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Author: George R. R. Martin
Published: July 12, 2011
Publisher: Random House
Series: A Song of Ice and Fire #5
1016 pages (hardcover) 

Ohhhh at last! The long awaited fifth book of my beloved Song of Ice and Fire series. Get ready for a long post. Granted, I didn’t have to wait as long as some of you (the full five years) because I had discovered the series only two years ago, but I was just as excited to dig into this book as the rest of you. I love the series and I really enjoyed this book as well, though I am not without some negative news.

Some background information: A Feast For Crows (book four) and A Dance With Dragons (book five) were originally meant to be the same book, but due to the length, it was split into two books. The book was not split in half chronologically though, but rather, half of the characters’ POVs were in one book, and the other half in the second book. So actually the events of Feast and Dance happen side by side. Well, up to around the 600-page mark of Dance, then the timelines come together and move on from there. With all that being said, I think the fact that I was less enthusiastic about Feast than the first three books contributed to me also feeling less enthusiastic about Dance since they were meant to be all in the same book. Now, don’t get me wrong — I really liked Feast and I also really liked Dance, as that is what I mean when I give a rating of 4 (Dance has a slightly lower 4 than Feast, for me). I just don’t feel book four and five aren’t as good as the first three. Still wonderful books … but not quite the same.

(There are spoilers in the rest of this review — you have been warned!)

Unless you’re also a reader of the series, a plot summary of Dance will only be confusing without the context of the overarching story, but for those of you who are readers — Dance consists mainly of the chapters of Jon Snow, Tyrion and Daenerys, Theon and some others, who were not included in Feast. These are some of my most favourite characters, so I was very excited to be reunited with them. Jon Snow is still at the Wall and dealing with King Stannis trying to boss the Night’s Watch around. He also has to make a difficult decision of whether or not to ally with the wildlings to fight their common foe, the Others. Tyrion Lannister has been sent across the narrow sea to Pentos (hello again, Illyrio!) by Varys to help him escape the manhunt his sister, Cersei, has set on him. He’s trying to get to Daenerys, supposedly to help her exact revenge on his own family, but ends up getting captured as a slave instead. Daenerys herself is stuck in Meereen, unwilling to leave her new people to slavery and hunger, despite a bunch of people telling her that she’ll never get back the Iron Throne for her family if she just sits in Meereen all day. Some of the Meereen people want her gone as well.

That’s pretty much all I’m going to say, plot-wise. There’s just way too many things happening for me to properly summarize the book, but that is the gist of what was happening to these characters in the same timeframe as Feast. After the 600-page mark, the story moves past Feast’s timeline and we are reacquainted — briefly — with some other favourites, like Arya and Jaime and Cersei, for example. Just a few chapters each though. No Sansa, Catelyn or Samwell, etc.

I really did enjoy this book, there is no mistake about it. I love being reacquainted with the characters, I love finding out what’s happening to them. When you compare where the characters were when they first began in Game of Thrones to where they are now in the story, it is really quite shocking, and makes me realize just how epic and grand the scale of everything is in this story. I’ve even started liking characters I never really cared for before, like Theon … although maybe I’m just feeling really sorry for the poor guy, now that he’s been kicked off his high horse. Or I’ve been influenced by the TV show and Alfie Allen‘s acting.

Speaking of characters, I’ve read some people are a little upset that the author is “bringing dead characters back to life” or “Hey! Just kidding! He’s not really dead!” I admit, the author does seem to do this for some characters, but I think the character everyone was upset about coming back to “life” was Aegon, because he is 1) an important character and 2) proclaimed dead for the last four books. However, there have been theories around for years that baby Aegon is really alive, so I don’t think this is really out of the blue — only if you never thought about it, or came across such theories. I actually think it’s really clever. But yeah, for some of the other characters, I can see the “Just stay dead!” line of thinking, but frankly, those other characters aren’t nearly that important, so I don’t really care.

I think the thing I noticed the most in Dance was the plot. I know some people will find Song of Ice and Fire‘s plot just plain confusing, but I embrace that complexity and enjoy unraveling it. The thing I noticed though, at least in comparison to the earlier books, is that the plot seems to be slowing waaaay down. The author is taking a lot of pages to describe … not much. Daenerys spends a lot of chapters hanging around Meereen and thinking about whether to get a husband. I don’t see the point of the Victarion chapters because he never really did anything to contribute to the plot in Dance. In fact, he doesn’t even reach his destination in this book, it’s just all about him sailing. I dreaded Victarion’s chapters, truthfully. There’s also a bunch of chapters involving Quentyn Martell sailing to Daenerys, which I find kind of unnecessary. I’m sure those chapters could have been skipped to the part when Quentyn finally meets Daenerys. You might not really notice the lack of actual plot progression in Dance until you actually sit back and try to remember what has happened to each character. And then you realize … not a whole lot. Honestly, I think Dance has too much ‘fluff’ in it and could have been shortened so the plot actually feels like it’s progressing at a decent pace.

I really enjoyed the ending, even though it was kind of almost shocking to see Varys appear after almost an entire book without him. I’ve never really been a fan of Varys, but what with the whole Aegon-is-really-alive business going on, I am starting to wonder if I was hasty in brushing him aside as a minor character in the beginning. It’s a very intriguing ending. As for individual POV endings, I must admit … I think they were poor cliifhangers. Jon Snow’s in particular; I’m sorry, but you have to be a moron to think that Martin is actually killing off Jon Snow. It ends with Jon Snow maybe dying, but we all know that there is NO way Jon is going to be dead. It will completely ruin all the plot that’s been happening at the Wall, making it absolutely meaningless, so of course he will survive. I don’t know why Martin chose to end it like that, it’s more aggravating than suspenseful.

I have my pros and cons with Dance, but there are generally more pros. I disagree with those who think you can just skip Dance as not much seems to happen — things happen, it’s just slow. I am not disappointed by the series’ direction or anything, just the pacing. I do wish for a tighter plot next time though. Hopefully that next time won’t be too far away. I can’t wait for The Winds Of Winter.

My Rating:

Author: George R. R. Martin
Published: 2005
Publisher: Spectra
Series: A Song of Ice and Fire #4
976 pages (mass market paperback)

I finally got around to reading this fourth book in the Song of Ice and Fire series. I surprised myself by finishing it rather quickly compared to the previous (and longer) books, but actually I found this one less interesting than the first three. I’m not saying I didn’t like it; I’m just saying, in comparison to the others, it didn’t hold my interest as well, despite me practically speed reading through it.

In this book, the War of the Five Kings is more or less ending since most of the kings have died. The kings that are left are Stannis and Tommen. Stannis has offered his assistance to the Night’s Watch in the far north, taking himself out of the war if only temporarily. King Tommen, only eight years old, sits the Iron Throne at King’s Landing, but in reality, his mother Cersei, is the regent and is the true ruler. Cersei seems to be going on a downward spiral in this book: she has the makings of an alcholic, is overly paranoid about Queen Margaery, the little wife his son Tommen married to solidify an alliance between their families, and is promoting and getting rid of all the wrong men.

To me, Cersei’s story seemed like the ‘main plot’ of the story, but of course, there are always many characters in this series, and each character has their own story to tell too. My favourite/interesting characters: Jaime Lannister seems to have had a change of heart since the last book and is disgusted with his sister’s actions, as well as trying to regain his lost honor and become a trustworthy person again. Sansa is playing the part of Petyr Baelish’s bastard daughter as he arranges a way for the two of them to take both the Eyrie and Winterfell.

Arya has managed to travel across the narrow sea to the eastern continent and work in the Temple of Black and White (which according to the Wikipedia page on this book, is some sort of assassins’ temple. I didn’t realize my Arya may be becoming a little assassin! That would be cool … except, based on how her chapters ended, I’m not quite sure what’s going to happen to her now that she’s possibly, uh, disabled). Arya, as I’ve mentioned before, is my favourite character, but I’m becoming increasingly disappointed with how far away from the main plot/action she is becoming, and her chapters in this book weren’t the most interesting to be honest. Actually, I’m kind of sad Winterfell and the Stark family in general is so removed now. They were the first characters you encountered in the very first book, they were so honorable and good, I fell in love with the family and it’s just so sad that for the past two books, they’ve had such small parts (well, so it felt, to me. I guess that last point is always arguable).

Brienne, normally one of my favourite characters, was pretty boring in this book to me. All she did was wander around looking for Sansa. Her chapters did end up being a little more interesting when she ran into none other than the living corpse of Lady Catelynn!

There were some other characters, like Victarion Greyjoy and Samwell and whatnot, but frankly I wasn’t really interested in those chapters. I think it’s just that there’s already SO many characters in this series, my brain is turning itself off from new characters being introduced or something. I don’t know. If something really cool happens with his story and plot, my mind will probably change. I was kind of hoping for more Asha because I like kick-ass women in this story, but sadly she has apparently ran off after unsuccessfully becoming Queen of the Iron Isles.

A Feast For Crows is actually part one of a larger book. You see, the author was writing the 4th book of the series but it turned out to be so long that he had to split it into two books; the first one being A Feast For Crows, and the second will be A Dance For Dragons, which will be released this July! It is not split right in the middle of the story, but rather by characters. In this book, we had the perspectives of Cersei, Samwell, Arya, etc. but none from Tyrion, Daenerys, Jon Snow and a bunch of other people who I have grown to miss. I’m very excited for book five to find out what they were up to while the events of A Feast For Crows was going on.

Anyway, my feelings about this book are generally positive. I don’t know, for some reason, it just didn’t seem as exciting as the first three books, but I definitely do like it and I eagerly await book five!

My Rating:

Author: George R. R. Martin
Published: 2000
PUblisher: Spectra
Series: A Song of Ice and Fire #3
1216 pages (mass market paperback)

This is now officially the longest novel I’ve ever read. After finishing A Clash of Kings, I dove into book three right away. I haven’t been disappointed by the series yet, and A Storm of Swords has upheld that tradition for me :)

In this third installment of the Song of Ice and Fire series, Westeros is in the midst of a war between five kings all vying for the Iron Throne: Robb Stark of the North; Joffrey Baratheon, the late King Robert’s ‘son’; Stannis Baratheon, King Robert’s brother; Renly Baratheon, King Robert’s second brother and Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Isles. In the North, Robb is winning battles, but has lost Winterfell, his castle, and is now having to deal with that, as well as the fact that House Frey is furious that he did not marry one of the Frey daughters, which he promised in exchange for their support.  In the meantime, Catelyn Stark (Robb’s mother) has released Jaime the Kingslayer — Robb’s most important captive — from his cell in hopes that he can be exchanged for her two daughters’ lives, who she believes are being held captive by Queen Cersei, Jaime’s sister and lover.

Stannis, in the meantime, has the aid of a red priestess from Asshai, Melisandre, who tries to convince him to sacrifice his brother Robert’s bastard child Edric in order for her to help him win the war. Davos, Stannis’ most trusted man, attempts to murder Melisandre.

In King’s Landing, Joffrey is still an arrogant, self centered boy-king. Sansa Stark, held hostage there, is relieved she does not have to marry Joffrey after all, but her happiness is short lived when it is revealed she has to marry someone who she thinks is worse. She eventually escapes from King’s Landing with the help of the most unlikely ally and whisked away to the Eyrie to her psychotic aunt Lysa. Sansa is not quite sure if her situation has improved or worsened.

On the wall, the wildlings are mounting a large scale attack against the Night Watch. The Night Watch has written to all five kings pleading for help, but everyone is too busy fighting their own wars to realize that the Wall is in great danger. Jon is commanded to join the wildlings as an informer, which he has great difficulty doing so while trying not to break any of his vows as a man of the Night Watch.

Finally, in the East, Daenerys Targaryen is building an army, little by little, and conquering city after city as she bides her time and allows her precious dragons to grow. She will not be satisfied until she is sitting on Westeros’ Iron Throne.

Another plot-filled story here, and as usual, I have a hard time condensing it all into a summary. I am happy that this book has maintained the quality of the first two. It was another great read that had me turning the pages, unable to stop. I’m hooked onto this series! Do I think the story is getting better or worse? To be honest, I think it has remained the same, but that’s good too, because at least it’s not getting worse :P (Which is something I worry about with long epic series like these).

Last book (A Clash of Kings) I said I didn’t like Davos’ chapters because I thought they were boring. This book, I liked them a lot more. I even started liking Davos, when previously I just thought of him as a “meh” character. I think what made his chapters more interesting to me is his interactions with Melisandre. Melisandre is a very mysterious character. I am not quite sure if she is genuine, if she is crazy, or if she even has magical powers. Davos wonders the same thing as the reader, so that’s how we got on the same page.

While I was glad to see Davos’ chapters become more engaging, I felt Arya and Bran’s chapters were a step back. Arya and Bran’s chapters were … well, kind of boring, as well as the teeniest bit frustrating because they would JUST miss meeting another character. For example, Bran JUST misses meeting Jon, and Arya JUST misses meeting her mother and Robb. It’s such a tease. I’m glad Arya still is not captured (well, not by anyone who would really be a threat to her) and is becoming even more independent than ever. I really hope she reunites with her direwolf soon (if she ever does). I also feel it’s sort of torturous teasing to have her enter her direwolf’s mind through dreaming, but she never puts two and two together. Bran’s chapters, I felt, just consisted of him wandering and chatting and hiding, and overall, not that exciting. Last nit-picky thing: I am kind of annoyed that Daenerys STILL hasn’t entered the heart of the action in Westeros. It’s been three books. All her chapters are essentially chapters of an independent novel, and probably could be taken out of this book, and it’d still be perfectly good. (Yes I realize Daenerys’ chapters actually WERE made into an independent novel. My point still stands). She has to become more involved with the other characters soon … right?!

However, the majority of the novel was amazing. There were so many twists and turns, so many things I didn’t see coming. I think I liked Sansa’s chapters the most, just because so many unexpected things happened to the poor girl. Actually, I don’t even really like Sansa, but I still hope she becomes reunited with her family because I am a big fan of House Stark (they’re the ones I am rooting to win this entire war … though if Daenerys wins, I will still be pretty happy).

I am not quite ready to dive straight into book four. Well, for one, I am really busy at this time of year with final exams and papers. Secondly, the fourth book is the last book for a while, since the author apparently writes at ultra slow snail speed, so I want to put off the book as long as possible … so that I will still have something to look forward to in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire. Though I’ll probably crack eventually and just HAVE to find out what happens next …

My Rating:

Author: George R. R. Martin
Published: 1998
Publisher: Spectra
Series: A Song of Ice and Fire #2
969 pages (mass market paperback)

I do believe this is officially the longest novel I’ve ever read. Almost a thousand pages! It’s a big reason why it took me so long to get through it (not to mention it’s all in like, size 10 font too). But it was worth every moment, and this second book solidifies my newfound obsession for this series. I think the first book is still the best I’ve read so far, and something about this second book just quite doesn’t live up to the first (to me, anyway), but A Clash of Kings is still a fantastic read, leaving me hungering for the rest of the series (seriously, I am itching to go to the bookstore to buy books 3 and 4 now and continue)!

A Game Of Thrones left us off with King Robert dead. The problem was that his heirs, Joffrey and his siblings, legally should not/cannot be his heirs because, as Lord Eddard Stark discovered, they are children born from an incestuous relationship Robert’s Queen, Cersei, had with her brother, Jaime. So they’re not even his. And Robert has no other children, so technically the throne goes to his brother, Stannis. Of course, Cersei is not admitting to incestuous relationships with her brother (even though it’s true) …

A Clash Of Kings throws us back into Westeros where six different Houses are fighting for the Iron Throne and the right to rule the Seven Kingdoms. We have Cersei who is lying about her son’s right to the Iron Throne as Robert’s child (Joffrey is unaware and truly thinks Robert was his father). In reality, Cersei is allowing for her family House Lannister to take over (since Joffrey is technically all Lannister-blood). Second faction vying for the throne is Stannis, Robert’s brother, who by rights, should be the heir. Third faction is Robert’s other brother, Renly. Even though he is younger than Stannis and therefore, is not Robert’s first heir, Renly thinks he’ll make a better king since people love him more. Fourth faction is House Greyjoy. Back when the Seven Kingdoms really were seven kingdoms, the Greyjoys ruled the Iron Isles as king. On that basis, they have royal blood and therefore, think they have rights to fight for the throne. Fifth is my beloved House Stark. Like the Greyjoys, they have royal blood because they used to be Kings in the North. Actually, the Starks don’t really care if they get the Iron Throne (though of course it would be nice) so long as they get to rule the regions their ancestors did in the past as King. Lastly, we have Daenarys of House Targaryn, who is across the sea. She is the last heir of King Aerys, the king that ruled before King Robert usurped him. In many ways, she is the true heir to the throne, and she knows it, which is why she is amassing an army and preparing to sail back to Westeros.

My favourite character is still Arya Stark. I’m a little sad that she’s still suffering after her escape from the castle (from Cersei’s grasp!) but at least she’s still alive. She’s one of the few physical “tough cookie” females in the story (there are many mentally “tough cookie” females!) so that’s why she stands out a bit, for me, anyway. I just love her and knowing that the author does not mind killing off major characters, I was so relieved she survived another book. I can’t wait for the moment she can stop disguising herself and proudly tell people she’s Arya of House Stark again.

There were tons of new characters introduced, tons! There is Ser Davos, a smuggler turned knight; Melisandre, a Red Priestess who aids Stannis in war with sorcery … and also old minor characters who come back as main characters, like Theon Greyjoy. The thing with novels of this kind of epicness is that sometimes it can be hard to keep track of who’s who. Just going through the “family trees” in the back of the book is dizzying, and then there is remembering how X is related to Y, and whose a servant of whom, and where so-and-so is current residing in the story or did they move … yeah, it’s a lot. Luckily I’ve never really had much of a problem with the major characters, though some of the knights I get mixed up time to time, and I still do in this second book.

I don’t really know what else to say about this book without making this chock full of spoilers. Like I mentioned already, I really did enjoy this book but there are some parts I’m nit-picky about. To be honest, I really found Davos’ parts incredibly boring. He’s one of the new characters and his chapters are really too political for me, and it was difficult for me to read them. Not that I couldn’t understand it, it was just kind of dull. Also, save for the last battle, the majority of the “great battles” in this book are scenes I never actually got to be there for. You’ll be reading along and they’d be building up to a battle that is happening soon, then next chapter, a character would mention, “Robb won the battle at that place!” It didn’t bother me too greatly, but it would have been nice, as the reader, to have been present at some more battles. Well, I was there for the last one at least, but it was narrated from Davos whose perspective I find boring, so … I didn’t get my way, hahaha.

Luckily, Davos has very few chapters. In sum, I really loved this book, almost as much as the first and I can’t wait to read on.

My Rating:

Author: George R. R. Martin
Published: 1996
Publisher: Bantam
Series: A Song of Ice and Fire #1
672 pages (hardcover)

This book (and its’ series)  has become my new obsession. I am absolutely in love with this book. As soon as I finished reading this one, I went out and bought my own copy of it on the same day (and the second book in the series)! Yep, this is the kind of book where I simply MUST own my own copy (although I did opt to buy the prettier version of the series, with the nicer covers; this one I took out at the library has a very old fashioned looking cover that I’m not that fond of). And to make this all even more awesome, HBO is turning the entire series into a TV show, and the teaser trailer has me all impatient to watch it!

It’s going to be hard to provide a condensed version of the story’s events because there is so much happening all at once. Plots intertwine with one another constantly and there is never a shortage of intrigue, but I will try to give you an idea of what the story is without giving away too much of the plot (because it is actually kind of hard to explain exactly what the story is without spilling some spoilers). But here is what the beginning of the book looks like: the story takes place in a land called Westeros, where summers last a decade and winters last a lifetime. The King’s Hand (advisor to the King) has mysteriously died and Eddard Stark of House of Stark in Winterfell (who are descendants of the old Kings of the North) has been appointed the new Hand by King Robert. His investigation into the matter is frowned upon by Queen Cersei, who is hoping to put her son on the throne as soon as possible. In the meantime, the last heirs of the House of Targaryen, who were the previous royal family until they were usurped fifteen years ago by the now King Robert. Hiding across the sea, they bide their time and work to amass an army to take back their throne.

So basically what ends up happening is that there are a bunch of different groups all vying for the Iron Throne. It is extremely interesting watching the relationships between characters and factions develop, grow and fall apart. I haven’t even mentioned some of the other main characters such as Jon Snow, Eddard’s bastard son, or Tyrion, the Queen’s brother. There are many, many characters and they each have their own story to tell. It is quite amazing how well you come to know all these characters, despite there being so many, and when you find out how each of their own stories affect the greater story, it is kind of mind blowing, hahaha. My personal favourite is Arya, Eddard’s tomboy of a daughter. She’s a little fiesty thing, and I adore her. (It’s a little sad how we don’t find out what happens to her in this book, but I’m sure I’ll meet her again in book two!) I also love how there’s different Houses of families in the kingdoms, and they all have their own sigils and mottos/slogans. My favourite is definitely the Starks (the main characters of this book). Since they live way up in the north, their sigil is the direwolf and their little saying is, “Winter is coming.” Strangely enough, I also really like the House of Lannisters (the family the Queen is from) even though most of them are stuck-up elitists, hahaha. Their sigil is the lion and their motto is “Hear me roar!” which definitely suits them.

It’s a fantasy book, but because the level of magic in this book is low, it sometimes seems like a historical drama too. I think it has just the perfect amount of both magic and drama that things don’t seem too unbelievable. The world in this story just sucks you right in. The characters aren’t so out of touch with what people are like today that you can’t relate to them. Nobody is all good or all bad, but rather, shades of gray. I could not stop reading this book once I started, and when I finished, I just had to grab the second one. Which I did. Right away.

I think even if you are a person who is not normally into Lord of the Rings-level of fantasy, you should definitely try this book. It’s not chock full of magical fireballs and stuff, and it’s not so political that things fly over your head. Each chapter is from the third-person viewpoint of one of the eight main characters, and most of those main characters are kids and teens, so the plot isn’t hard to understand at all. Bottom line is, this book has a very good story. You have no idea how obsessed I am over this series now.

My Rating: