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A review by sandralam
A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
4.0
**NOTE: This review was based on the fact that I read A Feast for Crows and book five (A Dance with Dragons) simultaneously as one giant megabook, following the reader–friendly combined reading order found here [X]. By doing so, everything was kept in the order that George R.R. Martin intended.
Due to publishing reasons, GRRM had to split the plot into 2 books. Both books cover the same time period but the characters are split up so that most of the people who appear in Feast don’t show up in Dance and vice versa.
I totally suggest reading the books this way for a first time reader (if you don't mind switching between the 2 books) because the events are WAY easier to understand whereas if you read them separately you'd have to follow half the characters to (nearly) the end of the story, then go back to the starting line with the other half of the characters.
Also, the combined reading order doesn't give away any spoilers so it's basically the same as reading the first 3 books, the only difference is that you'd need to switch books from time to time.
For readers who've already read both books, there's a spoilers-filled combined reading version here [X]
I would definitely recommend reading it this way because there's a good balance between major and minor characters so that you're not entirely bored from reading only minor characters in A Feast for Crows. For this review, I tried to focus only on the events that occurred in A Feast for Crows.
My Thoughts:
1. I'm really glad that I had decided to read this book with book five or else I would have been so confused reading this book by itself. The plotline in this book was mostly told from the characters in Westeros, so anything that happens in Essos is all hearsay and so you're always left wondering whether anything that was said about Daenerys or Tyrion is true.
2. The pacing in this book was very inconsistent. There were times when I would finished a really exciting and heart racing chapter only to have the next be very dull and boring. This was one of the reasons why it took me so long to finish.
3. Once again, don't go into this book thinking everything is going to be as you predicted. GRRM doesn't disappoint when it comes to unexpected twists and shocking revelations.
4. The amount of development in Cersei and Jaime's characters were phenomenal; it was so interesting to see how both siblings, who were once very alike, change into completely different people. Cersei is definitely one of those characters who you "love-to-hate"; as much as I hated her, I couldn't get enough of her chapters.
5. I really enjoyed how the author added new POVs from characters you totally don't expect to read from. It gave me a break of reading from the main cast and into the minds of the people who are more involved "behind the scenes".
6. I wished GRRM had published this book where the timeline of events were formatted similar to the previous books. After being accustomed to the format in the first three books, the timeline of events in book four definitely throws you off.
7. GAHH! SO MANY CLIFFHANGERS AT THE END!! I can't believe that I have to wait till 2015 to find out what happens next.
Due to publishing reasons, GRRM had to split the plot into 2 books. Both books cover the same time period but the characters are split up so that most of the people who appear in Feast don’t show up in Dance and vice versa.
I totally suggest reading the books this way for a first time reader (if you don't mind switching between the 2 books) because the events are WAY easier to understand whereas if you read them separately you'd have to follow half the characters to (nearly) the end of the story, then go back to the starting line with the other half of the characters.
Also, the combined reading order doesn't give away any spoilers so it's basically the same as reading the first 3 books, the only difference is that you'd need to switch books from time to time.
For readers who've already read both books, there's a spoilers-filled combined reading version here [X]
I would definitely recommend reading it this way because there's a good balance between major and minor characters so that you're not entirely bored from reading only minor characters in A Feast for Crows. For this review, I tried to focus only on the events that occurred in A Feast for Crows.
My Thoughts:
1. I'm really glad that I had decided to read this book with book five or else I would have been so confused reading this book by itself. The plotline in this book was mostly told from the characters in Westeros, so anything that happens in Essos is all hearsay and so you're always left wondering whether anything that was said about Daenerys or Tyrion is true.
2. The pacing in this book was very inconsistent. There were times when I would finished a really exciting and heart racing chapter only to have the next be very dull and boring. This was one of the reasons why it took me so long to finish.
3. Once again, don't go into this book thinking everything is going to be as you predicted. GRRM doesn't disappoint when it comes to unexpected twists and shocking revelations.
4. The amount of development in Cersei and Jaime's characters were phenomenal; it was so interesting to see how both siblings, who were once very alike, change into completely different people. Cersei is definitely one of those characters who you "love-to-hate"; as much as I hated her, I couldn't get enough of her chapters.
5. I really enjoyed how the author added new POVs from characters you totally don't expect to read from. It gave me a break of reading from the main cast and into the minds of the people who are more involved "behind the scenes".
6. I wished GRRM had published this book where the timeline of events were formatted similar to the previous books. After being accustomed to the format in the first three books, the timeline of events in book four definitely throws you off.
7. GAHH! SO MANY CLIFFHANGERS AT THE END!! I can't believe that I have to wait till 2015 to find out what happens next.