A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire)

Deep, deep breath. I have been among the legion of fans who have had to sit the entire wait of YEARS for this book. I got A Feast for Crows on day one, and on day one many years later came A Dance With Dragons. I really, really didn't want to read it. Bare with me, a review is coming, but to understand the hate and vitriol in the other interviews this explanation is necessary. Before AFfC, Martin's brilliant novels were running on fewer, tighter plotlines, and a major revelation awaited in each one. Often more than one major revelation actually. Then AFfC came out, and despite being warned, we all cried foul to see that many of our favorite characters simply weren't involved. So there we were, having finished a book that seemed to have shorted us a bit, with a promise of the next book to be delivered after a short wait. Six years later we get what is essentially AFfC part 2, with an addendum containing the beginning of the next book. We started this leg of the journey very angry with AFfC, and over the years, and delays, we became more angry. We began to lose hope that the series would finish at all. And if nothing else, that sort of passion and hopelessness should let you know just how amazing this series is at connecting directly into you. Expectations were high. Just four months shy of six years after AFfC it's here: A Dance with Dragons. And that six years is the problem... A Dance with Dragons brings back the missing characters from AFfC, and as it begins there is nothing to complain about. Taken as a whole the book is clearly the middle of the road between acts two and three of the story entire. Having that in mind I think you'll enjoy it very much. Especially if you are a true fan of the series. So those of you who are, and who may be thinking about not buying (you know you will eventually), go ahead and buy it. It's Martin. It's his writing, it's his characters, and it's the same world you fell in love with over the rest of the four books. Stories as long as this have parts that may not seem to do much, but that's because the major consequences of the things that happen in A Dance wont be fully known until the start of the NEXT book. Dance is the literary equivalent of the story slowing down to stretch it's legs for the sprint. But it being written by Martin, as long as you keep that in mind, you can take a longer view and realize exactly what it is he's setting up. And what he's setting up is a MASSIVE shake-up in nearly every political, religious, and even supernatural facet of the world he's made. He's laying the path for events that will change things to such an extent that I think it may turn out to be unprecedented in fantasy literature. Let that sink in for a bit. A Dance With Dragons features less epic style action, and more personal, small conflicts. It takes the characters away from what they know, and it puts them in the thick of places they might not even belong. It's a growing experience for each and every character in the book. The problem is that these new paths are not the end of old paths. You see we as fans have wanted conclusions to some very major story points, we collectively assumed that Martin wouldn't be expanding his story any further, only staying with what he'd begun and starting to wrap it up. He didn't do that. So all of us who were reading with baited breath to find out, for instance, about Jon's parents were left in the dark. We end a Jon chapter and find that a new character is being introduced, and it seemingly has nothing at all to do with what was hinted at before. This makes us angry. But take a deep breath. The reason we were all here in the first place is precisely because of Martin's writing. This man, undoubtedly, knows what he's doing. He's 5 of 7 into what I think is going to be recognized as possibly THE fantasy series for mature audiences. We should not be angry that he didn't write what WE would have written. It's not our story to finish. It's his. And you can even take it a bit further. Re-read the first books and you'll notice how many small hints are dropped about Valyria, then come back to Dance to find that there is now a journey TO Valyria. I believe he's trying to tie up more than just the stories of the great houses we've been following. I think he's trying to tie up the bulk of his entire mythos by the end. And read more. Notice that until Dance with Dragons we had no idea that there would be a SINGLE commander of the white walkers and the things beyond the wall (and that it may be the very one who is training Bran). We didn't know the people of the forests were alive. No, I think Martin is right on track. I think he's doing brilliantly. I think I'm more than happy to give my patience and trust in him not leaving us in a lurch. A Song of Ice and Fire will have an ending. Please just take a deep breath and realize how stupid it would have been of him to start tying off all those incredible loose ends with two more books to go. Westeros just took a deep breath (and I took one with it), the next book will be the beginning of the plunge, and the last will be the plunge itself. But this book. This one stands as a worthy addition to the story. It didn't go precisely where all of us wanted, in fact it spent a lot of time in a place that was as unpleasant for us as it was for a few of the characters in it. But there is a real sense of the slow beginnings of inertia near the end. When even more characters start popping in and when the dual storylines running parallel in AFfC and ADwD finally do end... you can feel it start to move. By the end I was left feeling that all of that spreading out of story and plotlines and character arcs was about to start converging. Dance, along with Feast, are very singular events in publishing. They only came about because we, the fans, demanded Martin not skip forward several years. We wanted to know what happened. And he gave it to us. The last two books were those written precisely so that we wouldn't feel cheated. Martin cared so much about fan outcry that he wrote two extra books. I for one am greatful. The more I read from him about this world the better. For five books now we've said it along with all the Starks: "Winter is Coming." By the end of this book... winter is here. And NOW the fun begins. Just don't take another decade to finish this George. Please.

This book is controversial now among fans. Some love it, some hate it. So I've decided to break down my review in a fashion that should be useful for someone who hasn't read it but is a fan of the series. I won't provide any major spoilers, but there will be some minor ones alluded to (hopefully very subtley.) I mainly want to talk about what I think is the best way to approach the book. In my opinion, some of the people who giving this novel one star are reacting to the fact that this is not the book they imagined. This is not to say that there aren't valid criticisms to be made and issues to discuss, but I feel that many who are vehemently upset are a bit blinded by what they perceive to be the arc of the story vs. how it is now trajecting. A lot of people had certain expectations about the direction of the plot, and Martin does what he always does - he subverts expectations. I feel as though many fans have fantasized / romanticized what this book was going to be like and instead of seeing what it is; they are only seeing how it is different from what they spent several years imagining it would be. Things they wanted to happen didn't. New and unexpected things did. The scope of the world increases even more, with new characters and new locations. If you come at this book from the point of view that the only part of the world you're interested in Westeros, then you aren't going to like Dance With Dragons. In my opinion, you're also going to miss out on some of the most compelling sections of the entire series. The thing that separates Song of Ice and Fire from other fantasy series is that the scope of the world - the sheer size and the depth of the history of it - is beyond tremendous. We've got HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of characters both in the past and present, who are all brought to life. We've got not just one continent, but an entire world. It is a world that is constantly growing richer and richer. With each book the series expands. I've often found this to be the source of a lot of frustration for some readers throughout the series. For example, people got pissed off about the Iron Islands chapters in the second book, and bored with Dorne in the fourth. Honestly though, there is HUGE payoff for all of that in this novel. Now I can't imagine not having the Iron Islands in the story, and I'm grateful he took us there in the second book. My advice is twofold - read this book next to Feast For Crows and also shake off what you think is going to happen. Don't get married to the ideas you might have had about the direction of the series - but also don't be afraid. You're in good hands with Martin. Trust them. He's giving you a story bigger in scope than anything else out there. If you come into Dance With Dragons expecting him to "refocus" you're going to hate it. Because it doesn't. It does progress the story a great deal (despite people claiming otherwise - I honestly have no idea how to respond to people who say nothing happens in this book. I wonder if we've even read the same thing.) By the end of the book I feel like we've gotten to a major crux in the story. Not only has a TON happened, but the events of the final two books have all been nicely set up. Knowing Martin, the obvious isn't guaranteed to happen, but the way the board is set up now is certainly intriguing... The cliffhangers, though too numerous, are all on their own extremely fascinating and discussion-provoking. There is a love interest for Dany which isn't all that interesting or well written. Aside from that, I think there is a lot to like here. People have been howling about how Dany's entire arc is awful, which I disagree with. I think of all the POVs, it is probably the least well crafted and to a certain extent Martin's struggles with "The Mereenese knot" are apparent. But honestly, it is the type of the thing that immediately becomes more fascinating when you think about it side by side with Cersei chapters in A Feast for Crows. There seems to be a deliberate comparison of what it means to be a good queen here and in many ways it is actually quite masterfully structured / thought out. There are all sorts of echoes and clearly deliberate parallel situations occuring that each queen handles in a completely different way. Likewise, Martin is a genius at subverting how we feel about a character. There is someone you probably hated throughout the series who you will suddenly be rooting for with every fiber of your being. Not many writers can pull that off even once, but Martin does it time and time again. He even takes characters we've cheered for throughout and effortlessly grays them. This is a masterful book, in the middle of a masterpiece series. To enjoy it best embrace the scope, embrace the new characters (rather the bemoaning the somewhat abbreviated time you spend with the old ones) and let go of what you think you want to happen. There are game-changers here, but just because you're invested in what the game was doesn't mean you shouldn't be invested in what it has become (if that makes sense.) In other words, clear your head, sit back, and enjoy. This one is a wild ride. I'd also like to take a moment to remind people that the question Amazon asks isn't "do you agree with the amount of stars I've given this book?" They ask "Is this review helpful?" What I've tried to do here is present a review that is helpful for someone who hasn't read this book. If you disagree with my opinion in terms of the book's quality, I'd love to discuss if you're up for a friendly debate, but I'm not interested in bashing your amazon rating (or having you bash mine.) Please be considerate to what the question is actually asking, and if you do find that my review is not helpful, let me know why it isn't and I'll do my best to adjust. Thanks everyone! Enjoy the Dance!

Fans have been looking forward to this one for a LONG time. A Dance with Dragons completes the story begun six years ago, when A Feast for Crows was published in October, 2005. In Feast, fans were given the full story, but only for half the characters. Fan favorites like Tyrion Lannister, Jon Snow and Daenarys Targaryen were noticeably missing from the chapters of the book. Martin's now-infamous claim that Dance would be finished within a year ended up haunting him relentlessly until the day that A Dance with Dragons fell into everyone's eager hands. A Dance with Dragons not only completes the story of that missing half, but also continues the story forward. In fact, Dance is the largest book in the series, weighing in at 1,040 pages. So how does this fifth entry in the Song of Ice and Fire series match up to the rest? Read on to find out. Note: It's presumed you've read the series up to the ending of A Feast for Crows, so if you haven't, don't read on. The Prologue certainly draws comparisons to that in A Game of Thrones, taking place far north of the Wall, and giving us glimpses of the White Walkers. This serves to continue the inexorable march of the undead towards the rest of Westeros. Martin is most certainly taking his time drawing out the inevitable confrontation with the Others, however, and some readers may wonder if he'll ever be able to complete this saga, much less in the two books he claims remain. Nevertheless, it's a promising start to the novel. TYRION LANNISTER Finally, after ten long years, fans get new Tyrion material. His story begins perfectly in Dance and we see the Imp wallowing in self-pity and taking careless chances, his life no longer important to him. It doesn't take long for that attitude to change, with the help of some unlikely allies, and rather unexpected revelations. Tyrion sees his ups and downs in this novel, and his luck continues to hold, especially near the end. He's matched up with another dwarf, but where this pairing is going is hard to say. Tyrion's line that he has a heart for "cripples, bastards and broken things," is never so apt as in this novel. His story does wander a bit, and he's not as endearing as in his previous forays, but he's still very much Tyrion Lannister, and he entertains us nonetheless. DAENARYS TARGARYEN Unfortunately, Daenarys Targaryen's return after a decade-long hiatus does not go as well as the dwarf's. She is certainly a willful young woman, but she borders on annoying and insolent throughout the novel. She seems to disregard every piece of advice her advisers give her, always questioning herself, but then stubbornly refusing to reconsider. Though she's the mother of dragons, we unfortunately see very little of them until the latter parts of the book, which is frustrating, considering how integral they seem they must be to the series. There are some truly exciting portions of the novel in this book, however; One scene in particular seems to be what fans have been waiting for since the moment the dragons were brought to life in the burning embers of Khal Drogo's funeral pyre. It should bring a chill to readers' spines, and was perfectly written-leaving the reader wondering about the fate of the character, of course. JON SNOW Jon arguably has the best plot line in the novel, both fleshing out his character further, as well as one of the most surprising final chapters of the book. Strange how the Starks all seem to have the best stories. There's also an early scene where Jon dispenses justice Eddard-style. It's an unexpectedly welcome scene, not only makes for good reading, but also draws the reader back into the story, which until then founders a little bit. DAVOS SEAWORTH In A Feast for Crows we learn that Davos is dead. Since Dance takes place during the same timeframe, we get to see his actual situation play out. Without spoiling things, let's just say that Davos' parts are rather boring, most of the time, though Martin leaves things sufficiently appropriate for Davos Seaworth. THEON GREYJOY It's been 13 years since we last got into the head of Theon Greyjoy, all the way back in the second book of the series, A Clash of Kings, published in 1998. Martin seemingly killed off the young kraken, but readers have heard bits and pieces about him throughout the series. In A Dance with Dragons, fans finally learn the fate of Theon. Theon's storyline is one of the most interesting of the book, second only to that of Jon Snow. BRAN STARK Bran has a very interesting story in the novel, but one that seems to end much too quickly. His almost feels like a dropped story thread, and fans will wonder what's happening with him later in the book without ever finding out. This is presumably one of the characters who will see more time in the next entry in the saga. QUENTIN MARTELL Quentin Martell is the son of the Prince of Dorne, and fans are given quite a bit of time with this character. Ultimately, his part doesn't feel that important to the story, and one is left wondering why he is even a part of it. The importance of Dorne's storyline is becoming more apparent throughout Dance, but it still feels like it's late to the party. ARYA STARK Still very much in Braavos, Arya was left blind in her last outing. Hers is one of the most involved stories in all of the Ice and Fire saga, and it continues to be no less enveloping in this latest entry. It's still unclear exactly where her thread is leading her, but fans shouldn't be disappointed by her brief appearances in Dance. VICTARION GREYJOY It's not very clear how Victarion will ultimately play into the saga, but his parts are not at all dull. JAMIE LANNISTER When the book finally catches up to the end of A Feast for Crows readers are reunited with Jamie, and his quest to unite the riverlands. He only appears in one chapter in Dance, but it's a fantastic one, with a very suitable cliffhanger ending. CERSEI LANNISTER Fans will be very pleased with Cersei's chapters in A Dance with Dragons. The queen has already been brought low, and will sink even further before things are through. Fans may even begin to feel sympathy for her in this round, though they'd be hard-pressed to ever forgive her. Cersei has been the character that fans love to hate, so Dance is all the more shocking for making her seem more human. BRIENNE OF TARTH Another character that only appears once, and not as a viewpoint character. Fans won't get a lot of information about what's been happening with her, or what her ultimate fate is, but her presence is crucial to the chapter, feels unexpected, and is perfect. THE RED PRIESTESS MELISANDRE Readers are welcomed into the mind of Melisandre for the first time in A Dance with Dragons and given a look at what her plans might be. It's revealed that she's not infallible, and can doubt herself after all. There are some reasonably surprising events revolving around Melisandre in this novel as well. STANNIS BARATHEON Readers have still not seen events from the viewpoint of the truly legitimate King, and after A Dance with Dragons, it's uncertain if it will ever happen. Indeed, Stannis has a lot to do in this book, with very little to show for it. He appears a few times early in the book, then mostly those that surround him allude to him for the remainder. It's fitting that readers should spend more time with his subjects than with the King himself, however. SER BARRISTAN SELMY Selmy is still with Daenarys and serves as the sole member of her Queensguard. Throughout the saga, he's been a bit of a secondary character, but with A Dance with Dragons, he leapfrogs right into major character status. His parts are interesting, treacherous, and fitting for the aged knight. Fans will have much more respect for Ser Barristan before the Dance is through. VARYS THE EUNUCH Appears only once, and very briefly, but is the most shocking and enjoyable chapter in the book. MISSING CHARACTERS Ultimately, there are a few characters that do not appear in the novel, their fate uncertain. - Catelyn Stark - Rickon Stark - Sansa Stark - Samwell Tarly - Peter Baelish (Littlefinger) SUMMARY A Dance with Dragons does indeed feel much like A Feast for Crows did, though is certainly a better novel; it feels dark and gritty. Winter is most certainly coming, as evidenced by Martin's use of the weather throughout the book. Once it snows in King's Landing, it's quite clear how winter is going to affect events in the series. Once Dance catches up to the ending of Feast, things move along a little faster, but this book still doesn't live up to the greatness of A Clash of Kings and the chaos that was A Storm of Swords. There are moments that drag along, and there are characters included that feel unnecessary or confusing. Fortunately, Martin moves the story along nicely in this book, and it truly feels like there's an end-game coming, though it's still unclear what exactly that is. The author has stated that there are at least two more books left in the saga, currently titled The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. Though those titles are intriguing, A Dream of Spring doesn't sound like the title of a book that would wrap up this amazing series. It seems like in a song of Ice and Fire, things should end in a blazing inferno, and fire should be a part of the title. Mayhaps there will be another entry in the series. Time will tell, of course, but with the delay between these books growing longer, let's hope not too much time is necessary.

[UPDATE] In addition to my original review (below), I wanted to point a couple of things out to other readers giving this and the other four books low ratings, and to provide a dose of fairness and perspective for prospective readers to consider. First, this is not the television series, it is a collection of books for "A Song of Ice and Fire" as written by George R. R. Martin before HBO turned them into the foundation for their own version known as "Game of Thrones" (a so-called "game of thrones" being a central subplot in the series of books). The stories told by the books and by the HBO series are similar but not necessarily the same. The books are far more detailed, allow for much more character development, and truly go into all of the history and dynamics of certain story lines, much of which the "Game of Thrones" shows cannot get into because they are limited to a dozen or so episodes per season with each episode being between 50 and 55 minutes based on how HBO runs things. The shows are not the same as the books; the shows are based somewhat loosely on the books; the shows leave a lot of important things out as far what the books contain; and, the books are not written so as to hold your attention for about one hour per week for several weeks out of the year (if they were, it would take you a couple of decades to read the books!). That being said, if you enjoy the show (it is a great show), stick with watching it until the HBO series' finale and then consider picking up and reading the books. Otherwise you will find yourself enjoying (or maybe not enjoying) two different stories that do have some similarities but leave you asking, "Why did HBO leave those characters out until now or why did they choose not to include that critical event?" Second, the books are not written so that every character is part of every chapter or every few chapters with one long continuous storyline. Martin says as much when he explains how he wrote the books and why he chose to write them the way he did. Read all of what Martin writes and you will know this to be true (there's more than the Introduction, character chapters, and Epilogue to be read). If you focus only on the fact that each chapter is written from one character's point of view for a time that may have come before, during or after a previous chapter, then you will see the books only as a series of short stories involving related characters. However, if you pay attention to the details as you read the books, you will see little things explained or experienced by one character in a given chapter that relates to something that has been experienced or foretold by another character in a previous chapter so that all the chapters are tied back to a central storyline. This is how Martin has written the books, this makes it possible to develop an entire world full of many different characters in vivid detail, and this is what makes each book a true page turner (at least for me). If you did not enjoy this type of storytelling in the first three books (especially the third book), then why did you continue reading two more very long books for a story written in a way that you do not like? [ORIGINAL REVIEW] A fantastic fifth installment of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. I have loved reading these five books. This series of books are now all in my Top Five favorites. I can only hope that Lord Martin sees fit to bestow gifts of early deliveries for the final two books in the series upon his leal and avid fans... If you have enjoyed the first four books as much as I did, this fifth one will not disappoint.

That's what reading reviews on Amazon can do to you... I had been enjoying with strong enthusiasm the serie up to the fourth where I started struggling with lesser characters, too much of Cercei and a lack of the more interesting ones. Then I started checking about it on Amazon and a very good review started to give me doubts. It stated that the serie was very unlikely to end due to the very slow pace of writing of Mr Martin. As I was tired by my reading of the fourth, I did put the reading of the fifth on standby. What a mistake! In fact, "A dance with Dragons" fits in the serie perfectly well. I won't spoil anything which means I won't say much by consequence about the story. Enough to say that Jon, Tyrion, Daenarys, Arya are here again. There are many very nice moments where my heart started beating faster. Let me assume that you have read up to the end of the fourth at this stage. I will state that "A Dance with Dragons" is the complement of the fourth as books intended to set the stage properly before continuing with the story. I do personally like the writing style of Mr Martin so I won't complain about him taking too long. I guess it is a question of taste, if you want a fast paced serie, this one may not be for you. I do enjoy when the story stretches, specifically when the characters are interesting. It creates a kind of intimacy for me with them. Do not get fooled by believing that nothing happens in the book. The story develops itself in many different directions, some kind of expected and some absolutely not foreseen by me. If my memory is correct and if there have not been any updates since the last time I checked, the six one is supposed to be a few years after the end of the fifth. I am impatientely waiting for it, I am still afraid it may take the author as many years to write the next book than for this one. This means five years!!! Hopefully, HBO's interest may lead him to increase his pace but I am just speculating. Conclusion: If you have come up to the fifth book of the serie, you cannot be anything else but a fan. Or you like torturing yourself... Anyway, if you were disappointed by the fourth and its lack of really interesting characters, this one will restore your enthousiasm. Good reading!

I never understand the fans that expect too much from an author and it seems many of Martin's readers are just this breed. This book despite it's many 1-4 star reviews is still without a doubt worth all five. If you found this book slow or laboring I'm sorry but perhaps you should take up a new hobby other then reading. In every one of Martin's books I found myself skimming some of the less interesting character chapters in this one I skimmed only one complete one and half of another one that picked up enough to force me to read it. Considering I skimmed about five per book (7 in AFFC)I really am perplexed by the other readers reaction to this engaging and wonderfully written book. The people complaining of cliff hanger obviously haven't read the rest of the series to completely as this is what he does every time normally with at least 4 characters yet the only real cliff hanger in this one involves the possible death of one of the mains. The rest was resolved perfectly to set up the rest for the next two books. This one literally had me cheering out loud multiple times (much to my wife's dismay as many of these were in the middle of the night). The book resolves just enough with every character again with one exception to keep you ready and anxious for the next two books which if you expected things to come to a head before then you were only fooling yourself. Considering how many characters are represented I'm surprised the book is even nearly as short as it is (almost a thousand pages and it still seemed too short. Needless to say I found the Book equally engaging as the second and third books, superior by far to the fourth, and inferior only to the original which isn't a reflection at all considering it is one of the greatest novels ever written in this reviewers humble opinion. In short the book is almost perfect with only a few faults it maintains well the writing and character of all it's predecessors and anyone who says otherwise is simply delusional or spoiled by our "give it to me now" world culture, and I for one am excited for whatever Mr. Martin serves us next. If there is any doubt to the delusions of the individual giving this 1 star just try to compare it to other highly praised novels (Hunger Games, Twilight). So buy this book if you enjoy reading you'll love it, if you have the attention span of a monkey no doubt you'll find way of putting this book down and trying to justify your lack of taste, attention, and judgement. edit Some one pointed out the "provocative nature" of my review So I reworked the last line. If you like reading and you read the previous books in this series than buy this book you will love it because it is the exact same fare, the same characterizations, and same character development, the same intrigue, the same plots the same threads wound tighter together, If you have read the other books and do not enjoy this then your tastes have changed, or you have a very small attention span (smaller than someone with a sever case of ADHD like myself), or you lack the judgement skill necessary to critique a book based on what it is vs what you wanted or expected it to be. If you haven't read this series buy them all and read them all chances are you will enjoy them.

I just finished reading this book (on my Kindle) and I enjoyed it. I read a fair number of the other reviews here before purchasing it, many negative, leading to some trepidation, but in the end I was not disappointed. Whether this is because my expectations had already been lowered, or because I am a less critical reader than others, or because the book is actually not as bad as its critics have claimed, is open to debate. I want to address the most common complaints of those other reviews, namely that the book is just filler material, nothing happens, no plot points are resolved, etc. The author states quite clearly in the preface to the previous book and this one, that the events of the two books (the 4th and 5th in the series) take place in parallel. He had too much material for one book, and instead of splitting that material chronologically, making two books each covering a shorter time period, he chose to instead split the characters into two groups, concentrating on one group in the fourth book and another group in this book. I don't think that was a good idea, and the result speaks for itself (irritated fans), but what's done is done. If you read the fourth book right after it was published and then had to wait a long time for the fifth book to come out, the effect of that decision is more pronounced. But now that both books are out, if you read this book while the previous one is still fresh in your mind, it is not as jarring. The book is long, and some parts seem long-winded. Perhaps an editor should have taken a knife to it and trimmed a few sections. I mean, I an not really interested in every course that was served at a feast, the coat-of-arms of every man in a force, or the fate of every boat in a storm-tossed fleet. But the long-winded sections are not rampant. You are confronted with one occasionally. Considering the size of the book, if it had been trimmed by 20%, it would still have been plenty long enough in number of pages. If the author were being paid by the word (which I doubt), he'd still have made plenty of money. I don't find the idea credible that the author was deliberately padding out the novel. I suspect it is more a case of the publishers just trying to get the thing out the door. It's a damned-if-you-do and damned-if-you-don't situation. Another round of editing might have improved the book, but the fans might have had to wait another year to see it. Since the events of the fourth and fifth books transpire within the same time frame, then in the chronology of the book's universe, you cannot say that something happened in the fourth book, but nothing in the fifth book -- everything that happened in one, happened in the other (notwithstanding that the fifth book's time-frame extends beyond that of the fourth book). Even taken on its own, this book does advance the plot, and it does resolve some plot points. Bran's long journey to find the three-eyed raven has a resolution. As in all the previous books, not all the (remaining) major characters survive. Unless you were hoping for this to be the last book of the series, it obviously cannot resolve all the plot points. If it were the last book of the series, then some people would be moaning about that, trying to get their fixes by contributing their own (lame) fan fiction. If you're tiring of the series, and you just want the story to end so that you can close out your investment in it, then I guess you have a complaint. But if you like the series, and you want more, well, then you got what you wanted. The pace of the story slowed down starting with the fourth book, and the slower pace continues in this one, but you can still feel it building toward a conclusion. If one of the things you most loved about the series was its pace in books one through three, and you didn't like the slowdown in book four, then this book is just going to exasperate you the same way the previous one did. Although I did prefer the faster pace of the first three books as well, I still find the story compelling even when if it is now more drug out. You don't have to be a genius to predict that the result of Winter and the others coming down from the north, and a princess with dragons coming up from the south, is going to result in some cataclysmic battle, where the reintroduction of dragons into the world actually saves it, in spite of all the destruction they cause. I'm looking forward to it, just not as impatiently as some others. GRRM is going to have to get his a-- moving on the next book (or books) though. If the TV series, just finishing up the second season, goes through more or less a book per season, and the production for a given season needs to start about a year in advance of its broadcast, and the next book therefore has to be available to serve as a guide for the development scripts, then we've got about two years until the scriptwriters needs book six.

I'm not sure anyone will read my review since it's coming in after something like 850 entries, but just in case, I wanted to put my two cents in because all the almost hysterical anti-DWD rants may actually discourage people from buying the book, and I think that would be a mistake. Here's my take on way people are so enraged (***some general non-specific spoilers***) 1. They genuinely care about the book and want it to be the brilliant once-in-fifty-years fantasy it has promised to be. They are afraid it won't, particularly since GRRM has taken 10 years to produce Books 4 & 5 (which could really be one book). GRRM, like all of us, is mortal, so people are worried, God forbid, he will not have enough time to finish the books at all and/or he lacks the discipline and well power to do so. (By the way, anyone who tosses out bizarre insults about GRRM-he's lazy, he's arrogant, etc - I dismiss out of hand. If you have such little respect for him, don't read his stuff.) 2. BOoks 4 & 5 are 'middle' books, much as the second book in the LOTR trilogy was. GRRM deliberately decides to have his characters go in circles and for nothing to 'happen' - that is part of his point here. Such books are much easier to read when there is a Book 6 & 7 to read immediately, or when you are confident Books 6 & 7 will be on their way shortly. People are not confident of this. 3. The world of the pseudo Near East was poorly imagined, not as realistic as the Western Westeros. In particular, Dany's world was not fully fleshed out--it is entirely corrupt & despotic, with no positive traits. Yet the slave world of, say, Egypt, also had greatness--religion the arts, etc. This Western stereotype of an Egypt=like state made Dany's stay there very hard to bear because in addition to the one-dimensional world, Dany herself was behaving really really one-dimensionally. Spoiler ** QUESTION---Did anyone else pick up the possibility that Dany was being bespelled by the wizards and that was the reason she locked her dragons and lost her way? There are numerous hints in the book. 4. Finally, the books could have used editing. Indeed, with good editing, Books 4 & 5 could have been one book of about 800 pages max. Nearly all of the Brienne chapters of Book 4, for instance, could have been omitted. In this book, several Dany chapters could have been omitted with zero negative repercussions. Positives: So what's good about this book? The tone, scope and breadth of this book was outstanding. If you view this as a tale in which Westeros and the outside world are CHARACTERS themselves, the story becomes much more interesting. GRRM, I believe, is attempting to make this a story about a whole world rather than a mere story about Westeros. Because he decided to do this, he had to follow several story strands he didn't anticipate he would follow. This is also primarily a story about power---how to get it, how to lose it, what you do when you have it and what exactly it is. In this case, the story centers mostly on the 'how to use it,' with Jon and Dany really struggling. As with all great writers, GRRM takes story arcs and goes FAR past the predictable--Tyrion kills his father. But the story doesn't end at all. Dany frees the slaves. Then what? Jon gets power. Then what? Arya trains. But now what? Bran finds the Children of the Forest. Now what? What I find particularly great about the book is how GRRM refuses to categorize good or evil (with the exception of a truly evil person like the Bolton thing). Even with the Others it is not clear entirely what their purpose is, or what they are. Is the 'kind man' Arya trains with evil or good? Does it matter? Which of the religions are 'true'? All? None? Are they really one? These questions are examined in even more detail and depth in this book than in others. It is a 'dance' and the dance goes nowhere. That is part of the point. I may be wrong, but I think GRRM had the most difficulty writing these books, 4 & 5, because he didn't originally anticipate having to write them--they are mostly a bridge between 'here' and 'there,' both of which he seems to have mapped out. It's the bridge part he's had trouble with, figuring out just how to get the characters from here to there, and what the point of the journey was. I do think the next two books will come quicker and will have a lot more action now that all the chess pieces are in place. I would definitely recommend reading this, particularly if, like me, you know ahead of time that it's not extremely action packed (although it definitely has its moments). Worth your time.

"A Dance with Dragons" is the fifth installment in George R.R. Martin's epic "A Song of Ice and Fire, but in reality it is the second half of "A Feast for Crows" (2005) covering the same period of time as that book, but with different characters. Both volumes begin following the events of "A Storm of Swords" (2000), but after "Dragons" catches up to the end of "Crows" in terms of chronological time, the story moves forward again. "Dragons" features the ongoing stories of Tyrion Lannister, Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, among many other characters: Jon is now the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, but he has many foes both within and without the Wall and Castle Black; Tyrion's situation goes from bad to worse as he tries to make his way to Daenerys with only his wits (and far too ready tongue) to aid him; and Daenerys herself is more or less trapped in the former slave city of Merreen, where her dragons are growing and becoming more ferocious by the day.... This is not a book the you can just pick up without having read all of the previous volumes, and even those of us who have been following GRRM's epic cycle might be forgiven for having forgotten some key events in the 11 years since "Swords" was published. There's a great deal of violence and despair in this volume, as in the previous ones, and sometimes it's a struggle to remember why we love these books, as they become more and more bleak. But of course, it's GRRM's writing and storytelling style that keeps us coming back for more; I just hope, along with his millions of fellow fans, that we won't need to wait another six years before "The Winds of Winter" arrives! Highly recommended, but you really have to start with "A Game of Thrones" (unlike the recent television series, the book's title does include the indefinite article), and carry on from there.

Aufgrund der vielen negativen Bewertungen habe ich fast ein wenig Angst davor gehabt mit dem fünften Band zu beginnen. Doch meine Sorgen waren nicht berechtigt, so wie es all die negativen Stimmen meiner Meinung nach auch nicht sind. Aber eins nach dem anderen. Viele Schreiben, dass in diesem Band nicht viel passiert ist. Ich bin eher der Meinung, dass nicht viel von dem passiert ist, was man erwartet hat. Die Geschichte ist vielleicht nicht ganz so weit vorangeschritten, wie es hätte sein können, aber dafür ist sie um so mehr "in die Breite gewachsen". Es kamen neue Charaktere hinzu, die aber nicht wahllos irgendwo rangeklatscht werden, sondern sich nahtlos in den bisherigen Verlauf einfügen. Ich habe mir überlegt, warum man das Gefühl hat, dass die Geschichte nicht vorangeht, und ich denke, das liegt größtenteils daran, dass die Geschehnisse im fünften Band zu 2/3 oder so parallel zu denen im vierten Band verlaufen. Es war wie ein Puzzle, welches man zur Hälfte zusammengesetzt hat. Man erkennt schon das Motiv und verliert das Interesse daran, weiterzumachen. Dieses Band schafft es nun, all die Löcher im Puzzle zu flicken. Auch hat man endlich was von all den Menschen gelesen, die im vierten Band nicht vorkamen. Warum finde ich dieses Buch, genau wie die Bände davor, so gut? 1) GRRM schafft es wie kaum ein anderer den Leser zu überraschen. Es gab einige Stellen, an denen von einem Satz auf den anderen etwas passierte, wonach ich einfach nur baff war. "What the f..." dachte ich mir nur. Aber so ist SoIaF. 2) Die Story ist wirklich GROß! So viele Charaktere, die sich an den unterschiedlichsten Stellen der Welt befinden, und doch hängt alles zusammen. 3) Es gibt auch hier kein schwarz und weiß. Die Guten sind nicht unfehlbar, die Bösen nicht nur böse. (da gibt es wohl Ausnahmen) Wenn man sich die Bewertungen so ansieht, dann hätten viele es wohl gern, wenn die Helden mit wehenden Fahnen und am besten noch auf Drachen geritten nach Kings Landing kommen,die bösen Lannisters vertreiben, dann noch einen kurzen Abstecher in den Norden zur Mauer machen und dort die Anderen vertreiben. Und wenn sie nicht gestorben sind, dann leben sie noch heute... DANN hätte man aber gleich in Storm of Swords Schluss machen können, mit einem abgewandelten Ende. Wer sowas lesen möchte, der möge zu Herr der Ringe oder Eragon oder zu 95% aller anderen Fantasy-Bücher greifen. Da weiß man nach dem ersten viertel, wie es ausgehen wird... Und damit komme ich zum nächsten Punkt, warum ich diese Bücher so liebe: Ich habe nun fünf Bände gelesen, und es ist überhaupt nicht klar, wie es nun enden wird. Jedes mal, wenn ich mir überlege, wie es weitergehen könnte, passiert irgendwas tiefgreifendes, das mich all meine Theorien über Bord werfen lässt. Am Ende wurden noch einige Stränge lose gelassen, sodass man sich was für die Fortsetzung erhoffen kann. Ich denke auch die Freunde von Action werden da ausgiebig zum Zuge kommen. Ich freue mich schon auf den nächsten Band!

The longest book from the novel so far. Absolutely amazing plots, new caracters, twisting turn of events. Its a pity that many might read the book and finish when is on the climax, and no one knows , not even George knows when The Winds of Winter will finally blow... Can't way for the next book...

Il quinto libro della saga torna a focalizzarsi sui personaggi principali, che erano stati lasciati da parte in A Feast For Crows. Martin concentra molta della narrazione sulle vicende di Daenerys e in buona parte su ciò che accade alla barriera, continuando a mettere molta, forse troppa, carne al fuoco. I colpi di scena sono assicurati e l'ormai collaudata alternanza di Pov rende il racconto sempre avvincente. Un libro che consiglio a chiunque ami la saga

The book that thousands have been waiting years and years for, finally came out on July 12th. Early spoiler free reviews ramped up anticipation levels and talked of scenes reminiscent of a Storm of Swords. With such high expectations the initial feeling about A Dance with Dragons was one of disappointment and frustration. Did I feel this way? In short no... I am in the minority of people that really enjoyed the book. I can see what people are disgruntled about, there are after all loads of plot threads unresolved. Whilst this is the middle of the series and one might expect this, There is at least one event that several POV characters were all involved in where a suitable climax was needed. Like many other readers I also expected Dany to be in a certain place by the end of the book and to have interacted with certain characters and so was disappointed when she was not. However, both those points are solely down to my expectations. When the dust has settled and I actually reflect on the book and remembered how much I enjoyed it throughout, I realise how great Dance actually is. The writing is superb, contrary to the popular opinion, a lot actually happens. George takes us on a journey with his characters, throwing in the usual twists and subtle hints. Characters we previously despised we begin to sympathise with, characters we loved we learn are not as competent as we thought. The three characters we yearned for (Jon, Tyrion and Dany) all appear in abundance. These three characters are generally the most popular, the ones we can most identify with. Yet Martin cruelly exposes there weaknesses and demonstrates that when in a position of power there are fallible. Very intriguing stuff. Yet it is the other characters that steal the show. Theon's chapters are the best thing in the book, Davos and Asha are also very strong. Whilst Bran's had me feverish with excitement and Barristen beaming with respect. There are a few minor quibbles. Tyrion could have lost a chapter or two as could have Dany. Jaime appears in one brief chapter that really should have been saved for the next book. I think GRRM bowed to public demand to include this chapter just so we knew the fate of a certain character from Feast of Crows. One of the things I love about the series is that no matter how much I pay attention when reading, I always miss something. With Dance it was no exception. After going on the forums, I literally kicked myself at some of the things I did not pick up on. Still it is part of the fun of reading and so the endless wait and speculating begins again. Star Wars has always been my favourite world by a country mile. With A Dance with Dragons, the song of ice and fire saga is definitely catching it, if not over taking it.