Would you recommend Fire and Blood overall, despite the presence of the misogynistic writing you described? Is it still worth a read and wouldn’t make me want to hurl too much is I guess what I’m asking.

That’s a tough question to pose to someone who is still battling her frustrations with the text. To put it bluntly, I’m not a fan of Fire and Blood. It has quickly earned its place as my least favorite in the series and I’m currently too stuck on what I didn’t like to be able to enjoy the book overall. But that’s only my own experience. I have plenty of people on my dash who managed to look past the bad to appreciate the good, and just because I haven’t
been able to do that so far does not mean you would necessarily have the
same reaction.

I guess it depends on your tolerance threshold and if you are able to not get too caught up in it. There is still a lot to like in Fire and Blood so it’s by no means a one note book. My recommendation would be to read it but go in with clear expectations and the understanding that the historical book form of Fire and Blood feels like it crystallizes the issues we’ve been criticizing over the years more than any other. It doesn’t have the advantage of that kind of writing being offset by female PoVs or being challenged in other parts of the narrative like the main novels so the misogynistic writing is more condensed and often just there, unchallenged and unnecessary in many cases. Unlike TWOIAF, Fire and Blood goes full into the personal lives of the characters which, unfortunately, translates to a great deal of sexualization in the text and random tangents that serve no purpose and are horrifying (cough*Coryanne Wylde*cough) which can be discouraging. I don’t want to sound like I’m harping on the problems in the book or make it sound like it’s all bad. But it’s got Problems with a capital P.

That said, there is a lot of terrific women in this book. We have great stories about Queen Alysanne, her women’s court and her companions. We have an abundance of formidable women during the Dance. We have figures like Princess Alyssa, Princess Rhaenys, Baela Targaryen, Aly Blackwood, and damn it, Barbra Bolton may have appeared for a total of 2 lines but I love her. There is plenty of historical background if you’re into that. I may be iffy on how Jaehaerys I seems to shift character on demand to the narrative’s requirements but I so love the trifecta he made with Septon Barth and Queen Alysanne and the look into his policies (though I dislike how most of his and Alysanne’s daughters were written). Their sons Aemon and Baelon kill me in the same way Baelor Breakspear does. Jacaerys Velaryon, Aegon III, Viserys II and Coryls Velaryon are among the figures that I unabashedly love and appreciate.
I found myself caring about characters that I did not expect to care about, and surprisingly, I enjoyed the Dance, probably because this book either introduced or fleshed out a lot of characters to care for, which was sorely lacking in The Rogue Prince and The Princess and The Queen.

Basically, Fire and Blood is by no means a bad book, but it can be incredibly frustrating in places. If you’d like more details on what to expect, I have a post discussing some of my issues with Martin’s writing of women in Fire and Blood that I’m hoping to put up sometime in the next two weeks (fingers crossed). Or you can always hit my up with any other questions you may have. Hope that helps!

Alright. Internet restored. The process of transferring meta to another site is a problem for tomorrow because I’ve just survived 10 days with little internet and I deserve a “catch up on all things” reward.

So, did I miss anything good? Other than the GG & CC and the nods for the Versace cast and Billy Porter (sweet validation. Can I stick my tongue out at those on Gold Derby who thought he wouldn’t be nominated?) which yay, tumblr being a butt with a vendetta against female-presenting nipples which smh, and the surprisingly large amount of gifs of Lois Lane hollering for Barry to deck Oliver Queen …. which I relate to way too much for someone who never had any strong feelings about Oliver. But, I feel ya, Lois. I haven’t even watched the crossover yet but I already love you. Please stay!

How things would have been different if varys took young griff to doran?

Alas, that’s not a scenario I can see happening, for it flies in the face of Varys’ established character and motivations.

Varys gave a long weary sigh, the sigh of a man who carried all the
sadness of the world in a sack upon his shoulders. “The High Septon once
told me that as we sin, so do we suffer. If that’s true, Lord Eddard,
tell me … why is it always the innocents who suffer most, when you high
lords play your game of thrones?”

 

“Ser Kevan. Forgive me if you can. I bear you no ill will. This was not
done from malice. It was for the realm. For the children.”

[..]

“No.”
The eunuch’s voice seemed deeper. “He is here. Aegon has been
shaped for rule since before he could walk. He has been trained in arms,
as befits a knight to be, but that was not the end of his
education. He reads and writes, he speaks several tongues, he has
studied history and law and poetry. A septa has instructed him in the
mysteries of the Faith since he was old enough to understand them. He
has lived with fisherfolk, worked with his hands, swum in rivers and
mended nets and learned to wash his
own clothes at need. He can fish and cook and bind up a wound, he knows
what it is like to be hungry, to be hunted, to be afraid. Tommen has
been taught that kingship is his right. Aegon knows that kingship is his
duty, that a king must put his people first, and live and rule for
them.”
   

 

Varys’ ethos rests on the principle that the aristocracy tramples the innocent and the common people for its political gain out of a rooted privilege that makes the nobles think it’s their right to do so on account of their bloodlines. They don’t care about the common people or even see them. Varys wants to give Westeros a king who does, one who shared the experiences and struggles of the peasantry so as to be able to not only sympathize with them but actively rule for them. So he conducts a little social experiment with Young Aegon by raising him in a controlled environment that immerses him in the lives of the common people so that he could be made into a perfect king. Varys designed it so that Aegon could experience the hardships of the working class and the vulnerable smallfolk so that he knows firsthand what they go through and work to better their lives; so that he sees his kingship as as an act of service and a responsibility towards his subjects rather than a birthright. That doesn’t work if Aegon is delivered to the court of the Prince of Dorne. Varys is too invested in his political philosophy and his little lab project to do this.

Of course, there is also the little tidbit of how Aegon is not actually Elia’s son and thus has no blood relation to the Martells. Putting him in such close proximity to them, especially Oberyn, from the very start could compromise Varys’ plans. Elia’s brothers are the most likely to spot holes in the tale of Aegon’s survival (”Elia trusted who with her son now? She would never do that!) and recognize the discrepancies in his appearance that denote his real identity (if JonCon could see it, do you think Oberyn and Doran wouldn’t?). Aegon’s presence with his purported uncles threatens to unravel the entire plot and foil all of Varys’ careful planning.