Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Fire & Blood (HBO Tie-In Edition): 300 Years Before a Game of Thrones by Doug Wheatley, George R.R. Martin

11 reviews

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

amsu's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-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? No

3.25

I never enjoyed reading a history book more. Despite its lengths I was happily reading along. I would only recommend this book to people that have read the Song of Fire and Ice Books beforehand, since this book is literally a history book of the reign of the Targaryen's. So you have to love the world to enjoy this. 

My favourite part of the book was the reign of Jaehaerys and Alysanne the most intriguing and was deeply gutted by the following Dance of the Dragons,which destroyed all of their achievements.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, War, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Incest, and Homophobia

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

lonny05's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Adult/minor relationship, and Incest

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Death and Miscarriage

natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Rape, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Incest, War, Death, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, and Sexual violence

tashtasher's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Incest, Sexual content, Violence, and War

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Trafficking

Minor: Toxic relationship and Misogyny

circlesarah's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, War, and Toxic relationship

angstifies's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense

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

4.25

proud to say i read a whole HISTORY BOOK of the TARGARYEN and their silly little dragon fights. 

i really liked it, i enjoyed some parts way more than others but overall this was a great book. the first 50% of the book was absolutely amazing, then the dance started and it was kind of a struggle for me, and the aftermath was just alright. 

don’t know if we’ll ever get a second, or even a third if needed, novel for Aegon lll — Aerys ll (very unlikely) but it does get published i’ll absolutely read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, War, Fire/Fire injury, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Body horror, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Rape, Torture, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicide

Minor: Slavery, Child death, Infertility, Medical content, and Death of parent

albon's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Child death, Animal death, Death of parent, and Incest

Moderate: Fatphobia, War, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Sexual assault

dany_casimiro's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

A head-first fall into the history of the Targaryens, which is absolutely a chef's kiss.
In Fire & Blood, Martin has chosen the work of an Archmaester of the Citadel to narrate this story. In his turn, this man has used various sources at his disposal to provide an in-depth overview of the tensions, emotions, and political ties within House Targaryen. So, we get a third- or fourth-person account of the events. This leaves a lot of questions and blank spaces behind, which I deeply enjoyed and the current TV show is exploring masterfully.
One thing that this book addresses way better than ASOIAF is the incest between Targaryens and how it was dealt with by the Faith of the Seven in Westeros. Other aspects include a bigger focus on feminism and women's oppression in a medieval-inspired setting, as well as great care to show people's suffering. Yes, I'm thinking particularly of Good Queen Alysanne, but also of the Moon of the Kings in King's Landing.
About the Dance, I loved it. The final moments of certain characters are still a source of bitterness.

Rhaenyra and Damon died as heroes, but maybe too soon? I wanted more of them.

But the worst-best part was the Storming - it quickly became an emotional moment, twisting its knives into my poor heart.
In the end, Targaryens are the bringers of their own demise. Their greed and unmeasured ambition manage to take away everything they have

- including the very symbol of their power, dragons, which is unforgivable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Abortion, War, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Toxic relationship