George R.R. Martin

A Song of Ice and Fire  — (1996- ) Publisher: Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

   

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Forthcoming:
• The Winds of Winter
• A Dream of Spring

A Game of Thrones

George RR Martin has rapidly risen to become one of the biggest selling fantasy writers of recent years, and he has done it largely on the back of just one fantasy series — of which only four books have so far been published. Given the vast output of many fantasy authors, this is no mean feat. Having said that, the reception amongst readers and critical acclaim of some of his neighbours in the bestsellers list has been mixed. So, is GRRM (as he is known to his fans) and his series, A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF) which begins with A Game of Thrones (AGOT) just built on hype? The short answer is no — his success is richly deserved.

AGOT begins with a prologue set in the very far north of the continent of Westeros, beyond The Wall that marks the northernmost limit of the Seven Kingdoms. After this dramatic and attention-grabbing chapter, we move a little south to the town of Winterfell (unrelated to the town of the same name in James Clemens' The Banned and the Banished saga). We find ourselves seeing things through the eyes of the ruling House of that town, the Starks — Lord Eddard, his wife Catelyn and their children — Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon, and Eddard's son Jon Snow. Through the eyes of seven year-old Bran, he, Robb, and Jon Snow find an orphaned litter of direwolf pups — one for each of the Stark brood, and an albino for the illegitimate Jon — and adopt them, the direwolf being the symbol of House Stark. Their motto is 'Winter is Coming,' which is appropriate for what happens next.

The world that the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros reside on has unusual seasonal cycles: summers and winters last for years — sometimes decades — and the long summer appears to be coming to an end. The king, Robert Baratheon, won his throne little more than a decade ago in a violent war with House Targaryen, foreign invaders who had conquered and unified the continent with their dragons two centuries previously. He married a daughter of House Lannister, a clan the Starks do not get on well with. Off in the east, the last son and daughter of the last Targaryen king scratch out an existence and plan to return to power. The kingdom is now a world of intrigue and instability, and it is here that the plot begins. It is difficult to say much more, as the spoilers abound within pages of the beginning.

AGOT and ASOIAF is highly unusual in fantasy, and although it is epic in nature, it is not exactly an epic fantasy. It focuses on the intrigue and turmoil of the kingdom with only the vaguest fantastical threats hinted at on the fringes of the awareness of the protagonists. At first, I was nervous as to how much I would enjoy this tale. I needn't have worried — it's glorious! The plot is well-paced and events unfold rapidly enough to maintain interest but not so fast that the complexity can confuse. GRRM's inspiration was the York-Lancaster conflicts of fourteenth and fifteenth century England, but if you are a student of that era, don't worry — those events are an inspiration and nothing more. There is virtually nothing predictable about AGOT, and that is to its credit. It allows a gripping and fascinating tale to arise in front of one's eyes.

If the plot is good, the characterisation is in a league practically of its own. Martin's characters are dynamic, multi-faceted, and all of them are realistically flawed. If you are looking for a true hero, you will not find one — the virtuous are weak or naïve, the strong are as capable of ill as good, the clever are as capable of duplicity and manipulation as loyalty and enablement, and power is a realistically mixed blessing. In short, there are no genuine 'good guys' or 'bad guys' in this, although various point-of-view characters will view some in those terms. This is a strength, not a weakness — Martin has created some characters which would grace the best novels of all time and all genres. Tyrion Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow (to name just three) are true greats, and that is without even dropping spoilers about Martin's Iago, his Scarpia — his character with no redeeming features who remains utterly believable despite their moral bankruptcy.

However, it is his characterisation which forces me to knock half a star off, and this is purely because Martin cheats, in my opinion. He tells the story from a selection of point-of-view characters in the third person. While this does mean that we gain great insight into these characters and it keeps the mysterious characters enigmatic and allows us to see into the events in a believable way, it also means that certain characters who really merit greater exploration receive less attention than they should, it is slightly crass and obvious, and it does force us to view the world through the eyes of characters who are sometimes vastly less interesting than those they perceive. One in particular (I don't want to drop a spoiler) I found genuinely irritating at times, but in truth this is a brief, mild detraction.

Potential readers should certainly be aware that Martin pulls no punches. The violence is shocking, bloody, and realistic (although never gratuitous) — the point being to paint the picture that violence is horrific — not glorious. And the sexual content is frequent and very explicit. This is not a book for children — not even slightly. This is purely an adult read — and in truth, better for it because Martin's tale is very much adult; it is dark and bordering on the sordid, and should the sex and violence be sanitised, some of the extraordinary power in the tale would be lost.

The world of Westeros itself is perhaps his biggest achievement — it is believable, complex in the extreme, and boasts a principle cast of dozens, a supporting cast of scores, and a minor character list as long as the entire crew of the Lord of the Rings films. It is simply staggering, the amount of work that must have gone into the genesis alone of ASOIAF, let alone to turn it into a series of novels. It is almost worth reading AGOT for this alone — were it not for the rest of the aspects being brilliant as well.

A Game of Thrones is a work that borders on the genius. I have read nothing like it, and it sets a new benchmark in the fantasy world that only Martin himself has exceeded since, in my opinion. The characters are flawed, four dimensional, believable, fascinating, and evoke every emotion you would care to name. The plot is beyond brilliant in its twists, turns, and ability to shock, surprise, and thrill. The writing style is as visceral and poetic as you could ask for. The world is deep, complex, and absorbing. It is hardly surprising that this book (and the series of A Song of Ice and Fire as a whole) has sold so well — it is superb.

HBO and the BBC are currently planning a joint venture to put the saga onto the small screen, and that is no surprise to me. Make sure you read it before they get it done and spoil the plot for you — no television series could match this staggering achievement of fantasy writing; it is simply too good.  —Guest (Tom)   Comments

A Game of Thrones: I'm such a wimp.

George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is so different from any other fantasy epic. Martin's writing is eloquent, his story is completely original and unpredictable, and the plot is dark and gritty (often gross). His characters are some of the best in fantasy literature because they are so complex. You often can’t decide whether a character is a “good guy” or a “bad guy,” which is very different from most other fantasy literature, but not so different from real life.

But I've got a problem with GRRM. I get upset when favorite characters — who I’ve come to love — have terrible, terrible things happen to them, or they ... DIE. Martin has no mercy and this is distressing. I mean, I really get upset. I like heroes, and there aren't any in ASOIAF. There's nobody to safely stand behind, knowing that whatever happens to them, they'll still be standing in the end.

Martin is taking his time finishing this saga. I chuckled when I read this statement on his website: “you guys read a lot faster than I can write.” I’ll try ASOIAF again when it's close to being finished. Now that I know not to get attached to anyone, it will probably go better for me. —Kat   Comments

A Game of Thrones: I liked it, I liked it not. I liked it, I liked it not...

Talk about a love/hate relationship! I still can't decide whether I absolutely loved this book, or absolutely loathed it. "Good" doesn't necessarily mean you like a book, and this certainly offers up a lot of things that will make you want to tear your hair out. Let's break this down a little bit.

What I liked:

1. Intrigue, intrigue, intrigue! There are simply not enough authors who can write good intrigue, and Martin's is genius. It was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the intrigue that kept me reading through certain somewhat boggy areas of the book. It makes me feel like a five year old throwing a temper tantrum: I wanna know what haaaapppeeenss!!

2. Children. The children in this book are such an active part of the world, rather than being shunted aside so the adults can have the spotlight. Age doesn't keep a character from being a hero...or a villain. It also adds a really nice perspective, somewhat naive and yet oddly perceptive, on the happenings in the book.

3. Tyrion. Finally, a dwarf that isn't a dwarf! I mean, he isn't part of a race of dwarfs. And he isn't a powerful warrior, either, unless you consider a sharp wit to be a sword. He's out to protect his own hide, and he makes no bones about it, which is part of his charm. And watching him interact with his father is just priceless.

4. The Late Lord Frey. Okay, I know he's only in like, one chapter, but you gotta love this dude. Fantasy stories need more crotchety, perverted old men. Generally if you've hit this age, you're wise or honorable. Frey was really a nice break from that.

5. Martin has a set the size of beachballs. He would have to, to use the sex and language he does. As odd as it sounds, that really is a high recommendation for him. Fantasy fans aren't all that terribly accepting of sex in their stories, certainly not like this. You know it has to be well done, for so many people to love his books so.

What I didn't like:

1. Description, description, description! Okay, Martin is far from being the worst that I've read, but still. Not every last word of this book was riveting. I skipped over quite a few paragraphs here. I simply didn't care what everyone and his brother was wearing. The tourney felt like a knightly fashion show. After awhile, I simply didn't care anymore.

2. Strange food choices. Blood pie and blood sausage? Fermented mares milk? Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! 'Nuff said.

3. We need more fantastical creatures here! I was happy when they started appearing again (aside from the direwolves, there's only a mention in the prologue), but it took a near 600 page chunk of the 800 page book.

4. More threads than a tapestry. Okay, it's not THAT bad yet, but it's unnerving. Gives you a feeling like it could all unravel in Martin's hands ala Robert Jordan.

5. Not all modern slang terms work here. I could have really done without the characters spouting the word "bunghole". I could go back to middle school for that.

6. "And, and, and, and, and, and..." What the...? How did this happen? Amid a fluid, almost flawlessly structured prose, there's some sentences strung together by a series of ands, until some of them are as long as paragraphs. It felt like a mistake you'd make when you're a little kid and it was just ...odd.

7. Injustice. The injustice in this book will have you kicking and screaming, and wishing someone would put a sword through the face of the perpetrator(s).

I could probably go on, but you get the gist. This isn't a book for everyone, either. The incestuous relationships, while handled maturely and sensitively, are going to turn some people off faster than the Clap-On. If you don't like stuff that's heavy, serious, and depressing, you might not like reading this book. I also found it a little predictable in some ways. There's a pattern that develops in the cruelty and suffering, hopefully one that jumps ship in the next book. And Martin does slam you with a big ol' dose of foreshadowing right at the beginning of the book that's really hard to mistake. One thing's for damn certain, if you are enjoying the book DO NOT read it while you're supposed to be studying for finals! —Beth   Comments

In short, the second part of George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF) is staggeringly good. It is perhaps the continuation of the series in this book which has propelled Martin from the very good into the modern great.

A Clash of Kings (ACOK) picks up where A Game of Thrones left off, after the prerequisite brief prologue. If you haven't read the first installment, don't bother starting with this because you probably won't have a clue what is going on — too much has happened. I won't detail the plot because once again the spoilers kick off straight away, but it would be fair to say that ACOK pushed all the buttons AGOT did but does it bigger, better, and in even more interesting plot strands.

It would be wise to point out that ACOK is possibly the book which has caused more speculation and hypothesising than any in the series, and if you don't want to risk spoilers for the as-yet unpublished chapters, stay off the internet! The theories on the possibilities and prophecies raised in this chapter of Martin's epic abound, and while some seem harebrained, others are more convincing, so if you want to avoid them, be very careful with the forums you read.

The reason it has sparked so much debate is that the plot is excellent. There is never the sense of 'what on earth is going on' — it's always completely clear, but manages at the same time to raise umpteen questions of what will happen next and further down the line. Martin is very good at posing questions he doesn't want to answer yet, and, my word, is it brilliant at drawing you along. There is not a weak strand here — every single point-of-view (POV) character we see through the eyes of is engaged in a terrific tale of their own, so that one is never disappointed when the action jumps between them. You don't mind leaving, say Arya behind for a while because you want to know what is happening with Jon and Tyrion and Catelyn and all of the others, for that matter.

The characterisation is even stronger in ACOK than before. We gain a few new POV characters, one in particular of whom is absolutely stunning: Davos Seaworth, a servant of Stannis Baratheon, is so believable and compelling that he almost threatens to oust the favourites Martin introduced us to previously — only they improve at the same time, and Davos merely joins the ranks of the tremendous rather than out-doing them.

The pace is quicker than AGOT, largely because the plot is already underway and we are familiar with the setting — Martin doesn't need to spend any time building his world or explaining the events about to happen. That is not to say he doesn't fill out the world yet more — because he does. With every episode of ASOIAF, Westeros and the other nations of the world become more complete and thorough realms. Martin is rapidly building one of the best realised, most detailed and diverse fantasy worlds we have ever seen. It is not yet Middle-Earth but it is getting there!

I do have a few gripes with ACOK, I have to admit. The biggest one is that the battles which take place are not always the most completely described I have come across, and this is partially due to the technique Martin uses of telling whole chapters from the POV of one of a prescribed set of characters. If the only character around for a battle is neither warrior nor general, then probably we won't see it in that much detail, and while some battles are better than others, none are really as thoroughly described as would be in the work of other authors such as David Gemmell, for example. Also, he continues with the same pattern of telling all the story from those POV characters, and this is still a touch irritating at times, but by the end of AGOT I had begun to mind this less, and it's still less of a problem in ACOK.

Overall though, A Clash of Kings is a masterpiece — this book ranks alongside or even above the best of all fantasy novels. If and when Martin finishes A Song of Ice and Fire, the series could be ranked as the very best in fantasy — and ACOK is not even the best book so far. George RR Martin is a master, and this book proves it.   —Guest (Tom)   Comments

A Clash of Kings: A Necessary Evil

This book represents a transition of sorts...okay, a lot of transitions. It demonstrates the consequences of war and intrigue. Problem is, these consequences aren't always as exciting as they seem they should be. The first half of the book drags its ass more effectively than a stubborn mule. That's not to say nothing happens; it does. Just very, very slowly. It picks up around midpoint, with a couple of surprises. Even if you expected these things, the way they happen is bound to leave you blinking at the pages in stunned amazement.

The grandest part of this book is that the bad guys start getting what's coming to them...and how! When the walls start coming down around them (nearly literally, in some cases) you can't help but feel some triumph. Martin proves that he isn't out to make his books exploitively cruel and twisted by letting the villains win every time. There is a real balance that develops in the conflict between “good” and “evil”, things that aren't very black and white to begin with. It's hard to tell much of the time who is on what side ...mostly because it takes a few bags of silver or a sold daughter to get them to change sides. Realistic, yes, but it can admittedly get a little confusing.

In A Clash of Kings, I found myself coming to like some of the characters I wasn't terribly fond of before...and really coming to dislike some of those I had liked in the first book. Most especially I found a growing sympathy for Sansa and Catelyn Stark, and a rapidly growing distaste for Tyrion. Such large shifts will keep you on your toes, no doubt.

George R.R. Martin has chilled out on the excessive detail some, but the book isn't without its flaws—obviously. The slow pacing of the first half is a big one, which in my personal opinion keeps it from being a five star book. I would never have read through it as fast as I did if I'd had any other choice ...after finals my tendons were so strained that reading was the only thing I could do without intense pain. And my copy of this book happened to be a hardcover, which means I didn't even have to hold it up.

Martin has a problem with getting caught up on certain phrases. In A Game of Thrones it was “I'll have your head on a spike!” which was eventually shouted nearly once a chapter. In this one it was “we took them from behind” or something to that effect. I KNOW it's talking about battle, but it never once sounds right. Perhaps if it wasn't repeated a good 12-15 times in one book, it might have escaped my notice a little more.

And for crying out loud, Mr. Martin, stop with the “bunghole” already! Please!

Even if you enjoyed the first book, there are people who will find this book too slow. I recommend fighting through it anyway, because the plot sprouts so many new branches, you won't be able to keep up in the third. —Beth   Comments

A Storm of Swords: Eleven-hundred Pages of Pure Masterpiece

If you had told me several weeks ago that I would read a book that was 1,100 pages long, I would have told you that you were insane. If you had tried to hand it to me, I probably would have hit you over the head with it. I tend to avoid gigantic books like the plague. What could any man have to say for a thousand pages, I ask myself.

So very, very much. All of it fascinating. Martin's trademark intrigue is in full swing in this novel, as good as it ever is. So many small pieces fall into place throughout the book. Little things, like the dragonglass, the poisons, and Lysa Arryn's confession, but they are intriguing nonetheless.

If you're looking for heroes, you'll have to read another book. This isn't about heroes. This isn't a story about some dumb farmboy who's given a magic sword, a mysterious wizard, and a great destiny. This book is about war. There are no true heroes, because there are no true heroes in war. Here you see all sides, and each side thinks they are good and the other side is evil. That's how war is, and this book portrays that beautifully. More, Martin's portrayal of human folly is very well done. Here we have all these little factions, so self-absorbed, convinced that the world revolves around them. Meanwhile threats are closing in from all sides and no one is paying attention. No one will listen to the warnings.

I loved what Martin did with Jaime, as well. It helped to emphasize the point of his books: perception. What has anyone read about Jaime, until now, other than other's perceptions of him? Nothing. Getting inside his head, seeing how he thinks, how he feels, how his version of events differs so from others'...well, it goes to show you that you can't take anything for granted in this series, or you'll have the rug pulled out from under your feet.

I don't think Martin is pulling a Jordan or a Goodkind. I'm not saying there weren't some things that felt like they had the potential of simply being there to drag the series out. However, as this is only the third book, I'm not willing to make that judgment on poor Mr. Martin yet. As far as I'm concerned, the story progressed forward quite a bit and I'm dying to know what happens next.

I, for one, am impressed. I am just about the pickiest reader you're bound to meet and I avoid popular fantasy epics. They never seem to be as good as people seem to think. However, the list of widely popular authors that I actually like is very short. You won't find Goodkind or Jordan on that list, I'll tell you that. Mr. Martin has joined J.K. Rowling as one of only two writers whose hardcovers I'll spend money on. Impressive, considering very few of my favorite fantasy authors are male. I can't give Martin a bigger compliment or recommendation than that. —Beth   Comments

A Storm of Swords: The Good, The Bad, & the Ugly

The Good, The Bad, & the Ugly. That cliché is the most accurate description of A Song of and Ice and Fire. When I finished A Game of Thrones, I foolishly thought I had a clear view of who was the Good and who was the Bad. After A Clash of Kings I again grew bold enough to make that judgment call. Now I've finished A Storm of Swords, and Martin has shown me he's the master and this pupil better not chose sides.

Its easy to tell who the Ugly are; freaks, dwarves, undead, the scarred, the drunken, and the craven, but whose side are they on? (Don't think the handsome ones can stay out of those ranks either, not with the "Bloody Mummers" or "The Mountain Who Rides" roaming the countryside.)

This epic power struggle could just as well have happened in medieval times. (That is, if the dead could walk, the seasons last for years, and prehistoric mammals had survived.)

While the list of characters seems endless, each one is believable and intriguing, and in each chapter they take turns showing you this tale through their eyes. Trust no one, because the most noble can fall to shame and the most despicable can become selfless.

Most of all, be warned: George R.R. Martin has no mercy. At any given moment, anyone — and I do mean anyone — can die. —Greg   Comments

A Storm of Swords

Just when you think that A Clash of Kings was the best thing to hit fantasy in decades, George RR Martin outdoes himself with the third installment of his epic A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF) series, A Storm of Swords (ASOS).

As before, ASOS has the mandatory prologue and then picks up straight away where the previous book left off — and in style. Martin immediately introduces his new point-of-view (POV) character — none other than Jaime Lannister. This is where Martin shows his ability — he takes a character we had viewed as a 'baddy' until now and, by showing things through his eyes, forces us to reassess our views. Jaime is even more effective at this than Tyrion, mainly because, while Tyrion feels more a victim of circumstance than a true participant in the events we didn't want to happen, Jaime was more of a self-directed antagonist. But the humanising effect of his point of view immediately makes us rethink his character — and by extension, the other characters we viewed purely as villains. Martin never excuses those who do bad things, but he does something far more clever: he forces the reader to see his characters in shades of grey. There are no true villains or true heroes, merely flawed people who do things that could be judged as good or bad depending on your point of view. This is exceptional — I am yet to come across anyone who can have such compelling and beloved characters that cannot be called heroes or villains. While Druss The Legend, Elena Morinstal and the members of The Raven are all flawed in realistic ways, they are still heroes. Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister are three of my favourite characters in fiction, but none are hero or villain but are morally ambiguous — as most of humanity is. This is perhaps an exceptionally cynical viewpoint, but dramatically more interesting, it has to be said.

As before, it is difficult to say much about the plot without dropping spoilers, but sufficed to say it exceeds everything that has happened before — and then some. It is tremendous. The intrigue, the drama and the love (or lust, as it often is in ASOIAF) abound, thrill and draw the reader along compulsively. As always, the 'adult-only' warning sticker has to go on ASOS, as the sex and violence is graphic throughout, but in fairness if you have made it this far, you probably know this.

The pace is relatively fast but well judged — no mean feat given the length of ASOS (so long that the UK edition is split into two volumes). Perhaps more pronounced is the increased tension — before, there was the sense that no one was truly safe. By now, it is more a case that everyone is actively at risk! It can be fraught and frenetic at times but is never less than compelling.

I'm desperately trying to think of something negative to say, but I'm failing. The only thing I can think of is Martin's style of using POV characters to tell the whole story. In truth, by the time I read this I had stopped finding it a slight irritant and begun to quite like it, so I can't use that anymore. His writing style itself is so visceral, so real, and so attractive that I certainly can't criticise that — it's part of what made me fall in love with ASOIAF in the first place.

In truth, A Storm of Swords is possibly the best fantasy book I have ever read. It is stunning in every way — realistic, flawed yet compelling characters, brilliant plot, fantastic world, sumptuous style, and an utterly perfect pace. GRRM is largely unmatched in every individual aspect of his writing — in the gestalt entity of the fantasy novel, he is peerless.  —Guest (Tom)   Comments

A Feast for Crows

The fourth instalment of George RR Martin's epic A Song of Ice and Fire got dramatically mixed reviews from its legion of fans. A Feast for Crows had to go through a massive shift in Martin's thinking after he realised that the series had become too big and complex to continue in its previous manner. So instead of spreading this massive tale out by jumping throughout its myriad plot strands, he decided to cut the events that would have fit into books four and five in two, and tell half of the plot strands in this volume and the other half in book five, the much-anticipated A Dance with Dragons. And it is this which has irked many fans.

At the end of A Storm of Swords, most of the most interesting happenings concerned Tyrion, Jon and Daenerys. Well, they're not in this book. At all. Almost all of the events in AFFC concern the events in and around King's Landing, Dorne, the Iron Islands and the locations of Sansa and Arya. There is nothing in the East or the North. And yes, given the umpteen cliffhangers we were left on at the end of ASOS this is somewhat frustrating, as none of them are resolved even slightly.

Another bone of contention was how much of the tale concerns Brienne of Tarth — she is not a popular character, and neither is her plot. And I can see why: she is Martin's most irritating character and actually his least believable, in my opinion. She is just a bit too noble to fit in. Her plot strand is not that interesting either, but this is comparative — Martin has hamstrung himself by creating so many fabulous tales within one series that when one is merely good and not outstanding, it irritates.

Having said all that, this is an absolutely magnificent book, but for the most subtle of reasons. Cersei Lannister is the main POV character in this chapter of ASOIAF, and in my opinion, she is Martin's best writing. Cersei is very much his Iago, his Scarpia — his character with pretty much no redeeming features to speak of. The problem is that these characters are massively unbelievable — even The Bard himself required his highest skill to make Iago convincing, because the truth is that usually people as unpleasant as Cersei are extremely rare. But Martin uses AFFC to make Cersei convincing — we understand why she does the things that make her odious, but we never excuse her for it. She is still the only true villain of the piece, but we know the reasons for this. As well as her humanisation, her plot strand is actually very interesting. The reader can almost perceive the Sword of Damocles that hangs over her throughout AFFC (and in truth in previous books, too) but she is blissfully unaware of it, confident of her eventual dominance, and this is wondrous to read.

The other great things about this book are the Stark girls. Sansa had been one of the less enthralling POV characters, but in this she basically has the best parts of the plot to view and becomes a far more mature, self-directing personality and, my word, is she better for it. Arya receives an awful lot of attention, and she too is growing and becoming self-determining, but in entirely different ways. She has always been one of Martin's best creations and she improves still further in this episode.

This book does raise some concerns however. Yet more plot strands are introduced, and there is the genuine fear that the wheels could all come off Martin's wagon as the tale implodes under its own weight. However these strands do seem to have more of an obvious conclusion than the existing ones, and I personally feel I can see where they lead and that Martin actually knows precisely what he is doing and will bring all the elements together either in the next book or, at the latest, the penultimate volume, allowing the final book to flow more straightforwardly.

Yes, I did knock half a star off for the absence of the three best characters and plot strands and for Brienne's chapters, but in truth I adored this book completely, and A Song of Ice and Fire is still the best fantasy series going at the moment, and I would advise anyone literate (and old enough — this is, like previous books, heavy in the gratuitous sex, violence and swearing stakes) to read this as soon as theyfinish the previous episodes. —Guest (Tom)   Comments

A Feast for Crows: A Feast For Statisticians

OK, I did something a little different in this review. I've done a bit of mathematics for you. I actually went through the book and noted which characters had chapters of their own and how many pages each of those chapters had, then I figured the numbers out as percentages (yes, I know, I need to get out more). So now, for your literary edification and illumination, I present to you a list of what actually happens in the book, according to my calculations (all rounded off).

CERCEI: 22.5%. That's right, folks, the Lannister Queen has more than one page in five, and nearly one page in four, devoted entirely to her point of view. If you've always wanted to know what goes on in her scheming little mind, then boy, do we have a show for you! Considering that there are thirteen people altogether who get chapter viewpoints of their own, Cercei's 22.5% share means that, on average, everyone else only gets 6.5% each. You could say that Cercei has the lion's share (terrible pun, I know).

BRIENNE: 17.5%. Next on our little list comes the Maid of Tarth. Most of the time we spend with her is on character development, rather than juicy action. Not that there's anything wrong with that at all, but you've been warned. If you were expecting her to become Lara Croft: Tomb Raider reborn, think again. Also, of some small statistical note, more than 60% of the pages in this book are devoted to the female character's points of view. Just so you know.

JAIME: 15.5%. The ever-more-interesting brother, and erstwhile lover, of Cercei continues in his evolution from out-and-out bad guy to, well, kind of a good guy. We're going to have to read the next book to see which way he jumps for sure, but so far he's certainly more inclined towards honesty and honour than he seemed to be in the first couple of books.

SAMWELL: 9%. The first character with less than ten percent of the ink investment is Sam. One of the more down-to-earth minor characters from the previous book, he gets fleshed out a little more here (excuse the pun).

SANSA: 8%. One of the few remaining Starks, and one of only two who get chapters of their own in this book, Sansa is also evolving as a character. In this book she is very slowly starting to show signs of an independence that she heretofore lacked. Of course, with only three chapters of her own, she doesn't show much. Not that she was ever on the front lines of either political intrigue or physical combat.

ARYA: 6% The only other person from House Stark with chapters from her own viewpoint. Arya has always been an interesting character to me. Her moral ambiguity, like Jaime's, is stretched further in this book. I'm a little nervous as to how she'll shape up in the end. At this point, it's a little difficult for me to tell, though I have optimistic expectations.

WHO? WHAT? HUH?: 21.5%. Seven people, some of whom are hardly mentioned, or not mentioned at all, in previous books, have their own chapter or two each in this book. So more than one page in five is from the viewpoint of someone you probably can't remember reading about before. And half the time the same viewpoint doesn't come up again in this book at all.

TYRION, JON, DAENERYS, STANNIS, DAVOS, ETC.: 0%. These characters don't appear at all. We have to tune in to the next episode for updates on their adventures. I wondered about this when I bought the book and saw that the maps at the front only showed Westeros.

So there you have it. If you're here reading reviews because you've gotten halfway through the book and don't like it, then I'd recommend that you keep reading. Slog through a few more pages; it does pick up at around the halfway mark. Although, in my mind, the endings for the various characters are fairly anticlimactic. Nothing is really resolved, unlike the previous books. And it's going to be the same for the next book, apparently, since Martin says that it will only focus on the characters who were expected to appear in this book but didn't.

I've given A Feast For Crows three stars, where the previous books in the series would have each earned at least four stars from me.   —Mark   Comments

A Feast For Crows: Gets us to next book but without much excitement or interest

We all know the phrase “sometimes the journey is the destination”. But sometimes too the journey is just that, the journey. And that's the problem with Feast for Crows— too much journeying, not enough destinations. George R.R. Martin found he had “too much” for one book so lopped off half the characters and divided it into two books. Clearly that was an overly simple reaction and a mistake as that left him with a lot of characters but too little story for Feast.

We're missing many of the best characters here and that lack of balance was a noticeable drag on the book. Another drag was the lack of editing. Realizing you have too much material doesn't necessarily mean all you need to do is publish it successively. Instead, paring some of the material might have helped. Here there is too much repetitive action, too much unnecessary description of clothing, heraldry, genealogies, nipples (yes nipples, lots of 'em in this book), and the book's pace is noticeably slower than previous ones. Some scenes seemed merely perfunctory, as if they were previous plot points to be checked off as “resolved” or plot points to be checked off as “future events to unfold further.” Lots of characters move from place to place, but there is little of interest in the trips themselves and one too often has to wait for another book to see if there is anything of interest once they arrive. Stylistically, Martin is as strong as ever, but style needs to be married to something else and here it is not.

Feast isn't a bad book—it moves slowly but move it does, there are no jarring plot contrivances, dialogue is generally strong—so it isn't a bad book. But it isn't a consequential book. Or a compelling one. The first three books I'm happy to reread in preparation for another as they are more than good and stand up to multiple readings. But Feast is the sort of book where looking up a summary on a website will do you fine—it will tell you what you need to know and with about as much interest or passion as the book itself had.

Recommended so fans of the series know what happens and can pick up with the next one, but with fair warning that this is, if not a severe drop-off in quality, certainly a painful one. Here's hoping the next one returns to the quality of the first three.  —Bill   Comments