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.
The five stars is for cumulative effect. I don't think this is the best book in the series (although I think I enjoyed it more than Feast) but the overall effect of reading through the whole series so far within a fairly short period really pays off. This is my second time through the series, and was much more enjoyable than my first, more skimmy, readthrough.
I have been reading the book series in conjunction with the HBO series, reading ahead when the itch to know what has happened to our favourite characters has become too irritating. Perhaps it’s because I am all caught up and thinking about the series that my thinking is drawn to how episodic this particular tome (tomes if you read the split version) is. I do feel, more so in this book than any other in the entire series, that things are being drawn out like an episodic TV show. The writing is as good as ever and when Jon Snow, Tyrion and Arya are the focus I attain immersion in the text.
The first half of the novel (Book 1) suffered most I think from the effects on too many points of view with not moving the plot forward. The second half (Book 2) I felt moved …
Where to begin?
I have been reading the book series in conjunction with the HBO series, reading ahead when the itch to know what has happened to our favourite characters has become too irritating. Perhaps it’s because I am all caught up and thinking about the series that my thinking is drawn to how episodic this particular tome (tomes if you read the split version) is. I do feel, more so in this book than any other in the entire series, that things are being drawn out like an episodic TV show. The writing is as good as ever and when Jon Snow, Tyrion and Arya are the focus I attain immersion in the text.
The first half of the novel (Book 1) suffered most I think from the effects on too many points of view with not moving the plot forward. The second half (Book 2) I felt moved as closer to a resolution, but then left us hanging on the sides of several cliffs.
Still none of my favourite characters died and if that was the only resolution we were going to get I might just let Martin get away with it. I think if I had paid for the books instead of borrowing them from the library I might have felt a bit cheated or perhaps milked. If Martin were to release another book in the series without some more focussed momentum towards a conclusion I might give the series away and just watch the show.
Then again, when Martin writes those characters I love, places them in tightly written chapters I am just as likely to forswear everything I have written above.
Another author and reviewer,Ben Peek , has some interesting things to say the complement the above.
In short my feelings are that A Dance with Dragons was compelling enough to keep me reading, but overall I was left feeling unsatisfied, yearning for some resolution.
Much more shower paced than the first three books, this one is more like the second half of book 4. Nothing important happens and it doesn't make you feel like you want to read the next chapter since there's nothing really to expect. Boring.
Endlich geht die Geschichte auch um die Mauer weiter, aber die deutsche Übersetzung ist wirklich eine Katastrophe, in diesem Band mehr als je zuvor. Grammatik, Rechschreibung fehlerhaft. Fehlende Satzzeichen, doppelte Wörter, falsche Übersetzungen wie "Kleine Kinder mit aufgequollenen Bäumen liefen an ihnen vorbei...".
