Reviews with content warning for War - Fire & Blood

Reviews tagging 'War'

Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin

63 reviews

hkuhlman7's review

dark funny informative slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book should only be read by:

1. History nerds who are burnt out from actual history and want something a little spicy. With dragons. And incest.
2. ASOIAF nerds. Like totally-and-utterly-enslaved-by-Westeros-and-George RR Martin-level nerds.

That’s it. If you’re an ASOIAF fan there is a completely reasonable chance this book will bore you and not feel worth your while by the end. If you’re a HOTD fan (at the time of writing, season 1 has aired in full but season 2 hasn’t begun airing) and need to know what happens next, buy this book but just read the Dance portion. Maybe try out the other parts but don’t anticipate being enraptured.

Martin is an incredible writer, and I imagine this book was particularly fun for him to write. Evidently more-so than Winds. A fictional history book is a compelling concept, but I was only somewhat captivated throughout.

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amsu's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

I never enjoyed reading a history book more. Despite its lengths I was happily reading along. I would only recommend this book to people that have read the Song of Fire and Ice Books beforehand, since this book is literally a history book of the reign of the Targaryen's. So you have to love the world to enjoy this.

My favourite part of the book was the reign of Jaehaerys and Alysanne the most intriguing and was deeply gutted by the following Dance of the Dragons,which destroyed all of their achievements.

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yuidf's review

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adventurous dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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ssellwood's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Although a prequel fairly unrelated to the current plots of A Song of Ice and Fire, I'd definitely recommend this to any GRRM fan. Filled with the same intrigue, battles, blood and twisted characters as the original series, GRRM tells the story of the Targaryen family's origins from Aegon I to the Dance of Dragons, and the breadth of rulers from just to cruel keeps the drama coming. Highlights include the stunning visuals of the dragons and their battles, and the constant upheaval of power. One note is that this is not told in first person POV, but as if reading a scandalous history book from Westeros, and can be slightly harder to follow due to the large time scale covered, and as typical of GRRM filled with depressing themes.

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kayleejanes's review against another edition

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4.0

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narodiangelo's review

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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arrowdodger's review

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adventurous dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

As both a history buff and a fan of A Song of Ice and Fire fan, this book was everything I wanted it to be and more! I'm so sad it's done and there isn't more yet! (Said every ASoIaF fan ever.)

I actually listened to this book on audio while at work. I'm not usually an audiobook person, but with the "non-fiction" tilt this takes I actually got a lot out of hearing it narrated. It somehow made it sound like someone was telling me an epic historical tale, whereas plainly reading it may feel like more of a slog through a textbook. The narrator was perfectly suited for the job, too. I really recommend trying it that way if the size and content seems daunting. (Then look at the pictures later.)

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