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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Another great instalment - I felt like it did drag at points but overall really enjoyed it
Haters will tell you that AFFC is bad but as I'm in love with the world I really can't protest this book, it's a good time, and I love the personal journeys. Though the latter half of Storm was fantastic, and ADWD is a nightmare odyssey and my personal favorite out of all the series, I'm enraptured by the inaction and circular tragedy of it all; taking place mostly in the gothic Riverlands (yippee!! yahoo!!!!) and the shithole King's Landing. Time is an endless wheel and feudal whalefall (eponymous, the feast for crows) proper thematic introductory. Ironborn plot, Dorne plot, oh my! Some moments of good prose that get me excited for George's performance in ADWD's Brans and Theons. I don't really review books especially not my little dragon books so this is fine... upon a first read I would have had more to say but I'm really just stewing in it, close readings and journaling projects will do that to you.
medium-paced
*This* is the book that A FEAST FOR CROWS and A DANCE WITH DRAGONS should have been.
Unfortunately, this book was a bit of a let-down for me, especially in comparison to the wonderful Storm of Swords before this. Naturally, though, I try to look at this book for itself and not how it compared to the others, but I found it difficult. Although the book had it's moments, there was scarce a time where I just couldn't put the book down. It dragged out small things that weren't necessary, and had much too much history and names to keep in order. I feel as if much of it could have been potentially cut and just added to the next book.
One of the first things I disliked was how the first couple of chapters were in a new character's point of view. I was excited to see what happened with my favourites after such a finale in a Storm of Swords, and I was let down. I also did not like the names of the chapters - where the previous three books held the names of the characters, this one merely had names of nicknames and the like. It would be akin for the previous books' chapters to having "Kingslayer" as the title or "Queen Screwing Around with Brother" for the chapter titles. It's a small thing, but irritating all the same.
((Spoilers from here on out))
I also know that the author was probably trying to show how Sansa and Arya were using their new alias' instead of their old selves, but it just didn't work for me when the author chose to actually refer to the girls as their "new names." I knew his intention, as sometimes he switched - when Sansa was acting as Littlefinger's daughter, she was referred to as Alayne, but when she was being herself she was referred to as Alayne; the same thing happened with Arya when she was "Cat."
I was disappointed by the lack of changing points of view. This book may as well have just been called "Cersei, Jaime, and Brienne." The few times that Sansa and Arya were mentioned only gave us a taste, particularly Arya. Just as I was getting into Arya's new life, I felt as if it was snatched away from me, and as the last "chapter" of the book explains the next book will be more about Dany and such, I feel as if Arya will not be a part of it.
Also, if I have to read the quote, "I'm looking for my sister, a maid of three and ten with auburn hair and blue eyes," or "She's fucking Lancel and Kettleburn and Moonboy for all I know," (or whatever the exact quote was), I might have lost my mind.
Alas, despite all my complaints about the book, Martin did do a fantastic job in his writing - his aptitude for vivid storytelling is not lost here whatsoever. A scene that I thought was fantastically done was when Sansa was building her snow castle. The descriptions were wonderfully done, and I had the perfect image in my mind. The most suspenseful part of the novel, in my mind, was the confrontation between Sansa and Lysa.
Overall, I felt the novel just very slow paced. Well written, of course, and if it was a stand alone book, I would say that it was good. It's just not breath-taking or suspenseful, I find, and I don't believe it will stick in memory well. I also believed with a title such as "A Feast for Crows" that it would have dwelled more on the Wall, but the Wall was scarcely in the book at all. Speaking of which, I was not impressed with Jon's characterization at all. It was like another author was writing him. I understand that Jon was thrust into a position of authority that he's not used to, but he went from a careful yet fun loving and thoughtful boy suddenly into a man with a heart of stone. Perhaps the next book will have more explanation, but it felt a little out of the blue in the book.
Anyways, overall I still liked it, just not nearly as much as the others in the series. I hope for better in A Dance With Dragons. Martin wrote that since he split the story he had been writing in two that he preferred to write the "full story" of certain characters in one, and then the rest in A Dance with Dragons, but I feel as if that was a mistake. I wish it had been written as the others had, and I feel as if he had done that this book would have been more satisfying and not have felt so slow and repetitive with the same characters' points of view over and over.
One of the first things I disliked was how the first couple of chapters were in a new character's point of view. I was excited to see what happened with my favourites after such a finale in a Storm of Swords, and I was let down. I also did not like the names of the chapters - where the previous three books held the names of the characters, this one merely had names of nicknames and the like. It would be akin for the previous books' chapters to having "Kingslayer" as the title or "Queen Screwing Around with Brother" for the chapter titles. It's a small thing, but irritating all the same.
((Spoilers from here on out))
I also know that the author was probably trying to show how Sansa and Arya were using their new alias' instead of their old selves, but it just didn't work for me when the author chose to actually refer to the girls as their "new names." I knew his intention, as sometimes he switched - when Sansa was acting as Littlefinger's daughter, she was referred to as Alayne, but when she was being herself she was referred to as Alayne; the same thing happened with Arya when she was "Cat."
I was disappointed by the lack of changing points of view. This book may as well have just been called "Cersei, Jaime, and Brienne." The few times that Sansa and Arya were mentioned only gave us a taste, particularly Arya. Just as I was getting into Arya's new life, I felt as if it was snatched away from me, and as the last "chapter" of the book explains the next book will be more about Dany and such, I feel as if Arya will not be a part of it.
Also, if I have to read the quote, "I'm looking for my sister, a maid of three and ten with auburn hair and blue eyes," or "She's fucking Lancel and Kettleburn and Moonboy for all I know," (or whatever the exact quote was), I might have lost my mind.
Alas, despite all my complaints about the book, Martin did do a fantastic job in his writing - his aptitude for vivid storytelling is not lost here whatsoever. A scene that I thought was fantastically done was when Sansa was building her snow castle. The descriptions were wonderfully done, and I had the perfect image in my mind. The most suspenseful part of the novel, in my mind, was the confrontation between Sansa and Lysa.
Overall, I felt the novel just very slow paced. Well written, of course, and if it was a stand alone book, I would say that it was good. It's just not breath-taking or suspenseful, I find, and I don't believe it will stick in memory well. I also believed with a title such as "A Feast for Crows" that it would have dwelled more on the Wall, but the Wall was scarcely in the book at all. Speaking of which, I was not impressed with Jon's characterization at all. It was like another author was writing him. I understand that Jon was thrust into a position of authority that he's not used to, but he went from a careful yet fun loving and thoughtful boy suddenly into a man with a heart of stone. Perhaps the next book will have more explanation, but it felt a little out of the blue in the book.
Anyways, overall I still liked it, just not nearly as much as the others in the series. I hope for better in A Dance With Dragons. Martin wrote that since he split the story he had been writing in two that he preferred to write the "full story" of certain characters in one, and then the rest in A Dance with Dragons, but I feel as if that was a mistake. I wish it had been written as the others had, and I feel as if he had done that this book would have been more satisfying and not have felt so slow and repetitive with the same characters' points of view over and over.
Book three in the series. Started it as soon as I finished A Clash of Kings. Non-stop action. OUCH! Did not get much sleep while reading this one.
adventurous
dark
emotional
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:
N/A
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Slower than the others. Not necessarily a bad thing but the pacing is a bit off. The Cersei, Jaime, and Brienne chapters are by far the best parts of the book.