mass market paperback, 1152 pages
Published March 31, 2015 by Bantam.
Dubbed “the American Tolkien” by Time magazine, George R. R. Martin has earned international acclaim for his monumental cycle of epic fantasy. Now the #1 New York Times bestselling author delivers the fifth book in his landmark series—as both familiar faces and surprising new forces vie for a foothold in a fragmented empire.
In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance -- beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.
Fleeing from Westeros with a prince on his head. Tyrion …
Dubbed “the American Tolkien” by Time magazine, George R. R. Martin has earned international acclaim for his monumental cycle of epic fantasy. Now the #1 New York Times bestselling author delivers the fifth book in his landmark series—as both familiar faces and surprising new forces vie for a foothold in a fragmented empire.
In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance -- beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.
Fleeing from Westeros with a prince on his head. Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. but his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys's claim to Westeros forever.
Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth wall of ice and stone -- a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creature of ice.
From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.
Book 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire, in which everyone's fortunes seem to go from bad to worse. I loved it. :) Can't wait for the next one!
The problem with reading a long-running epic series with a zillion plot threads and a zillion zillion characters as it's being released is remembering what was going on in the previous books. And since this book picked up the plot lines of the characters from two books
ago, that was a lot for me to remember. I really could have used a "Previously, in Song of Ice and Fire..." summary at the beginning of the book. (Next time: use the internet! That is what it is there for!)
This book is of course a continuation of the series and in many ways more of the same GRRM we've come to expect. Many points of view and many interleaving and very complex plots. And a lot lot of words in general. It is, in terms of the series, neither better nor worse than any other book in the series. A middle …
The problem with reading a long-running epic series with a zillion plot threads and a zillion zillion characters as it's being released is remembering what was going on in the previous books. And since this book picked up the plot lines of the characters from two books
ago, that was a lot for me to remember. I really could have used a "Previously, in Song of Ice and Fire..." summary at the beginning of the book. (Next time: use the internet! That is what it is there for!)
This book is of course a continuation of the series and in many ways more of the same GRRM we've come to expect. Many points of view and many interleaving and very complex plots. And a lot lot of words in general. It is, in terms of the series, neither better nor worse than any other book in the series. A middle book.
In terms of the series I liked the first three books and found myself disenchanted with the fourth because the plot seemed to have spun out of control; I wasn't convinced that GRRM would be able to rein it back in again. Also I wasn't entirely pleased with the direction the plot had taken for some characters. With this book I can see the plot slightly coming back together again, and that gives me hope, although I still have concerns. I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. I'm not entirely disgusted any more. I hope there will be less of a wait for the next book.
Meh. I think I'm finally over this nonsense.
As always, quite the enjoyable read.
A dense book, and as always, A Song of Ice and Fire is entirely inaccessible from any point but A Game of Thrones.
The plots grow deeper, thicker, and more wide-ranging than ever before, as we flit back and forth between Essos and Westeros. It shows, where some characters appear to be cast aside (Bran, Jaime) as the book progresses, while others are expanded on (sometimes to no apparent value, like Cersei).
Cersei's chapters, I think he just wanted to write about breasts.
Jon Snow is dead. I despair.
Maybe not as good as [b:A Game of Thrones|13496|A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)|George R.R. Martin|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039164s/13496.jpg|1466917], but definitely deserves to be considered as the best of the Song of Ice and Fire. It has the quick-moving plot of [b:A Game of Thrones|13496|A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)|George R.R. Martin|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039164s/13496.jpg|1466917], the intricate political intrigue of [b:A Clash of Kings|10572|A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)|George R.R. Martin|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1307734601s/10572.jpg|3272005], and even a little bit of the madness of [b:A Storm of Swords|62291|A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)|George R.R. Martin|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298429990s/62291.jpg|1164465]. And, best of all, it has none of the flaws of [b:A Feast for Crows|13497|A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4)|George R.R. Martin|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1288333578s/13497.jpg|1019062]. Even the ironmen are interesting in this one.
