Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

4 reviews

clairebartholomew549's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is for sure the darkest book of the series so far - the bad events are pretty much unrelenting; cough cough the Red Wedding - but it also expands the universe in a really satisfying way and delves deeper into the characters' motivations and allegiances. There's also some satisfying comeuppance (Joffrey's wedding is truly a moment to relish) and interesting alliances that bring out new facets of characters (Jaime and Brienne's fraught partnership is fascinating, and Jaime remains one of the more complicated characters in the book), and the world-building is top-tier. Just like in the TV series, Dany's journey feels a bit meandering, but at least in this book it feels like she's really wrestling with what kind of ruler she wants to be and with the betrayals of the various people in her lives.

This is the first book where it feels like there is real diversion from the TV series, and I'm excited to see where the fourth and fifth books go (and the sixth and seventh if George R. Martin ever gets off his ass, which is certainly not for certain lmao).

I'm intrigued by Ramsay Bolton being married to Jeyne Poole instead of Sansa - I read an interview with the TV writers saying it felt like it made sense for all of Ramsay's terror to be inflicted on a character we actually care about, which to me is gross and speaks to the willingness of the TV writers to put female characters through trauma that even George R. Martin didn't think was necessary. It's also interesting how little sex there is in the books than there is in the series, which again speaks to the TV writers' interest in depicting female bodies and sexual violence. Finally, I'm so intrigued by the epilogue and the question of whether Cat actually survived, and I can't wait to see if the woman is a pretender or somehow the real Cat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

msib129's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad fast-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: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Sexism, Torture, Xenophobia, Murder, and War

vigil's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

linnylionheart's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Suicide, Excrement, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Dysphoria

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Cannibalism, and Abortion

Further content warning: bestiality (moderate)