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dannilmp's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
I think it's the otherworldy mysteries of Beyond the Wall and dragons and remnants of magic that mostly kept me interested in this book. Had it been just a plain world setting as the backdrop I would have put this book down long before the last pages. I enjoyed following through the different perspectives of all the characters and almost getting a dragon's eye view of the entire world rather than just one small section.
On the other hand, the writing is very dark at times, uneccesarily so and involves far more rape, murder and pillaging that I think is ever needed in any series. But it does convey such a sense of darkness to the world and ensures the reader is fully aware that this will not, in any way shape or form, be a happy world.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Murder, Blood, and Rape
Moderate: Child abuse and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism
vayalanay'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
5.0
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, War, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Gore, Grief, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
cepbreed's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I think the person I was earlier this year would've hated this book so much. Thanks to Kristin Cashore's Graceling Realm series I've matured as a reader and sincerely become a fantasy fan. The slower pace, world building and detail intense writing is exactly what there is to love in the genre and George R. R. Martin is the master of all of those things. I get bored easily, yet even when reading chapter upon chapter of content I've already seen on the screen my attention is held. My biases created by the show definitely are following me into the reading and I find myself dreading certain POVs (...specifically Dany's I KNOW CONTROVERSIAL OPINION) and hanging onto every word of others (Sansa, I love her!), but this just goes to show how masterful Martin is at creating compelling characters people identify with and are passionate about. I just can't wait to get into the next book and start on Jaime and Brienne's interactions!!
Song:
- The View Between Villages - Noah Kahan
Graphic: Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual content, War, Death, Grief, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Violence, Blood, Sexism, Slavery, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child death, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
fifteenthjessica's review against another edition
- 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,
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
helenastinks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Incest, Sexism, Infidelity, War, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Grief, Rape, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Murder, Pedophilia, and Slavery
madzia'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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts
z4k_cz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Child death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Rape
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
snabigail's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Sexism, Slavery, War, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Sexual violence, Animal death, Cursing, Misogyny, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence
jazzlibrariansbookcase's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Death of parent and Violence