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Review
'Of those who work in the grand epic fantasy tradition, George R.R. Martin is by far the best’
Time Magazine
'Truly epic…with its magnificent action-filled climax, it provides a banquet for fantasy lovers with large appetites'
Publishers Weekly
‘Colossal, staggering … Martin captures all the intoxicating complexity of the Wars of the Roses or Imperial Rome'
SFX
Review
'In the grand epic fantasy tradition, Martin is by far the best!tense, surging, insomnia-inflicting' Time Magazine 'Truly epic!with its magnificent action-filled climax, it provides a banquet for fantasy lovers with large appetites' Publishers Weekly 'Colossal, staggering ! Martin captures all the intoxicating complexity of the Wars of the Roses or Imperial Rome' SFX
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When an author writes an apology at the end of a book about the way they have written it, you begin to realise why you were so confused reading the book. The author likes to start a storyline but not to finish it, only for the reader to find out what happened a number of chapter later by filling in the blanks themselves. It is still a good read and I will be reading the next book. If you like a flow to your stories then this is not for you.
130 of 142 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
First, let me say that I will be sticking with the series and I have not written off forthcoming instalments based on my opinion of this book.
A Feast for Crows is an extremely frustrating book. Martin has taken the very dubious step of ditching half of the characters and leaving their stories for A Dance With Dragons. This results in a constant, nagging feeling that you really are missing out on half of the plot and that the story would benefit enormously from the perspectives of those characters that have been put on the back burner.
The plot is supposed to be charting the mess left after the various conflicts of the previous books but instead is itself just a tangled mess as the author, trapped in his character per chapter format, is forced to chop backwards and forwards too often between a silly number of threads and in doing so loses the overall continuity of the story.
Sadly, there is the real possibility that Martin has overreached himself and is struggling badly to stay on top of the various sub-plots he has created. I really hope that he quickly consolidates the multitudinous threads in the next book so that the climax has the time to play out properly in the final two volumes. It does not bode well that Martin admits that the writing for A Dance With Dragons is not proceeding quite as he had hoped!
One more thing to get off my chest - I am becoming extremely weary of Martin's love of inflicting cruelty on his key characters. Occasionally it is good for the story (Jaime's hand for instance) but the rest of the time is pretty pointless. Still, it seems Martin will not be happy unless he has killed or horribly maimed all his characters by the conclusion of the series.
Overall this book puts me in mind of a car stuck in a muddy field, frantically spinning it's wheels and beeping it's horn but not actually getting anywhere. I can only hope that Martin rediscovers some of the direction that made the first few books of the series enjoyable.
A Feast for Crows is an extremely frustrating book. Martin has taken the very dubious step of ditching half of the characters and leaving their stories for A Dance With Dragons. This results in a constant, nagging feeling that you really are missing out on half of the plot and that the story would benefit enormously from the perspectives of those characters that have been put on the back burner.
The plot is supposed to be charting the mess left after the various conflicts of the previous books but instead is itself just a tangled mess as the author, trapped in his character per chapter format, is forced to chop backwards and forwards too often between a silly number of threads and in doing so loses the overall continuity of the story.
Sadly, there is the real possibility that Martin has overreached himself and is struggling badly to stay on top of the various sub-plots he has created. I really hope that he quickly consolidates the multitudinous threads in the next book so that the climax has the time to play out properly in the final two volumes. It does not bode well that Martin admits that the writing for A Dance With Dragons is not proceeding quite as he had hoped!
One more thing to get off my chest - I am becoming extremely weary of Martin's love of inflicting cruelty on his key characters. Occasionally it is good for the story (Jaime's hand for instance) but the rest of the time is pretty pointless. Still, it seems Martin will not be happy unless he has killed or horribly maimed all his characters by the conclusion of the series.
Overall this book puts me in mind of a car stuck in a muddy field, frantically spinning it's wheels and beeping it's horn but not actually getting anywhere. I can only hope that Martin rediscovers some of the direction that made the first few books of the series enjoyable.
82 of 90 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
well you kinda knew it had to happen sooner or later. it took robert jordan 6 books before it all started to fall apart so i guess george is about on track. i'm coming to the conclusion that you can only write so many pages on one project before it starts to eat itself.
the author sums it up in the first line of his aknowledgements...to start with the good bits: the characters are still reasonably complex and engaging, the plotting is as devious as ever, the dialogue snappy. there is no doubt the george rr martin can write.
the problem is that nothing much happens. jaime plods around the riverlands, arya plods around braavos, sam plods south and brienne plods all over the shop. lots of plodding not alot of action. the only people moving the plot along with any pace are cersei and the iron born and we catch only glimpses of the latter.
what some might call quiet and subtle plot advancement, i call static and flabby. all the plot lines in this book could be tied up in under a hundred pages leaving plenty left for events of more impact. and there are numerous events that need to happen if this series is to finish this side of 10 books. if we continue at this pace we may never reach the end.....hmmmmmm.
it's a shame as the series has been generally fantastic. the fact this installment took nearly five years to write suggests that the author is having trouble working out where the story is going, and that's exactly how it feels when you read it.
call me old fashioned but i believe stories should have a beginning a middle and an end; this one's middle is swiftly approaching obesity.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Feast for Crows
Kindle edition. Good read, as expected. Part of a series. What more can I say. Now reading the follow up.
If you like George Martin, you will like this book.
If you like George Martin, you will like this book.
Published 9 days ago by Mrs. T. A. Tanner
A Feast of Crows - ????
Read the disclaimer (or explanation as Mr Martin likes to call it) at the rear of the book. Otherwise you may throw the book at a wall, as I nearly did, when you start to think... Read more
Published 12 days ago by Rickrick
good, good, good...
i read the other edition of this book, bloody loved it. we finally get an insight into some of the other major players in this colossal epic, one of them being CERSI LANNISTER... Read more
Published 21 days ago by Toubarose Theacoup
The Lull in a Rollercoaster Ride
Book 4.
In my experience, if you talk to anyone who has read all of the books so far and mention Book 4 you tend to get the same response - a reluctantly screwed up face... Read more
In my experience, if you talk to anyone who has read all of the books so far and mention Book 4 you tend to get the same response - a reluctantly screwed up face... Read more
Published 22 days ago by Chris K
Side plots and misery
I enjoyed the book as I have enjoyed the others. This one deals with the doings of minor characters and as such many of your favourite and main characters are missing. Read more
Published 29 days ago by Doscat
The lowpoint in the series so far - hopefully the threads lead...
The fourth part of the series is different in following only some of the characters, the rest having been split off and their story brought back in A Song of Ice and Fire (5) - A... Read more
Published 1 month ago by AK
The weakest of the 5 currently published Song Of Ice and Fire novels
This, the fourth book in the A Song Of Ice and Fire series really divided me if I'm honest and I think due to the fact I can't write about the plots in a way which doesn't involve... Read more
Published 1 month ago by R. A. Davison
Good Read!
This book is a good read, as all of them have been for me. Not as much action but good character and story development. I am looking forward to completing the series.
Published 1 month ago by Intelcheff
Lost the plot?
I'm not sure who has lost the plot, Mr Martin, me or both of us.
As others have said, this book is a big disappointment after the previous efforts. Read more
As others have said, this book is a big disappointment after the previous efforts. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Christos
A Feast for Crows
I am glad Mr Martin put the explanatory note at the end as to why he only wrote about half the characters! I was getting a little confused. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sally
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