ellilo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, War, Rape, Mental illness, Infertility, Homophobia, Drug use, Cursing, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Injury/injury detail, Incest, Genocide, Excrement, Sexual violence, Hate crime, and Racism
fifteenthjessica's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I'm still invested in a lot of the characters, both ones who played a major role in this book and ones who don't play a major role or even appear until later, but reading it when you know a lot of the shocking moves,
Spoiler
like Bran's fall, the incest, the death of Eddard Stark,Spoiler
Part of the reason I rooted for Viserys Targaryen's death was because I thought after he died, I'd hear less about 13-14 year old Daenerys Targaryen's breasts and nipples.I have heard a lot of people praise his world building, and as an aspiring writer/actual dungeon master who has dabbled in world building her own fantasy settings, Martin's quality is very inconsistent at best. Daenerys spends a lot of time with the Dothraki over the course of five hefty books, but the culture comes off as very one dimensional and most members of it are forgettable. I don't think I'm alone in remembering all Dothraki characters except Khal Drogo exclusively in terms of their relationship to Dany and maybe a name because they are very unimportant. Heck, there's a short paragraph in one of Dany's later chapters that feels like Martin is just dumping the personality of the youngest of her future bloodriders (Aggo? The three of them really blur together) on us in place of letting it unfold naturally as he interacts with Dany. The culture is mostly a combination of raiding and horses, almost to the point of impracticality (how many horses do they keep if they need them for transportation, fighting, clothing, and meat, plus burn horses in the funeral pyres of their leaders so they have a mount in the afterlife? There's a reason real world horseback nomadic cultures usually herd other animals). This is especially bad if you compare them to the equally raiding focused Ironborn, who in later novels are fleshed out through four point of view characters and with a number of memorable side characters that show that not everyone is raiding every waking hour of the day.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, War, Alcoholism, Death, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism, Alcohol, Abandonment, Torture, Rape, Injury/injury detail, and Infertility
Minor: Self harm and Trafficking
lisa00's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, War, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Child abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Infertility, Infidelity, Body shaming, Animal cruelty, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Incest, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Death, Sexism, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/injury detail, Blood, and Animal death
merelthelen's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Violence, and Rape
Moderate: Classism, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Incest
Minor: Animal death and Infertility
vigil's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Vomit, War, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Slavery
sailorpulsar's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Bullying, Death of parent, Rape, Death, Incest, Injury/injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Slavery, War, Ableism, Alcohol, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Trafficking
Minor: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, and Infertility
fujo_cat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, Sexism, Misogyny, Infidelity, Gore, Death, Cursing, Blood, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Alcoholism, and Ableism
Moderate: Rape, Miscarriage, and Slavery
Minor: Infertility