A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire #4)- George RR Martin

And now I’ve arrived at book 4 in Martin’s wildly successful series. Sometimes I legitimately wonder what I’ve gotten myself into with these books, and whether I wouldn’t be better off quitting now to wait until Martin is done writing. This book was the first one that I saw a glimpse of why they drive people so crazy. There are some noticeably absent characters, which is not addressed until the end, in a note from Martin himself. Books 4 and 5 are apparently two parts of the same giant book, and all of the interesting characters are in book 5 (don’t worry, a hold has been placed). The kicker is that the resolutions to the problems characters had in this book may not have even been written yet.

After looking over reviews to see if everyone was as dissatisfied with this book in comparison to the others (the answer is undeniably yes) I realized that despite the note at the end of the book saying that book five is pretty much already written (as this was to be included) and would be out in a year, it was six. I worry about that. But at the same time, I look forward to the same feeling of anticipation for the end game of the series as I had with Harry Potter.

This wasn’t a bad book. Putting aside comparisons to the others and trying not to notice that two of my favorite characters were absent, I can see that I enjoyed it overall and it’s necessary to the series. It’s clearly a transition. I liked it for what it is.

But what it isn’t is as good as the previous three. What it isn’t is book five, which I now have sky high expectations for since all of my favorites will be present and accounted for.

The fact is, despite the similar writing style and intriguing plots, which have become par for the course with this series, this was the first one that seemed to unnecessarily meander. Several of the POV characters were people who were unnamed, or who I didn’t care about at all. Lots of intrigue over who will have the Greyjoy throne, lots of Cierce going crazy. But I still want to know what happens, and that makes the book.

4. Retroactively I went back and gave the first three a 5 rating. These books have definitely grown on me.