Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - A Game of Thrones

So, this is my second time reading it. After feeling like Wizard of Earthsea was a drudge and a few dnfs, I thought I should reread something I liked, and picked Game of Thrones (first read in summer of 2013) because, for the better part of the year, my urge to write fan fic of it has returned. I spent about a month and a half on this.

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,

like Bran's fall, the incest, the death of Eddard Stark,

wasn't as fun for me. George R. R. Martin's prose alternates between gorgeous descriptions and awkward or uncomfortable in ways that I don't think served Martin's goals.

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.

Dialogue can be iffy as well. Like, characters who probably haven't talked much all refer to the political games in King's Landing as "the game of thrones" which comes off as a heavy handed title drop. Between how long it took me to read this and Dreamsongs, volume 1 this year, the rest of his writing doesn't do as much for me as his characters.

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.

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z4k_cz's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

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lisa00's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

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liab's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I wanted to start this series because I loved the world that the show made, surprise surprise the world is so much more detailed and interesting. The series is all about characters and curiosity simply drives me to see how different the characters are, I have already spotted how body language is quite different and seeing each person’s perspective it really makes me rethink. Thanks to reading the book, I find it better since it gives more depth to the characters. I personally don’t like the ways that characters like Tyrion and Bran and any disabled person is described, Plus I know that it’s no surprise that the way people are described and talked about is like hot potato between characters.

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cloudstrife's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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bookbelle5_17's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-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

5.0

Review of A Game of Thrones

By; George RR Martin

‘ Robert Baratheon’s, King of Westeros, Hand Jon Arryn has been murderer, and he wants his best friend Eddard Stark, Lord of North, to take Arryn’s place. Leaving his family, with the exception of his daughters who are coming to King’s Landing, behind becomes Hand of the King. He finds himself mixed up in the dangerous politics of King’s Landing and mystery behind the murder of Jon Arryn. Can he trust the King’s wife, Queen Cersei Lannister or his advisors on King’s council?

Last time I reviewed this I feel like it was a poorly written review, so I’m writing a better and thorough one to replace it. Martin writes a story that keeps moving, but also has its quiet moments where characters are just talking and planning. The scenes that highlight how corrupt this world is are at King’s Landing. We see the failures of Robert as a king during the council meetings and are also introduced to the characters the reader should pay the most attention to, Lord Petyr Baelish (Littlefinger) and Varys. They know more than the other characters and are unpredictable and manipulative. They’re a prime example of how well Martin crafts complex characters that you have strong feelings for. Both the male and female characters are compelling and strong. Martin doesn’t stray away from vulgarity and gore as this world is cruel and war torn. There are plenty of blood-filled scenes and unfortunately the female characters are treated horribly and disgustingly. Women are raped, are whores, talked about in overly sexual terms and abused. Despite this we do have strong minded female characters like Catelyn Stark, Cersei Lannister, and Daenerys Targaryen. All three women have leadership roles and are more than sex objects, though Dany’s relationship with Khal Drogo leaves me with uncomfortable feelings. Martin creates a vivid setting with descriptive details on how the world looks and its history, but the details add to the length of novel making it 674 pages not counting the appendices. He writes from various perspectives allowing the reader to see all parts of the world and every important character’s feeling on what is going on in the story. It also enlightens reader to what is going on to the different parts of the world through various characters POVs.

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lindasoderlundd's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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ran_sophia's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

The style of writing and storytelling is excellent. The pace was fast and the book is readable. Otherwise, the book disappointed me a little, because I feel like the story didn't suit me at all. But I see that there is some potential, so I'll try the second part.

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