Reviews tagging 'Pandemic/Epidemic'

Feuer und Blut - Erstes Buch: Aufstieg und Fall des Hauses Targaryen von Westeros by George R.R. Martin

13 reviews

bookycnidaria's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury

explorachel's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

2.0

 I knew what I was getting myself into, but this book is the absolute definition of slog. This is the first time I can say that I far prefer the TV show/movie adaptation to the book. 

This is a very different writing style compared to the rest of the Game of Thrones books, since it covers a huge span of history and sweeps over battles quite quickly. The most redeemable parts are when George R.R. Martin hones in on a particular few characters, like Jaehaeris and Alysanne and their family. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

amachonis's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

viscountess_black's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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

4.5

I did it. I finished it!
It is a really good book, albeit a heavy one. It has amazing world and character building, which I enjoyed amazingly. 
Would definitely recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Sexism, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, and Pandemic/Epidemic

isabellamarg's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Set 300 years before A Game of Thrones, Fire & Blood is history of the Targaryen family beginning with the rule of Aegon the Conquerer. 

 

This book is a narrative non-fiction history and so as George R.R. Martin said, it is not actually written by him, but by Archmaester Gyldayn of the Citadel in Westeros. With this in mind, we are given multiple sources that show how history is warped and construed depending on what you choose to believe. The Archmaester refers to three main primary sources: Grand Maester Orwyle’s official court records, the religious Septon of King’s Landing and the Red Keep, and Mushroom a scandalous court jester whose histories were always the filthiest. The varying accounts of what truly happened added nuance to this 700 page long historical tome. 

 

As a newbie to A Game of Thrones history as well as Martin’s writing I actually thoroughly enjoyed this book! It took me longer than a usual novel to read, given the length, but I never felt bored or unhappy with what I was reading. More-so I felt excited and curious as to what was next to befell the Targaryen family. 

 

The rich world building from Martin truly enraptured me and I loved learning about the different families and houses in Westeros and beyond. It was also interesting having read Fire & Blood after having watched the first and part of the second season of House of the Dragon (it did not make me excited for the third and fourth seasons as they will be devastating for my beloved Rhaenyra). I feel the same way I felt watching the Dune movies prior to reading the books in that it enhanced my experience by allowing me to have some prior visual knowledge of what certain settings looked like as well as a more relatable bond with some of the characters. There are also 85+ beautiful illustrations from Doug Wheatley that help you visualize the story, characters, and realm of Westeros and beyond. The drawings added a little extra oomph! 

 

Note: the Dance of the Dragons which is what House of the Dragon is based off of only takes up 226 pages of Fire & Blood. While I did enjoy this portion of the book especially because of my prior watching of House of the Dragon my favorite histories within this novel were that of Aegon the Conquerer, Queen Visenya Targaryen, and Queen Rhaenys Targaryen in addition to Jaehaerys the Conciliator and Queen Alysanne Targaryen. 

 

Overall, as someone who does not read too much fantasy I loved this book! Some of the content is definitely a bit heavy (subject wise as well as dense in material) but like I said I never felt bored or like storylines dragged on for longer than was needed. It felt really cool to be almost reading a historical text that could be real (or maybe is in our multiverse who knows). Fire & Blood was one of those books for me that I finished reading and immediately wanted to read more, hence why I ordered the first Game of Thrones book as well as Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, whoops! Definitely expect to hear more from me about Martin and A Game of Thrones in the future! Now I need to go find a dragon and become a dragon rider. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ashlynregan's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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? Yes

4.0

Honestly I liked this better than the actual series lmao!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

linnylionheart's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infertility, and Medical content

Minor: Slavery and Kidnapping

roznn's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

kayleejanes's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

arrowdodger's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

As both a history buff and a fan of A Song of Ice and Fire fan, this book was everything I wanted it to be and more! I'm so sad it's done and there isn't more yet! (Said every ASoIaF fan ever.)

I actually listened to this book on audio while at work. I'm not usually an audiobook person, but with the "non-fiction" tilt this takes I actually got a lot out of hearing it narrated. It somehow made it sound like someone was telling me an epic historical tale, whereas plainly reading it may feel like more of a slog through a textbook. The narrator was perfectly suited for the job, too. I really recommend trying it that way if the size and content seems daunting. (Then look at the pictures later.) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic