A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 4) by George R.R. Martin Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 4)
Book Review: Good, but a still a little disappointing
Summary: 4 Stars
Fans like myself have been waiting for this book for a very long time. I'd like to be able to say that it has been worth the wait; it very nearly has, but there are still a couple of things nagging at the back of my mind.The book suffers from the same difficulties that are more usually found in the middle book of a trilogy - ie after the intense conclusion of 'A Storm of Swords' the pace has necessarily slacked off a bit. The book may be long, but there isn't the cover-to-cover action of 'Storm...'; most of the narrative serves mainly to establish the general mood in Kings Landing/Dorne/The Iron Islands now that the war is (seemingly) almost over, and to establish the political motivations of the viewpoint characters.
What we have, then, is several hundred pages of 'build-up'. Yes, some events occur towards the end that will doubtless have major repercussions in later books, but there aren't any real surprises in the plot, and generally I found this book much less of a 'page turner' than the first three.
Of course, we must bear in mind that this isn't the whole book; it's quite possible that GRRM has some spectacular surprises in store for us across the sea, or beyond the wall - we'll know when 'A Dance with Dragons' appears. However I suspect we'll have to wait for books six and seven for the real excitement to begin.
In general this was a solid continuation of the series, but not quite up to the standards of the previous books.
Book Review: Good but not brilliant
Summary: 4 Stars
Just finished this. First book I have bought in hardback since the second Adrian Mole book in the 1980's I was keen to get this! One problem is that with so long since the last books came out I found it hard sometimes to remember what had gone before to start off with.
As others have said, only covers some points of view and for me it was disappointing that there was no Jon Snow, Tyrion or Bran as these were amongst my favourite characters.
Some of those covered in the book I just found a bit dull and unecessary to be honest - Brienne was a bit slow, the Dornish sections seemed to add little and Cersei had become so unpleasant as to be a bit comical at times. Still, the Arya bits were good (though too few) as were the Jaime and Sam sections.
Still, I agree with others who said that havig finished this book it doesnt really have seemed to have gone anywhere or taken the story much further - unless the pace picks up greatly I dont see this ending for another 10 books (not that I would mind that too much!). It is, however, still a great read and very enjoyable, just not as good as some of the other books perhaps.
As an aside, try to get hold of the audiobook versions of the earlier books - they are incredibly good.
Book Review: Long awaited....
Summary: 3 Stars
Book four, 'A Feast for Crows', leaves quite allot to be desired. Indeed, I believe G. R. R. Martin's word that this book is something akin to a prelude for the next volume. However, I feel rather disappointed that it has taken so many years for this title to come out and it presented me with a rather disenchanting picture. Often repetitive, descriptions are dragged out in the book and it made me feel as if I am a five-year-old child who needs to be constantly reminded of things - very frustrating - makes one think the words were used as'filler'. The narrative structure is rough, and it often seems that someone has taken an axe to it and chopped it up rather crudely. I do not blame Mr. Martin for these issues but rather squarely lay it out at the feet of his editors. My advice to Mr. Martin is that he ought to sack them all. This book is one giant cliffhanger (and not of a good sort), it leaves the reader dissatisfied and frustrated at the end. In my humble opinion it should not have been published alone.
I understand that there were some difficulties with the publisher/s of the book in the first place, due to the sheer size of the volume, it would have been prudent to make an agreement to publish Books four and five together, without the 'waiting' period between the two. This would have ameliorated the disappointment readers might feel when finished with book four.
I hope Mr. Martin reads these reviews. On an off-chance that he does, I wish to thank him for his work and at the same time re-assure him that, at least in my case, I am not completely put-off by his writing. I am merely dissatisfied with the way 'exchange-value' publishing system works. It is due to the system the readers of this saga are unable to enjoy it fully and without interruptions.
Book Review: 700 pages of prelude
Summary: 3 Stars
Totally agree with the comments relating to too little plot development. The Iron men chapters are interesting and new. Otherwise it is a number of prior characters brought up to date without much actually happening!Book Review: Main course still to come...
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is difficult to review objectively ? it deserves five stars for content and style, but it may leave you feeling unsatisfied. The title refers to the aftermath of battle - the ?Storm of Swords? is finished and the crows are picking over the remains - which summarises this book rather neatly. The overarching plot development is much slower than in the previous book. It ties up some threads and starts some news ones, but doesn?t advance any of the existing ones very far. The story mainly concerns the Lannisters? attempts to consolidate their gains. Some characters move around on quests, others lay low during this rather dark time. And winter is coming.
The characters it covers are Cersei, Jaime, Sansa, Samwell, Brienne, Arya and a few minors in the Iron Islands and Dorne. Previously the minor characters were virtually non-existent and even now they only appear briefly. Four of the main characters here were previously fairly minor, but in this volume their roles have expanded. Conversely Arya and Sansa (to some extent) seem to be marking time. This fits with the slow development of the main plot, but can be frustrating.
The characterisation is perfect of course ? the writing style for each character is unique and you get a real sense of the person being described. What the story lacks for fantasy elements it makes up for with political intrigue and hints of bigger things to come. This becomes particularly confusing towards the end when things begin to pick up again and you cannot be sure what to believe - GRRM is a nasty nasty man ? all the more so because presumably we won?t know how these story threads are resolved until the book *after* next.
The only other quibble is that the UK publisher has ditched the very nice cover designs used previously. We now have some fairly bland designs where previously the artwork was every bit as intricate as the content.