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5.09k reviews for:
De opkomst van het huis Targaryen van Westeros
Niels van Eekelen, George R.R. Martin, Jet Matla, Renée Vink
3.97 AVERAGE
5.09k reviews for:
De opkomst van het huis Targaryen van Westeros
Niels van Eekelen, George R.R. Martin, Jet Matla, Renée Vink
3.97 AVERAGE
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
It has its good and bad parts. With the good, you can get through it fast. Me personally with the slow parts made me stop reading at times. It depends what King is currently ruling. Not because there are no wars happening but they just had a good time while ruling so there wasn’t anything bad about them or anything wrong. But it’s generally a good book.
I'M FREE
this book only convinced me further that the Targaryen reign had its peak and it must be ended.
that unless TWOW and ADOS completely change my mind. IF they come out.
this book only convinced me further that the Targaryen reign had its peak and it must be ended.
that unless TWOW and ADOS completely change my mind. IF they come out.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
(Let me give more stars, release me from these mortal limitations).
'Valar morghulis.'
'Valar dohaeris.'
===
Either on account to my Autistic hyperfixation with the Targaryens, or rather, the god tier writing of George R. R. Martin, this book will forever be my favourite.
It is now my prized possession.
It read not so much as a story, but a collection of history taken from the perspective of a Maester. Had the history of the Targaryens been a subject in college, I would have dedicated all of my time to it, so it goes without saying that this book is going to be re-read 500 times over.
Long live the blood of the dragon.
(Let me give more stars, release me from these mortal limitations).
'Valar morghulis.'
'Valar dohaeris.'
===
Either on account to my Autistic hyperfixation with the Targaryens, or rather, the god tier writing of George R. R. Martin, this book will forever be my favourite.
It is now my prized possession.
It read not so much as a story, but a collection of history taken from the perspective of a Maester. Had the history of the Targaryens been a subject in college, I would have dedicated all of my time to it, so it goes without saying that this book is going to be re-read 500 times over.
Long live the blood of the dragon.
So I was skeptical when I started out because the time period doesn't cover my favorite historical Targaryen time period (which- in case you were dying to know- is the Blackfyre Rebellion and the marriage of Daeron II and Mariah Martell.) And at first I thought this was going to be a 3.5 star kind of read because, let's be real here, Aegon I is a cypher and his wives kind of are too. Well, Visenya slightly less so because she's around more.
But then things shift to the reign of Aenys I and suddenly this book explodes with things I love. Dynastic in-fighting! Political alliances! Perfectly arranged marriages! Disastrous arranged marriages! Lesbians, pirates, lesbian pirates!
It's easy (and kind of justified) to mock GRRM for taking forever with ASoIaF proper as well as allying himself with cash-grab franchise tie-ins. But this book reminds you that this dude has an incredible attention to detail and an ability to remix history and royalty tropes to fascinating effect. In this book we get charismatic conquerors and their less than ambitious heirs, long-lived kings who achieve a ton while failing to connect with their families, horrific civil wars and the following generations that are traumatized from said civil wars. There's a seemingly endless amount of intriguing characters. There's even meta-commentary- particularly in the Dance of Dragons section- on the difficulty that comes with synthesizing primary documents with opposing world views.
I could probably be here all day listing stuff that intrigued me, but here are a few things that stood out:
- Rhaena Targaryen. Just ... Rhaena.
- Jaehaerys and how he was arguably a decent leader (if you were forced to live under a monarchy), but also the epitome of that trope where someone is a great leader but a terrible father.
- Give me a whole novel about Gaemon's two moms
- Aegon III has always inspired a lot of sympathy in me and even more so here (although watch the next book end up killing that for me.)
This is definitely a book for people super into world-building and lore, so not everyone is going to be its audience. I am super its audience though.
But then things shift to the reign of Aenys I and suddenly this book explodes with things I love. Dynastic in-fighting! Political alliances! Perfectly arranged marriages! Disastrous arranged marriages! Lesbians, pirates, lesbian pirates!
It's easy (and kind of justified) to mock GRRM for taking forever with ASoIaF proper as well as allying himself with cash-grab franchise tie-ins. But this book reminds you that this dude has an incredible attention to detail and an ability to remix history and royalty tropes to fascinating effect. In this book we get charismatic conquerors and their less than ambitious heirs, long-lived kings who achieve a ton while failing to connect with their families, horrific civil wars and the following generations that are traumatized from said civil wars. There's a seemingly endless amount of intriguing characters. There's even meta-commentary- particularly in the Dance of Dragons section- on the difficulty that comes with synthesizing primary documents with opposing world views.
I could probably be here all day listing stuff that intrigued me, but here are a few things that stood out:
- Rhaena Targaryen. Just ... Rhaena.
- Jaehaerys and how he was arguably a decent leader (if you were forced to live under a monarchy), but also the epitome of that trope where someone is a great leader but a terrible father.
- Give me a whole novel about Gaemon's two moms
Spoiler
and give them a happy ending where they actually do overthrow the monarchy and lead Westeros into a socialist society.- Aegon III has always inspired a lot of sympathy in me and even more so here (although watch the next book end up killing that for me.)
Spoiler
Also so much high drama with this dude! That reunion with Viserys! That time a bunch of traumatized teenagers took over a castle! That time those traumatized teenagers avenged Gaemon lmao! Also I tried to write a Daeron II/Mariah fanfic like a decade ago and realized that GRRM had more or less goofed the math on when Aegon and Viserys had kids ... Or maybe he had this in mind all along. But either way GRRM does address that by basically putting Viserys in a marriage when he was twelve while Aegon III is clearly going to wait a long time to have kids.This is definitely a book for people super into world-building and lore, so not everyone is going to be its audience. I am super its audience though.
i mean, it’s folly but I really want F&B 2 and it will never happen
adventurous
dark
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Most of it was great but the final chapters were an absolute slog
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Acephobia/Arophobia, Toxic friendship, War
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As a history lover I’m not surprised by how much I loved this book. Just wish it had kept going — I was hoping to get to Baelor the Blessed!