Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

26 reviews

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

e_asw_97's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

1.0

average fantasy. deducted points for gratuitous misogyny/sexism; rape; homophobia; fatphobia... the list goes on

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail

buffy87's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.5

It is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO damn SLOOOOOOOOOOOW!!! But it does create tension. The writing felt like a slog tho - it's almost as if GRRM hates writing this book as much I hated reading all that damn exposition. Lol. I will say the fantasy is super light....don't get much fantastical plot points until about 70% way through. Also so unbelievably fatphobic and orientalist. Like WOW.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Incest, and Sexual content

bookwookie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Violence

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

da3m0nic'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Rape, Grief, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Vomit

griminycricket's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jenmaysiereads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

 

4.5 out of 5 stars 

 

‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ is a deeply special series for a whole host of reasons, having helped shape the very landscape of modern fantasy for generations of readers. 

 

The story is most-known, most-loved and most-reviled through its fault riddled HBO adaptation named after the first instalment in this series. But the adaptation is a pale, disfigured comparison to the source material. 

 

In reality, George R. R. Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ is a sprawling, captivating high fantasy which follows a cast of deeply flawed, deeply compelling protagonists, antagonists and everything in-between. It is a story I have been wholly captivated and obsessed with for the better part of a decade. 

 

As a teen, I would scour the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ wiki between seasons, reading through pages and pages of lore on the world that Martin had crafted, scribbling half-baked theories into a notebook — to the point where I’d read the books without ever actually reading them. This is now my second full read of the first instalment ‘A Game of Thrones’ — though I’ve periodically re-read chapters over the years — and god it is as good as I remembered, if not better. 

 

In the battle for the throne, no one is safe, not even the virtuous ones; oftentimes the good and honourable men frequently suffer all the more. The sense of unpredictability and danger sparked from Martin’s freedom to hurt and kill off the crucial main characters in the series—after making his readers care for them—brings an intensity to the storytelling which is seldom found elsewhere. 

 

The world-building in ‘A Game of Thrones’ is subtle in its beauty and its storytelling. With kernels of information drip-fed to the reader in an organic and captivating manner, the book so rarely dumps exposition onto the reader; and if/when it does, it is well earned. Mostly, the world is taught through the protagonist surviving it. The reader learns of Valyrian steel through the introduction of the ancestral greatsword Ice, they discover the ancient magic of the Stark’s blood through their connection with the direwolf pups and feel the loss of the dragons of old Valyria through Daenerys’ trauma. 

 

It’s fascinating to me that readers talk about ‘A Game of Thrones’ is an anti-fantasy when it is one of the most complex and fascinating magical worlds one can read. It’s just subtle and clever in its storytelling. The magic is unfolding, awakening as the pages turn. 

 

The prose is captivating in its simplicity and beauty. Never veering into overt purple prose, Martin’s skill with the written word is a beast to behold. There is a magic in the way he writes; how he effuses the simplest sentences with such poetry. There is a grandiose and majesty to paragraphs like: “As Daenerys Targaryen rose to her feet, her black hissed, pale smoke venting from its mouth and nostrils. The other two pulled away from her breasts and added their voices to the call, translucent wings unfolding and stirring the air, and for the first time in hundreds of years, the night came alive with the music of dragons.” In such simple language, Martin leaves the reader with a sense of wonder that is almost heart-stopping. 

 

Likewise, Martin utilities the tool of alternating perspectives perfectly. Oftentimes, an off-the-cuff comment from a side character in one chapter has the potential to resolve the conflict experienced by the protagonist of another — if only they had been there to hear it said. There are several instances of this occurring throughout the book, interweaving the plot lines of characters that are hundreds of miles from one another. 

 

The characterisation is so strong with each perspective. 

Stylistically, Martin’s prose and tone remains the same however he is able to invigorate each character with a distinct voice that makes it clear who the narrative is following. It’s hard not to become invested in the characters Martin has crafted here: even those which are deliberately unlikable are fascinatingly complex, making you root for them in spite of yourself. For me, the stand-out characters are Daenerys, Jon, Catelyn, Tyrion and Sansa. Not only does this book give a fascinating insight into their characters and their motivations, it shows just how clever, funny, cruel and kind all three are — the depth of which is lacking when it comes to their on-screen counterpoints. Personally, I am a Sansa apologist — that little girl can do no wrong. 

 

There are definitely aspects of this series that I do feel are worthy of heavier critique. Oftentimes the ages of the characters feel uncomfortably off; Daenerys being no more than thirteen when she is sold to and impregnated by a thirty-something year old Drogo is uncomfortable at best and disturbing at worst. Likewise, the questionable objectification and sexualisation of young girls in the series is… weird. It’s weird. Unreliable narration and the in-world societal context aside, it doesn’t sit comfortably with me.While the narrative and author do critique this sexualisation in parts, this critique not always executed well and doesn’t necessarily justify its prevalence throughout the series. 

 

While Martin’s portrayal of women and their suffering is not without flaw and can be, at times, gratuitous in nature for the most part he manages to depict female characters that are as nuanced as their male counterparts. Again, this is not without flaw. However, I disagree with the notion that Martin’s female characters are one-note or uninteresting. Rather, Martin has managed to craft female characters which encompass a breadth of strengths, weakness and motivations; creating a cast of multi-faced and flawed women. From Cersei and Catelyn; to Sansa and Arya; to Daenerys and Missendei — no two female characters are the same. 

 

Although not perfect, ‘A Game of Thrones’ is considered one of modern fantasy’s best for a reason. George R. R. Martin is an expert at his craft and the world he has built is one that I have found myself revisiting year after year. With characters that have cemented themselves as among my all time favourites and a world whose mysteries are yet to unravel, it’s no wonder it has been a cornerstone of the genre for so long. 

 

It was fantastic to revisit this book, it definitely won’t be the last time. 

 

[Note: I read and rated this book sometime in 2018 - 2019 and gave it two stars. I do not stand by that rating. In fact, I’m pretty sure I was just being an edgy loser.] 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

maras_readings's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and War

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism and Fatphobia

berrymuffin's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Still a good book despite all the triggers lol

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail