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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Taking place after the breathtaking events of Storm of Swords and telling only half the story (Book 5 :A Dance with Dragons takes place concurrently with this entry), A Feast for Crows is understandably significantly less action-packed than might be wished. With only a few important set-pieces strewn throughout, most of the book is falling action and setting up the pieces for the next big series of events. Indeed, almost every story-line ends with a deep sense of foreboding that something big is around the corner.
I must confess, not knowing whether we will ever turn that corner and hold The Winds of Winter in our hands, does dilute the tension somewhat, and some chapters are almost entirely exposition as we must catch up with what the Dornish and the Ironmen have been doing these last three books, but the fourth novel of the Song of Ice and Fire is no less engaging for all that. George moves beyond the Starks and other carefully chosen point-of-view characters to give us a broader sense of the consequences the War of the Five Kings has had and it is a truly fascinating perspective. While there was always the feeling that the world of Westeros was a living, breathing, beast, George expands the lens through which we see it quite a bit, making ASOIAF feel greater than these four books without having to spell out every little detail.
Of course, that is as much criticism as praise; I won't be the first nor last to note that for a story that started as a trilogy, it feels incredibly foolish to introduce so many new plot-threads at the halfway point of what has ballooned into a seven book saga. While the narrative thus far has only (in my opinion) benefited from this expansion, the fourteen years since the release of the fifth book with no true projected release date for a sixth shows that this was almost certainly over-ambitious even for a masterwork of this quality.
All of the standard criticisms persist, it's a grimdark fantasy, don't read this if you're looking for escapism and happy endings, enjoy the journey, not the destination, yes he uses a few phrases too often, charges of misogyny are not without cause but in my opinion far overblown, descriptions - whether it be how fat someone is, how sexy a woman is, the exact way an axe blow fell, or what kind of food was at table - seem to really upset people for some reason, etc. etc. Four books in, you know what you're getting, but it's worth noting that A Feast for Crows IS something of a respite as several story-lines end, and others get prepared to begin.
I must confess, not knowing whether we will ever turn that corner and hold The Winds of Winter in our hands, does dilute the tension somewhat, and some chapters are almost entirely exposition as we must catch up with what the Dornish and the Ironmen have been doing these last three books, but the fourth novel of the Song of Ice and Fire is no less engaging for all that. George moves beyond the Starks and other carefully chosen point-of-view characters to give us a broader sense of the consequences the War of the Five Kings has had and it is a truly fascinating perspective. While there was always the feeling that the world of Westeros was a living, breathing, beast, George expands the lens through which we see it quite a bit, making ASOIAF feel greater than these four books without having to spell out every little detail.
Of course, that is as much criticism as praise; I won't be the first nor last to note that for a story that started as a trilogy, it feels incredibly foolish to introduce so many new plot-threads at the halfway point of what has ballooned into a seven book saga. While the narrative thus far has only (in my opinion) benefited from this expansion, the fourteen years since the release of the fifth book with no true projected release date for a sixth shows that this was almost certainly over-ambitious even for a masterwork of this quality.
All of the standard criticisms persist, it's a grimdark fantasy, don't read this if you're looking for escapism and happy endings, enjoy the journey, not the destination, yes he uses a few phrases too often, charges of misogyny are not without cause but in my opinion far overblown, descriptions - whether it be how fat someone is, how sexy a woman is, the exact way an axe blow fell, or what kind of food was at table - seem to really upset people for some reason, etc. etc. Four books in, you know what you're getting, but it's worth noting that A Feast for Crows IS something of a respite as several story-lines end, and others get prepared to begin.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Mr. Martin tortures us again dragging us through 1,000 pages while failing to give us any news from Jon, Bran, Rickon, Tyrion, or even Daenarys. How rude!
Now I have to run and get the following book to see what's been happening with them.
As usual, the plot thickens, and we learn more about Dorne and the motivations of its ruling class.
Now I have to run and get the following book to see what's been happening with them.
As usual, the plot thickens, and we learn more about Dorne and the motivations of its ruling class.
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
LADY STONEHEART, LADY STONEHEART, LADY STONEHEART