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: You're going to buy it anyway, but...
Summary: 3 Stars
I have to agree with the reader from California. Mr. Martin's prose is of course without peer. But I'm 200 pages in and nothing much is happening and it's been so long I can't keep track of what happened before but nothing is resolved I'm thinking. I agree this is a setup for the next book, and I will read this, but I'm having a tough time staying interested. There are so many people I either don't remember or they weren't in the other books much and frankly, I don't care about them, they are not the people I came to know from before. Anyway, you will buy this regardless of reviews, that's what we fans do right? I gave 3 stars for the writing and the absolutely phenomenal ability of Mr. Martin to track all p\of these people and places. You should also buy Paul Kearney's latest, The Mark of Ran. Excellent. And if some attractive English gent would write me and let me know how many more pages I have to go to get wrapped into A Feast for Crows that would be lovely.Book Review: Not as good as it could and should have been
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a good book, there's no doubt about that at all. People have pointed to the plot moving more slowly, the characters not being the most enjoyable ones from previous books and the areas that have so thrilled in the past are conspiculously absent in the book and if you look at it from this perspective and stop you'd give it a 2 or 3 star review, like a lot of people here have. But to do so is short sighted. Although it's not quite as enjoyable when you've waited for years for your favourite characters and only get a couple you really like, there's an underlying logic to why the book is as it is. GRRM develops those characters that you previously didn't like so much, Jaime, Sansa, Brienne and Cersai in particular, until you start to understand them and (shockingly) actually feel some sympathy for the evil psychoticlly deranged Cersai! The introduction of new areas, often mentioned but never visited was necessary for the full engagement of Westerlos and so we know who people are and what's happening in all the major centres of power, especially Dorne, the Riverlands and the Iron Islands. The plot moved slowly because of all this: it takes time to get more people and places into the fold which is necessary for GRRM's grand vision of creating the largest and most diverse fantasy epic ever created. And, by the gods, will he do that!So to criticise on those grounds is, I think, unfair because he is laying the groundwork for the book books. Having said that, the characters were in general weaker than previously, the Iron Islanders were particularly uninspiring and Cersai's justification for all her malevolence as a fortune tellers' words from when she was ten was as limp as a dead fish. The Dorne action was very dry too as there was virtually no background interest from the earlier books and felt like it had been pasted on with little effort put in. Obviously GRRM spent an awful long time on the book but in places it really had an unfinished feel and didn't really engage me until the middle of the book, totally different from my experiences of the other books. That's not to say that it doesn't read well - it does, I'd still recommend the series to anyone, there's that rare feeling when you finish the last page that you've lost some good friends. GRRM's motives for writing the book the way it is are fine but the finished product was not as good as it could and should've been.
Book Review: Don't be Fooled! It's Excellent!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a worthy installment in an ongoing series that knows no equal. It's is therefore strange to read so many one or two star reviews. Reviews of people who clearly lost the plot and instead are blaming George for having lost his. If you have read this book, and by reading I mean absorbing everthing that is being said and explained, I can barely fathom that there are people telling us that there is no plot advancement. I can only assume that they must be people slow on the uptake or people who thought for five long years that Feast would be even more shocking than Storm of Swords. The former group I won't even comment on but to the latter I'd like to say that it is only logical that after a fought war there are things to be set straight, tasks to be handed out.
What is more is that this book serves as a base to finally introduce those other important factions i.e. Dorne, the Iron Islands, so oft hinted at in the previous books and to develop them into something more than just hearsay.
All in all this is an intelligent book that keeps the intelligent reader entertained and which leaves you with a taste for more. And trust me, more we shall have when A Dance With Dragons comes around
Book Review: A powerful novel of rare and intoxicating complexity
Summary: 5 Stars
A Feast for Crows arrives with the weight of expectation crushing it. Three years overdue and split in two because of its length, A Feast for Crows was never going to appeal to everyone. Arguably the three main key characters of the series - Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister - are not present, having been shunted into the fifth book, A Dance with Dragons (out in 12-18 months time). A Feast for Crows instead focuses on the aftermath of the opening three books of the series. The War of the Five Kings is all but over. The Lannister-Tyrell alliance is victorious, King Tommen sits the Iron Throne under the watchful eye of his mother, the Queen Regent Cersei Lannister, and the rival King Stannis Baratheon has fled into the far north. All that is left to win the war is to capture Stannis' lightly-held strongholds of Storm's End and Dragonstone and force the surrender of Riverrun, still held by bannermen loyal to the dead King Robb Stark. Arya Stark has fled across the sea to the Free City of Braavos, whilst Sansa Stark has been secreted in the Vale of Arryn as the ward of Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish. Meanwhile, Brienne of Tarth has embarked on her quest to find the missing Sansa and Arya and Samwell Tarly is en route from the Wall to Oldtown to search for information on the evil Others. Meanwhile, in the Iron Islands the Greyjoy family is riven by rival claimants for the throne, and in Dorne Prince Martell is under pressure to declare war against the Lannisters for the death of his brother.AFFC is about picking up the pieces after the epic struggles of the previous volumes. There are two major battles but one happens off-screen and we join the other as it is about to end. This novel is more about politicking, prophecies and preparing for what is to come next. Cersei's stupidity (untempered by a loyal advisor for the first time) and her grief over Joffrey's death and her father's murder is threatening to destroy everything the Lannisters have worked for these past twenty years. The Tyrells' ambition is becoming more pronounced. The Martells of Dorne have a shockingly ambitious plan that is years in the making and not done yet. The Faith of the Seven is trying to restore its reputation as protectors of the people, not sycophants to the king. In Oldtown the Conclave of Maesters are playing their own game.
A Feast for Crows is deep, powerfully-written and Machivellian in scope. Characters are seeking power (Euron, Cersei, Victarion) or redemption (Arys Oakheart, Brienne, Jaime), but rarely finding what they are looking for. The post-war Seven Kingdoms is a murky world where one misstep means death, but a lucky gambler can win all. Perhaps the book lacks the thunderous pace of its predecessors, but its quiet and subtle advancement of the story is every bit as gripping and surprising. The book has its flaws - the Dornish and Iron Island chapters could have been done through one new POV character apiece rather than introducing numerous one-off characters - but these are minor. The biggest gripe is the use of the old maps, but that was a publishing mistake, not GRRM's.
AFFC is a superb book which confirms Martin's place at the forefront of modern epic fantasy.
Book Review: ...my kingdom for an editor
Summary: 2 Stars
well you kinda knew it had to happen sooner or later. it took robert jordan 6 books before it all started to fall apart so i guess george is about on track. i'm coming to the conclusion that you can only write so many pages on one project before it starts to eat itself.the author sums it up in the first line of his aknowledgements...to start with the good bits: the characters are still reasonably complex and engaging, the plotting is as devious as ever, the dialogue snappy. there is no doubt the george rr martin can write.
the problem is that nothing much happens. jaime plods around the riverlands, arya plods around braavos, sam plods south and brienne plods all over the shop. lots of plodding not alot of action. the only people moving the plot along with any pace are cersei and the iron born and we catch only glimpses of the latter.
what some might call quiet and subtle plot advancement, i call static and flabby. all the plot lines in this book could be tied up in under a hundred pages leaving plenty left for events of more impact. and there are numerous events that need to happen if this series is to finish this side of 10 books. if we continue at this pace we may never reach the end.....hmmmmmm.
it's a shame as the series has been generally fantastic. the fact this installment took nearly five years to write suggests that the author is having trouble working out where the story is going, and that's exactly how it feels when you read it.
call me old fashioned but i believe stories should have a beginning a middle and an end; this one's middle is swiftly approaching obesity.