The decision to read this book was greatly influenced by HBO’s House of The Dragon announcement。 The books felt very much different from the ASOIAF series in terms of writing and narration。 GRRM could have possibly written five volumes to explain the Targaryen line in details, which felt much cut off as it was explained through Mushroom or Munkun。 Thoroughly enjoyed this book。 Cannot wait to see how HBO adapts the Dance of The Dragon on screen。
Andrea,
There are a bajillion characters to keep up with in the GOT/ASOIAF universe。 This plus The World OF Ice And Fire made it easier for me and provided some visuals for me as well。 If you want to go down this rabbit hole of information and are a fan of the show and universe, then check this out。
Adam,
Entertaining。 Went a little fast but it’s not a novel of one story。
Meghan Lowry,
Reads like a history bookIt is long and overly detailed。 There are some very intriguing plots and surprising turns。 It is difficult to keep up with all the characters including their dragons。 Google the family tree and maps as you go as the book itself does no such thing。 This book is for diehard Game of Throne fans。
rissi,
DNF I fell in love with this read at the beginning and I have to say George R R Martin does not disappoint。 But because of the current hbo series I decided to not finish this book due to spoilers so I will come back to it when the series ends。
Tamar,
So many names, honestly, at some point I stopped trying remember who's who So many names, honestly, at some point I stopped trying remember who's who 。。。more
Yorman Andrade,
Es un libro con un comienzo interesante narrando la conquista y el reinado de Aegon I。 Los sucesos que le siguieron al reinado de los Targaryen。 Hasta la Danza de Dragones se sintió interesante, el resto solo sirvió para entender más la cronología。
Borja,
3。5 -4 stars。 By the way people talk about this book and the way it is written, I expected it to be very dry and didn't give it a chance for a long time。 I must say I found it mostly very readable after getting through the first couple of chapters。 Since the book covers a long time of Targaryen history, some parts might be a little slow, but George also does a good job of making situations and characters interesting。 And hateful or dumb too in some cases。On the other hand it's true that reading 3。5 -4 stars。 By the way people talk about this book and the way it is written, I expected it to be very dry and didn't give it a chance for a long time。 I must say I found it mostly very readable after getting through the first couple of chapters。 Since the book covers a long time of Targaryen history, some parts might be a little slow, but George also does a good job of making situations and characters interesting。 And hateful or dumb too in some cases。On the other hand it's true that reading "person A said this, person B said that" can be a little repetitive at some pointsThe creepy elements were a nice surprise, and the lack of certainty gives rise to interesting thoughts and theories and makes some events quite mysterious。 I'm sure a less casual reader will extract more from the book。Maybe the biggest difficulty when reading this book is the sheer amount of characters。 Better drawings of the family tree would be helpful to not get confused when there are so many characters with similar names, but George does a good job with this through the book, repeating information when might be needed and choosing when to introduce the information。 。。。more
Amy,
4。5*
Susie ,
Super great for wanting a little more background on HOTD。 Contains a ton of spoilers for future, but also seems to give the writers a ton of room to create storylines for the show! It reads like a history book, not a novel, so if you’re looking for more GOT-type stuff, this isn’t it。 No dialogue。
Emma Mckinney,
Thought it was great, it does read kind of slow with a lot of information to take in。
Lara Winter,
Not a novel, more of a historical review of targaryen history。
Lydia,
Creo que es el libro que más me ha enganchado desde el principio y me ha tenido nerviosa con lo que iba pasando。 Me ha encantado leerlo, me ha llegado muchísimo y me ha dejado devastada y moribunda de todo lo que va ocurriendo
Kerin,
DNF
Olivia McCarthy,
3。5/5。 The Dance of the Dragons was obviously the best part of this novel。 Some of it was reeeally tedious。
Alai,
No puedo creer que al fin lo terminé y que fui lo suficientemente tonta como para iniciar la saga por este libro。 Hay mucho detalle en la creación del mundo pero fue muy pesado teniendo en cuenta que solo me interesaba la historia de hotd, aunque hubo reinados más interesantes, como el de Aegon el conquistador y Jaehaerys。Ahora ya ni siquiera sé si quiero ver la serie, al final todos mueren o se traicionan。
Cian,
Great book。 Reads kinda like a history book。 There's just so many names and events and places to remember。 Takes a whole lot of brainpower to just follow the story Great book。 Reads kinda like a history book。 There's just so many names and events and places to remember。 Takes a whole lot of brainpower to just follow the story 。。。more
Edgard Weisser,
Es un buen libro, pero no de mi gusto。 Mucha historia junta。。。y al parecer Martin no se canso de matar suficiente gente en Canción de Hielo y Fuego, así que le puso el acelerador en este libro。。。
Mellie S。,
I just wanted to look something up real quick but couldn't stop reading I just wanted to look something up real quick but couldn't stop reading 。。。more
Ruby Grade,
One of the densest history textbooks I have ever read。
Ria Guinto,
It don't think this book would be interesting to those who didn't follow the GOT lore。 I enjoyed reading it though。 It don't think this book would be interesting to those who didn't follow the GOT lore。 I enjoyed reading it though。 。。。more
Afia Jahin Mou,
such a brilliant way of writing!
Ashley,
Dry but interesting
Eliane,
Aff。 Perfeito。
Sophie,
Only read this for the Rhaenyra, Daemon and dragon content。 That is all! The title wasn't kidding with "fire and blood" because that's all that is in this book。 I wasn't a huge fan of the Game of Thrones books, so when House of the Dragon inspired me to pick this up, I'll admit that I was sceptical because I didn't like the authors writing style and I only wanted to see the parts they've covered in the series and this book starts from the very beginning。 It's also over 700 pages which is intimid Only read this for the Rhaenyra, Daemon and dragon content。 That is all! The title wasn't kidding with "fire and blood" because that's all that is in this book。 I wasn't a huge fan of the Game of Thrones books, so when House of the Dragon inspired me to pick this up, I'll admit that I was sceptical because I didn't like the authors writing style and I only wanted to see the parts they've covered in the series and this book starts from the very beginning。 It's also over 700 pages which is intimidating enough。 However, I preferred this to Game of Thrones, which says a lot given the rating。 This book is written more like it is a history textbook from Westeros and whilst I liked this style of writing compared to the waffle that is Game of Thrones, I found this to be boring at times and it was just a lot of name dropping。 There are so many families within this world and so much political intrigue, that going through the history of one specific family meant trying to put names to faces that I couldn't picture or who wouldn't last long because it's Game of Thrones, no one lasts long! You don't even get a proper feel for the characters either。 Had I not seen the TV show, my opinion would be very different。 I like how the book has been adapted to the show (which I recommend) and stays true to the source material to a degree。 But the fact I need that visual aid to help me read this beast of a book does not help。 After I pushed myself to 30% and found myself struggling to continue, the characters I was at, at that point, did not hold my interest and I was tempted to DNF because I just didn't want to pick it up。 I forced myself to continue and I was glad until I got past certain characters' demises。 Like I said, it's a history of the family, there's going to be deaths and what comes after the civil war known as the Dance of Dragons just felt pointless and boring。 If the author was going to continue up to "current day" where we understand Daenerys character's family history then fine, but (spoiler) we don't。 I know the title says it goes up to a certain King but that still doesn't account for the weird ending。 Overall, I did not fully enjoy the experience, but I have to say I liked this more than Game of Thrones。 The Targaryens are just better in my opinion, they have dragons! This book is filled with them and I loved the fact that the author didn't gloss over them, he made sure to go into detail about their names, their riders, their physical appearance。 I was way more invested in their wellbeing than I was 90% of the characters in this book and in GRRM fashion, be prepared to see them die violently。 (I know it had to happen but George。。。 that was horrible to read about。 Dragons were harmed in the making of this book!)The illustrations are a nice touch too! I enjoyed the fact that they broke up the long winded explanation that was the entirety of this book。 Definitely read this physically or on a tablet because it does the illustrations justice。 。。。more
Mythical Reads,
This gives a lot of backstory for the SOIAF series。 With that said, the Dance of Dragon segment was the best。 Aemon One-Eyed can hit me up any time。 However, having to read the last like a 100 pages was exhausting。 There was so much backstabbing and betrayal during the Dance that having to read the aftermath of it and still having more betrayals and more backstabbing got overbearing。 Its kinda the point of the book but it didn't make it any less exhausting。 This gives a lot of backstory for the SOIAF series。 With that said, the Dance of Dragon segment was the best。 Aemon One-Eyed can hit me up any time。 However, having to read the last like a 100 pages was exhausting。 There was so much backstabbing and betrayal during the Dance that having to read the aftermath of it and still having more betrayals and more backstabbing got overbearing。 Its kinda the point of the book but it didn't make it any less exhausting。 。。。more
Arunas,
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it, click here。 This book was fantastic! Although it took me a while to finish due to a thousand different names being mentioned it was so worth the read and I am glad I finished it the day before House of Dragon finale is out!!I was quite interested as to why the House of Dragon series picked the particular time period to focus on so when I get to the chapters I was quite blown away by the events that happened and how crazy the storyline got! It actually left me feeling a little depressed as you tend to root f This book was fantastic! Although it took me a while to finish due to a thousand different names being mentioned it was so worth the read and I am glad I finished it the day before House of Dragon finale is out!!I was quite interested as to why the House of Dragon series picked the particular time period to focus on so when I get to the chapters I was quite blown away by the events that happened and how crazy the storyline got! It actually left me feeling a little depressed as you tend to root for the targaryens and watching their destruction is heartbreaking。Really recommend it and I am excited for the next book to be out! 。。。more
cubainou,
The opening is a little dull。 The best bits are the Dance of the Dragons and Jaehaerys。 The others are the least interesting monarchs and feel all the same。 It gets really slow and long-winded at times, it reads more like a history book than a novel。 It’s worth reading if you want to learn the lore。
Jorge,
El libro nos narra el auge y la decadencia de la familia Targaryen, las traiciones, intrigas, dejando muchos detalles a la interpretación del lector, especialmente las de tipo románticas y enfermizas。Se siente como lo que pretende ser, un recuento histórico con rigor académico。 Se utiliza una perspectiva de investigador que revisa la bibliografía de 3 versiones; de un maestre, un septón y un bufón。Cada versión tiene lo suyo, mi favorita fue la del bufón, que aunque muchas historias tenían elemen El libro nos narra el auge y la decadencia de la familia Targaryen, las traiciones, intrigas, dejando muchos detalles a la interpretación del lector, especialmente las de tipo románticas y enfermizas。Se siente como lo que pretende ser, un recuento histórico con rigor académico。 Se utiliza una perspectiva de investigador que revisa la bibliografía de 3 versiones; de un maestre, un septón y un bufón。Cada versión tiene lo suyo, mi favorita fue la del bufón, que aunque muchas historias tenían elementos inventados por él mismo, también son las más coloridas。 Si te gusta leer textos de tipo histórico, pero tienes un antojo por algo de fantasía este libro es para ti。 。。。more