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A review by geo_quartz
A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Before my review, context.
I started reading A Song of Ice and Fire nearly 10 years ago in 2015. My girlfriend at the time (now wife) introduced me into Game of Thrones which I immediately fell in love with. So much so that I started reading the books. I finished both A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings in the 2nd semester of senior year in high school. I finished A Storm of Swords at the end of my freshman year in college, and took a break after because of the stresses of school and because I heard that A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, were disappointing reads. The subsequent disaster of a season finale left an awful taste in my mouth too.
While I had fallen deeply in love with the lore and the series, it seemed tainted by the finale and the fact that George may never finish Winds of Winter. However, the premier of House of the Dragon brought me and my wife back into the world of ice and fire with a vengeance.
It encapsulated me so much in fact that I read Fire & Blood and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (the latter is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read). Yet I was still apprehensive about reading the main series which doesn’t seem to have an end.
That was until HOTD season 2 where my wife and I got the ASOIAF bug again. This time the bug bit her harder than me. She read AKOTSK then started down the main series, finishing both AGOT and ACOK this year (2024). My wife is the only person I know that can match my knowledge in ASOIAF if not then she surpasses me by miles. Seeing her read the books brought me back to my years in High School and reminded me of why I read the series in the first place.
So finally (right in time for our wedding) I started reading A Feast For Crows
The Review:
Despite the woes I was told about AFFC early on, I was pleasantly surprised how invested I was. Maybe it was George’s prose or the fact that I started reading the series again, but I genuinely enjoyed this book. AFFC is definitely a reactionary book to the events of the prior 3 books. With many character reeling from the deaths and events from ASOS. I really enjoyed reading the many perspectives, especially Brienne, Jamie and Cersei’s. I found their actions and monologue interesting and appreciated that George gave us the time to sit with these character to really understand them. I will say that AFFC has more cliff hangers than payoff (unfortunate givens Winds is still not out) which gives it a lower rating than 5 stars. That being said I throughly enjoyed AFFC and found that reading all 1k pages was well worth it, especially as it reignited my passion.
Now that my Feast has ended it is time to Dance.
I started reading A Song of Ice and Fire nearly 10 years ago in 2015. My girlfriend at the time (now wife) introduced me into Game of Thrones which I immediately fell in love with. So much so that I started reading the books. I finished both A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings in the 2nd semester of senior year in high school. I finished A Storm of Swords at the end of my freshman year in college, and took a break after because of the stresses of school and because I heard that A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, were disappointing reads. The subsequent disaster of a season finale left an awful taste in my mouth too.
While I had fallen deeply in love with the lore and the series, it seemed tainted by the finale and the fact that George may never finish Winds of Winter. However, the premier of House of the Dragon brought me and my wife back into the world of ice and fire with a vengeance.
It encapsulated me so much in fact that I read Fire & Blood and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (the latter is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read). Yet I was still apprehensive about reading the main series which doesn’t seem to have an end.
That was until HOTD season 2 where my wife and I got the ASOIAF bug again. This time the bug bit her harder than me. She read AKOTSK then started down the main series, finishing both AGOT and ACOK this year (2024). My wife is the only person I know that can match my knowledge in ASOIAF if not then she surpasses me by miles. Seeing her read the books brought me back to my years in High School and reminded me of why I read the series in the first place.
So finally (right in time for our wedding) I started reading A Feast For Crows
The Review:
Despite the woes I was told about AFFC early on, I was pleasantly surprised how invested I was. Maybe it was George’s prose or the fact that I started reading the series again, but I genuinely enjoyed this book. AFFC is definitely a reactionary book to the events of the prior 3 books. With many character reeling from the deaths and events from ASOS. I really enjoyed reading the many perspectives, especially Brienne, Jamie and Cersei’s. I found their actions and monologue interesting and appreciated that George gave us the time to sit with these character to really understand them. I will say that AFFC has more cliff hangers than payoff (unfortunate givens Winds is still not out) which gives it a lower rating than 5 stars. That being said I throughly enjoyed AFFC and found that reading all 1k pages was well worth it, especially as it reignited my passion.
Now that my Feast has ended it is time to Dance.