A Feast for Crows: A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones)

A Feast for Crows picks up where A Storm of Swords leaves off, and the events run concurrently with the next book, A Dance with Dragons. As usual with the Song of Ice and Fire books, George R.R. Martin’s great use of multiple POV’s weaves a grim tale set within the tumultuous lands of Westeros and Essos. No chapters for Jon, Tyrion, and Daenerys in this one. The story follows the points of view from Cersei, Brienne, Jamie, Sansa, Arya, Asha, Sam, Littlefinger, and more. Brienne of Tarth on her search for Sansa, and Arya’s voyage to Braavos to find the Many-Faced God are some of the best chapters here. Victarion Greyjoy, younger brother of Balon Greyjoy, and Lord Captain of the Iron Fleet, has been mentioned several times throughout the series. He makes his POV debut in A Feast for Crows, and reportedly has a POV in The Winds of Winter. I hope so. This is my favorite chapter, and I'm curious about his role in the next book. A Feast for Crows can be a slow-burn at times. It is a hefty book with 753 pages, appendixes included. But don’t worry, Martin’s masterful storytelling and character development will hook you in. Characters to get invested in, only to be killed off later, is part of the charm. You know it is coming, but it still shocks you when it happens. People say this is the worst book in the series, and I think they are out of their minds. But seriously, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I can see why, with everybody's favorite trio of Jon, Tyrion, and Daenerys, especially Tyrion for me, not leading the way. Brienne, Jamie, and Arya’s character arcs are some of the best in the entire series. All in all, a great book and a must-have for the diehard!

After finishing Book 3, Storm of Swords, I was emotionally drained. So much happens in such a short time to characters you care about. When I flipped through Book 4 to browse the chapter headings, I was worried. No Tyrion, no Danaerys, no Jon Snow, no Bran. That was troubling. But there are a number of reasons I ended up loving this installment. To start, I think the pace needed to slow down from the first three books. This is the lull before the storm that is clearly coming when Danaerys makes her way to Westeros. I think what Martin is trying to do is to show us the entire world he's created. Not just House Stark and Lannister and Targaeryon. I wouldn't want the story to come to completion without understanding as much of the world as I could. Of course, that only works if you find the characters he creates interesting and compelling. Obviously, a lot of reviewers (amateur and professional) didn't. But I did. I loved learning more about Dorne, getting to know Arianne and Prince Doran, getting more of the Iron Islanders, those sick, Drowned-God-loving lunatics. I was captivated by Arya's journey in Braavos, as well as Sam's odyssey and Brienne's. For some reason, I just enjoy the characters Martin creates--and he creates a lot of them. But each time I think, "Oh, no, not another new character," I become enthralled with their story. The thing about the people Martin creates is they don't always do what you'd like them to do, but they always do what their character demands. Some grow, and some don't. And I found the chapters from Cersei's point of view fantastic. I mean, holy cow, she's got some issues. And her comeuppance is sweet (although I keep suspecting, of course, that the Frog's prophesy is really about Danaerys and not Margaery). If you didn't enjoy reading the Cersei chapters, I don't know what to tell you. At the same time, I found Jaime's growth--and growing disaffection from Cersei--to be just as compelling. One other thing that I think Martin is trying to do in Book 4 is to show, after the vicarious thrills of battle depicted in the first three books, the true cost of war. The author was (I believe) a conscientious objector during Vietnam, and I think he's trying to sober us up a little bit to the realities of what this conflict has wrought throughout the realm. The slaughter of innocents during wartime is not a 20th-century innovation. Anyone who's read anything about the 100 Years' War can't help but pick up on the similarities (the rape, pillage, and burning; the roving bands of brigands threatening anyone in their path, even entire towns; the complete descent into lawlessness; the common people resorting to religious fanaticism, etc.). Some of Brienne's experiences on the road and the people she meets along the way beautifully illustrate that. Having said that, I can understand why so many people have dismissed this book. (If you look at the Amazon reviews for Books 1-3, they're about 95% five stars. Books 4 and 5 are split evenly between one, two, three, four, and five stars.) All I can say is that, if your expectation for Book 4 is another installment just like Book 3, this will disappoint you. As for me, even though some of my favorite characters from the first three books were absent, I still loved this book. I know we'll get back to Tyrion and Danaerys, etc., so I wasn't worried and just enjoyed the journey. Also, I appreciated the slowing down of the pace and learning a lot more about the history and mythology of Westeros and the east. As for the complaints that much of the narrative is unnecessary, I'm a little perplexed. If you didn't get that Dorne is going to play a huge role in the coming conflict, you need to reread those chapters. Same goes for Victarion Greyjoy. And no doubt Brienne and Jaime's relationship will play a crucial role as their paths are bound to intersect again. If you don't like reading all that detail, I guess you could just wait for season 4 of the HBO series. I plan on enjoying both, because even a TV series as great as Game of Thrones can't convey what the books can (and do). For me, I thoroughly enjoyed A Feast for Crows and can't wait to start A Dance with Dragons.

Minor Spoilers! AFFC is Martin's 4th book in his Ice and Fire series. Unlike the previous 3 books though, it is only half of one complete story. Martin split the 4th book in two due to length (the other half of the intended story is the 5th book A Dance With Dragons). Instead of just chopping the book in half though, Martin separates the stories geographically. This book primarily focuses on the action at King's Landing, The Iron Islands, Dorne as well as touching on the Eyrie, Braavos and the Riverlands. So if you are looking for any action from Jon Snow, Tyrion or Dany then your going to be disappointed. Jon appears briefly in the book, but their stories aren't furthered until the next book. Its hard to pin down exactly how this book continues the story that was left off with Storm of Swords. The War of the Five Kings is almost completed with Stannis the only rebel left at this point though his ability is limited due to his lack of numbers. This book is about the realm restoring itself after the war, or the lack of stability and goodwill following the war. The primary theme I would say its about is the failure of House Lannister in controlling the kingdom and finding out whats next as the real power players in the "game of thrones" begin to make their moves. The three primary storylines are: -King's Landing: With Joffrey and Tywin dead and Tyrion in exile, Queen Regent Cersei Lannister has become the self anointed defender of the realm and uses her surviving son Tommen as a puppet to allow herself to rule the kingdom. With her father and son dead and Tyrion gone, Cersei is finally the one running the kingdom as she feels is her birthright. But she isn't her father or her brother and despite her confidence in herself, her decisions begins to make more trouble in the realm. Out of jealously to the younger queen Margaery and forgetting her families role in saving King's Landing, Cersei begins to intentionally sabotage the relationship with the Tyrell's. She'll go to whatever lengths she can to hurt Highgarden's position at King's Landing, including trying to manipulate the High Septon and the Faith to her side. But despite Cersei's belief in herself, she isn't her father's true heir. -Dorne: We first met House Martell through Oberyn Martell aka The Red Viper, who came to King's Landing in SOS on his own personal mission to discover the truth about his sister's murder during Robert's Rebellion. With him dead now, factions in Dorne begin to lobby and attempt to manipulate Oberyn's elder brother Prince Doran to retaliate against the Lannister's, including his own daughter Princess Arianne. But Doran is not his brother and is much more calculating, it appears to everyone that he is going to bend the knee to the Lannister's but does everyone know what is really going on? -The Iron Islands: In the last book we found out that Lord Balon Greyjoy, self proclaimed King of the Iron Islands, was killed by falling off a bridge and his exiled brother Euron "Crow's Eye" Greyjoy showed up the next day and claimed his seat as King. The youngest Greyjoy brother, Priest Aeron "Damphair" Greyjoy, believes that his eldest surviving brother is unfit to be King and calls a Kingsmoot (a meeting where all the Iron Lords gather to decide their King) and decides to back his other elder brother Victarion for King. Victarian hates Euron because of what happened between them years ago and its the reason Euron was exiled. He doesn't have any intention of bending the knee to the brother who ruined his life. But Victarion isn't the only Greyjoy who intends to sit in the seastone chair either; Asha Greyjoy, Balon's (presumed) only surviving child believes herself to be the true heir to the Iron Islands and doesn't plan on backing down. Smaller storylines include: Jaime Lannister going to Rivverun and trying to tie up loose ends from the war while trying to maintain his promise to Lady Stark to not bring arms against House Stark or House Tully. Brienne of Tarth searching the Riverlands for Sansa Stark. Sansa herself hiding in the Eyrie under the false name of Alayne Stone while pretending to be Littlefinger's daughter. Sam Tarly leaving the wall and being sent to Oldtown to train to become the new Maester for the Night's Watch and Arya, now in Braavos and working as a servant for the Faceless Men. You have 13 different POV characters in this book (including one prologue character) and unlike Martin's last 3 book's that is one of the most frustrating things about the book. In the previous books you had one character for each part of the story (i.e- Catelyn was the POV character dealing with the Stark Army, Tyrion was in King's Landing, Jon Snow at The Wall, Davos for Stannis army etc.) but now you have so many different POV's for each story that you have a bunch of characters that only have 1-2 POV chapters, some of which you question why they even have chapters in the first place. This problem is especially notable with the story at Dorne. You've got 3 different POV characters; Princess Arianne Martell, Captain of the Guard Areo Hotah and Ser Arys Oakheart, a member of the Kingsguard.. Oakheart and Hotah only have 1 POV each and neither feels necessary to the story. Arianne has the only chapters where anything relevant happens, why not just put the minor information from those two characters chapters into hers? It also happens at the Iron Islands, though its not as irritating as in the Dorne story. You've got the Kingsmoot story from three different characters; Aeron, Victarion and Asha Greyjoy. After Aeron calls the Kingsmoot he ceases to be important to the story yet he gets more POV's than the other two. Asha probably doesn't even need her one POV chapter as everything you need to know about her comes from one of Victarion's chapters. Victarion is probably the only one of the three you really need. Its minor criticism but it can be a bit frustrating when you have to read a 20 page chapter from one character's perspective that feels like it amounts to nothing and then not have it expanded upon again for the rest of the story. Cersei has the most POV's with ten while Jaime and Brienne have the next most with seven each. Sam also has 5 and I think Sansa and Arya have 3-4 each. Everyone else has 1-2 chapters. Once everything gets going though it is still an entertaining read. Jaime's story in particular as he learns to adjust to life without a hand while still remaining the head of the Kingsguard is probably the best story in the book. Brienne's is probably the most frustrating. She was one of the most intriguing characters in the last two books, here she is given what feels like a pointless story as she wanders the Riverlands in vein looking for Sansa. It makes it even worse that we, the readers, know that she is looking in vein because we are reading Sansa's POV chapters and we know she is at the Eyrie. The only time something good happens is also the end of her story in this book, making things even more frustrating In the end it feels like a transitional story(or at least half of one). This story had to be written to get to a more important story. I feel like this is a set up to the final stories that concludes the series. But its Martin and its still a great and entertaining story, though its not as good as the first three books and its the only book in the series to not get 5 stars from me.

If you're new to the series and getting to the book for the first time, perhaps having started after seeing the HBO show, take a moment to consider how the previous book ended. Momentous events, some hopeful and some intensely tragic. A lot to take in, for both readers and characters. A Feast for Crows is a very different beast than A Storm of Swords, but this is all brought on by how A Storm of Swords ended. Several of the POVs are now dealing with the aftermath of what happened in the previous three books and the costs of all that action is now given time to sink in. I was actually quite disappointed when, following A Storm of Swords, we were told that the action would jump ahead five years between books 3 and 4. I felt it would not give readers the time to mourn the deaths and reflect on the events in the previous books since it would be "old history" for the characters when we next met them. Given this, I was very pleased to see that the jump ahead was abandoned and that we instead were allowed to follow along as the characters dealt with the events of the prior books. I also feel that GRRM's writing is at its most beautiful and poignant in many of the chapters in A Feast for Crows. Of course, some POVs don't appear at all in this book, and I do think that announcement should probably have been at the front of the book instead of at the end; it is frustrating to wait for a chapter that never shows up and not all readers have the benefit of Internet discussions to inform them in advance. So, do yourself a favour and don't turn page after page waiting for Dany, Jon and Tyrion. You'll see them in the next book. There are several new POVs, some fairly brief, but don't look at them as taking up room that your missing favourite could have had. Look at them as more opportunities of seeing new facets of the story. Its all a giant mosaic and all the pieces matter for the final image. That said, I think one really doesn't have to enjoy all POVs to enjoy the overall story; I definitely have my favourites as well as those that I rarely reread. This is, without a doubt, an even more character-driven book than the previous, but this change of tone and pace is something the series has been building towards, with chapters growing longer and more detailed over the previous books. Some readers are clearly disappointed with the change, but others (myself included) have embraced it. But I don't think it is surprising that a series that hooked readers by being different and defying expectations might lose some of them along the way by continuing to be different and continuing to defy expectations. That has nothing to do with a lack of quality, its all down to personal opinion. In my personal opinion, this was a wonderful read which clearly showed that GRRM is not just a master of shocking plot twists but also a master of characterisation.

A Feast for Crows is likely the most divisive part of the ongoing A Song of Ice and Fire series of books. In developing the sequel to the widely loved A Storm of Swords, George R.R. Martin realized that he wouldn't be able to do the five-year time skip he originally envisioned because there was just too much plot in this deep series. However, because he wanted the fourth book to be shorter than A Storm of Swords (which was the longest book yet, an accomplishment of its own given the door-stopper length of these books), the fourth book in the series would need to be split into two more: A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons. Each needed its own complete story, though, so George R.R. Martin decided to split the plot of the books on geographic location: A Feast for Crows would follow King's Landing and the Riverlands, while A Dance with Dragons would follow the North and across the sea in Essos. This meant that each book would have different point of view characters, and many of the fan favorites ended up in A Dance with Dragons, such as Tyrion, Danaerys, and Jon. However, although some of the fan favorite characters are missing, A Feast for Crows is still definitely an entry in this amazing series, and a worthy one at that. A Feast for Crows follows directly from the end of A Storm of Swords and follows many point of view characters on the south end of Westeros as the War of the Five Kings winds down. Cersei and Jaime are dealing with the loss of their father and taking care of the kingdom, Brienne is sent through the Riverlands to search for Sansa Stark, the Iron Islands lose their king and must find a new one, and Prince Doran in Dorne is also dealing with the loss of his brother in the events of the prior book while other machinations are occurring under his nose. With the expansion to Dorne and more detail in the Iron Islands, a large amount of new point of view characters are brought into play in those areas, though most take up only one or two chapters. Other recurring characters like Cersei and Brienne are now given their own chapters as well, further developing their characters. The plot moves forward in its own way, though it is apparent that this is a middle book. There are no big twists like previous books (the big death of the first book or the Red Wedding of the third), and the plot does often feel like build-up. However, those who enjoy the characters of the series will still enjoy their arcs over the course of the book, while the latter act of the book does build up to some thrilling final chapters that set up the forward progression of the series nicely. Where A Feast for Crow proves that it is still a worthy member of the series, even if not the best, is its characters: they are still deep and wonderfully written. A vast amount of characters exist in this book, but all of them are rich and believable, from point of view characters to side characters like Robert Arryn, Genna Lannister, or Septon Meribald. The point of view characters are well-developed, often in ways that give us new insight into their characters. For example, we get a better idea of Brienne's upbringing and life back home, and we finally learn what goes on in Cersei's head as she rules the kingdom. Cersei is a highlight of the book, not just because she has the most chapters, but because we learn a new perspective on her and learn why she is the way she is, but in a way that still takes care to keep her as unlikable as ever, if not more so. Character interactions and relationships are also still strong, especially the growth of Jaime and the way his relationship with Cersei develops, or breaks, over the course of the book. The deep characters are one of the series' greatest strengths, and that doesn't change here. Another of the series' strengths is strong writing and excellent world building, and both are here. A Feast for Crows continues to have well-written dialogue. Martin is a master at crafting wonderful monologues that hit hard and scenes that close out a chapter leaving us wanting more (only to have to wait until the next chapter from that character). The prose is great as well, whether it is describing drool-inducing meals, gorgeous fashion, or imaginative locations. The world of A Song of Ice and Fire is rich in a way that takes the best cues from Tolkien, but understands what it was that made Middle-earth such a beautiful setting without just cloning Middle-earth. We get new developments about Westerosi culture, from Dorne to the Iron Islands, and even a little bit across the Narrow Sea. This cultural development also continues the intelligent themes and motifs of the series while focusing on some new ones. A Feast for Crows delves into how a medieval society treats women and the roles it puts them, religion, the mystery of magic, and the ever-present politics in ruling a kingdom ("the game of thrones"). This is a hard book to rate and review, because many may still have different feelings. Mechanically, the pieces are still there, the characters and the world are still well developed in a truly Martin way. However, the absence of characters like Tyrion, Jon, and Danaerys and lack of or minimal progression on some of the overarching story lines of the series (such as the Wall or Danaerys' journey back to Westeros) may leave this book as "that one you have to get through" for some readers. However, those willing to wait for those characters, and take in this book as it is, will still find a book that is definitely a part of the series and well worth a read.

After reading the first 3 installments of "A Song of Ice and Fire," I didn't feel the need to write any reviews on Amazon. The story thus far had been compelling, creative, and the characters were brilliant. Then, I read AFFC and everything changed. While AFFC is not a bad book, it just leaves the readers wondering where the story is going and why Martin chose to focus on SO many unnamed characters. Obviously it doesn't take a genius to recognize the complexity of this story, the relationship between the characters, and so on. Still, do we need an entire chapter dedicated the Prince of Dorn's daughter locked in a tower? Up until this 4th installment no one had given a second thought to these characters and seldom remembered references made of these them in ASOS. AFFC is also loaded with words and words of meaningless description and babble. It's not the longest book in the series, although it definitely has that feel. Now, I just ripped the book apart and you're wondering why I gave the book 3 stars? As a reader, you still have to keep in perspective that this is the middle of the story (along with Dance of Dragons, which I haven't read yet) and until the story is complete it's difficult to accurately assess the significance of these unnammed POVs. Aside from the unnamed POV chapters, the primary characters of Cersie, Jamie, Arya, and Sansa are overall good reads. I know some people complained that Cersie dominated the book, but I thoroughly enjoyed her chapters. Cersie is the ultimate antagonist of the series. She's conniving, self consumed, and paranoid and will stop at nothing to ensure the her son's reign and her emergence as queen. We knew all of this from the start of the series and so it's only natural that GRRM gave her so much attention in this book. Having read the previous installments, I frequently wondered why Cersie did not have POV chapters. Jamie's perspectives add much needed levity to the story, as he's now coping with being the most feared and loathed knight in Westeros... with only one hand. He also grows and matures through the story, as he realizes his non-worth as a warrior and more importantly to his "sweet sister," which leaves him to make an uncharacteristic decision at the close of his POV. Arya has the coolest POV chapters as she an apprentice at the Guild of Faceless Men, which she has been led to after her encounter with Jaqen H'ghar. Most of her chapters focus on her taking on a new identify as Cat of the Canals (be warned when you see that POV chapter name), as she learns how to lie and attempts to change her face. You get the sense that GRRM is setting up something mystical for Arya by the way her POV ends. Sansa has some interesting POV chapters. She resides at the Vale as Little Finger's captive "natural daughter," going by the name Alayne through most of the book to hide her identity from King's Landing. Through Alayne POV you get the sense that Little Finger is rising up to power and sometimes you even feel like he's going to end up taking over the whole kingdom ;-) Still, there's too much focus on the needy little lord Robert Arryn and Alayne's struggles to function as his mother-figure. Then there's Brienne... I don't know where to start, but I'll keep it very simple. Her character is roaming aimlessly in search for Sansa Stark on the oath she swore to Cat Stark. You as the reader know exactly where Sansa is being held, but Brienne is never on the right path and it's downright frustrating at times. However, her characters gets a fair amount of action and her POV has an eerie ending. The Ironmen chapters are the exception to the unnamed POVs, as they focus on the birth of a new leader Euron Greyjoy, also known as "The Crow's Eye." Euron is the younger brother of Balon Greyjoy who dies at the beginning of the book. The Crow's Eye is feared by his ironmen, siblings, but wins their liege by promising them reign over entire kingdom and convinces them to follow him in search of dragons. You get a strong sense of doom awaiting Dany in the upcoming book. Overall, you have to take AFFC for what's it's worth. It's the middle of the story. There are no big battles and no main character gets beheaded. The focal aforementioned characters have interesting POVs that are developing quite nicely and The Crow's Eye is definitely a great villain. However, it's extremely difficult getting past the some of the unnamed POV chapters and the fact that none of the main character chapters get resolved. Hopefully GRRM doesn't take 5 years to release the next installment after A Dance with Dragons, as I fear some fans may lose interest.

Expectations were without a doubt going to be high coming off of what many people (including myself) considered to be the best novel in the series: A Storm of Swords. Perhaps the expectations were impossibly high. Too high for any author to meet, including George Martin. With some of the decisions that Martin had to make for this book to come out at all, there was likely to be some vocal backlash from certain fans. (In an attempt to not regurgitate a summary of A Feast for Crows, which many of people have already done. I will focus on how the novel compares to previous books, and try and quell reader's fears.) The problem proved to be what most people predicted at the end of A Storm of Swords: the series got too damn big. Although there are many fantasy series out there with more books in them. I mean look at Robert Jordan, his novels have managed to span fourteen volumes, not including the prequel novel, and a companion book. I'm pretty certain that he is in large part the reason for deforestation. Not to mention the likes of Piers Anthony (whom I am very fond of) and select other authors who don't seem to understand the word "ending". However, unlike many other fantasy authors that seem to fill half of the novels with mere bloating tactics, while their ongoing plot arches are paper-thin and miles wide. Martin develops A Song of Ice and Fire, with a scope that is unmatched by any author. If you want depth, you're looking at the Mariana trench of fantasy sagas. It is safe to say that A Song of Ice and Fire didn't just raise fantasy's literary bar, it became the standard for which everyone else must try and match. With A Feast for Crows, Martin found himself faced with the insurmountable odds of tying in characters and story lines, which after half a decade of buildup, ended up with him cutting it in half. The unfinished storylines and their characters were simply held off until the next book in the series, A Dance with Dragons. Feast's length is closer to that of A Game of Thrones than Storm, which might make some people disappointed after such a long wait. But I think it was a better choice for the story - or to put it more aptly, this installment of the story. Considering that Feast was originally supposed to be two times longer, its most impressive quality is that it flows so smoothly together, and how concise the narrative remains. As the story opens, the reader is introduced with a flurry of new characters (a necessary device, considering that most of the characters from the first three novels are now dead), some minor characters are now prominent figures, and several chapters that detail the relative calm across the land following the calamity of war. The best part, for me anyways, is that some of the new point of view characters recap key plots that may have slipped many readers' minds over the series. Some readers might be disappointed that we don't see much of the bloody and violent action of previous volumes in Feast. There is a lot of exposition, as Martin has to bring us up speed on not only characters we remember, but also on the new ones he's introducing. Martin obviously has a skill for worldcraft with compelling storytelling that remains virtually unchallenged in fantasy, but it also comes with, what many consider a down side. Many of the characters have lengthy discussions of politics, both present and historical. Like I said, many people believe this to be the worst part of the book. However, I felt that it was the most interesting. There is something to be said for the level of painstaking detail of history that Martin placed into his novel. If A Feast for Crows is only a transitional volume in this gigantic saga, it is still a story told with as much passion and humanity as Martin has brought to any previous volume. And it adds much detail and texture to an already rich and layered world. The choices of what to cut and what to hold back obviously were not easy ones, considering the book's long and frustrating gestation. But readers who have managed to avoid building up unrealistic expectations will find that Martin has brought his story to a necessary, believable, and appropriate pass. In the aftermath of catastrophic war, in the endless, vain and violent quest for power and more power, no matter whose banners are flying at the end of the day, there are no real winners. Except the crows. Five Stars P.S. I know that many people have written about how you could skip the Cersei chapters. DO NOT DO SO!!! You would be doing yourself a great disservice. She is without a doubt the most interesting character in this particular novel.

It goes without saying that A Feast for Crows is possibly the most controversial book in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Five years in the making, it followed A Storm of Swords, arguably the best book in the series and certainly the most eventful. Absent are fan-favorite characters Dany, Jon and Tyrion (well, almost absent - Jon Snow does put in an appearance early in the book, and Tyrion does appear as a monster in a dream). Absent too are the huge earth-shattering events of the previous three volumes. When Martin finished A Storm of Swords, he intended there to be a five year gap in the story before the opening of what was then considered to be the next volume, A Dance with Dragons. However, after writing a big chunk of the next novel, Martin found that the five year gap was untenable from a storytelling perspective. He discovered that he had to recount many of the events from the gap in flashback, which was slowing the main story thrust of the novel. He decided to step back and write a book that covered that five year gap. However, the book soon grew out of control, and ultimately he decided to split the book in two volumes -- A Feast for Crows and a new incarnation of A Dance With Dragons. At the heart of Martin's problem was something he came to call the "Mereneese Knot." I won't get into the story specifics (although I will say that I interviewed him about the knot, among other things, in episode 149 of Television Zombies), but that huge writing problem meant that certain characters could not appear in volume four of the novel until it was resolved. So he took all of the events that took place in the south and wrapped them into A Feast for Crows, and took all the events in the North and across the Narrow Sea and put them into A Dance With Dragons. The problem is, and this is pure conjecture on my part, that the POV chapters set in the south were originally intended to be supporting stories - not at all the main plot of the novel. And my guess is that since there wasn't enough there, he padded the book out with POV's taking place in Dorne and the Iron Islands, POV's that likely wouldn't have happened if the split had not occurred. This is not to say that the non-named POV chapters don't have merit, or important things don't happen in them, it's just that they could have been explained in brief exposition and not taken up half a book. A Feast for Crows, I believe, was a stopgap intended to placate readers while he wrestled with A Dance With Dragons. However, that said, A Feast for Crows is still a damned good book. It centers on the Lannister twins -- Jamie and Cersei -- and the different paths they take. Jaime, determined to write his own story in the Kingsguard's White Book the way that he would want to be remembered struggles to find honor and redemption, while Cersei desperately tries to retain her grasp on power in Kings Landing. Both arcs are surprisingly satisfying -- I thought Jaime was one of the most compelling characters in A Storm of Swords, and he really stands out as the hero of A Feast for Crows. Is Jaime a bad man trying to be good, or a good man who did bad things? It's hard to say, but I very much like where his journey takes him. Cersei, on the other hand, finally plays her cards -- the audience has never been aligned with her POV, and once we are, her take on events becomes, maybe not surprising, but not necessarily as expected. Unintended consequences have long been a theme of A Song of Ice and Fire, and nowhere is that more apparent than in Cersei's arc in Kings Landing. Supporting the Jaime and Cersei POV chapters are chapters featuring Brienne, Sam, Arya and Sansa. All interesting -- particularly Arya's two brief chapters -- though mostly padding. The chapters set in Dorne and the Iron Islands help to move playing pieces into position on the board, but are not as compelling as the named chapters (though I will say I liked getting more of an insight into those two settings). If viewed as a direct sequel to A Storm of Swords, then A Feast for Crows is nothing short of a massive disappointment. But if viewed as an epilogue to A Storm of Swords and as a prologue to A Dance With Dragons, A Feast for Crows is not without merit. Few fantasy novelists have taken the time to show the impact of war on regular people -- and Martin definitely spends a great deal of A Feast for Crows doing just that. It is a bleak novel, featuring a cast of characters who all feel left behind by their friends, family and loved ones. People who are trying to pick up the pieces after having lost everything. Longtime readers of Martin's work will see glimpses of some of his darker novels and short stories here -- yes, A Song of Ice and Fire is still pretty upbeat compared to a lot of Martin's older work (see Dying of the Light, for instance). Unfortunately, most of the chapters are unnecessary, and it is the weakest volume in the series to date. But the weakest volume in a great series is still pretty great, all things considered. Just make sure you go into the book knowing what to expect and enjoy it for what it is. And with A Dance with Dragons just around the corner, you don't have to go on thinking that A Feast for Crows might be where everything ends.