N.B.: As always, this review does not contain spoilers for this book, but there are significant spoilers for previous books in the series.All right, I am going to swim against the tide here and come out in unabashed admiration for A Feast for Crows. This book has had to bear an incredible burden: not only has it been "the most recent book" in the Song of Ice and Fire series for six years, but it is infamously "half a book" in the sense that it only follows roughly half of the series' main characters. Plus, with Martin's prediction that there will probably be seven or so books in the series, we're starting to get into the territory where some people level charges of "middle book syndrome". These factors combined, along with some probably justified criticism over certain stylistic elements of the book, mean that A Feast of Crows has largely gotten a bad rap. Undeservedly so, I say!Increasingly I feel like my reviews of this series are becoming, in part at least, responses to other reviews and reactions, both from fellow Goodreads members and from fans and critics at large. And this feels quite appropriate for a series that has garnered such appeal, both from die-hard fans of fantasy and now, thanks to the acclaimed HBO series, mainstream readers as well. It's appropriate that we are having conversations about these books and analyzing them—if some universities have Beatles studies and Buffy studies and Harry Potter studies, then I totally support a curriculum based on studying A Song of Ice and Fire. Also, I just can't think of any other way to review these books, because I feel like I could blather on about the exact same topics I've discussed in my previous reviews of the books in this series. So I'm going to spare you from that and instead argue why A Feast for Crows is not the best book in the series but also far from the worst.I'm not going to touch this whole "Martin is taking too long to write the books!" issue with a three-metre ninja/pirate-proof pole. No, sir. No way. Neil Gaiman and, more recently, John Scalzi have eloquently explained why we should not expect Martin to "write faster" or believe that Martin is somehow deviously twisting his moustache and milking the series for as much money as possible. Of course, you are welcome to the natural anticipation and impatience that accompanies any series while waiting for the next forthcoming book. (I, for example, am drooling an embarrassing amount over the new Dresden Files book, and going through withdrawal because I have been trained to show up at Chapters in April for them.)Only slightly less notorious than the lengthy delay in the release of A Dance with Dragons is the afterword to A Feast for Crows, "Meanwhile, back on the wall…". It's in this afterword that Martin informs his readers why we don't see Daenerys, Jon, Tyrion, et al in A Feast for Crows and, worse still, expresses his devout hope that those characters will return in the next volume next year. OK, so one year became six, and here we are. Old fans and newcomers alike seem to target the structure of A Feast for Crows as a major reason that it is, apparently, "the weakest book of the series":Most of Crows’ problems stem from Martin’s decision to divide the story by geography, and focus mainly on the action in Westeros that takes place south of the Wall. That means that the dwarf, Tyrion Lannister, Martin’s greatest creation, is missing. So are Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen. Not only are you losing fantastic, multidimensional characters with whom we’ve traveled for hundreds and thousands of pages, you lose the heart of the story. As far as I can tell (and I’m sure I’ll be wrong), Martin’s endgame seems to point towards two events: the struggle at the Wall against the onslaught of the walking dead (the song of Ice); and Daenerys’ struggle to reclaim the Iron Throne with the help of her dragons (the song of Fire). Neither of those crucial points get any play in Crows. Instead, it’s 700 pages of B-side.This is a very interesting and cogent observation from Matt's review. For the most part, I agree with his basic analysis—although, I'd like to add that the "song of fire" can also refer to Stannis and Melisandre's Lord of Light, and the battle between the forces of darkness and the forces of light that we see developing on the Wall. However, I disagree that Martin's choice of POVs to include in A Feast for Crows loses "the heart of the story" and results in "700 pages of B-side".It's undeniable that certain characters have become fan favourites, particularly Tyrion, Daenerys, and Jon. I myself have expressed my love for these three characters; as I said in my review of A Storm of Swords, I'm on Team Daenerys, unless Jon and Sam join forces to take over Westeros. (And here's a tantalizing hint: it's possible to interpret some elements of A Feast for Crows as foreshadowing that Daenerys ultimately accedes to the Iron Throne, or what's left of it.) Even Martin, who created all of these people, calls Tyrion his favourite. But Martin's ensemble cast is an element I've pointed out and praised in previous reviews: there is no main character, or no set of main characters. Our elevation of certain characters to stardom is a creation of our own minds, for Martin has forsaken such discrimination and embraced Shakespeare's adage that "all the world's a stage", turning his characters into the players that populate and motivate a much wider, richer drama.At least, that's how I interpret it. I suppose it's a little insulting to suggest that if you are dissatisfied with A Feast for Crows you are reading it wrong. And there are plenty of other reasons to find the book disappointing—for example, unlike the previous two books, there is much less overt bloodshed and there are fewer battles; once again, we have returned to the dialogue-heavy, intrigue-centred world we saw in A Game of Thrones. Nevertheless, I suggest that if you can adapt to Martin's subversion of our conventional way of thinking about main characters, then it is possible to interpret this book as something other than a B-story episode. Instead, Martin focuses on the fallout from A Storm of Swords, and particularly how it affects Southern Westeros, which is the home of six of the seven kingdoms.George R.R. Martin is scary good at a lot of things, and choosing the titles of his books is one such talent. A Feast for Crows, like all of the Song of Ice and Fire novels, is exactly what the title implies: since the Battle of the Blackwater concluded, the civil war has been conducted at a large remove from King's Landing. Thanks to the pact between the Lannisters and the Freys, Robb's rebellion has been prematurely terminated, and aside from Riverrun, the river lands are once again in the hands of the Iron Throne. The North, while not exactly quelled, is not an immediate problem. King Stannis has removed himself to the Wall, and although he poses a threat, he is once again quite distant from King's Landing. But with Tywin Lannister dead, Tyrion missing, and Jaime down a hand, we are treated to families divided and loyalties torn asunder.At the beginning of A Song of Ice and Fire, the Lannisters and the Starks were each unified in their hatred of each other. Lannisters fought against Starks and vice versa. Now the Lannisters begin to turn on each other: Tywin treated all three of his children like shit in A Storm of Swords, and now Jaime and Cersei bicker even as the latter proves desperate to find and kill Tyrion. Although nominally still the most powerful family in Westeros, and the power behind the Iron Throne, the Lannisters' position is precarious. The Tyrells are the new Lannisters in town: unified in their quest for more power, with their own brother-sister pairing of beautiful young queen and shining knight of the Kingsguard. The Lannister sun might actually be setting, and it's very interesting to observe Cersei's actions in this book.Cersei utters that famous line in the first book: "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die." And it's ironic, because with each book I'm more and more convinced that Cersei really sucks at the game of thrones. She's by no means as bad at it as Ned Stark (who shouldn't have trusted Littlefinger), but Tyrion and then her father both ran circles around her. Now, in A Feast for Crows, she makes a series of increasingly-poor decisions, and their result is almost the opposite of what she had intended. Cersei's missteps don't come from a lack of cunning or guile so much as what I perceive as inattentiveness and negligence on her part. The demise of Joffrey and Tywin in quick succession, and Tyrion's roles in those deaths, have hit Cersei hard. Her manic concern for the wellbeing of Tommen is palpable. With her network of trust shattered, she is casting wildly about for people she can make into her creatures, and this causes her to reject some of those who are closest to her, such as Jaime and Kevan. Perhaps the most telling sign of her negligence comes from Cersei's hasty deal with the new, zealous High Septon. Thus far, the new High Septon has refused to endorse Tommen as King, a ceremonial yet important gesture. He craftily agrees to do so in exchange for Tommen reversing an ancient decree that disbands the Faith's own militant order. Cersei, with her Tommen-centric blinders on, agrees readily and thinks she has solved multiple problems with a single conversation. Unfortunately for her, it is all too easy to predict how this decision is going to come back to bite her, and it does.The Lannisters are the most prominent, and probably the most interesting, example of the eponymous, metaphorical feast for crows, but there are so many more. The Greyjoys fight over their Seastone Chair even as they begin raiding Westeros in earnest. Jon does appear briefly in this book, in a scene with Sam, whom he sends with Maester Aemon to Oldtown and the Citadel. Sam is going to train to be become a maester. His adventures during the journey to Oldtown via Braavos, however, demonstrate the extent to which Jon's elevation to Lord Commander is straining their relationship. Jon dispatches Sam and Aemon as part of a calculated, reasoned decision that is far from the passionate bastard we first met on the Wall. And finally, there is a whole new subplot in Dorne around Prince Doran, his vast family, and the Princess Myrcella.In the first three books, Martin chronicled the downfall of the Seven Kingdoms through the machinations, misjudgements, and malfeasance of the powerful Houses. With A Feast for Crows, he focuses on the infection that has now set into the gaping wound left behind by civil war. He shows us that not only are the powerful families fighting amongst each other, they are actually turning on their own. Moreover, he is eager to demonstrate that this corruption and decay is widespread throughout Westeros and endemic to a system devastated by war. And that's why this fan does not view the Brienne chapters as a waste of time. Brienne's story is pivotal to this theme of corruption and decay, because she is our eyes into the effects of war on the peasantry and common folk. As she travels through the outlaw-ridden riverlands in search of Sansa, we see the chaos and destruction left behind by armies on the move. Brienne also falls in with a wandering septon, and he delivers a passionate anti-war speech about how battle breaks men and condemning the fact that the majority of an army never understands why they are fighting; it fights only because it is commanded to fight by its lord.This commoner's perspective is something that has largely been absent from the series so far, and I think it's very important. It emphasizes the folly of a hereditary power structure and belies the idea that any family has a "right" to rule. The common people don't fight because they care who is king; they fight because their lord chooses a side—and the lord chooses, more often than not, out of avarice and opportunity rather than loyalty and honour. While battle claims lords and knights as well as common folk, notice that those lords who survive, such as Edmure Tully, become well-treated hostages. The common people who survive are sent home—or worse, just left wherever the army happens to be where it disbands, which could be nowhere near home—and told to get on with their miserable existence. So allow me to amend Cersei's famous saying: "In the game of thrones, nobility wins, dies, or becomes a hostage; the common folk always lose."A Feast of Crows suffers from a combination of poor timing and what is admittedly a significant departure from the established structure of the narrative. Yet these qualities alone are not sufficient to earn it the label of "weakest book of the series". If you want my opinion (and this is my review, so I don't really know whose opinion you'd expect except mine), A Clash of Kings was the weakest book. In particular I found the sheer number of characters and POVs daunting and messy. Maybe that's why I found A Feast for Crows so refreshing. Although it is somewhat heavy on dialogue—and no, I don't know what a groat is either—I enjoyed the opportunity to get inside each character's head for longer periods of time. For me, the structure of A Feast for Crows was unusual, but it was also a boon. This book certainly has its share of weaknesses, as well as a myriad of strengths I did not have a chance to extol in this review. Overall, however, I think it continues in the tradition Martin has established, one of rich detail and a canny complexity, that makes A Song of Ice and Fire so compelling and beloved.My Reviews of A Song of Ice and Fire:← A Storm of Swords | A Dance with Dragons →
(Bitching rant below. Avoid if you hate that sort of thing I guess. Do what you want though. I'm not your mom.)When I began this book last month, I was surprised to see that none of the chapters focused on my favourite characters. Most of the POV characters were secondary characters or I hadn't heard of them before. It still seemed exciting, so I tried to look forward to the change. The previous book was the best in the series for me. Why couldn't this one be better?I'll start off by saying that the title of this book is inaccurate. A Folly for Crows is more honest. I have never invested so much time in a book to be left with so little. Nothing happened. A bit did near the end, but I have a hunch that everything that was in this book could have slimly fit into the next. What a drag. I probably do more in a day than most of those characters did in two chapters. If you're not going to do anything, don't be a POV character. It's really quite simple. Half the time I felt like jumping into the book and poking the characters with a stick to make them move.Current Care Levels:When the characters weren't sitting on their butts, they were being pains in the butt. Whatever good I have ever said about Jaime and Cersei, I take it back. I take it all back. Save the Queen of Bitches, Cersei Lannister is the second most despicable, power-hungry fictional character I've had the misfortune of coming across. I quote Margaery Tyrell when I say that she's a "vile, scheming, evil bitch." Whatever sympathy I had is lost. Words are wind (more on this shortly). Perhaps her only redeeming quality is the love she holds for her children. But if that's her way of doing it, she might as well not bother at all.This is all just the bare bones of my annoyance. Another thing I didn't like, although it's minor, was enough to make me want to throw my Kindle out of the window Silver Linings Playbook-style was the over-usage of some phrases. For example, "Words are wind." I looked it up and this was used six times in the book. Six times. It was very quotable at first, but then it got monotonous. There's another line which was used nine times. I hope this won't be a trend in the next book.Usually I have to pass the 50% mark for things to get really interesting in these books, but that didn't happen here until nearly the end. Suffice to say, whatever little patience I have when I start a book was lost in this instance.A sure sign (especially with this series it seems) that I'm enjoying a book, is how many updates I post or quotes I like and share. (Both of which were insufficient in this case obviously.) For the most part, I didn't feel like there was much worth sharing.I stopped watching the show between the time that I started and finished this book. This little incident sealed the deal. Props to the producers for that.Aside from that, the plot of the show has diverged starkly (pun intended) from that of the books. And with good reason in many aspects. I'm not quite sure what Martin is doing, but I know I'm not enjoying it. "Let's get this over with," has been the mentality for quite some time. Maybe I just miss Daenerys. Or maybe I just think this is getting ridiculous.
Do You like book A Feast For Crows (2006)?
I know "winter is coming," but this book honestly felt more like a Spring clean.A story of such lengths as the epic A Song of Ice and Fire has to have down time and much of A Feast for Crows is down time. George R.R. Martin ties up loose ends, sets up new story lines and essentially does administrative style organization in an attempt to keep his mammoth machine rolling. He does it admirably, and yet it can't help but lack the pep, surprise and all around thrill of his previous three books. In his defense, this book is only half a book. The one after it should have been its second half. The first half of books usually include a lot of house keeping. This definitely feels like a first half. It's a little dull.*HOWEVER, if you're already a Game of Thrones fan, I don't see how you could not enjoy this book. It's got most of your favorite characters. Cersei is still the same old lovable bat-crazy bitch. Arya and Brienne have never wandered more aimlessly. Jaime is still phantom masturbating. Granted, Jon Snow has little to do or say (then again, it's best to keep your mouth shut when you know nothing) and Daenerys seems to have sprouted dragon wings and flown off. Even so, new characters are introduced who should add a whole other layer of intrigue to the festivities. The aforementioned house keeping does drag on in the form of long council meetings and generally boring exposition. There are a lot of scenes written just to keep the story moving forward. The action and excitement come in short spurts, and the one big reveal had unfortunately already been revealed to me. Even so, I marched through this book with a will, happily following along even through the slow parts.As regards my rating, those 3 stars are a very strong three stars. For my overall enjoyment level, it should be four. However, I gave the previous three books in the series four stars each and since I didn't like this one quite as much as them, I had to show it somehow. And yet, I did enjoy this more than many other three star books I've read.* In an aside that I found humorous, at the end of A Feast for Crows Martin explains how this was meant to be the first half of a much larger book, but that the book became soooo unwieldy it had to be broken up into two books. And now here's the part I found funny...Martin said he hoped for the next book after this one to be published in about a year. Hahahahah! It turned out to be more like six years before A Dance with Dragons would appear. A year indeed. I guffaw in your general direction, sir!
—Jason Koivu
At this point I've learned that George R.R. Martin writes in waves. Even though this probably isn't how real science works, I visualize his plot structure as a giant tsunami: he adds little oscillatory currents that contribute to a huge tidal wave, which eventually crashes down and drowns us all in the most beautiful and devastating way. Though this might sound like how all books function - with a rising action leading up to a climax - Martin spends so much time developing and honing the rising action of his story that the inevitable climax calls for a great deal of praise.Like A Clash of Kings, A Feast for Crows serves as the buildup of the tsunami. We see the aftermath of the destruction and chaos in A Storm of Swords with about only half of the characters: Cersei and Jaime, Sansa and Arya, Brienne, Samwell, and a few more. Not only do the separated pieces from the last book start to coalesce, but new divisions form, ones that will take a lot to tie together.Martin's characters earn A Feast for Crows its acclaim. Besides the strenuous situations they find themselves in, their complexities still capture my attention with every page: how Jaime's honor hurts him more than it heals him, how we derogate Cersei for her actions while detesting the patriarchal system that motivates so many of her actions, how Sansa and Arya both adapt new identities to shield themselves, and more. When these characters interact, all the nuances and twists come together in unexpected and ingenious ways.Recommended for fans of the first three books of the series. Even though this one is a bit slow, it adds plenty to the characters, and I'm confident Martin will capitalize on this development in future installments.*review cross-posted on my blog, the quiet voice
—Thomas
“History is a wheel, for the nature of man is fundamentally unchanging. What has happened before will perforce happen again.”I think this may be my favorite novel in the series. Not because it was the best but because I felt so connected to the story, more than I have ever felt before while reading this series. And while I can admit that the plot was poorer in comparison with its predecessors and there weren't all of the characters we've grown accustomed to reading about, I still feel like Mr. Martin is one of a kind and his writing is one of the best I've ever had the luck of reading and I could never ever give this book anything less than 5 stars for the simple reason that with this book, the series has finally found a place in my heart.This book, as many of you may already know, is mainly focused upon King's Landing and some might say the South but I'm not so sure about that. In this book we read for the first time from Cersei's perspective and I have to admit that getting inside her head and seeing firsthand how her brain works, well, it was truly amazing. We see every single bit of malice the lovely Queen Regent has and how far she's willing to go to ensure that Tommen remains safe and sound from whoever tries to do him harm. The story, despite the absence of some of the characters, such as Tyrion, Daenerys & Jon, was still just as riveting and I think that was principally because of the fact that the plot twists and revelations were scattered throughout the book so it actually kept me on the edge and had me intrigued the entire time.In addition to Cersei, there's also quite lots of Jaime and I clearly saw him changing throughout the entire novel, from the tiny bits of details regarding how his brain works to the fact that he finally distances himself from Cersei and sees her for what she really is. He's sent to do Cersei's bidding and his last chapter in the novel, left my brain whirring.Apart from Cersei & Jaime's perspectives, there are bits and pieces of the Iron Islands, told from the point of view of Asha, Victarion & such. Balon Greyjoy is dead and someone has to succeed him.In the South, Oberyn's daughters, the Sand Snakes, want to avenge their father, so Doran is forced to prison them before they do something that will jeopardize everything. There's also a little bit of plotting from Arianne's side, who's Doran's daughter and his rightful heir. I never thought I'd like Arianne that much. She's quite bold and she has the guts to do what her father refuses to.This book was big enough and I understand why Mr. Martin divided the story into two parts. It would just be too huge if he had tried to write about all of the characters in one book and I understand he has a lot to write and a lot to give to us through his stories so honestly I'm not disappointed, if anything, I'm happy that he did that. The more the books, the merrier I'll be.The fact, that a person can build such an amazing world, with the tiniest of details, it's truly amazing and inspirational. I don't get how he does it and honestly I get why his books take so long to come out, I mean they're huge, they're full of made-up history. I mean I wouldn't even be able to remember the names if I were him. I admire his talent and I hope there are more amazing books to come. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book, I'm anxious and ready for Jon, Dany & Tyrion's stories in the next book.
—Laz
