Fire and Blood

A treasure trove for any lore fans

I've come to understand that this book has become divisive among fans of A Song of Ice and Fire, or should I rather say, fans of George R. R. Martin. Many are outraged that the man is working on, or indeed doing anything other than writing The Winds of Winter. The few reviews I've read of Fire and Blood thus far has said as much, and finding the style and prose of this work dry, dull and ponderous.

I was intrigued from the first when I heard Martin was writing a history of the Targaryen dynasty in the manner of non-fiction history, and as I relished the accounts he had already put forth concerning the Dance of the Dragons, I wished for more of the same. And that's exactly what has been laid before us.

It's not high fantasy, apart from being set in a high fantasy setting and containing dragons. Don't expect any elucidation on the higher mysteries from this book. However, you can expect massive amounts of intrigue, scandal and much and more sundry information about the Targaryen dynasty and their courts and associates, from the time of Aegon I until Aegon III, almost 150 years of Westerosi dynastic history with many tangents and tons of lore.

All of which the narrator presents sublimely. In my head, just spent a lot of hours with Archmaester Gyldayn himself. The narrator's voice, presentation and inflection were supremely well suited for a work like this, and I applaud the producer that made this happen. Indeed, he may in large part be the reason I found this book as engrossing as I did. Kudos to you all for this happy match.

If you're passionate about the world of Ice and Fire and share the author's enthusiasm with fleshing out the world and constructing a living, breathing fantastical universe, I heartily recommend this book. If you're a fan of the television show and you're looking for something cool with dragons, you'll probably agree with the detractors within a few pages (or in this case, a few minutes).

18人中16人のお客様がこのレビューが参考になったと答えています。

Bearable at first, unbearable after a few hrs

Yeah. I just sat and listened to a man recite the Westerosi phonebook for 5 hours. Name after name after name after name. Couldn't take it anymore. There's no dialogue, no plot, just a writer who has decided, for reasons best known to himself, to kill stone dead his fabulous earlier work with a lot of tedious and totally unnecessary history. Bearable at the beginning, unbearable after a few hours of it. The reader is good, but if anyone thinks I'm going to listen to TWENTY SIX HOURS of that...
scuse me a sec...
chik chik BOOOOM!

3人中2人のお客様がこのレビューが参考になったと答えています。

One hour in and the names are killing me

This isn’t a narrative. It’s a list of names with a few sequenced events. So boring. Not another 24 of this !

15人中9人のお客様がこのレビューが参考になったと答えています。

not great quality audio

Seems to speed up and skip bits, not sure why. The story is great though.

It’s good if you’re after a list of names.

Bring a pen and notebook to keep track of the names that you might want to add to the family trees of Westeros but don’t come to this boon expecting the intrigue and storytelling of GOT.

Great read

Awesome. highly recommend this book. Fans will love it. Go go go go go go.

Wonderful, just extremely long

it was a great story. Just very very very very long. When something is that long, it gets repeditive, and names get re-used and one gets confused. In saying that I loved it, especially to listen to while I was at work.

Textbook

Written from a Maesters perspective as a history. Extremely dry but narrator worked hard to breath life into it.
Should have been left as background notes.

2人中1人のお客様がこのレビューが参考になったと答えています。

Good, but confusing.

The first half kept me entertained, the second left me confused. Many many names and a mirrored of connections. While a good story I needed a Targaryen family tree and a Westeros map to avoid complete bewilderment.

2人中1人のお客様がこのレビューが参考になったと答えています。

It's just so bad!

Gave up after 2 hours save your money. It's not a story it's a fantasy history lesson.

2人中1人のお客様がこのレビューが参考になったと答えています。