Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

73 reviews

asteroideae's review against another edition

This is my second attempt at reading the series, and although the quality of the writing was better than I expected, I simply cannot get over GRR Martin's insistence on writing very young women enduring some very graphic sexual assault.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault

spentcello's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, Violence, and War

robotnik's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Oh, the neverending saga that is A Song of Ice and Fire. When will it ever end? Does George RR Martin even remember that he's writing this series? Who let those two shady dudes be showrunners for the HBO show? Nobody knows!

A Game of Thrones is the very beginning of this epic fantasy series. And it's a very long beginning. If you're into shorter stories that get straight to the point and don't bog you down with long winded descriptions of everything from food to boobs, then this is not the book for you. 

AGOT sits firmly in the low fantasy side of the spectrum, so if you're expecting a lot of wizards and magic and dragons (of which there is of all three, but in low supply), then this is not the book for you.

If you want epic heroes and clear-cut villains and happy endings and knowing who to root for because their personality and actions let you know who's right and who's wrong, then this is not the book for you. 

If reading things like graphic violence and abuse and rape and more upset you, and if any of those topics are triggering in any way to you, then this is not the book for you. 

Despite all its flaws (and it definitely has flaws, don't listen to the people who say otherwise), I still greatly enjoy this series and list it as one of my favourites of all time. It's not for everyone - a lot of people who enjoy the time period setting it's in aren't into the lack of magic and many people who may like the more ~realistic~ approach might not be into the length of it all. Trying to keep track of everyone can be a hardcore paint to people who aren't into big casts, or even into history where you gotta memorize so many people. And, there's a lot of stuff that might be hard to stomach, depending on how sensitive to those topics you are. 

Even so, I love the shit out of this series. And I'll always stand by it as one of the best, for me at least, in literature. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

gandalf_a's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Abortion, and Abandonment

clairebartholomew549's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I've been on a real Game of Thrones kick - watching the second season of House of Dragon got me inspired to read Fire & Blood, and that got me inspired to rewatch Game of Thrones, and then I decided I needed to reread the series. I read the first two or three books when I was in high school but never read the latter part of the series, and I'm really excited to dive in. This first book really is an exemplar of the genre: the world-building is tight and concise, we get perspectives from all the main characters, the pace moves fast, and there's just enough dread and tension. I remember being so shocked as a kid when Ned dies, but reading this book, you can see the multiple times Ned makes the wrong choice. I also have so much more sympathy for Sansa than I did when I was younger; her and Arya's disparate dispositions and fates are incredible examples of the boxes the patriarchy put them in and the few choices they had. Dany's story as always was my favorite and I wanted to get back to it (it also reminded me how much more violent the show decided to go with her storyline with Khal Drogo, and how much more rape they inserted in, which is gross), and Jon's storyline feels a little detached from the main arc, but that's the point. I can't wait to read the next one.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Miscarriage

sapphic_shroom's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, and Child death

cronareads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Rape, and Violence

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

batmayne_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

The 1st book is basically the 1st season but with so much more
I found myself loving my favourite characters (Ned, Dany) more then the show and recieved answers to questions i had around the GoT Universe 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

I refuse to believe Jon Snow is a targayren, current thoughts: he is a Baratheon

gvstyris's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

 When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives. 

I can’t rate this any higher in good faith because of its handling of sexual violence, the presentation of the Dothraki and the youth of its characters, but man, there’s just something about the original ASOIAF novels that House of the Dragon and the Game of Thrones adaptation can’t quite capture.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and War

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

cadenceh8's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury