Reviews tagging 'War'

Fire & Blood: 300 Years Before a Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

68 reviews

angstifies's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense

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

4.25

proud to say i read a whole HISTORY BOOK of the TARGARYEN and their silly little dragon fights. 

i really liked it, i enjoyed some parts way more than others but overall this was a great book. the first 50% of the book was absolutely amazing, then the dance started and it was kind of a struggle for me, and the aftermath was just alright. 

don’t know if we’ll ever get a second, or even a third if needed, novel for Aegon lll — Aerys ll (very unlikely) but it does get published i’ll absolutely read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, War, Fire/Fire injury, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Body horror, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Rape, Torture, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicide

Minor: Slavery, Child death, Infertility, Medical content, and Death of parent

anahisa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative slow-paced

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

2.5

Reads like a history book, which is the intent, and did not work for me. Slow, dull, and lacks the personal nuance I usually gravitate towards. Aside from a few moments, felt like a chore to get through. Happy HBO is taking liberties with its source material! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Child death

Moderate: Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Death, War, Sexual violence, and Suicide

orndal's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative fast-paced

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

4.0

I still dont give a shit about pyke and the iron islands

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Confinement

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, War, Torture, Murder, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, Suicide, Pregnancy, Slavery, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Miscarriage

Minor: Emotional abuse, Ableism, Alcoholism, Abortion, Death of parent, Drug use, Animal death, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Colonisation, and Domestic abuse

verngruning's review

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Child death, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Sexual assault, Suicide, War, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Slavery, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Infertility, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, and Sexism

albon's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Child death, Animal death, Death of parent, and Incest

Moderate: Fatphobia, War, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Sexual assault

ellafrancesp's review against another edition

adventurous informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: War, Rape, and Torture

aparizo704's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

A cocktail of fantasy, historical fiction, and GRRM’s magnificent creative process (including his allegory of the gardener and the architect in his interview with Dan Jones - I am a gardener myself), greater depths of fandom were achieved after reading Fire & Blood. If, like GRRM, you too enjoy the way popular history gives breath (albeit not always inconsequential) to legends transformed from historical record,  you will no doubt take pleasure in Archmaester Gyldayn’s retelling of Westerosi history, which details events after the rise of Aegon the Conqueror. Given public reception toward HBO’s season finale of Game of Thrones, it’s a shame time machines do not exist. Hindsight being 20/20,  if Fire & Blood were produced as a prequel series, or even interwoven into the GoT adaptation, the finale might have received a much warmer reception than the guests of the Red Wedding.

On an unrelated note, I wonder if we will get Part II of Fire & Blood around or at the same time as we finally receive Winds of Winter…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Moderate: Sexism, Incest, and Sexual assault

Minor: Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, and Alcoholism

lqne's review against another edition

adventurous informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Incest, Misogyny, Suicide, Torture, Death of parent, Murder, Slavery, War, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Trafficking, and Grief

nadiaherondale's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, Pregnancy, War, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Incest

Moderate: Sexism, Kidnapping, and Infertility

Minor: Suicide, Torture, and Murder

bxnnny's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

good lore and history of the a song of ice and fire series. reads like a history book where a third party is recounting what happened over many years of a fantasy world's history. very long chapters of upwards to 70 or more pages so it can be a bit tough to get through if you're like me and don't like to take breaks/stop reading in the middle of a chapter but also your eyes get tired if you read for too long. i read all of the books (so far) of a song of ice and fire and have seen both game of thrones and house of the dragon. it's cool to be able to read the lore of this world george r. r. martin has created and also see how it all plays out in the accompanying shows. pretty decently paced, though the later chapters aren't as exciting as the beginning/middle ones and i found myself just wanting to get through it by the end.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Violence, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Slavery, Suicide, Trafficking, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Incest, Infertility, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, War, and Adult/minor relationship

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