A Dance with Dragons
Ratings1,059
Average rating4.2
Love the writing, though the distance between major events keeps increasing rather than the opposite! Further, the endless introduction of new POV characters is getting excessive, to my taste. Look forward to next instalment...
Compared to the first three this was slow. This like all the books are written well but I thought some if the distributions were a little long winded at times. In true Martin fashion the reader is left with many cliff hangers for some favorite characters and even not so favorite characters which has left me anxious for the next book. I was thinking how I should have took notes on each character so I remember everything clearly when the next book finally is released.
Le cinquième tome tant attendu de la saga de George R.R. Martin, et dernier tome publié à ce jour. Après A Feast for Crows qui m'a un peu laissé sur sa faim, celui-ci m'avait beaucoup plu.
A Dance With Dragons George R. R. Martin Song of Ice and Fire, #5 ( 3.5 / 1-5 stars ) This companion to A Feast for Crows tells the contemporaneous stories of the other characters - the ones who just didn't fit into that massive volume. I've never been that excited about A Song of Ice and Fire. I think George R. R. Martin is a terrific writer, but this series leans far too heavily toward the political for my taste. As with Katherine Kurtz' later Deryni books, it sometimes loses track of the fact that politics and pageantry are decorations for the story, not the story itself. Song stays just on the right side of that line by offering lots and lots of interesting characters, and telling us enough about them as people to keep us going. It also enthusiastically embraces reality by killing and hurting people as needed for the story, rather than going for the usual happy fantasy ending. I find that Song doesn't make the most of what Martin does best, which is to deal with human relationships. They're in here, and they're generally well-handled, but there are simply too many of them. The books are too large and too complex to really get a handle on, and the location and point-of-view changes too frequent to really get caught up. I like to re-read prequels before launching into the latest book in a series. Here, I didn't have that option, and I probably also just don't have time to re-read the previous 4,000 pages. Since it had been almost 8 years since I read Storm, I didn't remember details that well. That problem was compounded by having seen parts of the HBO series, which in part helped me remember, in part confused my memory by changing or omitting elements. The result was that it took me almost half the book before I felt I'd found my footing and remembered the essential details about most of the characters. A lot of the color, however, and much of the genealogy didn't come back, and I didn't have the patience to read through the hundred pages of family trees in the appendix. All that said, this book carries the story forward, continues to deal largely with interesting, human characters, and jumps nimbly from setting to setting. I had some qualms about how both Jon Snow and Daenerys were handled, with some of it seeming a bit out of character, but most was well done. That same setting jumping, though, stood in the way of Martin's writing strengths. The chapters are too short to make much progress in character development before they're interrupted by the needs of another character somewhere else. When we at last come back to the first viewpoint, it takes time to re-establish our empathy and interest. Finally, the editing is good, but imperfect. What is it with talented writers and vocabulary these days? Martin makes the same misuse of 'whence' as Robin Hobb recently did (to indicate a destination, rather than an origin), and he misuses 'anon' from time to time. Both are experienced fantasy writers, so I don't quite know what to make of it. Carelessness, perhaps. All in all, a solid continuation of the Song of Ice and Fire series, and a must for its fans. I hope it's obvious that newcomers should not start here. If you like dense, well-written political fantasy, this is the series for you. If you're looking for a fun quest with magic swords and dragons, look elsewhere (though the book has both of those items as well). by Metaphorosis Reviews
Net zoals A Feast For Crows vond ik ook deze net iets minder dan de eerste drie.
Natuurlijk wel nog steeds een heel goed boek, hoewel ik er wel ongeveer 4 maand over gedaan heb om hem effectief uit te krijgen.
Pagina's 200-600 of zo waren een beetje moeilijk om te doorworstelen, maar daarna wordt het wel weer wat vlotter leesbaar vind ik.
I have to admit I feel a bit deflated after finishing this book. I think this is one of the best fantasy series possibly ever, and while I am sure I will choose to finish the series, the longer this novel went on the more I had the feeling that there is no way this series can end in a way that won't leave me feeling unsatisfied. I don't necessarily need a “happily-ever-after” type ending, but the feeling that the characters were given their due - that the story came to the resolution that was inevitable - that the ending fit the rest of the tale - these are the things I need. Martin just has SO much going on, and things are heading in such a tragic direction, that I'm having a hard time forseeing how it can possibly feel complete or satisfying in the few novels left to the series.
That said, this was, as usual, an excellent and engrossing read. Getting lost in Westeros is still one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon, and if you are a fantasy lover who hasn't jumped into this world, it's time to start.
I want to say that I really enjoyed this book, but I don't know that it really lived up to all my hopes and expectations. Perhaps it is because I had to wait for this book, but for some reason the characters felt a bit... off. I mentioned in my review of the fourth book that several of the main characters were left out, and their stories weren't continued until the fifth installment. After the bang-boom-wow ending of the third book their absence was annoying, but understandable in the context of needing to seed ideas for upcoming events in the story. So it is, I think, understandable that I was more than a little excited to have these characters re-introduced to the story. And I did enjoy reading about them again. But for some reason they all felt a little different than they did before. A little less sharp, a little less witty. The first three books were so great because the characters all felt so smart - perceptive and scheming, with plots inside plots that were as difficult for the reader to figure out as it was for the characters. Perhaps it is just because we have been with the characters longer, and have a better understanding of their motives, or perhaps it is because previous events have (understandably) changed their demeanor, but for some reason the characters and events that transpired in A Dance with Dragons feel a bit more plain than those in the previous novels. Which doesn't mean I didn't enjoy this romp through Westeros - the enormity of this story and the craftsmanship of the writing can't be ignored, and there were certainly moments that will be considered highlights of the story as a whole (yay dragons!) - but I just wasn't as thrilled with this portion of the story as I wanted to be. I suppose it really just felt too much like set-up and posturing for events yet to come. But I think a lot of these upcoming events will be very interesting. Which means that while this may not have been my favorite installment of the series, I am very much looking forward to reading the forthcoming The Winds of Winter. If, you know, it ever gets finished.
Finally! Some characters changed from the previous books and creates great clifhangers for the next one.
My watch for The Winds of Winter begins.
After months of reading this book I have finally finished. And I was not impressed. To many new characters and it just did not seem to progress in the 900+ pages. I guess when you kill off most of the main characters in earlier books they need to be replaced. The new characters were just not that interesting and I really did not have the same connecion. I also did not like the chapters having different names rather than the main character. I have enjoyed the first 4 books but this one was more of a chore than a pleasure. Hopefully it will improve in volume
After months of reading this book I have finally finished. And I was not impressed. To many new characters and it just did not seem to progress in the 900+ pages. I guess when you kill off most of the main characters in earlier books they need to be replaced. The new characters were just not that interesting and I really did not have the same connecion. I also did not like the chapters having different names rather than the main character. I have enjoyed the first 4 books but this one was more of a chore than a pleasure. Hopefully it will improve in volume
I can see why this book is so hard to rate. I was happy to be following some of my favourite characters again (ie: Jon Snow & Tyrion), but on the other hand, their stories don't really go anywhere. A lot happens, but not anything that propels the story as whole any further than it was back in book 4. I was really interested in where Bran's story was headed, but then it suddenly seemed to cut off and we are still left wondering how he is connected to things happening in the North. I feel like this book is on the same level as A Clash of Kings, where most of it is spent setting everyone up in position for bigger things to come and we won't see the outcome until the next couple of books. I always felt like A Clash of Kings was a series of events that didn't go anywhere, but the payoff was in A Storm of Swords. Not having A Clash of Kings type setup would have made A Storm of Swords much weaker on its own. I think A Dance with Dragons is the same, where everyone seems to be lining up in place for events to come, but we won't see the payoff until Winds of Winter. Best part of this book was probably the end where winter is finally officially heralded and Martin punches us in the gut with yet another death that makes you want to just chuck the book altogether. Overall I still enjoyed much of it and look forward to seeing the payoff in the next couple of books.
Executive Summary: A better entry in the series than [b:A Feast for Crows 13497 A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4) George R.R. Martin http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358261107s/13497.jpg 1019062], but for me that was almost guaranteed because that book was severely lacking in chapters with Jon and Tyrion. This book has a few slow points, but was highly enjoyable otherwise.Full ReviewI'd give this book one of two subtitles: “I want to marry Daenerys Targaryen” or possibly “You know nothing Jon Snow”. I really got tired of the latter. It's apparently become his mantra. I don't think a single Jon chapter went by without the phrase.This book, like the last book suffers from too many character POVs in my opinion. I found myself stopping the book for the night, or just getting annoyed when I finished a chapter to find some random minor character having a turn for a chapter.As the book progressed these chapters became more important/less annoying, but I hope with [b:The Winds of Winter 12111823 The Winds of Winter (A Song of Ice and Fire, #6) George R.R. Martin http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nocover/60x80.png 6570035] he finds a way to tighten this back up as he merges the POVs from this with [b:A Feast for Crows 13497 A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4) George R.R. Martin http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358261107s/13497.jpg 1019062] (which also had too many POVs in my opinion).The big thing this book had going for it compared to the last was the return of some of the characters I enjoy the most. I think the last one would have been a lot better if he had simply told less story in it, and kept all the characters, but that's just me.I was also disappointed that Bram only got a few chapters and his story barely moved at all. He seems to do this with Arya a lot as well, which makes her chapters all the better when they do come up. I was happy to find she had a few in this book near the end as well. In Bram's case however, I feel like nothing seems to happen.Some of the Southern characters do make a return around the 70% mark, which was a bit sooner than I hoped/expected but given it's length compared to Feast, I suppose that's about right.Overall despite a slow point where Mr. Martin chained together a string of chapters with all minor character POVs, I enjoyed this book a lot.Now I'm stuck waiting like everyone else what will probably be another 5 years or so before seeing the next entry. I just hope he finishes the story before he kicks it, because I'm not very optimistic at this point.
If you don't want to be spoiled on Game of Thrones on HBO, you probably need to read the books. Book 3 is still my favorite, 4 least favorite. #5 is somewhere in the middle. Don't want to spoil anything, but to say it follows a lot of my favorite characters.
GRRM knows how to do a few things well; build characters that you care about, kill those characters and to drag unrelated characters into the mix to break up the tension. It creates a kind of jerky narrative at times that really feels like it was made for TV.
TYRION IS IN TROUBLE, HOW WILL HE EVER COPE?
Cut to commercial.
Jon Snow takes his glove off and clenches his sword hand.
It keeps you reading, at least.
This was a hell of a slog, and I'm not really sure it was worth it.
I loved this series a lot. I read the first three twice and bought them for a few friends as well. But this one just had me wishing it would end so I could start reading something that I might enjoy. I stopped caring. The only bit that I really enjoyed was in the epilogue, but it was a hard slog to get to that part. I'm not sure I even want to carry on with the story to be quite honest. If I do, it'll be because the Arya thread is interesting, but speed it up for God's sake!
2 stars
It's been six years since I read books 1 through 4 of this series and a couple years ago HBO began what has turned out to be a popular show based on them (called Game of Thrones). I saw season one of the show (on Swedish TV) and that just fanned the flames for me to get back into this series. I put aside another book I was in the midst of to get into this one. Martin is a fine writer and his story draws you in completely. I was happy to see some favorite characters show up again. Not much in the way of plot resolution in this book – two more are due to finish it off. But I was fascinated by where things were going. Winter has finally come. Jon is very busy juggling issues at the Wall. Tyrion's abroad getting into more trouble. Dany's dragons are growing large and very dangerous. This series is just so much fun. Hopefully it won't be a six-year wait until book six: The Winds of Winter.
My least favorite of the series by far, but still pretty awesome. The first half suffers from the geography split with Book 4, but it picks up again about half way through as characters rejoin
While much more satisfying than Book 4, I am now faced with waiting at least half a decade before any of these new cliffhangers are resolved.
On the whole, I think this one felt a little more complete than the last book, tying together plot lines, destroying red herrings, and carrying out the slow reveals that Martin excels in. This does not excuse him leaving Sansa out for the whole book while giving at least a token chapter to all the other Feast for Crows viewpoints.
After what happened to Cat, I am hesitant to believe Jon Snow is dead. In Martin's world, major characters don't seem to stay dead unless someone they love is there to watch, witness, and mourn. The deaths have to hurt. Also, while I recognize Jon as a vital character and would love to seem him take down Bolton, his point of view is one of the harder ones to slog through. Also difficult to deal with are characters like Victarion, Quentyn, and Griff, characters who seem to be there to move the story along but with whom Martin doesn't really develop that emotional character/reader bond he does with others. I hope the next book has fewer, for lack of a better word "NPC" characters and more time with "stars."Because I'm sure I will forget half the book before the next one comes out, I'm going to make notes on the questions I have at the end/plot lines I'm most anxious to see resolved.-Asha and Theon's reunion. WTF happened in Bolton's camp? Stannis' death is another thing I'm led to doubt.-Who is Melisandre, really. This book built more and more sympathy for her, and I'd love her POV to be more fully explored.-Varys has been plotting with young Aegon the whole time? Must know more!-When the frak is Dany getting to Westeros.-Tyrion's plot line didn't leave me in dire concern for his safety, but I just want more of him. Possibly hanging out with Dothraki.-Likewise on Arya, though I don't see how she'd meet up with Dothraki. Then again, GRRM works in mysterious ways.-Why the frak does Bran disappear halfway in never to return? I want to know more about his spooky powers. -What is Brienne doing with Jaimie? I really don't think she has it in him to send him to slaughter, but we still don't know the word she screamed to save her life at the end of FfC.
Part of me is a bit relieved to be caught up with the series. It's wonderfully convoluted which makes for long hours slogging through feasts and battles and council meetings to get at the meat of the characters I'm so in love with. Reading it feels like a mental cardio exercise, pushing to a goal that is as yet hidden.
I have non-fiction library books to read. Non-fiction sometimes takes a while, especially when, though the topic be interesting, the writing isn't very good.
BUT I CAN'T. I MUST READ THIS. AND THEN WHEN I AM DONE I SHALL SIMPLY PERISH UNTIL THE NEXT ONE COMES OUT. GAH!!
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I've barely managed to go on. I HAVE, but it's all so tragic. I don't think I can make it till the next book. MUST HAVE NOOOWWWWW!! weeps and wails and gnashes teeth
Wow! I'm done and already looking forward to the next book. A bit worried about the withdrawal syndrome after 2 months of immersion in lives of all those characters. What an amazing read!
I think I should have re-read the entire series before I read this book. I have forgotten many details. However [a:George R.R. Martin 346732 George R.R. Martin http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1195658637p2/346732.jpg] again has surprised me. I gasped out loud at a couple of events. I just hope that we get the next book faster than we did this one.