A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 4) Hardcover – November 8, 2005

This one is not the best in the series. Unfortunately, the author seems to delight in killing off the most memorable characters. Further, in this novel, the author deliberately tries to confuse the reader as to who the characters are. Sansa and Arrya both repeatedly take fake names and suddenly the chapters refer to them that way. Then the author introduces a gaggle of pretty forgettable new characters. All of this serves to make this installment only good, not great (as were the first three).

Make no mistake, this is still a novel worth reading and I am still captured by the whole Game of Thrones saga. But the author could have done much better and that makes this one frustrating. RJB.

I did not get involved with the TV show when it first came out, although my entire family was obsessed with it. I like to read the book that movie/TV projects are based on before I see how characters are portrayed, as I like to see the characters and story in my own mind first. OMG...this author is amazing. The word painting is incredible, he is able to transport readers in to his world, and he leaves you desperately wanting more. I still have not seen one single episode, but I have seen far more of this world than any viewer has. Great book.

I was pleasantly surprised by this fourth installment of the “Game of Thrones” series. It picks up the pace after previous installments dragged with various characters’ endless wanderings.

The story line deviates from that of the TV series enough to make it fresh even if you watch the latter. I spent time checking maps and websites to firm up my understanding of what went by in a blur on TV.

This series is too long by half. Martin unnecessarily draws out scenes involving minor characters, and constantly introduces avoidable new ones. The cast of characters is so long it occupies nearly 10 percent of this volume. Martin has managed, though, to create a whole world, one even wider and more developed than Tolkien’s Middle Earth, and in its many shades of gray more realistic and adult than the latter. I must credit him.

I found, say, a chapter on Arya’s wandering through Braavos, selling shellfish to many as she gathers information, to be quite evocative and beautiful. Martin could have covered this episode in her saga in a few paragraphs, but instead took a longer and more artistic option, and the result is quite lovely.

This story begins after Tyrion Lannister murders his father Tywin and flees. His sister Cersei Lannister, still Regent but now in charge with her powerful father gone, needs a new Hand to replace him. Her brother Jaime won’t take it, earning her resentment, and catalyzing a growing rift between the two.

For Jaime’s own part he’s jealous over the infidelities of his twin, whom he incestuously loves. Others turn her down too. Cersei is fun to read, but truly an evil queen. We don’t dismiss her, though, because the theme of this vicious game is what it takes to seize power and hold it, and what happens to those who lose. Our world isn’t that different, and we have to ask ourselves, if we were in Cersei’s place, might we make the same choices?

Not wanting Jaime around, Cersei sends him north to secure the huge, strategic Harrenhal castle and to take Riverrun, where the last Tully brother holds out. The TV series didn’t develop the siblings’ growing alienation as much, or Jaime’s realization of the monster his sister is becoming.

Sansa and Littlefinger hole up at the Eyrie. Sansa must keep a secret - that Littlefinger murdered his bride Lisa Arryn - and deceive Arryn bannermen, suspicious of this newly arrived usurper. Sansa sees the depth of Littlefinger’s corruption: he murdered Lisa to protect Sansa, but had planned to all along to seize power over the fief.

Arya arrives in Braavos, finds the House of Black and White, and finally wins their trust enough to begin training as an assassin. She is ordered to eradicate every trace of her former self, but nurtures deep down her secret dream of revenge.

Sam endures a harrowing voyage south to shelter Gilly and her baby with Sam’s family. They lay over in Braavos, where Sam encounters Arya without either realizing their connection through Jon Snow. They are stranded when the Night Watch’s aged maester they accompany - one of the last of the royal Targaryens - is too sick to go on. Sam gloms to Gilly’s tragic secret as he searches desperately to get to Oldtown and the Citadel.

In the Iron Islands, with Balon Greyjoy dead, a new king must be chosen by the people. Balon’s niece Asha throws her hat in, but too few ironborn will accept a woman leader. Another of Balon’s brothers, now high priest, desperately tries to stop another brother, the wicked Euron - whom readers know murdered Balon - from becoming king. A third brother contends but doesn’t have Euron’s ability to sway a crowd. The TV show had Asha’s brother Theon involved here, but in the book he’s been MIA for a couple of volumes.

Brienne roams the riverlands searching for Sansa, trying not to name and thus endanger her. Brienne must endure men resentful of a woman knight, including Sam’s nasty father Randyll Tarly, who’s scouring outlaws from the war-ravaged land. It’s a lot easier when it comes to blows, since the towering Brienne can vanquish almost any man she fights.

The book develops, much further than the TV show, the Sand Snakes plotting in Dorne against their crippled and cautious uncle. They want revenge against the Lannisters for their father’s death. Cersei’s daughter Myrcella is a Martell hostage and a pawn in the game. The focus on TV is the prince’s colorfully violent bastard nieces, but here it’s on his more conventional daughter Arienne, who plays a high-stakes game using her feminine wiles on Myrcella’s bodyguard, Arys Oakheart of Jaime’s officially celibate King’s Guard.

Back in King’s Landing, Cersei surrounds herself with mediocrities after alienating those few good people who might have helped her. She wants to eliminate her young son’s bride, Margaery Tyrell, as a rival. She fears the latter aims to depose Cersei through the boy king she increasingly influences.

We don’t see Tyrion, Daenarys, Jon, Stannis, the Onion Lord, or Bran (I don’t miss him, he bores me, along with his frog-gigging companions), but the story still drew me in.

Westeros is a chaotic mess after years of civil war. Much of it, particularly the central Riverlands, is a smoking, corpse-choked ruin, full of orphans, broken people and bandits. There are rumors of dragons across the sea.

This book continues to advance the story, sort of. Not all of the characters from the first three novels are present in this book but Martin assures his readers that the missing ones will appear in the next book which will cover the same time frame as this one. The familiar people we do get to follow in this book often seem to be chasing their tails and do not always advance the plot very much. By the end, Martin leaves us with several cliff-hangers with very little resolved. This book does introduce several new characters some of which may or may not be important or even interesting. It is still a very good book and I would not do so much knit-picking if the first three weren't so much better by comparison.

At first I was like “where is everyone else?” Then I got to the last page and read the authors note about how he broke it up into 2 books since there was so much to cover. If you haven’t seen it read this, stop reading. Ok, so This wasn’t my favorite book in the series so far. The chapters I was interested in reading were about Cersi, Jaime and Brienne (in that order) and I didn’t get excited about Briennes part until the last chapter of her. Now I’m like WTF happened to her?! Anyway, back to Cersi, reading about her made me understand why she is like this. She wants to be treated as an equal so she does ruthless things that she believes men would do in her place. Still a bitch though. Jaime, he certainly changes after having his hand cut off and traveling with Brienne in the last book. I kind of felt bad for him, but I think he needed that to happen in order for him to change. Otherwise he’d still be a dick. I like that there was an underlining show of respect (or affection if you really wanted it that way) with Jaime and Brienne. A part of me wants them together lol The book also talked about Arya and Sansa. It was more about their journey of what they go through to end up where they should be in the next book or so. Exciting, nope, but I guess necessary. I see why a lot of people didn’t like this.

Not sure I want to read the rest of the series after this volume. It is painfully slow and goes nowhere after a promising third volume. Highly disappointing. I regret my purchase on this one, and sadly enough I bought them all in one shot, so I guess I'll have to read Book 5 at some point... Maybe in a couple of years or something. Save your money, and content yourself with the TV series: you won't miss much besides the time spent in front of your flat screen