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jenmaysiereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Stylistically, Martin’s prose and tone remains the same however he is able to invigorate each character with a distinct voice that makes it clear who the narrative is following. It’s hard not to become invested in the characters Martin has crafted here: even those which are deliberately unlikable are fascinatingly complex, making you root for them in spite of yourself. For me, the stand-out characters are Daenerys, Jon, Catelyn, Tyrion and Sansa. Not only does this book give a fascinating insight into their characters and their motivations, it shows just how clever, funny, cruel and kind all three are — the depth of which is lacking when it comes to their on-screen counterpoints. Personally, I am a Sansa apologist — that little girl can do no wrong.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, War, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, Incest, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Classism, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Child death, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Murder, Torture, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
lucakocsis'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
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexism, Miscarriage, Rape, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Death, Pedophilia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Slavery, Body horror, Child abuse, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, War, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Torture, and Excrement
trafalgar_law's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Slavery, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Genocide, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Grief, War, Alcohol, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, Xenophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
lqne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexism, Slavery, and War
Moderate: Sexual content and Fatphobia
Minor: Racism, Body shaming, and Suicidal thoughts
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
ultimatecryptid's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
For me, the most important part of GoT is divorcing it from the genre of political fantasy. Some of our protagonists may be nobility in a feudal society, and as such participate in politics, they are not the ends of the book, or even the means. GoT is intensely character-driven, and is about the wide variety of ways people may view the same actions. Most of the time I think Martin excels here, and is only circumstantially hindered. However, he undercuts his own character building sometimes, especially with the racism built into the Braavosi storyline, which is intense and unescapeable in Daenerys' chapters.
Also worth noting: GoT is one of the few fantasy novels I have read which explore the idea that manhood is also a destructive institution in the same way womanhood is.
Graphic: Racism
dracula'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
4.5
While this probably won’t be my favourite in the series, I most definitely enjoyed it and look forward to continuing ASOIAF.
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, and War