Reviews tagging 'Violence'

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

226 reviews

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

mangopassion555's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Fire/Fire injury

mountaineer77's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

3.5

Overall a good introduction to fantasy reads & I can see why it is so loved of a book. Easy to digest & great, believable dialogue with characters who are honestly easy to dislike. Not too much "heavy fantasy" lore to get muddled in - there's not goblins, magic, weird & unusual creatures, etc.. It reads more closely to a historical fiction novel than fantasy imo. I cannot get over the heavy male gaze though littered throughout! It is a bit ick honestly. And there are an insane # of trigger warnings surrounding this book - incest, rape, sexual content, gore... If you don't know a thing about this series, pls look it up before you dive in.

(insanely close, like literal dialogue is the same, from this book to the show! & I feel that's rare to have the adaptation follow so closely with the source material)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Rape, Sexual content, and Violence

olityr's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I've avoided this book for years because the show is so sexual, and supposedly the book is too. Recently heard that the show prayed up the sex a lot, so thought I'd give it a try. Was more sexual than I prefer, but we less than I feared and would be. 

I'm glad I finally gave it a chance, and I hope it doesn't get more sexual later in the series.

I was surprised at how little magic or other purely fantasy elements there were, then suddenly in the last few Daenerys chapters it finally started to feel like typical high fantasy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexism

Minor: Incest, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and War

ariieesbixx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Una de las mejores lecturas de este año sin duda. Increíble el desarrollo y la fuerza de los personajes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

athomehangel's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, and Murder

kerrence30's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

An absolute modern classic, one of the most enjoyable examples of world building and development. Second time reading this book and cannot fault it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death, Rape, and Sexism

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

landwere's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Trafficking

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