丁是歐美奇幻小說大師。馬丁的作品主要以人物為關注點，描寫細膩豐富，突破了幻想文學界固有的創作模式，多次引領閱讀潮流。由于馬丁的輝煌成就，他被譽為美國的托爾金和新世紀的海明威。從1989年開始，馬丁淡出文學界，轉而投身演藝界發展，1996年他才重返文壇而開始奇幻文學的創作，處女作便是《權力的游戲》，即為《冰與火之歌》的首部曲。《權力的游戲》甫出便拿下了British Fantasy Society、 世界奇幻獎和星云獎年度最佳幻想作品提名，在非官方的不記名奇幻作品投票中，《冰與火之歌》儼然已經可以和《魔戒》平起平坐，作者網站的訪問量也是和斯蒂芬·金、J.K.羅琳等不相上下，其受歡迎的程度可見一斑。喬治馬丁被時代雜志評選為2011年影響世界的一百人之一。