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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
informative
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
sad
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape, War
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Loved the fast paced, narrative style of a re-telling of history.
adventurous
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
This book displays Martin's incredible worldbuilding and ludicrous attention to detail. His world is masterfully thought out as he leads us through roughly 130 years of history of war, love, death and dragons.
From cover to cover it is immensely detailed and literally hundreds of names are thrown at the reader, this is where my frustration with the book lies. Whilst Martin's knowledge of his world is awesome, it feels as though he expects you to have that same knowledge of the various lineages, places and religions he presents. In this way, it reads far more as a history book (as advertised) and not as much of an adventure. Because of this, I cannot say I enjoyed the book, at just over 700 pages filled with unrelenting facts, it felt like an exercise in perseverance to finish.
However, the hard work is not entirely without reward, the battles and tensions that do arise throughout the book are interesting and build on our understanding of the world. The insight into the creation of the Iron Throne from the field of fire and the Dance (and death) of the Dragons. These pivotal moments do give payoff for the rest of the dense history. However, I felt that too much of the book was comprised of paragraphs of names of Lords and Ladies that had no relevance to me and felt like filler. This is unfortunate as Martin shows a talent for worldbuilding when Queen Alyssane travels to the North to meet with the peoples of her husband's kingdom. This was one of my favorite parts of the book as it introduced important themes of class, struggle and the range of well being in Westros.
Furthermore, the structure of the book felt strange. Its aforementioned historical formatting makes it harder to follow a normal story structure comprised of acts and climaxes, however, the range of years included felt random with the book finishing on a rather anticlimactic note of Aegon 3's ruler ship. This painfully juxtaposed the previous dance of the dragons which takes up roughly 200 pages of the book and feels like a true climax of everything Martin has been setting up and felt more like Martin wanting to stretch the book, but leave room for a sequel.
It is important to note that I have not experienced any of the Song of Ice and Fire books or the Game of Thrones TV show, I came into this book wanting to trial the series before jumping into the whole epic. I feel that it has demonstrated Martin has an incredible world that he lovingly fills and understands to the most minute of details and that he can set up epic battles. Whilst I did not enjoy this prequel as much as I had hoped, it has filled me with confidence that I will love the more character focused larger series.
Overall, this is not a bad book by any means and would certainly be a great read for any avid Song of Ice and Fire fans who want to understand more of the context or fans of history and worldbuilding, however, it is in no way necessary to read.
From cover to cover it is immensely detailed and literally hundreds of names are thrown at the reader, this is where my frustration with the book lies. Whilst Martin's knowledge of his world is awesome, it feels as though he expects you to have that same knowledge of the various lineages, places and religions he presents. In this way, it reads far more as a history book (as advertised) and not as much of an adventure. Because of this, I cannot say I enjoyed the book, at just over 700 pages filled with unrelenting facts, it felt like an exercise in perseverance to finish.
However, the hard work is not entirely without reward, the battles and tensions that do arise throughout the book are interesting and build on our understanding of the world. The insight into the creation of the Iron Throne from the field of fire and the Dance (and death) of the Dragons. These pivotal moments do give payoff for the rest of the dense history. However, I felt that too much of the book was comprised of paragraphs of names of Lords and Ladies that had no relevance to me and felt like filler. This is unfortunate as Martin shows a talent for worldbuilding when Queen Alyssane travels to the North to meet with the peoples of her husband's kingdom. This was one of my favorite parts of the book as it introduced important themes of class, struggle and the range of well being in Westros.
Furthermore, the structure of the book felt strange. Its aforementioned historical formatting makes it harder to follow a normal story structure comprised of acts and climaxes, however, the range of years included felt random with the book finishing on a rather anticlimactic note of Aegon 3's ruler ship. This painfully juxtaposed the previous dance of the dragons which takes up roughly 200 pages of the book and feels like a true climax of everything Martin has been setting up and felt more like Martin wanting to stretch the book, but leave room for a sequel.
It is important to note that I have not experienced any of the Song of Ice and Fire books or the Game of Thrones TV show, I came into this book wanting to trial the series before jumping into the whole epic. I feel that it has demonstrated Martin has an incredible world that he lovingly fills and understands to the most minute of details and that he can set up epic battles. Whilst I did not enjoy this prequel as much as I had hoped, it has filled me with confidence that I will love the more character focused larger series.
Overall, this is not a bad book by any means and would certainly be a great read for any avid Song of Ice and Fire fans who want to understand more of the context or fans of history and worldbuilding, however, it is in no way necessary to read.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes