Feast for Crows

Jon. Daenerys. Bran. Zombie Cat. Where the hell did Tyrion go?

Book 3 was a cliffhanger. It ended with Jon Snow being reunited with Ghost and then elected Lord Commander, leaving readers on the edge of their seats for what happens next, but A Feast for Crows doesn't do the job of picking up where we left off. Not until you turn the last page does the author explain why he did things this way. He just ended up with way more material than could fit in one volume. Which means he could have published it all together as a larger two-volume set. I prefer bouncing around geographically rather than chronologically. If I would have known beforehand, and if there were a guide on how to read both books simultaneously, I would have loved to do it that way.

Some other annoyances include the way George broke his patterns of using the first name of the chapter's POV character as the chapter heading. It's really annoying because it takes a while to find your bearings and figure out which character you're reading about. For example, Aeron Greyjoy has a few chapters but they all have different titles. He also changes chapter headings for characters who are in hiding, referring to them by their pretend names. Imagine if he had done this with Arya in books 2 and 3—that would have been ridiculous!

Another issue has to do with the author's voice. Jaime and Cersei often have chapters right next to each other, starting and ending with the other character present so that you know what the other is thinking in a way that all previous books had deliberately avoided. It really takes away from the POV pattern that ASOIAF is known for.

I must admit, I was a little disappointed in this one - not enough to give it less than four stars, but it wasn't a five for me (like the previous three were).

In each of the first three books, a lot happens. We're introduced to many characters, plenty of people die, there's lots of action, politics, and intrigue.

In book four, not so much. There's plenty of travelling, plenty of posturing, and plenty of just plain waiting.

It can't really be helped, I get that. The War of the Five Kings is all but over. Or, rather, I should say it's at a stalemate because there's still no clear winner. Joffrey's dead, Robb's dead, Tywin's dead, and Tyrion's missing.

The aftermath of war is everywhere you look. Corpses float along waterways or hang from dead trees. Buildings are in disrepair. People are paranoid. In that respect, the title of this book is very apt: it really is A Feast For Crows.

And that's why this book still managed a four-star rating from me. The writing is immaculate (I don't think I spotted a single typo), and the settings are described beautifully, as always. As you read it, you can smell the carnage, and feel the desolation, loneliness, and despair. It's a very bleak book.

It's also only one part of the story, containing only half the characters we've come to know and love. Apparently, the next book in the series overlaps this one (although I'm not sure by how much), so it's the same time period told from the point of view of all those other characters.

Hopefully, those characters' stories will be a little more eventful. I can't wait to find out.