tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Not bad, interesting read if you like the game of thrones universe but it reads like a history book so it’s a bit dense
 

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous challenging dark slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I kind of enjoyed this more than the main series. I liked the chronology and the stakes felt lower. That being said, it did drag at some points. 

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adventurous dark lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is actually a pretty fast read, despite its length, and unlike novels from ASOIAF. A fictional history of the Targaryen dynasty, the book chronicles the facts and doesn’t dive much into character insights, interactions, or nuance. It’s still a highly entertaining and dramatic story, sometimes delightfully gory and at other times whimsically charming. 

This story suffers from GRRM’s usual stereotypical worldbuilding, which is propped up with assumptions of misogyny, racism, ableism, and patriarchy. If you’re not into GOT or ASOIAF for those reasons, this is more of the same. Personally I’m bored by his other novels for those reasons, but Fire & Blood is less dense and has dragons, so it’s much more entertaining.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous emotional sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark informative tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

some parts dragged on longer than others. 

these Targaryens gotta start coming up with new names my god 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

What an amazing introduction to Westeros of old, loved this!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark funny reflective sad tense medium-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

I’ve wanted to read this ever since I started watching House of the Dragon, and I’m so glad I finally sat down and did it. Although this is written more as a history book, I found the deep dive into the Targaryen dynasty endlessly fascinating. So many characters are interesting in this book, and the three separate history accounts interwoven provide a nice perspective about how history is never neutral. The world of Westeros remains as sordid and strange as ever, and the dragons add so much. I love everything I can get my hands on about this world.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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