Reviews tagging 'Incest'

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

78 reviews

doodlebug987's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Moderate: Child death, Incest, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

rafacolog's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol

awildpreciouslife's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Incest

mmefish's review

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

2.5

Barely anything interesting happened for most of the book, unless you count someone (a woman/a child) being raped every second chapter as "interesting".
Daenerys', Theon's and Davos's chapters were the best ones.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Incest, and Pedophilia

Minor: Excrement and Cannibalism

Minor: necrophilia

josiew's review against another edition

adventurous challenging slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity, and Sexism

maevesheehan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

cas_voogt's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

Good book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War

elijah__'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? No

3.75

Liked it better than the previous book. As for characters, I continue to really like Bran, Arya, and Tyrion, and the character development of Catelyn and Sansa has really made them grow on me. Brienne is an instant new favorite secondary character. However, I have to say that how Lollys is handled is abysmal, gross, and totally unnecessary (one of Shae's comments in particular instantly killed any appreciation I had for Shae's character in a way I don't think was fully intentional by the author.) The plot itself is deeply engaging. Martin is great at twists -- they're not last-minute rug pulls for twists' sake, but subtly foreshadowed in such a way that you either get the dawning realization beforehand, or that moments before make sudden sense after the unexpected happens. Though plot threads are dropped and left for long stretches at a time, they do end up tying together in satisfying ways. I think the slower pacing works quite well here.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Excrement, Vomit, and Medical content

pacifica's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

THIS IS A SPOILER-FILLED REVIEW! I DID NOT HIDE SPOILERS!

i enjoyed reading ACOK much more than AGOT. this book in the series ramps up the tension and the stakes greatly from the first installment and despite all the pieces moving on the board, George R. R. Martin proves his skill by keeping it engaging, exciting, and at an even medium pace.

favorite POVs:

• Arya - she's my favorite character so no surprise there. Arya's chapters are just so clever. she really is a sharp little girl. her narration is full of both childish naivete and playfulness and absolute despair/horror. it's been said many times before that one of Arya's narrative purposes is to show the devastating effects of war and lordly politics on the common people, and GRRM does it masterfully here. can't wait for her ASOS chapters.
• Theon - it surprised me that by the end, Theon became one of my favorite POVs to read. he was admittedly very obnoxious in his first couple chapters (and violently misogynistic honestly), but by the end i really saw GRRM's reason for including his story. Theon's inner conflict grows with each of his chapters and there's just an underlying feeling of despair and dread. throughout the novel he's absolutely torn between two aspects of his identity/past, and you feel that no matter the choice he makes, he's doomed. i grew to sympathize with him and it made me so sad knowing that the next time we see him in the books, he's a tortured, broken individual.
• Tyrion - Tyrion really shines as a political player in King's Landing and his wits get the spotlight. i especially loved his dynamic with Cersei and how contentious it is. there are moments of small joy where it seems like they can be tentative allies, but then they stab one another in the back again and we're back to square one. really makes me anticipate reading her POV chapters in AFFC.
• Davos - though his portion in the book was smallish, it's great to see the Stannis camp and Melisandre through Davos's lowborn eyes. Davos possesses a simple nobility and uprightness without being pretentious or holier-than-thou. he's just a good solid guy and it's extremely refreshing to read him.

least favorite POVs:

• Jon - his chapters weren't as entertaining as his chapters from AGOT. i felt that his chapters meandered a lot once the Night's Watch leaves Craster's Keep and i didn't find myself as invested in each chapter.
• Daenerys - this mostly had to do with the setting of her chapters. Qarth is interesting to be sure, but not nearly as dimensional as the culture and characters of the Dothraki, which we spend all of AGOT with. also, knowing that Dany never returns to Qarth makes her chapters feel like a setup with no real payoff. i know she hears prophecies from Quaithe and sees important visions in her Undying chapter, but these could have occurred in any other Essosi location and left the series mostly unchanged.

final notes:
i didn't expect to cry in the last chapter, not having cried the whole rest of the novel, but i did. GRRM builds a quiet atmosphere that could not even be called bittersweet, though nor is it wholly bitter. it's just quiet and somewhat reserved. one of the best endings to a novel i've read in a while, i think. anyway, onwards!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and War

Moderate: Incest

avazee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape and Slavery

Minor: Rape