A Feast for Crows (Song of Ice and Fire) - Books (George R.R. Martin, Paperback)

For full product details, view this product on Amazon.

Customer Reviews of A Feast for Crows (Song of Ice and Fire)

J. Aitcheson
Wiltshire, England
13th December 2008

A diverse and well-imagined world, but a frustrating read
"A Feast for Crows" is the fourth book in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. The War of the Five Kings appears to be almost at its end, with King Tommen and the Lannisters firmly in control of the Iron Throne, although the King's Hand, Lord Tywin, is dead and his son Tyrion has escaped imprisonment. It is a time of change in King's Landing; a time of political manoeuvring as Cersei consolidates her power as Queen Regent, albeit no longer able to rely on the unflinching support of her brother Jaime. Meanwhile the Iron Islands prepare to choose a new king following the death of Balon Greyjoy, while in Dorne there is growing dissatisfaction with Prince Doran's allegiance to the Lannisters.

Martin's world is as always rich in detail and variety, from the wintry heights of the Eyrie, to the the septry above the mudflats near Saltpans, and the sun-scorched lands of Dorne. The two main cities featured - King's Landing and Braavos - each have their own distinct character and are made easy for the reader to visualise. Likewise the society and religious life of his world have been given full thought, and a whole host of interesting minor characters help to bring the pages to life.

The decision to devote this book entirely to affairs in the South of Westeros - while the sequel focuses on the North and the lands across the sea - remains a contentious topic among fans. Unfortunately it is a decision which has not paid off. Too much space is afforded to lesser characters and their quests, such as Brienne - who wanders from place to place without real purpose - and Sam and Sansa - who remain largely isolated without much room to develop as characters. Cersei occupies more pages than any other character, and yet the majority of her story is filled with the minutiae of court life - matters that on the whole provide little interest to the reader.

Essentially the book lacks a strong central narrative arc; there seems to be little of the intrigue and conspiracy which has characterised the series to date. Indeed, it is only in roughly the final 150 pages that events begin to really acquire momentum, and there is a sense that the book has found the essence which made the earlier volumes so engaging. Admittedly it is in some ways frustrating for the book to end at this point - but on the other hand it means that plenty of hooks are created, setting the scene well for the sequels.

Ultimately, "A Feast for Crows" is a somewhat frustrating read, and though occasionally it shows flashes of brilliance, for the most part remains relatively bland. As usual, a list of all the characters is appended to the main novel - helpful in particular for readers returning to the series after a long wait. Also included is a preview chapter from the sequel, entitled "A Dance with Dragons".

R. Loughins

8th November 2008

What happened?
I really don't know what to make of this book. Compared to the previous 4, I found it extremely disappointing and in fact I found it hard to read at times. Compared to the previous books where I was sometimes reading 5-10 chapters at a time, I could only manage to read one chapter before setting it down. There's virtually no action or gripping story lines until the last 150 pages, which for a book 850 pages long, is quite pathetic. The fact that Martin states that the next book will concentrate on the characters left out in this one, makes me even more annoyed, because it means that all the effort reading this one, wasn't even to build up the next one. Needless to say, I will be buying the next installment as I'm sure everyone else will. There's no point reading 5 books of a series and not finding out how it ends. Question is, does Martin know himself when it will end or has he lost himself, which this books seems to suggest.

You may get the impression that I'm trying to run Martin down here, but I'm not. The other books were masterpieces and his imagination is unparalleled. It's just that he set such a high standard with the previous books, that one was bound to fall below that standard, and I believe this is that book. It is still better than some of the other rubbish out there however.

Ben W
UK
14th October 2008

Slipping standards
The mixed reviews probably reflect the lack of direction seeping into George R.R. Martin's series. Whilst the standard of writing remains comfortably better than most of his competitors and the world of the Seven Kingdoms is well conceived and maintained, I'm afraid the standard has unequivocally dropped since the earlier novels.

In my opinion this is nothing to do with the writing; it is a lack of direction and sense of progression in the storyline. By the author's own admission "this one was a bitch", which turned out to be unexpectedly long. I think the book displays a lack of organisation or control of the plot. Most significantly, I think Martin made a huge error in omitting some of the main characters (Tyrion, Dany, Bran and Jon Snow) because it moves us away from the model which has served so well thus far.

However, what is there is still very good and this series is far from a lost cause; I still give it four stars.

Huge Fantasy Fan
Yorkshire
23rd September 2008

Not worth the wait
Well I have to say having been a huge fan of George R R Martin I couldn't wait for this book to be released. But it took that long that I had to re-read the previous books 3 times just to remember what happened, so when this book arrived and I was still left wanting in relation to half the characters I was not best pleased. I'm sure this could have all been forgiven however if the next book 'A Dance with Dragons had been released in fairly quick succession, but 18 months - 2 years later than the orginal release date, it appears to be no closer. My opinion of the author is taking a serious knocking despite how good his first 3 books were. Writers Block??????, please get a move on so we can find out the ending on the more interesting characters.

Mike
Singapore
14th September 2008

Careful scene setting or directionless-filler? 600 pages for you to decide
Want to know what happened to the major characters and plot threads in "Storm of Swords"? You won't find out here. Martin ignores Tyrion, Daenerys, and The Wall and gives us instead The Iron Islands, Dorne and Brienne wandering fruitlessly around after Sansa Stark. Plus lots and lots about Cersei in King's Landing. Unfortunately, the more he writes about the Bad Queen, the less-interesting she becomes, until finally we have a rather threadbare "wicked witch" stereotype. Beautiful but deadly... and deadly dull.

What a shame, eh, when the preceding three works have been of such a high standard?

So, Martin - stand to attention. "Dance with Dragons" had better be a return to form, or else a lot of readers will be abandoning you here.