A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin

I know that right now there are hundreds if not thousands of reviews online for this book. It is one of the most highly anticipated books in fantasy for a very long time. Fans of the series have been waiting for years for it to come out, some so eager for it that they were sending death threats to the author because it wasn't completed yet. These people are not rational creatures, obviously, as that is counterproductive to their desires, but they are definitely fanatics.

I admit that when I first learned of the major reason for the delay of this book, I was a bit miffed. But the HBO show based on the Song of Fire and Ice series, "Game of Thrones" is so wonderfully produced, casted, and adapted that I have forgiven Martin for the delay in the release of this volume of the series. If you haven't read the series or watched the tv show, I highly recommend both. A warning, the tv show is definitely not family friendly viewing.

Martin took a unique approach with this book in the series. It and the previous volume, A Feast for Crows, were suppose to be a single volume, but they were split in two when the size of the tome became unwieldy. Instead of splitting the story strictly by chronological events, Martin split them along character lines. For example, in A Feast for Crows we see the events happening to Sansa Stark, while in A Dance with Dragons we follow Arya Stark's life. The first half of the book takes place at the same time as A Feast for Crows, at just over half way we pass beyond the last events in Feast and move forward in the time line.

As always, Martin's writing was gripping and the turn of events continually surprise. This volume reunited me with some of my favorite characters that I had missed in the last book, Tyrion and Arya for example. We see the head of the Manderly family in a completely new light, and see how the Frey's try to spin the "Red Wedding". I couldn't put the book down, and I would like to say that I loved it. However, I fell just short of loving it. The wonderful, and frustrating thing, about Martin is how he leaves you guessing and only answers a very few questions at a time. I've been waiting so long for this book that the ending left me awestruck and wanting more, yet I felt a lack of satisfaction at the same time. I think the biggest frustration is that I have no idea when the next volume will be out and I will have my answers. The next book is going to be the resolution of the storyline, maybe this is where my dissatisfaction originates. From knowing the answers are so close, yet so far away.

Happy reading all.

A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin

This is book number four in George R. R. Martin's "The Song of Fire and Ice" series. I know several people that read this before me, they all warned me that it is a much slower read than the previous volumes in the series, much like books five and six of the "Wheel of Time" series. They attributed this slowness to the absence of their favorite characters. I did not start to feel this until about the last 200 pages of the book, but I did feel the aforementioned slowing in the pace of the story. Maybe I didn't feel it earlier, because I had been forewarned about the characters that were missing and so did not expect them to make an appearance.

Don't get me wrong, the story is still engaging and the action never stops. However, it's difficult for readers to maintain their pace when well-loved characters such as Tyrion and Daenarys are not seen at all, and Jon Snow barely makes a blip on the story's radar. There are a few new characters introduced, and they are interesting in their own right but I have not bonded with them as of yet. If the new characters had appeared in the story before, it was usually through passing mention in a conversation. One of the great, and frustrating, things about Martin is that you can't predict who will be an important character and who will become a side note or disappear all together.

I am aware that this occurred because the story was becoming so massive that Martin had to split the book in two, in order to make it possible to publish and sell for a reasonable amount of money (and to avoid it being so large that it threw out the readers' backs). Thankfully, as I said in my A Storm of Swords post, the other half of this story will be available in July.

Despite the fact that some of my favorite characters are absent, there is a lot of story progression. Jaime Lannister continues to develop as a character and become more likable (at least to me). Cersei continues to be, well, Cersei. Tommen, the King, continues to be a charming boy of 8, sheltered from the realities of ruling a kingdom, and his mother's scheming. Things on the Wall are dire, yet there is hope as well. John sends Sam Tarly away to become a Maegster. So many threads on the web of this story.

So many things to tie up before the end. There is suppose to be just one more book after A Dance with Dragons, but I'm not sure that will be possible.

A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin

Once again I am blown away by this series. The further I get into the series, the harder it becomes to write a review. I don't want to commit the cardinal sin of spoiling plots twists or become too repetitive in my praise.

The characters and plots are as rich and varied as ever in this volume. Sadly, some of the characters I loved have shunned this mortal coil by the end of the book. Happily some of the villains have also lost their lives. Some that were once thought to be good are no longer seen so, while those once though evil have made amends or at least have begun to do so.

One thing that can be said for Martin, he does not believe in script immunity. Many characters that would be considered safe from an early death are lost. This definitely keeps you guessing about what is coming next. These books are continually surprising you, even if you are extremely well read in the fantasy genre.

That being said, and with my knowledge of his love of surprising the audience, the end of this book completely shocked me. I was bowled over. I think it surprised me more than the ending of The Sixth Sense did the first time I saw it. I have already begun reading A Feast for Crows, it's only appropriate as it's World Book Day.

Even better, George R. R. Martin announced the release date of the next volume in the series, A Dance with Dragons. I'm so excited!

A Clash of Kings Review

A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin is the sequel to A Game of Thrones, which I reviewed here, and recently reread. I decided to reread the "A Song of Fire and Ice" series because of the upcoming HBO series of the first book. I wanted to reread it to regain familiarity with the story and characters, and because it's a great series.

As a sequel Clash of Kings does not disappoint, the characters and the action are as rich as in the first volume. All of the characters, well most of them, return to this book. The pace does not slow in comparison to the first book, if anything, the pace of events escalates. The characters are as rich, realistic, and varied as in the first volume. I enjoyed this book as much, if not more than the first. I strongly recommend this book, and the series.

From this point on I'll be going into more detail about Clash of Kings, this will include some spoilers for major plot points in the first book. If you haven't read the first book, and do not wish to know the fates of some of the characters and resolutions of some of the events, please stop here.

GAME OF THRONES SPOILER ALERT!!

A Clash of Kings starts right where A Game of Thrones left off. With King Robert and Ned Stark dead, Joffery and Cersei, his mother, are ruling the kingdom. Joffery is a cruel, spoiled child. His Uncle Tyrion is sent to King's Landing to be the King's Hand and mitigate Joffery's impulsive cruelty.

Renly and Stannis, the recently deceased King's brothers, are both claiming their right to the throne. That brings the total number of Kings in Westeros up to three. Robb Stark is declared King of the North by his bannermen. Balon Greyjoy claims the crown of the Iron Isles and begins to plan attacks on the other kings. So at the height of the tension, Westeros has five kings.

The rest of the Stark children are facing their own issues. Sansa is now a hostage to Cersei and Joffery in King's Landing. She is being awoke from her childish, romantic dreams by Joffery's murder of her wolf, betrayal of his promise to let her father take the Black and his abusive treatment of her. Arya feels when Joffery's men take over the castle, heads out with the Night's Watch in an attempt to get home, but they are attacked by one of the many armies and she is captured. Luckily, everyone thinks she is an orphan boy. Bran and Rickon are left in Winterfell, Bran must fill his brother's shoes as the new lord, while Rickon is going wild with grief and loneliness. Jon has become a full Brother of the Night's Watch. The Watch is learning of the high level of activity north of the Wall. They have faced Wraiths and now venture over the Wall to see what is coming to attack the wall.

 Theon Greyjoy, a long time ward of the Starks, returns to his father's lands in the Iron Isles believing he will receive a warm reception. However, he is not trusted after being raised by the Starks and is determined to regain his place in the family. Once his father launches his ships of war, he plots to prove his loyalty by taking Winterfell.

Across the sea, young Daenerys has suffered great heart ache with the death of her husband and unborn child. She has become the Mother of Dragons by bringing dragons back to the world. She continues to seek a way home to Westeros and return to her proper place as rightful heir to the throne.

I can't wait to see how these stories continue to weave and diverge to and from each other. I look forward to seeing how current events unfold and what surprises Martin has in store for me.

A Game of Thrones Review

This is probably one of my favorite fantasy works of all time. Martin masterfully handles multiple story lines and points-of-view. This story is an epic fantasy, yet the magical elements very much take a backseat to the characters and the plot. In fact, Martin's style gives it the feel of historical fiction rather than fantasy. Many of the stories and characters seem to be plucked directly from Medieval Europe.

We begin the story in the Northlands with the Stark family. They are the main protagonists of our tale and are known as honest and honorable. Lady and Lord Stark have four children ranging from 3 to 13, two boys and two girls. There is also Ned's bastard son, Jon, who is the same age as their oldest son, Robb. Jon has been brought up with his half-siblings, and been well loved for the most part, despite the Lady's resentment of his presence.

Ned's best friend is King Robert, who pays Ned a visit to offer him the position of The Hand of the King. This is basically the position of running the country while the king enjoys feasting, hunting, and wenching. King Robert is married to a Lannister, a family known for their cunning and greed. When Bran, one of the Stark children, witnesses an encounter between the Queen and a man that is not the King, she insists the man dispose of him by throwing him out the window. This event leads to many further complications later in the story.

Shortly before the King and Queen come to visit, the children find a litter of direwolf pups. These wolves are larger than normal wolves, and they usually stay above the Wall. The Wall is a very long wall that protects all of the Seven Kingdoms from the Wilds of the North, where horrible creatures reside. The Night Watch, which patrol the Wall, and the Starks are concerned because "Winter is coming". In the world of Martin's Fire and Ice, winter and summer both last for years on end. This summer has in fact been unusually long, in fact none of the children have seen winter.

If you are new to fantasy, and prefer historical fiction, this would be a great novel to begin exploring the genre with. Martin's work is not predictable, nor are his characters stereotypical of the fantasy genre.