A salad course that consists of best-laid plans, travelogues, and plots sounds rather interesting at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes evident that something is amiss. Firstly, it's missing the crucial element of meat. Meat often provides a rich and satisfying flavor that can enhance the overall experience of a dish. Without it, the salad feels somewhat lacking in substance. Secondly, it also feels short on heat. A bit of spiciness or warmth can add a kick and liven up the flavors. In this case, the absence of heat makes the salad seem rather平淡. Overall, despite its promising components, this salad fails to hit the spot. It doesn't quite deliver the expected combination of flavors and textures that would make it a truly great dish. (B+) 77% | Good
Notes:

All right, let's take a closer look at A Feast for Crows. This book has faced quite a bit of criticism, but I'm here to tell you that it's not as bad as some make it out to be. It's had to carry a heavy burden, being the most recent book in the Song of Ice and Fire series for six years and only following about half of the main characters. Plus, with the possibility of seven or so books in the series, some people have accused it of having "middle book syndrome". But I think these criticisms are largely unfounded.

I feel like my reviews of this series are becoming more of a response to other reviews and reactions. And that makes sense, considering the huge appeal this series has, both among die-hard fantasy fans and now, thanks to the HBO series, mainstream readers as well. We should be having conversations about these books and analyzing them. In fact, I think a curriculum based on studying A Song of Ice and Fire would be a great idea.

Now, let's address the issue of Martin taking too long to write the books. I'm not going to touch that with a ten-foot pole. Neil Gaiman and John Scalzi have already explained why we shouldn't expect him to write faster or think he's just milking the series for money. Of course, we all have natural anticipation and impatience when waiting for the next book. But we should also be patient and trust that Martin will deliver a great story.

The afterword to A Feast for Crows, "Meanwhile, back on the wall…", is also a source of some controversy. In it, Martin explains why we don't see certain characters in this book and expresses his hope that they'll return in the next volume. But one year turned into six, and here we are. Some people have criticized the structure of this book, saying that it's the weakest in the series because it focuses mainly on the action south of the Wall and leaves out some of the most popular characters. But I think this is a bit of an overreaction.

Yes, certain characters have become fan favorites, like Tyrion, Daenerys, and Jon. But Martin's ensemble cast is one of the strengths of the series. There is no one main character, and our elevation of certain characters to stardom is a creation of our own minds. Martin has forsaken such discrimination and instead created a much wider, richer drama. If you can adapt to his subversion of our conventional way of thinking about main characters, you might be able to see this book in a different light.

George R.R. Martin is a master at many things, and choosing the titles of his books is one of them. A Feast for Crows is exactly what the title implies. Since the Battle of the Blackwater, the civil war has been conducted at a distance from King's Landing. With Tywin Lannister dead, Tyrion missing, and Jaime down a hand, the Lannisters are in a precarious position. The Tyrells are the new power players in town, and we get to see Cersei's increasingly poor decisions as she tries to hold onto power. It's all very interesting to watch.

The Lannisters are just one example of the metaphorical feast for crows in this book. There are many more, including the Greyjoys, who are fighting over their Seastone Chair, and Jon, whose elevation to Lord Commander is straining his relationship with Sam. There's also a new subplot in Dorne around Prince Doran and his family. And let's not forget Brienne, whose story is pivotal to the theme of corruption and decay in Westeros. Her journey through the outlaw-ridden riverlands shows us the chaos and destruction left behind by war.

In conclusion, A Feast for Crows may not be the best book in the series, but it's far from the worst. It has its weaknesses, but it also has many strengths. The structure may be unusual, but it gives us a chance to get inside each character's head for longer periods of time. The book continues in the tradition of rich detail and canny complexity that makes A Song of Ice and Fire so compelling and beloved. So don't be too quick to write it off. Give it a chance and see what you think.

I was truly afraid that I would somehow miss Tyrion's incredibly witty remarks and his astute and keen observations. However, Jaime and Cersei, especially Cersei, managed to keep me completely engrossed.

Undoubtedly, I am firmly on the side of the Starks. Yet, I must admit that it is the richly developed, fantastically twisted, and morally ambiguous Lannisters who truly seem to own this remarkable series.

Their complex characters, filled with flaws and virtues, add a layer of depth and intrigue that is simply captivating. Each member of the Lannister family has their own motives and desires, which often lead them down paths that are both unexpected and fascinating.

Whether it's Tyrion's intelligence and charm, Jaime's redemption arc, or Cersei's unwavering ambition, the Lannisters continue to be the driving force behind much of the drama and excitement in the series. They are a family that you love to hate and hate to love, and their storylines are some of the most compelling and unforgettable in all of television.

Oh Dany, how I truly missed you.

I'm extremely bummed that we didn't get a single Daenerys chapter. It's such a disappointment.

However, the addition of Cersei chapters was truly delicious. It was so much fun to read about her delusional self. She is such a complex and interesting character, even in her delusions.

As much as I enjoyed this, I don't think I will read A Dance with Dragons until we get an announcement about The Winds of Winter. If I were to finish it with no sign of WoW, I'm afraid I'd go insane.

Am I aware of how delusional I sound waiting for a book that will likely never come to be? Yes, I am. But as a wise man once said, "Delulu is the Solulu." I guess I'm just holding onto hope that one day, George R. R. Martin will finally release The Winds of Winter and we can continue the epic journey of the characters we love.

Until then, I'll just have to keep waiting and imagining what might happen next.

Confession time: even though SF and Fantasy are probably my two favorite genres, and my love for Tolkien still burns strong, I must admit that I'm not a fan of high/epic fantasy.

To me, high fantasy is like a literary Kim Kardashian. It's bulky, voluminous, and artificially pretty on the surface, yet lacks depth or substance. Even as a guilty pleasure, it quickly becomes tedious due to its generic blandness, similar to the aforementioned assy minx.

Most importantly, I'm tired of those never-ending, multi-volume, drawn-out sagas where it's clear that the author doesn't really need all that time and space to tell an interesting tale. My question has always been: what do we gain from those thousands of extra pages? A more exciting story? A more complex world? A deeper character study? Based on what I've seen and read, the answer is obviously no. Because saying more isn't as easy as simply writing more.

I'm evidently in a minority on this, but that's okay.

There are many reasons why I'm jaded toward high fantasy, all of which pertain to ASOIAF and its fourth (and so far the crappiest) installment, A Feast for Crows. Since I'm a big lazy ass, I'll state only three.

1. The preposterous number of characters. There are so many characters in ASOIAF that it actively works against and corrodes my engagement in the story. I understand that the Big Epic War ties them all together, but there are simply too many. Martin throws new characters at the reader recklessly, and it's become overwhelming. I used to care for these people once, but now, because there are so many unimportant players, I've lost interest in all of them, even the ones I used to like. I can handle a few main characters, but this is just too much.

2. The tedious amount of exposition. Exposition is rampant in ASOIAF, even in the first three books, which are generally considered far superior to the latter two. Why are we told so much about the minutiae of every single character's thought or action? It adds nothing to the main story. You claim this is characterization or world-building? Bollocks. Jack Vance could create an entire alien society within a single passage, and in comparison, this seems pathetic. I admire writers who can say much in as few words as possible, and Martin is the polar opposite of that.

3. The near-deathly snail's pace. The book is absurdly, senselessly, mind-numbingly long. And it feels long. Because there's no fucking story in there: over the course of 850 pages, nothing happens. Everything can be summed up in just three words: incoherent, boring, pointless. The once compelling idea is overwhelmed by the ridiculously large cast of characters and the obnoxious need to dwell on everything. I enjoy a languid narrative where not much happens, like the Gormenghast books, but Peake's masterwork has a purpose: it creates a surreal, dreamlike, gothic atmosphere and is redeemed by his wonderful prose. There are no such redeeming qualities in AFFC; it's just self-indulgence and commercialism at its worst. The pace is glacially slow, plodding, and rambling, and it never goes anywhere, but still slogs on and on and on.

I could go on bitching too, but....

I had been cautioned that this book was the least captivating in the series. I resolved to finish it in under a month; otherwise, I'm certain I would have resorted to reading chapter summaries. And they were correct. Nevertheless, there is a very good reason for this, as Martin elucidates as soon as you reach the final page. "A Feast for Crows" and "A Dance with Dragons" were originally intended to be a single book. Martin wanted to avoid creating an enormous tome, so he devised this excellent and highly profitable idea of splitting it in half. Of course, this suited me perfectly as I detest heavy books (they often end up falling on my face - seriously, it's dangerous and distracting). In fact, I did precisely the same thing with "A Storm of Swords", which is a favorite among many of you. I didn't read a single volume; instead, I purchased two separate books (1. "Steel and Snow" & 2. "Blood and Gold"). I can vividly recall that the first part was far less interesting than the second one (which is why I gave it 4 stars). Yet, if you were to ask me to rate the book as a whole, I would give it 5 stars without hesitation.

So, this is precisely the situation here. Yes, some chapters were rather dull, but I still believe Martin included them for a good reason. I found this book to be extremely informative. Many of my questions regarding Dorne and the Iron Islands were answered. Consider this book as Martin's attempt to provide you with a comprehensive view of our story. In the previous book, chaos ensued (all 7 of them). Kings rose and fell, houses were wiped out, and Martin had to somehow convey to us how this affected the rest of Westeros. I think this is why he titled it "A Feast for Crows": There was so much bloodshed in book 3, so many deaths, and it was necessary to show us who would attempt to take advantage of the situation, who would feast upon the dead... Apparently, there are numerous new characters who enjoy playing the game of thrones.

I absolutely adored Cersei's chapters. They were by far the best. I mean, wow, thank goodness that woman is fictional. If you loved to hate Joffrey, wait until you read Cersei's chapters. I also relished Sansa's chapters as I had the opportunity to learn about some of Littlefinger's devious plans. Whenever he explains one of his schemes, I'm like: "Woooooa, how on earth did Martin come up with that? Is he even human?" Jaime's chapters were amazing as well. We witness some genuine character development there.

My least favorite chapters were those of Dorne and the Iron Islands, as well as some of Brienne's (towards the end, they improved significantly). However, the final chapters were outstanding!

Be forewarned: There are no chapters told from Jon's, Dany's, or Tyrion's perspective. Tyrion's???? Seriously??? That was unforgivable, George!

Don't miss it!

The article seems to be a review or assessment of something related to people on journeys. It points out that the content perhaps focuses on too many unimportant perspectives, spreading the narrative too thin. As a result, there is not enough of a significant pay-off or conclusion. This might suggest that the piece could benefit from a more focused approach, perhaps zeroing in on a few key aspects of the journey or the people involved. By doing so, it could potentially offer a more engaging and fulfilling read, rather than overwhelming the reader with a plethora of minor details that don't ultimately amount to much. (B+) 77% | Good
Notes: It's about people on journeys, spread too thin over too many inconsequential perspectives, with too little of a pay-off.

A Feast for Crows is the one book (so far!) in the series that everyone loves to hate. Just for that aspect alone, I was determined to like it. So what if there was no trace of Dany, Tyrion, nor even Jon to follow? I'm sure there are lots of other characters whose adventures are just as fascinating, like Brienne's for example.

By the end of the book, one can almost guarantee that she'll work "a highborn maid of three-and-ten, with a fair face and auburn hair" into the conversation. Oh wait no, that was one of the most boring ones.

Right, then I say follow Arya as she tries to improve her lying abilities. That's useful... by which I mean that she sucks at it and gets slapped a lot as a result. Mmm, yeah on second thought, that also got old pretty fast.

Oh I know: you can wander around in Sam's confused thoughts. Alternately, if you're in a hurry, let me summarize things: he swore an oath, so he's not allowed to do stuff. Eh? This is exciting right?! No? Well, it'll get there by the end of the 1000+ pages, so just be patient. VERY patient.

Following Cersei around was strangely satisfying though: you just knew that there was an implied countdown somewhere in there, till the shit hit the fan. I was gleefully rooting for every single side character to have a go at her, even if I knew who'd be the one to ultimately succeed.

In contrast, I really started to pity Jamie, and maybe even like him for his despair. It's rather interesting how everybody started to sympathize with him during the previous book, where he was saving Brienne against his better judgement. For me, it was his frustrated attempts to ponder Tyrion's parting words regarding his sister's promiscuity. I considered shedding a tear or two, but then I decided I liked his new and improved tortured persona, so I just sniffled a bit.

... and last but not least Sansa. Now that took me by complete surprise. I can now totally get on the Sansa-hype train and look forward to seeing her become the lady from the end of season 6. Also, being a fairly sick mofo, I'll take more of her interactions with Petyr Baelish as well, please. *insert loud boo-ing from the audience*

Score: 3.3 / 5 stars

There's no going around it: A Feast for Crows was boring, and painfully so... for the most part. Although by the end of it there was plenty of interesting development to be had, getting to said revelations was just so tedious.

Here's to hoping that the next book will be better: GR scores certainly seem to confirm it.

===============================================

Review of book 1: A Game of Thrones

Review of book 2: A Clash of Kings

Review of book 3: A Storm of Swords

Review of book 5: A Dance with Dragons

There is only one problem with this book, and that is the point of view characters. As a reader, I have grown somewhat accustomed to things like this:

So, when I'm presented with things like this instead, it's bound to disappoint:

There are significant pacing issues with the most recent (ha! that's a joke) two books of the series, and I mean significant. There's a whole lot of nothing in this one. Cersei's chapters are excruciating to read. That's not surprising considering she is probably the least likable of characters within this series. However, this doesn't make the book bad because of this. I think she needed some point of view chapters, but what she didn't need was an endless amount of them; it was just too many. By doing this, it meant that there were very few chapters that were enjoyable to read; there was no Tyrion, Dany, Jon Snow, or Bran in the book.

I think George. R. R Martin made a huge mistake when he decided to have this and A Dance with Dragons occur simultaneously. The story clearly got out of his control and became a bit convoluted. The pacing is terrible; there is no real payoff in either book (unlike its predecessors). The book ends at a random point in the story, which just didn't feel quite right. Personally, I think he should have continued the trend he set with the previous books in the series. It just needed one straightforward time arc. We don't need events happening at the same time across books; it didn't need to become that complex; it's already perfectly complex. He's clearly written himself into a corner with it. Hence the time it's taken him to get the next book out.

Well, that being said, there is still a lot to take from this book. The story does, of course, develop and become even more engaging. If anything, this book made me count down the days until the release of A Dance with Dragons. But, that's not really a good thing. I think most people tend to forgive Martin for his lapse into convolutedness because the previous books were so damn good. I just hope he has reduced the number of new point of view characters in the highly anticipated sixth book. I think it's far too late to add so many points of view into the series. One or two is understandable in a book of this type, but when it's six or seven, it becomes a bit of a joke. It detracts from the central stories. I'm moaning again here. I started to list the positives, which just turned into another rant!

Redeeming features

This book isn't all bad, far from it. Arya's story takes a most interesting turn, and Jaime begins to search for his lost honor. These are among the interesting characters of the entire series, so their points of view saved the book. And then Sam gets his moment in the spotlight. Things do develop and move forward; we see the politics from a different angle. But, I still think it should have been along one time arc; it would have been a lot easier. See what I mean? I just can't focus on the positives, so I'm going to leave it here.

I may complain about this book, but in reality, it's only because I love this series so much. There are obvious problems with it, but it doesn't stop me from reading on or re-reading the previous books. I may grit my teeth and cringe when I read certain chapters, but I'll read them again and complain about them again. This series is what got me into reading in the first place, so I do owe a lot to it, even if this book fell below the benchmark Martin set for himself.

A Song of Ice and Fire

1. A Game of Thrones - A life-changing five stars

2. A Clash of Kings - An Impish five stars

3. A Storm of Swords - A Lannister-loving five stars

4. A Feast for Crows - A flat 3.5 stars

This has the pace of an asthmatic snail.

It moves so slowly that it feels as if it is barely making any progress at all.

It doesn't hit any of the lofty heights of the previous instalments.

Compared to what came before, it just seems to fall short in every aspect.

And it just feels like a lot is *missing*.

There is a lack of something essential that would have made this a more engaging and fulfilling experience.

Some intrigue is present, but there is little payoff.

The elements that initially draw you in don't lead to anything truly satisfying.

There is some good dialogue, but little interest.

Even though the words are well-crafted, they don't manage to hold your attention for long.

Overall, this instalment is a disappointment, failing to live up to the expectations set by its predecessors.

Review also posted on Wordpress! Spoiler-free review

"Words are like arrows, Arianne. Once loosed, you cannot call them back."

I began A Feast For Crows in August but had left it untouched for months. This was entirely my fault as I thought I could read it while also reading other books. Sadly, that didn't work for me. Ten days ago, I decided to finish this book and I voraciously devoured the final 600 pages that I hadn't reached last summer.

A Feast For Crows is quite distinct from its predecessors. It focuses on the Lannisters in King's Landing, the Martells, Sansa and Arya Stark, Brienne, the Greyjoys, and Samwell. I adored that Martin chose to concentrate on specific story-lines rather than providing us with snippets from every arc in the series.

However, having become so accustomed to these characters, I'm afraid I'll miss them! Hopefully, the next book doesn't solely focus on Tyrion, Jon, and Dany but includes other characters as well. Knowing myself, I'll probably commence A Dance With Dragons immediately, as once I'm engrossed in these books, I can't stop thinking about them. Although I really shouldn't, as I don't want to lag behind in my reading challenge!

I was overjoyed that we finally got chapters from Cersei's point-of-view. In the books, she is far more brutal than in the TV show adaptation, yet I love her nonetheless. I'm already dreading reading about Tyrion in the following books as I utterly loathe him. I hope Cersei will remain a protagonist too. And I also relished the Jaime we saw in A Feast For Crows. I love the theory that he is the valonqar and can definitely envision it happening in the books.

We are also introduced to Dorne and the Martells. I absolutely adored Arianne and -once again- hope this wasn't the end of her story-line. Their story is so much better in the books than in the adaptation; trust me!

Multiple point-of-views may not work for everyone. I admit that I struggled with the chapters about the Greyjoys, as they are such vile and sexist men. Except for Asha Greyjoy of course! I adore and admire her and wish more chapters focused on her instead of her uncles. Still, I think Martin writes multiple point-of-views flawlessly. Each protagonist has a very distinct voice. I love that you can tell when a chapter is from Arya's POV, as you truly get the sense as if you are listening to a child, which she is, though you might forget due to all the horror she has witnessed.

We are so fortunate that George R. R. Martin can create all these bad-ass female characters! In my opinion, they are far superior to the men and I absolutely love that!

Unfortunately, I don't recall much about the first three hundred pages of A Feast For Crows as I read them so many months ago. At least I've learned that I should binge-read this series rather than reading other books simultaneously. Yes, it's intimidating to dedicate all your time to these thick books, but in my opinion, you'll enjoy them much more that way!

Conclusion: I absolutely loved reading A Feast For Crows and I can't wait to pick up the next book in this series. Hopefully, it won't be long before The Winds of Winter is released! Even if you've seen the TV show adaptation, I would highly recommend reading the books. They're much more in-depth and still full of surprises, as the TV show doesn't always adhere to the source material.

One thing is for sure. I'm no Lannister fan.