Harmony asked:

Does anyone know if this book is supposed to read like a novel or more like a history text book?

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17 likes · like
7 years ago
17 answers

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Terence It will read like a history text book, just like The World of Ice and Fire.

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Heather I'm actually loving this book... it does read like a history book, but not the kind that bored kids to tears in school. More like the "Devil in the White City" kind of history book, an accounting that reads more like a novel. I think you have to get past the first few chapters; Once you really get into it, the narrative and the characters will grab you... particularly during the reign of the "Old King," and then the "Dance of the Dragons" wars... I couldn't put it down last night and ended up reading until well after midnight. (I'm at about 75% on my kindle at this point.)

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Robert I am past page 100 and it is more like a history book. It is a fantasy history book and from what I can see it will probably be that way all the way through. It is interesting but not the same as A Song of Ice and Fire so not as nearly as good. Martin must have had his computer database of characters, events, and locations constantly being accessed during the writing. Keeping all this information in order and consistent had to be a job.

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Frances It reads like popular history. Y'know, the likes of David McCullough or Doris Kearns Goodwin. To someone who doesn't read those kind of books, that may be a meaningless distinction, but to me, the difference between a David McCullough book and a textbook is far larger than the difference between a popular history and a novel written in omniscient POV.

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Derek Smith I am wondering the same thing. If it isn't a novel, I don't want it.

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Nancy I'm reading this for the first time so I can follow the upcoming HBO Series. Yes, it's a well-written history book like a David McCullough or Rick Atkinson. You have to really be into GOT to appreciate this. The illustrations are lame.

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Vaso The first few pages/chapters are hard, and I was a bit bored of Aegon the conqueror and Maegor, but when we got to Jaehaerys I, I was so intrigued. The dance was also very good, but because I know about the show, I forgot George kills his characters... I was a but underwhelmed but the remembered the book and that it's about the family, not the dance

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Joan Westgate My husband is quite the reader, averaging 2-3 books/week. He says he got to pg. 80 + quit! "Not worth the time, with an overload of characters, that you're trying to keep in your head."
I will pass on this one!

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Emma Having majored in history, I must say this is a boring mono-causal history book, in which everything as caused by human strivings, like will to power. For a history book it's primitive and old fashioned. Histories these days have more layers, more overall arcs, more angles and are far more interesting. In this book there are no long arcs, it's just one Targaryen wanting power after another. And then.... and then ... and then..... It is also full of names of secondary card board characters that only occur once or twice, so that you cannot and do not want to remember them all, after which you drown in a sea of names.

So, as a narrative it fails too. Besides the point mentioned above, it's got head hopping (frequent PoV changes), flimsy characterization, little plot but a fight for dominance, and a paternalistic myogenic flavor seeping through the cracks.) The whole reads like someone discovered GRRM's background notes for ASOIAF and blew some extra air in them for a quick buck.

If you're a Daenarys fan, do not read this book, as it becomes obvious that the vast majority of the Targaryens are a self centered, power hungry bunch, and a scourge that bring little good to Westeros; with one exception nothing more than foreign invaders that force their will with dragons.

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Barbara Yes I feel the same way. Im pg 160 and so far this book is a huge disapointment!

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Angie Robles I was thinking the same thing at the beginning... Like in page 50 Aegon was sitting on the throne and I was thinking... what? there's like 800 trillion pages left... haha. It was a little bit hard up to page 100.. then it got easier... I'm at page 240.

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Jorgon It does *not* read like a history textbook, at least not an interesting one. It reads more like an old-style chronicle. Maybe a middle-school history textbook, the kind that seemed to have been designed with the purpose of boring students and scaring them off history forever?

That said, if you are a fan of the universe, it is not worthless by any means.

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Dawn I've only read about 1/8 of this so far and it feels exactly like a history textbook... Interesting enough to read on the throne of deep thinking - but not interesting enough to keep my attention. I'm rather disappointed.

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Leah O'Connor I was rather disappointed. It reads like a very dull history. I gave up after about 4 chapters because there was nothing there to really make me want to continue reading.

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Anais I just finished it. It's a history textbook and, just like a textbook, tedious and boring.

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WTEK Here is a review about it - https://www.tor.com/2018/11/21/grrm-f...

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Clay I think it will be more of a novel. He had a short story in one of the Dangerous Women compilations that was about the Targaryians (spelling?) that involved the infighting within the family and had some great dragon play. I think this will be more of the same. I am excited to read it.
Very doubtful that this will be a history text book.

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