Reviews tagging 'War'

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

68 reviews

dany_casimiro's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

A head-first fall into the history of the Targaryens, which is absolutely a chef's kiss.
In Fire & Blood, Martin has chosen the work of an Archmaester of the Citadel to narrate this story. In his turn, this man has used various sources at his disposal to provide an in-depth overview of the tensions, emotions, and political ties within House Targaryen. So, we get a third- or fourth-person account of the events. This leaves a lot of questions and blank spaces behind, which I deeply enjoyed and the current TV show is exploring masterfully.
One thing that this book addresses way better than ASOIAF is the incest between Targaryens and how it was dealt with by the Faith of the Seven in Westeros. Other aspects include a bigger focus on feminism and women's oppression in a medieval-inspired setting, as well as great care to show people's suffering. Yes, I'm thinking particularly of Good Queen Alysanne, but also of the Moon of the Kings in King's Landing.
About the Dance, I loved it. The final moments of certain characters are still a source of bitterness.

Rhaenyra and Damon died as heroes, but maybe too soon? I wanted more of them.

But the worst-best part was the Storming - it quickly became an emotional moment, twisting its knives into my poor heart.
In the end, Targaryens are the bringers of their own demise. Their greed and unmeasured ambition manage to take away everything they have

- including the very symbol of their power, dragons, which is unforgivable.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Abortion, War, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Toxic relationship

maisiegilbxrt's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Infertility, Sexism, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Grief, Slavery, Torture, Vomit, War, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Incest, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Ableism, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, and Rape

emmytheewok's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Gore, War, Violence, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual violence, Torture, Body horror, Sexual content, Murder, and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexism, Religious bigotry, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Miscarriage

linkamarisa's review

adventurous dark informative

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexism, War, Murder, Misogyny, Infidelity, Incest, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Death

Moderate: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Mental illness, Transphobia, Ableism, and Classism

hylian_narwhal's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Death, Death of parent, Incest, and Child death

Moderate: Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Infidelity, Animal death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry

kellyung's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Sexual content, Rape, Pedophilia, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Death, Child death, Cannibalism, Gore, Cursing, Confinement, Blood, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, War, Trafficking, Suicide, Sexism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, and Grief

serena_hien's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child death, Rape, Xenophobia, Death, Death of parent, Violence, War, and Incest

Moderate: Miscarriage and Suicide

mari_library's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

4.0

This book was good and it gave a lot of background for the Song of Ice and Fire series. The Dance of Dragons segment was def the best. Very tense, very nervewrecking. But afterward, it did get me fatigued. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Incest

Minor: Suicide and Sexual violence

laurajeangrace's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Slavery, Sexism, Rape, Incest, Death of parent, Confinement, Animal death, Violence, Suicide, Sexual violence, Murder, War, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Blood

Moderate: Kidnapping, Infidelity, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail

minty_3's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Grief, Rape, Violence, Animal death, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Sexism, War, and Torture

Moderate: Confinement, Suicide, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, and Xenophobia

Minor: Slavery