Cersei II Alayne I Cersei IX 9. Jaime I Cersei V The Princess In The Brienne II Brienne V Alayne II Sansa I Samwell III Brienne VIII The Kraken's Daughter Jaime III Cersei X Cersei III Cersei VI Jaime VII The Soiled Knight The Reaver Samwell V Brienne III Jaime IV Samwell II Brienne VI. Chapter Guide Page Table. A Game of Thrones 4. So, toodle pip, hope that put you in the mood for writing. These people apparently think that such things will.
A sincere fan. View all 33 comments. Things I liked: 1. Cersei Lannister is despicable and I love her with all my heart. Well, actions speak louder than words, Dany. Brienne is a badass Gryffindor who I could follow around all day. Not in a creepy way. Asha Greyjoy. Girl power. Arya is a queen. No Bran. You get to watch her blossom into something other than a prim and proper lady.
No Ravenclaw Tyrion. The Lannisters are such a well-rounded bunch. Spoiler alert. View all 44 comments. Well, Martin did exactly that. He left out the main characters for the next book instead.
Now, other writers have done this, but the things that made it worse in this book was that the characters that he focused on here were mostly uninteresting side characters of the series. Once loosed, you cannot call them back. Who cares about the Ironborn anyway? What is there to butcher when the story is super uninteresting already?
Finally, there was also a major problem with pacing. One more book, he had told himself, then I'll stop. One more folio, just one more. One more page, then I'll go up and rest and get a bite to eat. But there was always another page after that one, and another after that, and another book waiting underneath the pile. I'll just take a quick peek to see what this one is about, he'd think, and before he knew he would be halfway through it.
The two Lannister featured as the main POV in this book—whether you love or hate them—was superbly written. I also really wish that the TV series adaptation kept Lady Stoneheart; she appeared briefly near the end but her appearance completely spiked the intensity of this book.
What has happened before will perforce happen again. One book left, A Dance with Dragons awaits me. You can order the book from: Book Depository Free shipping You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions Although this epic fantasy has me captivated, I have to say that 'A Feast for Crows' didn't hold as much appeal for me as the earlier books.
That being said, it is still an extremely well-written story. I have no doubt that the new characters, places and events will serve to further the plot. While hearing Cersei's viewpoint was somewhat enlightening, it got tiresome. Cersei is as cold and cruel as Joffrey was. Being "stuck" in her mind was torture.
She was constantly scheming and manipulating. H Although this epic fantasy has me captivated, I have to say that 'A Feast for Crows' didn't hold as much appeal for me as the earlier books. Honestly, does this woman never stop? Just hearing it was exhausting. Arya and Sansa continue to do what they have to in order to survive.
It is interesting to see how they evolve as their circumstances change. I would've liked to hear more about the Stark girls, but maybe next time. This book also introduced some new characters I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the back from the dead Catelyn Stark.
She's definitely changed in more ways than one. Sometimes, things are better left alone. I'm struggling to accept this particular twist. Mostly, I was disappointed to find many of my favorite characters noticeably absent in this book.
Daenerys is my favorite. I longed to hear about what was going on with her and her dragons. How is their journey going? Unfortunately, I didn't get that information. Similarly, Tyrion Lannister was nowhere to be found. As a character, he really grew on me. His disappearing act left me feeling a bit bereft. Like Daenerys, information on Tyrion was noticeably absent. I'm dying here! Like the last one, this one ends with a bit of an upheaval.
Cersei finds herself in a bind and calls upon her knight in shining armor to save her. I'm hoping that she finally gets what she has coming, but I'll have to wait and see. Overall, I'm still very much addicted to this series. The writing is spectacular, as is the narration. I'm on to the next book. Based upon the title, I'm expecting to hear more from Daenerys and the dragons. This may have been my least favorite of the books so far, but it still blows most other books away.
View all 43 comments. Nov 17, Shannon rated it really liked it Shelves: fantasy-scifi , the-sweeping-epic , books-reviewed , reviews-that-need-pics-added , owned. Now some people are already saying that the book is horrible and a great letdown and others go to the other extreme and hold faithfully that it's just as good as the previous books. I don't feel either take is fair or accurate. Additionally, some of the favorite characters of readers, like Jon, Dany and Tyrion, are not in this novel.
Lastly, there are two new main POVs so we need to adjust to those. Pretty kewl. GRRM is putting out only half of it and the other half is going to be in the next book. So, in essence, for those complaining he's taking too long, this is like four books as the average novel is pages. Most of these in the last two years. So, bully for him as he's getting more acknowledgements but keep in mind the guy has said he can't write except back in New Mexico. Additionally, it probably isn't fair to view this as a stand alone simply because book four and five are like one book.
The reason he broke it up, per his webpage at [ For all we know, book four may be the midpoint of the story and book five is going to have a lot of climaxes.
AFFC is really a come down from several climaxes. As the dust settles, lots of information is shared. There's a great deal of focus on characters. Lots and lots of characters, even if fleeting.
As a result, not as much seems to happen. To some, this might be seen as meanderings, and, well, yes, some of it probably is. Just don't expect it to be like ASOS. I remember several complaints by earlier reviewers of previous books that there wasn't enough about context and almost nothing about the religion of the times.
People complained that one would think the religion would have a greater impact and political power base than shown in the last three books. Well, you get it in this book. Big time. There are sprinklings in other areas, too, like Oldtown and where Brienne travels i. As result, these characters slows the story down from having big moments because there's more to tell.
While I get this is probably the least popular book of the four, assuming we were to take a tally, I still feel GRRM is the best living fantasy author out there if you want tales that don't overuse archetypes and have complex characters and plots.
I challenge anyone to email me to suggest a better author. I've read over a different fantasy authors in my time. Typical archetype character who turns out to be the missing heir or boy wonder who saves the world against the Dark Lord.
So, when I came back to fantasy at the end of , I read the usual: Goodkind, Jordan, etc. Here are the reasons to choose GRRM. After reading this over and over, it gets old.
Or, a hero does die but magic brings him back. This sometimes carries to minor characters where even they may not die, but most fantasy authors like to kill them off to show that some risked the adventure and perished. Unlike other fantasy novels, one side, usually the villain, is stupid or not too bright. Interesting tidbit is that you get their perception of events or truths. But, if you pay attention, someone else will mention a different angle of truth in the story that we rarely see in other novels.
Lastly and most importantly, GRRM doesn't try to tell us which person is right in their perception. He purposefully leaves it vague so that we are kept guessing. We never get the entire story but only bits and pieces; something that other fantasy authors could learn from to heighten suspense. Almost flawless flow. This is one of the reasons why each novel is between pages. This is especially true of Jaime in book three.
But, if that isn't your style, you shouldn't be reading it. He kills off several, not just one, so be warned. I suggest Feist or Goodkind or Dragonlance if you want a more straight forward story with strong archetypes. If you have delicate ears, this book may upset you. Some are still going on; some have been resolved; others have been created and are moving on.
You wont' get much of this in GRRM with the exception of one or two characters. There really aren't any super heroes compared to all the other characters as it's more grittier and no one is shooting fireballs every millisecond or carrying around some super powerful sword. In that case, look for shorter works as this is biiiiiig. While this is realistic of the medieval era, some readers may not prefer this if they want more girl power, so to speak. View all 52 comments.
Feb 09, Kim rated it it was ok Recommends it for: People with lots of time or patience. George R. Martin is a blowhard. I mean that with respect, I suppose. I guess any author that got me to read over pages of his writing garners some respect, right? A smattering, maybe? Which left George R. Which left me pages to actually enjoy. Do you see what I mean? This is worse than Days of Our Lives because then you really only need to watch maybe a day or so to catch up.
And, thank you for having Sam lose his virginity; that gave me hope. We hardly saw Jon Snow. Another book as big as this one. I know. Can we get you to work on better titles? Thanks but I will do so reluctantly. View all 22 comments. The novel was first published on October 17, , in the United Kingdom.
The War of the Five Kings is slowly coming to its end. View all 5 comments. Jan 17, Sean Barrs rated it really liked it Shelves: 4-star-reads , fantasy. By doing this it meant that there were very few chapters that were enjoyable to read; there was no Tyrion, Dany, Jon Snow or Bran in the book.
I think George. R Martin made a massive mistake when he decided to have this and A Dance with Dragons occur at the same time. The story clearly got away from him and became a little convoluted. The pacing is terrible; there is no real payoff in either book unlike its predecessors. Personally, I think he should have continued the trend he set with his the previous books in the series. It just needed one straightforward time arc. Well, that being said, there is still a lot to take from this book.
The story does, of course, develop and become even more engaging. If anything this book made me count down the days to the release of A Dance with Dragons. I think most people tend to forgive Martin for his slip into convolutedness because the previous books were so damn good. I just hope he has tamed the amount of new point of view characters in the much anticipated six book. It takes away from the central stories. I began to lay down the positives which just developed into another rant!
Redeeming features This books not all bad, far from it. These are amongst interesting characters of the entire series, so there points of view saved the book. And then Sam gets his moment in the light. Things do develop and go forward; we see the politics from a different angle. But, I still think it should have been all along one time arc; it would have been a lot easier. See what I mean? This series is what got me into reading in the first place, so I do owe a lot to it even if this book fell below the benchmark Martin set himself.
A Song of Ice and Fire 1. A Game of Thrones - A life chnaging five stars 2. A Clash of Kings - An Impish five stars 3. A Storm of Swords - A Lannister loving five stars 4. A Feast for Crows - A flat 3.
View all 9 comments. Jul 08, Lyn rated it really liked it. How do you follow up after an epic throw down, a no holds barred monster truck rally demolition derby Hulkamania caged grudge match? By doing something different. Many fans have lamented and complained about the fourth book, A Feast for Crows, first published in A Feast of Crows is a darker, more brooding work and serves to further expand his world building, to more fully develop some of the other characters and to introduce some upcoming sub-plots.
This was going to have brutally realistic elements and people were going to die a lot of people so calling in new cast members is an important part of his success. Learning more about the Iron Isles, Dorne and The Vale was stimulating and expanded his already amazing vision. And am I not the only one who wants to learn more about Braavos? Hell, I want to GO there. As always, there were chapters that I enjoyed more than others. Sometimes so intruiging I did not want to stop reading, other times I wondered why in seven hells someone would bother wasting their time writing such pointless words.
They bored me in the same way Brienne's do now: lots of aimless wandering around Westeros, from one disaster to the other. I'm glad she arrived in Bravos and can't wait to find out more about her life under the eyes the Many-Faced God.
Brienne: Why. Why bother. We all know she won't find Sansa in the Riverlands. We all know exactly where Sansa is. To me there was nothing more pointless in the whole series than her chapters. Luckily her plotline got more exciting towards the end of the book. But I could live happily ever after without those Ironborn, who only stir up more trouble. It's not like there's not enough misery already.
The Martells: While I always wanted to know more about Dorne, the chapters did not really add much to the big plot. Again, it seemed a little pointless to me, but yes, I loved finding out about Dorne's secret plans and affairs. Find more of my books on Instagram View all 8 comments. Apr 20, NReads rated it it was amazing.
I didn't like this as much as the others. Still a great book. View all 3 comments. Another fantastic instalment in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. Sparrows have flocked to Kings Landing and created uproar!
No one is safe - even the royals. Arya takes on a new identity in Braavos, currently residing in the temple of the many-faced god. Sansa too has a new name, hiding in plain sight in the Eyrie.
Samwell Tarly has left the wall, under instructions to study to become a Maester. There are also many other new POVs we experience including some of the Ironborn and the Dornish, which certainly brought different perspectives. Still fantastic storylines as this world constantly moves and changes. Time for A Dance with Dragons!
Mar 31, Ryan rated it it was amazing. I was fully prepared to be disappointed by this book, for several reasons. Additionally, I knew that in general the story was not going to feature the characters that I was most interested in namely Daenerys, Theon, Tyrion, and especially the whole issue of Jon and the Night Watch. That being said, the volume wa I was fully prepared to be disappointed by this book, for several reasons. That being said, the volume was surprisely enjoyable, and helped to better explore the entirety of the Seven Kingdoms.
There was tons of action in the first three volumes - I was actually a little set back by the amount of violence that was featured in the series altogether. This volume takes a somewhat quieter approach - characters die, but most of the death takes place off-page.
Perhaps this means that A Dance With Dragons is going to feature much higher levels of action. Plot-wise, only certain amounts of progress are made of advancing the plot. We learn nothing more about the advancement of the Others, and no word is made of Daenerys' flight towards the west. What we do get is quality material, though - I was on the bus when I got to the part of the story that featured Cersei's downfall, and I almost started cackling with joy to see her get her final comeuppance.
Also of interest was the expanding story of the Seven Kingdoms, as we learn more about the cultures of both the Iron Islands and of Dorne. Interesting material, definitely, but material that feels much like it is build-up for the eventual landfall of Dany from the east, rather than material in its own right. Cersei Lannister, the most prominent character in AFFC, is the most obvious example of this - when she was presented mostly as a scheming mastermind, but in her POV chapters, she's seen as someone almost paralyzed by paranoia.
Similarly, we see Jaime as either a sterling knight from Brienne's perspective or a craven weakling from Cersei's perspective. When we see Jaime's one POV, though, we see that he thinks he is how Cersei sees him, but he hopes to become what Brienne believes him to be. It's a very effective literary technique, and easily builds suspense and complexity to a story of this size.
Aug 01, Collin rated it liked it Recommends it for: Completists. Shelves: fantasysci-fi. I feel like giving this book 3 stars is being harsh to my man, George Martin, but I'm trying to separate the truly great books in this series from the merely good ones. Bottom line: fans of the series waited too long for this and therefore were in a position of being impossible to please once this finally came out. This coupled with the facts that numerous spoiler chapters had been available online for years and that George cut his original manuscript in 2 to produce this and the subsequent as o I feel like giving this book 3 stars is being harsh to my man, George Martin, but I'm trying to separate the truly great books in this series from the merely good ones.
This coupled with the facts that numerous spoiler chapters had been available online for years and that George cut his original manuscript in 2 to produce this and the subsequent as of now, published volume serves to diminish the stature of "A Feast For Crows" in the context of the whole series. Still, as its been said elsewhere, Bad George is still better than Excellent Crap. Since I am a completist I was going to love this book no matter what, and I do, but to the more casual fan this will definitely seem like a weak effort, and I think there's justice to this point of view.
The writing here feels uneven to me -- so much time in the real world has passed that I feel like George's writing style has actually changed here. His characters begin using terms that they never used before in the preceeding books "nuncle" and "coz", in particular. There's also an egregious amount of "not giving a groat" here. I'd hate to be a groat merchant in Westeros at this point. What the hell IS a groat? The war-ravaged Seven Kingdoms will suffer harshly in what is to come.
The ironborn strike hard along the coast of the Reach , conquering the Shield Islands and virtually blockading the mouth of the Honeywine and the route into Oldtown. Furious, Margaery Tyrell and her brother Loras ask Cersei for aid, but Cersei is reluctant to give it. She gives permission for Lord Redwyne to take his fleet home and destroy the ironborn, but only once Dragonstone is taken. Loras leads an assault on the castle and takes it, but is reported grievously injured in the process.
Margaery's protestations vex Cersei, causing her to doubt her future role as Tommen's wife. She conceives a plan to ruin Margaery by framing her to the Faith for sleeping with Osney Kettleblack.
Unfortunately the plan backfires when the new High Septon has Osney Kettleblack scourged to ensure the truth of the matter, and he confesses about Cersei's many impropieties as well. The Faith Militant arrest both Cersei and Margaery. Kevan Lannister is recalled to take over as Regent and Hand.
Cersei's summons for Jaime to return and defend her go unanswered. Mace Tyrell lifts the siege of Storm's End barely weeks after it began to race back to the capital and learn the fate of his daughter, whilst Randyll Tarly marches on the city from the north.
Meanwhile, Aurane Waters absconds with the newly-rebuilt royal fleet. Sam's ship reaches Oldtown, barely evading the ironborn reavers. They learn that the ironborn have raided and seized territories on the Arbor and failed an attempt to burn the city harbor of Oldtown. Sam goes to the Citadel, but is intercepted by Archmaester Marwyn. Marwyn reveals that the other archmaesters will not be impressed or moved by Sam's revelations about Daenerys.
When Sam asks how Marwyn knows that he was coming, Marwyn reveals that the Citadel has some of the ancient Valyrian obsidian candles , through which they could see things from afar. Marwyn states that nearly two centuries ago the maesters helped kill the last of the dragons to rid the world of magic forever, but now it is returning.
Marwyn departs immediately for Slaver's Bay, telling Sam to study hard and fast, for the Wall will need his services soon. Sam is left in the company of two students, Alleras the Sphinx and a boy named Pate. Following the death of King Balon Greyjoy , a kingsmoot is summoned by Aeron Damphair , Balon's youngest brother and the most respected priest of the Drowned God.
With Theon Greyjoy a prisoner of the Boltons at the Dreadfort , the strongest candidates are Balon's brothers Victarion and Euron Crow's Eye , who has just returned from reaving in the east. Asha Greyjoy , Balon's daughter, also tries to claim the Seastone Chair , although in ironborn tradition no woman is allowed to claim the crown. The moot is deadlocked between the three until Euron reveals his plan to seize control of Daenerys's dragons through the use of magic and so rule all of Westeros.
The moot crowns Euron king, and Asha disappears with her ship northwards. Aeron, who considers Euron ungodly, also leaves to gain popular support against him. Euron launches an ambitious campaign against the Reach, sending ships under his brother Victarion to conquer the Shield Islands and raid the coast.
Initial appetites for plunder are sated by the raids in Westeros , however, and both support for Euron's trip across the Narrow Sea and his hold over the ironborn dwindles. He realizes that he must remain and consolidate his control. Victarion agrees to go to Slaver's Bay and deliver Euron's marriage proposal to Daenerys in his stead. However, Victarion hates Euron for sleeping with his wife and decides to get revenge by courting Daenerys himself.
In Sunspear , the capital of Dorne , news is received of the death of Oberyn Martell at the hands of Gregor Clegane , although Gregor was mortally wounded in the same battle. Oberyn's bastard daughters, the Sand Snakes , proprose various plans for vengeance, including attacking Oldtown and raiding the Reach. Prince Doran Martell has them locked up to prevent them from doing anything too precipitous, and sends word to King's Landing confirming his loyalty.
His eldest daughter and heir due to Dorne's equal primogeniture , Arianne is disgusted with her father's weakness and suspicious that her father would prefer to supplant her with her brother Quentyn , who she learns has travelled eastwards on unknown business.
Princess Myrcella Baratheon , elder sister to King Tommen, is in Sunspear, as she has been betrothed to Trystane Martell , and Arianne hatches a plan to crown Myrcella Queen of the Seven Kingdoms according to Dornish law and reignite the war.
Her attempts are thwarted, however. Arianne is imprisoned for her actions. Prince Doran finally lets his daughter visit him and learns of her grievances.
He explains that whilst he had intended Quentyn to follow him as Prince of Dorne, he had a greater role in mind for Arianne: she was to have become Queen of all Westeros. Arianne is confused, but learns that Doran planned to wed her to Viserys Targaryen , but that plan was thwarted when Khal Drogo killed Viserys.
Now the plan has changed. The tale is told through the point of view of 12 POV characters and, as with previous volumes, a one-off prologue POV. The novel was published five years and two months after the previous volume in the series, A Storm of Swords. This was due to a series of problems that arose during the writing of the novel.
George R. Martin originally planned for the fourth book to be called A Dance with Dragons with the story picking up five years after the events of A Storm of Swords primarily to advance the ages of the younger characters.
However, during the writing process it was discovered that this was leading to an overreliance on flashbacks to fill in the gap. After twelve months or so of working on the book, Martin decided to abandon much of what had previously been written and start again, this time picking up immediately after the end of A Storm of Swords.
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