Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon

Game of Thrones and the Official Untold Story of the Epic Series

By: James Hibberd

Narrated by: Fred Sanders

Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

The official, definitive oral history of the blockbuster show from Entertainment Weekly's James Hibberd, published with HBO's official support.

It was supposed to be impossible. George R.R. Martin was a frustrated television writer who created his best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy novels to be an unfilmable saga bound only by the limits of his vast imagination. Then a pair of first-time TV writers teamed with HBO to try to adapt Martin's epic. We've all seen the eight seasons of the Emmy-winning fantasy series that came next. But there is one Game of Thrones tale that has yet to be told: the 13-year behind-the-scenes struggle to pull off this extraordinary phenomenon.

In Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon, award-winning Entertainment Weekly writer James Hibberd chronicles the untold story of Game of Thrones, from the creative team’s first meetings to staging the series finale and all the on-camera battles and off-camera struggles in between. The audiobook draws from more than 50 revealing new interviews and unprecedented access to the producers, cast, and crew who took an impossible idea and made it into the biggest show in the world.

Game of Thrones and all related characters and elements © & TM Home Box Office, Inc.

©2020 James Hibberd (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“James Hibberd covered Game of Thrones from start to finish and he knows where all the bodies are buried. It's all here, in his oral history of the series: how it began, how it ended, dragons and direwolves, what went on in front of the cameras and what went on behind the scenes, the triumphs and the stumbles, the tough decisions, the forks in the road, the reasons why. Actors, directors, showrunners, producers, executives, even me.... Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon has it all, everything you ever wanted to know. Game of Thrones was an amazing ride. Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon is an amazing read.” (George R. R. Martin)

“A great read, informative and insightful ... Hibberd’s impressive reach also helps; he speaks to just about every major player in the show’s orbit, from actors like Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, and Kit Harington to directors like Neil Marshall and Miguel Sapochnik, the people responsible for some of the show’s most ambitious episodes.” (The A.V. Club)

“After spending a decade religiously covering the HBO fantasy hit series, the Entertainment Weekly writer delivers all of the behind-the-scenes secrets of Westeros in a must-read for fans. With over fifty interviews to offer new insights and never-before-seen photos from the secretive set, Hibberd might just become King in the North (Pole) this holiday.” (E! News)

loved it

Interesting, very informative. I enjoyed it. really told the inside story. great yo hear from characters first hand.

Terrific behind the scenes look

What a great listen - loads of stories from the crew. I will probably relisten when I do a rewatch of GOT- great job Hibbs!!

For every fan and even more

Whether you’re a fan or not, this behind the scenes look at Game of Thrones is very fascinating! For fans: this book goes far beyond the behind the scenes extras provided in the show.
For non-fans: an interesting read for a show that dominated television and a read to learn about the industry.

Great behind the scenes look

If you are a fan of the show, and of course you are because why else would you be considering buying this book, you will love this. A tiny bit of it is stuff you may have seen elsewhere like the documentary HBO did on the show, but most was brand new to me. I love anything that goes behind the scenes of stuff, but especially this show. The amount of effort that went into every episode far surpasses anything ever done on TV before. I couldn't get enough.

A word about the narration. The decision was made that rather than trying to give each of the dozens or hundreds of people interviewed a distinct voice, the same monotone was used throughout. I understand why that choice was made, but I just think the narrator could have put more life into voices. That's fine to use the same voice for each, it just would have been nice if the voice he used were a little more engaging.

Great info for fans looking for more

Great info for fans looking for more behind the scenes info and insights. Gotta take what we can get until the next show or book!

Distracting when narrator can’t even pronounce names right

I was getting so annoyed and thought did the narrator not even watch game of thrones? He kept mispronouncing Lyanna Mormont/Stark. It was distracting and the only reason I gave 4 stars. How’d they not catch this in editing?

Feel like an insider

Great to hear everyone's thoughts and feelings along with some great stories!
Well written, well performed.
Thank you!

A nice stroll down memory lane

The book was great - took me back to the good old days, and interesting perspectives all around.

Everything GoT!

I must say I really enjoyed this book. I wasn't quite sure what it was going to be going into it, but once I got started on it I really hated to put it down. I'm a huge Game of Thrones fan, So I had to have this book. The only real criticism I have for the book is the constant non-stop praise for showrunners Dan and Dave that seems to go on and on and on as a never-ending theme throughout the book. I highly recommend this book for anyone who's a Game of Thrones fan whether you enjoy season 8 or not.

GOT -start to finish.

Awesome! Loved it! What an incredible shot w. A tribute to all that had a part in it-not just the actors.