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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
relaxing
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-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
A very impressive book. While I wished for a more character driven narrative hearing a maester of the citadel recount Westrosi history is quite a feast of tid bits and fun stories to think about and imagine. The narrator's bias is quite evident throughout which was a great detail to throw in and helped immerse me in the world.
Rating: 4 Stars
First things first, this is not a book that aims to tell you a story through poetic prose and diving into character. Not to say that these things aren’t touched upon, but as many reviews note, this book is true to the framing device. That is, this is a historical recounting of the Targaryen dynasty up to the surviving generations of the Dance of Dragons within Westeros, and as such, is more akin to reading a textbook than it is like reading a few chapters from a Game of Thrones.
However, if you can let yourself slide into the new narrative and the ways in which George R. R. Martin is trying to tell you important details about the Targaryens and Westeros, then it’s a rewarding experience that enriches the ASOI&F by giving extra history, clues and connections. In terms of being able to give as much information as possible without creating an absolute tome, the framework of the book is without equal, and we largely follow the Targaryen dynasty, but sometimes touch upon other stories that interlink with the story of the Iron Throne, Westeros and the last dragonlord family to survive the Doom of Valyria.
At times, it can read a little too much like a history book. Names become an almost blur as they move past you, a fact unhelped by the often repeating dynastic names. But, for what it is, I enjoyed it greatly. My favourite aspects were diving into the wider world beyond Westeros, when chapters touched upon the lands outside of the Seven Kingdoms, from the remnants of Old Valyria to strange voyages and experiences travelling even further west of Westeros.
In particular in the sections concerned with the Dance of Dragons, multiple sources are used to convey the story, at times at odds with one another, and there is a self awareness to the book about how history is written by those who win the power to define it. There is definitely thought put behind this book. It would be easy to Martin to simply pen a history of the Targaryens, and it would sell even if it was as dry as dust. Aegon the Conquerer went here and did this and won that, for example. But Martin takes care to make the book still entertaining and play with how the concepts of power, history and remembrance can interplay and influence one another. Sometimes, it strains at belief. Am I truly to believe the words attributed to kings and queens in solitary meetings were able to be noted? Whether or not you take the view of Martin simply trying to inject a bit of drama into the more dry style of a historical recounting, or that what we see is Martin playing with themes of propaganda, it goes a long way to endear the reader to actually care about characters, events and moments beyond the base facts, and that, to me, is a mark of a good book written in this style.
If this book were as dry as any educational history book, it would be hard to get through. To me, this book rates a four stars because it wasn’t hard. True, it wasn’t always easy. Names, as I have mentioned, became blurs. At times, I felt very much in the slow point of history. But, largely, it was a still entertaining take at a historical recounting, and that is a framework device that rarely lends itself to that task.
First things first, this is not a book that aims to tell you a story through poetic prose and diving into character. Not to say that these things aren’t touched upon, but as many reviews note, this book is true to the framing device. That is, this is a historical recounting of the Targaryen dynasty up to the surviving generations of the Dance of Dragons within Westeros, and as such, is more akin to reading a textbook than it is like reading a few chapters from a Game of Thrones.
However, if you can let yourself slide into the new narrative and the ways in which George R. R. Martin is trying to tell you important details about the Targaryens and Westeros, then it’s a rewarding experience that enriches the ASOI&F by giving extra history, clues and connections. In terms of being able to give as much information as possible without creating an absolute tome, the framework of the book is without equal, and we largely follow the Targaryen dynasty, but sometimes touch upon other stories that interlink with the story of the Iron Throne, Westeros and the last dragonlord family to survive the Doom of Valyria.
At times, it can read a little too much like a history book. Names become an almost blur as they move past you, a fact unhelped by the often repeating dynastic names. But, for what it is, I enjoyed it greatly. My favourite aspects were diving into the wider world beyond Westeros, when chapters touched upon the lands outside of the Seven Kingdoms, from the remnants of Old Valyria to strange voyages and experiences travelling even further west of Westeros.
In particular in the sections concerned with the Dance of Dragons, multiple sources are used to convey the story, at times at odds with one another, and there is a self awareness to the book about how history is written by those who win the power to define it. There is definitely thought put behind this book. It would be easy to Martin to simply pen a history of the Targaryens, and it would sell even if it was as dry as dust. Aegon the Conquerer went here and did this and won that, for example. But Martin takes care to make the book still entertaining and play with how the concepts of power, history and remembrance can interplay and influence one another. Sometimes, it strains at belief. Am I truly to believe the words attributed to kings and queens in solitary meetings were able to be noted? Whether or not you take the view of Martin simply trying to inject a bit of drama into the more dry style of a historical recounting, or that what we see is Martin playing with themes of propaganda, it goes a long way to endear the reader to actually care about characters, events and moments beyond the base facts, and that, to me, is a mark of a good book written in this style.
If this book were as dry as any educational history book, it would be hard to get through. To me, this book rates a four stars because it wasn’t hard. True, it wasn’t always easy. Names, as I have mentioned, became blurs. At times, I felt very much in the slow point of history. But, largely, it was a still entertaining take at a historical recounting, and that is a framework device that rarely lends itself to that task.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s a pretty heavy read but it’s written as other historical non-fiction books are so felt like I was learning about real history and real people.
This was an audiobook that I borrowed from my local library (UK) via the Libby app. The narrator was fantastic and he sounded as though he was really feeling the history of the Targaryen dynasty. Long, but thoroughly enjoyable.
This was an audiobook that I borrowed from my local library (UK) via the Libby app. The narrator was fantastic and he sounded as though he was really feeling the history of the Targaryen dynasty. Long, but thoroughly enjoyable.