Scan barcode
alwright1's review against another edition
3.0
I had a hard time getting back into this. I read the first 3 about 6 months ago, and it's tough to keep up with all of the characters after taking such a long time off. It gets to a point where I stopped caring which specific Ser was being screwed over by a major player at any given time. I just assume they are all dead or hiding in their castles by now. It's mostly just the big guns left. Also, he is still introducing major players! The church and the citadel just suddenly get all involved and powerful in the 4th book? The constant violence against women that made the other books hard to read is also still prevalent.
Anway, by the end of it, I was sucked back in again. He's good at that. Good thing the 5th book is out today. Happy reading!
Anway, by the end of it, I was sucked back in again. He's good at that. Good thing the 5th book is out today. Happy reading!
neferatowen's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this one. I had heard it was boring and not well received but I had advance warning that some of my favourite characters did not appear in this book so I think that helped. While George Martin includes a note at the end regarding this, I imagine he would have pissed off less people if they hadn't gone through the whole book wondering why we hadn't heard from Tyrion in a long time.
I was a little confused at some of the new characters. After a couple chapters I had them mostly figured out. Should be interesting to see who else pops up in the next book.
Other than that there was plenty of action, plotting and deception to keep my interest the whole way through.
Can't wait to get my hands on the fifth one. Though I'm sad that after that I will be waiting along with everyone else for the sixth one to come out who knows when. That and waiting for each new season of the show is going to be painful!
I was a little confused at some of the new characters. After a couple chapters I had them mostly figured out. Should be interesting to see who else pops up in the next book.
Other than that there was plenty of action, plotting and deception to keep my interest the whole way through.
Can't wait to get my hands on the fifth one. Though I'm sad that after that I will be waiting along with everyone else for the sixth one to come out who knows when. That and waiting for each new season of the show is going to be painful!
esmayrosalyne's review against another edition
4.0
Now, I don't know if it was because I had mentally prepared myself for a total drag of a book or if it was because I switched to audio for this instalment... but this NOWHERE near as slow or boring as I was led to believe.
Sure, the Iron Islands chapters were not the most compelling, but for the most part I really liked how character-driven this story was. Also, no Jon chapters!!
The final chapters for each of these POVs were just straight-up fire, so much happened there at the end that had me completely gripped. Really happy about this reading experience, because now I am all-in again for book 5! So excited :)
Sure, the Iron Islands chapters were not the most compelling, but for the most part I really liked how character-driven this story was. Also, no Jon chapters!!
The final chapters for each of these POVs were just straight-up fire, so much happened there at the end that had me completely gripped. Really happy about this reading experience, because now I am all-in again for book 5! So excited :)
neurospicychaos's review against another edition
3.0
Finally! It's the holidays, I have time. I will reread this and then I will succumb to lure of Dance with dragons and it will be awesome!
aliciab9's review against another edition
4.0
This book was so long!
I have to marvel at the mountains of characters introduced in this book. I would find myself paging back to remind myself who was who and how they were related in the story. The last few chapters really were jaw dropping .... with thoughts of, Hey I thought that person was dead, and really ..are you really going to kill that person now?
I look forward to reading the next book in the series as I cant wait to see who is dead, who stays dead, and what the heck happened to Tyrion!
I have to marvel at the mountains of characters introduced in this book. I would find myself paging back to remind myself who was who and how they were related in the story. The last few chapters really were jaw dropping .... with thoughts of, Hey I thought that person was dead, and really ..are you really going to kill that person now?
I look forward to reading the next book in the series as I cant wait to see who is dead, who stays dead, and what the heck happened to Tyrion!
heyheybooks's review against another edition
4.0
This one was definitely not as exciting as the previous three books. As GRRM states at the end of the book, this part of the story was too large to fit in one volume, so he wrote about half of the characters, rather than splitting the story in the middle. It's definitely missing quite a lot of my favorite characters, and had way too much conversation, and not enough action. The characters I did love had maybe three chapters in the whole book, whereas characters I didn't care about so much had tons of chapters. Chapters filled with dialogue and no progression! But, with all that said, it's still a good read, a fascinating story, and I can't wait to read the next one. Winter is here!
littlestcabbage's review against another edition
3.0
I'd been told this was the least-interesting Song of Ice and Fire books, and I think that's wholly unfair. It took me a long time to read, that's true, but I was traveling and moving, so I don't think that counts. I really enjoyed it! Much more than book two, which was a snoozefest. There are definitely a bunch of characters I absolutely could not give two shits about (you will no doubt be surprised to know I still hate reading about all the Greyjoys OH WAIT NO YOU WON'T BECAUSE THEY ARE TERRIBLY BORING), but I liked the introduction of the Dornish folks (cool fallout from the last book). This is quite obviously a book that is setting us up for more exciting future events. For groundwork, it's decent. I'm excited to see where this road is headed.
Oh, and FINALLY Samwell Tarly lost some goddamn weight. I can't believe it was a freakin boat trip that did it (and not, you know, starving in a land of ice and running from wights or anything), but at least GRRM is FINALLY acknowledging that it'd be impossible for that guy to still be as obese as he's always depicted.
Oh, and FINALLY Samwell Tarly lost some goddamn weight. I can't believe it was a freakin boat trip that did it (and not, you know, starving in a land of ice and running from wights or anything), but at least GRRM is FINALLY acknowledging that it'd be impossible for that guy to still be as obese as he's always depicted.
grxffxn's review against another edition
3.0
3.75
This has always been my least favorite volume in ASOIAF, but it is still very very good. The character development, especially Sam and Jaime, is remarkable writing, but the plot really plods and there is truly not much happening for most of the book. Too bad we’ll probably never see “The Winds of Winter” because I think it would elevate this entry.
This has always been my least favorite volume in ASOIAF, but it is still very very good. The character development, especially Sam and Jaime, is remarkable writing, but the plot really plods and there is truly not much happening for most of the book. Too bad we’ll probably never see “The Winds of Winter” because I think it would elevate this entry.
lisafweeks's review against another edition
3.0
not as well paced as the previous ones. and, sadly, they used a different narrator who doesn't do the voices as well and doesn't pronounce all the names the same. Still, it had some great portions and we're ready to hit the next one.