A Dance with Dragons: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Five

Deep, deep breath. I have been among the legion of fans who have had to sit the entire wait of YEARS for this book. I got A Feast for Crows on day one, and on day one many years later came A Dance With Dragons. I really, really didn't want to read it. Bare with me, a review is coming, but to understand the hate and vitriol in the other interviews this explanation is necessary. Before AFfC, Martin's brilliant novels were running on fewer, tighter plotlines, and a major revelation awaited in each one. Often more than one major revelation actually. Then AFfC came out, and despite being warned, we all cried foul to see that many of our favorite characters simply weren't involved. So there we were, having finished a book that seemed to have shorted us a bit, with a promise of the next book to be delivered after a short wait. Six years later we get what is essentially AFfC part 2, with an addendum containing the beginning of the next book.

We started this leg of the journey very angry with AFfC, and over the years, and delays, we became more angry. We began to lose hope that the series would finish at all. And if nothing else, that sort of passion and hopelessness should let you know just how amazing this series is at connecting directly into you. Expectations were high. Just four months shy of six years after AFfC it's here: A Dance with Dragons. And that six years is the problem...

A Dance with Dragons brings back the missing characters from AFfC, and as it begins there is nothing to complain about. Taken as a whole the book is clearly the middle of the road between acts two and three of the story entire. Having that in mind I think you'll enjoy it very much. Especially if you are a true fan of the series. So those of you who are, and who may be thinking about not buying (you know you will eventually), go ahead and buy it. It's Martin. It's his writing, it's his characters, and it's the same world you fell in love with over the rest of the four books. Stories as long as this have parts that may not seem to do much, but that's because the major consequences of the things that happen in A Dance wont be fully known until the start of the NEXT book. Dance is the literary equivalent of the story slowing down to stretch it's legs for the sprint. But it being written by Martin, as long as you keep that in mind, you can take a longer view and realize exactly what it is he's setting up. And what he's setting up is a MASSIVE shake-up in nearly every political, religious, and even supernatural facet of the world he's made. He's laying the path for events that will change things to such an extent that I think it may turn out to be unprecedented in fantasy literature.

Let that sink in for a bit.

A Dance With Dragons features less epic style action, and more personal, small conflicts. It takes the characters away from what they know, and it puts them in the thick of places they might not even belong. It's a growing experience for each and every character in the book. The problem is that these new paths are not the end of old paths.

You see we as fans have wanted conclusions to some very major story points, we collectively assumed that Martin wouldn't be expanding his story any further, only staying with what he'd begun and starting to wrap it up. He didn't do that. So all of us who were reading with baited breath to find out, for instance, about Jon's parents were left in the dark. We end a Jon chapter and find that a new character is being introduced, and it seemingly has nothing at all to do with what was hinted at before. This makes us angry.

But take a deep breath. The reason we were all here in the first place is precisely because of Martin's writing. This man, undoubtedly, knows what he's doing. He's 5 of 7 into what I think is going to be recognized as possibly THE fantasy series for mature audiences. We should not be angry that he didn't write what WE would have written. It's not our story to finish. It's his. And you can even take it a bit further. Re-read the first books and you'll notice how many small hints are dropped about Valyria, then come back to Dance to find that there is now a journey TO Valyria. I believe he's trying to tie up more than just the stories of the great houses we've been following. I think he's trying to tie up the bulk of his entire mythos by the end. And read more. Notice that until Dance with Dragons we had no idea that there would be a SINGLE commander of the white walkers and the things beyond the wall (and that it may be the very one who is training Bran). We didn't know the people of the forests were alive.

No, I think Martin is right on track. I think he's doing brilliantly. I think I'm more than happy to give my patience and trust in him not leaving us in a lurch.

A Song of Ice and Fire will have an ending. Please just take a deep breath and realize how stupid it would have been of him to start tying off all those incredible loose ends with two more books to go. Westeros just took a deep breath (and I took one with it), the next book will be the beginning of the plunge, and the last will be the plunge itself.

But this book. This one stands as a worthy addition to the story. It didn't go precisely where all of us wanted, in fact it spent a lot of time in a place that was as unpleasant for us as it was for a few of the characters in it. But there is a real sense of the slow beginnings of inertia near the end. When even more characters start popping in and when the dual storylines running parallel in AFfC and ADwD finally do end... you can feel it start to move. By the end I was left feeling that all of that spreading out of story and plotlines and character arcs was about to start converging. Dance, along with Feast, are very singular events in publishing. They only came about because we, the fans, demanded Martin not skip forward several years. We wanted to know what happened. And he gave it to us. The last two books were those written precisely so that we wouldn't feel cheated. Martin cared so much about fan outcry that he wrote two extra books. I for one am greatful. The more I read from him about this world the better.

For five books now we've said it along with all the Starks: "Winter is Coming." By the end of this book... winter is here. And NOW the fun begins. Just don't take another decade to finish this George. Please.

To preface this review, I wanted to inform you that this is a review of the unabridged audio-book version of A Dance With Dragons (ADWD). Every word of the book is read to the listener in an unabridged reading with the actor changing his voice slightly for different characters and using a neutral voice for narration. I have listened to all of a A Song Of Ice And Fire (ASOIF) in audio-book format as I simply don't have time to sit down and read such lengthy novels. I highly recommend this type of "reading" for people who have to commute a lot or spend lots of time working with their hands on mindless tasks (for me this entails renovating my 1850 home and landscaping the backyard).

Not wanting to write a spoiler review, let me just say "wow, I did not see that coming!" I think you will be shocked toward the end of the book - I was both saddened and very curious to know more. I can't say more than that without spoiling it. A Dance With Dragons is better than night soil!

In regards to how long it took for Martin to write this book, I agree with Brent Weeks' opinion post that George's readers probably shouldn't have to wait almost 6 years for the release of a book, but on the other-hand I can understand why it would take so long to write a book like ADWD. It seems to me the average author takes one to two years to write a book. ADWD is fully twice the length of the average novel that comes out - it is truly epic in both scope and words. In addition, George was working on other books in that time-frame as well as dealing with the HBO adaptation of A Game Of Thrones. With these considerations, I see how it could take between three and six years to write the sequel (or in this case parallel) to A Feast For Crows (AFFC). Still, I just wish it didn't have to take that long. Now that the initial push with HBO is done, with all the publicity and now Hollywood behind him, and a horde of new fans bugging him, I think we can expect to see the next book in the Song coming along within two years - but really, who am I to say?

All that out of the way, now onto the meat of the review. ADWD is an exquisitely written gritty tale, peppered throughout with colorful terms such as "night soil" pulling its readers a little deeper into George's imagination with every page turned. Simply stated, Martin is just an excellent writer and his huge world is highly organized. The scope is vast with so many plot-lines, sub plot-lines, and side plot-lines keeping the reader entertained and always guessing. His story contains many players - both main and side characters - and you never really know which ones are going to die next. George revisits some of the characters that we didn't see in AFFC just enough to keep us up to date on what is going on in their lives, while he focuses more on other characters and developing their stories more fully. You will find yourself falling in love with characters you hated in previous books, and you will despise some characters even more! George does a great job with getting us to know his characters, understand what is in their minds and hearts, what motivates them and gets them to do the things they do and even why they repent. It is a joy to watch martin break his characters both mentally and physically as he does it so fantastically. George really knows how to tell a tale and ADWD will leave every epic fantasy reader satisfied that they got their money's worth.

This tale stretches across two continents and really beings to bring the whole story we've been reading thus far together. And the dragons, wow! These are some ferocious beasts. These creatures are not the little dragonlings that were crawling on Daenerys' shoulder on the HBO version of A Game Of Thrones. These creatures are huge behemoths that can spout large gouts of flame effortlessly and endlessly to consume their prey and foes. These dragons are nasty, nasty creatures - there is not much controlling them as they are truly wild beasts.

As with the other stories in the Song, ADWD does move along rather slowly compared to many other authors out there. You are however rewarded with richer detail, but not so much as some authors I've read who make you want to skip five pages just to find out what is going on. George balances description with plot very well - perhaps balanced more on the description side, but not too much that he keeps you from wanting to read further. It is a page turner and you won't want to put it down.

The only true downfall I can put on this book is that it is actually only half of a story. A Feast For Crows and A Dance With Dragons are mostly written parallel to one another as the scope of the series has become so vast, Martin simply can't capture a section of a timeline in one book. While I knew this before I even started ADWD, I ended up missing my favorite characters like Samwell, Brienne, and of course Jaime. We do catch snippets of them, but I miss reading them especially after we've been waiting more than 5 years. ADWD and AFFC being the whole of a single book also begs the question, will ASOIAF be eight books long now (previously the series was estimated to be 7)?

George seems to be holding true to his philospohy that evil always triumphs over good, chaos over order, falsehood over truth, and darkness over light. But as always he leaves the door open just a crack so that at the end of this series (however long it may be) the good guys could still possibly win out and may indeed triumph. But time is running out. Winter is here. It is a fact that can now be seen even on the Dothraki Sea. Are the dragons going to be the power that defeats the mysterious god of ice we've barely heard mention of? Who is Varys actually working for? Lots of questions arise from reading ADWD and hopefully they will begin to be answered in the next book.

Recently ADWD was voted on goodreads.com to be the best fantasy novel of the year by readers like you and I. This is definitely deserved. I voted for Patrick Rothfuss' The Wise Man's Fear and even after having finished ADWD I would not change my vote. It was a tough year for Pat going against George. I am sure Wise Man would have won had there not been the media hog (deservedly so) that ADWD has become because of HBO. I'd bet 80% of the votes for ADWD would have gone to Rothfuss had ADWD not been in the running, putting it probably on the top, closely contested with Erin Morgenstern's breakout novel (which is definitely now in my to-read list). But those are the breaks - they WERE released the same year and even if both ADWD and TWMF are excellent stories deserving of the number one spot, "there can be only one"! I am very happy to give A Dance With Dragons 5 out of 5 stars!

This book is controversial now among fans. Some love it, some hate it. So I've decided to break down my review in a fashion that should be useful for someone who hasn't read it but is a fan of the series. I won't provide any major spoilers, but there will be some minor ones alluded to (hopefully very subtley.) I mainly want to talk about what I think is the best way to approach the book.

In my opinion, some of the people who giving this novel one star are reacting to the fact that this is not the book they imagined. This is not to say that there aren't valid criticisms to be made and issues to discuss, but I feel that many who are vehemently upset are a bit blinded by what they perceive to be the arc of the story vs. how it is now trajecting. A lot of people had certain expectations about the direction of the plot, and Martin does what he always does - he subverts expectations.

I feel as though many fans have fantasized / romanticized what this book was going to be like and instead of seeing what it is; they are only seeing how it is different from what they spent several years imagining it would be. Things they wanted to happen didn't. New and unexpected things did. The scope of the world increases even more, with new characters and new locations. If you come at this book from the point of view that the only part of the world you're interested in Westeros, then you aren't going to like Dance With Dragons. In my opinion, you're also going to miss out on some of the most compelling sections of the entire series.

The thing that separates Song of Ice and Fire from other fantasy series is that the scope of the world - the sheer size and the depth of the history of it - is beyond tremendous. We've got HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of characters both in the past and present, who are all brought to life. We've got not just one continent, but an entire world. It is a world that is constantly growing richer and richer.

With each book the series expands. I've often found this to be the source of a lot of frustration for some readers throughout the series. For example, people got pissed off about the Iron Islands chapters in the second book, and bored with Dorne in the fourth. Honestly though, there is HUGE payoff for all of that in this novel. Now I can't imagine not having the Iron Islands in the story, and I'm grateful he took us there in the second book.

My advice is twofold - read this book next to Feast For Crows and also shake off what you think is going to happen. Don't get married to the ideas you might have had about the direction of the series - but also don't be afraid. You're in good hands with Martin. Trust them. He's giving you a story bigger in scope than anything else out there. If you come into Dance With Dragons expecting him to "refocus" you're going to hate it. Because it doesn't. It does progress the story a great deal (despite people claiming otherwise - I honestly have no idea how to respond to people who say nothing happens in this book. I wonder if we've even read the same thing.)

By the end of the book I feel like we've gotten to a major crux in the story. Not only has a TON happened, but the events of the final two books have all been nicely set up. Knowing Martin, the obvious isn't guaranteed to happen, but the way the board is set up now is certainly intriguing... The cliffhangers, though too numerous, are all on their own extremely fascinating and discussion-provoking.

There is a love interest for Dany which isn't all that interesting or well written. Aside from that, I think there is a lot to like here. People have been howling about how Dany's entire arc is awful, which I disagree with. I think of all the POVs, it is probably the least well crafted and to a certain extent Martin's struggles with "The Mereenese knot" are apparent. But honestly, it is the type of the thing that immediately becomes more fascinating when you think about it side by side with Cersei chapters in A Feast for Crows. There seems to be a deliberate comparison of what it means to be a good queen here and in many ways it is actually quite masterfully structured / thought out. There are all sorts of echoes and clearly deliberate parallel situations occuring that each queen handles in a completely different way.

Likewise, Martin is a genius at subverting how we feel about a character. There is someone you probably hated throughout the series who you will suddenly be rooting for with every fiber of your being. Not many writers can pull that off even once, but Martin does it time and time again. He even takes characters we've cheered for throughout and effortlessly grays them.

This is a masterful book, in the middle of a masterpiece series. To enjoy it best embrace the scope, embrace the new characters (rather the bemoaning the somewhat abbreviated time you spend with the old ones) and let go of what you think you want to happen. There are game-changers here, but just because you're invested in what the game was doesn't mean you shouldn't be invested in what it has become (if that makes sense.) In other words, clear your head, sit back, and enjoy. This one is a wild ride.

I'd also like to take a moment to remind people that the question Amazon asks isn't "do you agree with the amount of stars I've given this book?" They ask "Is this review helpful?" What I've tried to do here is present a review that is helpful for someone who hasn't read this book. If you disagree with my opinion in terms of the book's quality, I'd love to discuss if you're up for a friendly debate, but I'm not interested in bashing your amazon rating (or having you bash mine.) Please be considerate to what the question is actually asking, and if you do find that my review is not helpful, let me know why it isn't and I'll do my best to adjust.

Thanks everyone! Enjoy the Dance!

I'm not sure anyone will read my review since it's coming in after something like 850 entries, but just in case, I wanted to put my two cents in because all the almost hysterical anti-DWD rants may actually discourage people from buying the book, and I think that would be a mistake.

Here's my take on way people are so enraged (some general non-specific spoilers)

1. They genuinely care about the book and want it to be the brilliant once-in-fifty-years fantasy it has promised to be. They are afraid it won't, particularly since GRRM has taken 10 years to produce Books 4 & 5 (which could really be one book). GRRM, like all of us, is mortal, so people are worried, God forbid, he will not have enough time to finish the books at all and/or he lacks the discipline and well power to do so.

(By the way, anyone who tosses out bizarre insults about GRRM-he's lazy, he's arrogant, etc - I dismiss out of hand. If you have such little respect for him, don't read his stuff.)

2. BOoks 4 & 5 are 'middle' books, much as the second book in the LOTR trilogy was. GRRM deliberately decides to have his characters go in circles and for nothing to 'happen' - that is part of his point here. Such books are much easier to read when there is a Book 6 & 7 to read immediately, or when you are confident Books 6 & 7 will be on their way shortly. People are not confident of this.

3. The world of the pseudo Near East was poorly imagined, not as realistic as the Western Westeros. In particular, Dany's world was not fully fleshed out--it is entirely corrupt & despotic, with no positive traits. Yet the slave world of, say, Egypt, also had greatness--religion the arts, etc. This Western stereotype of an Egypt=like state made Dany's stay there very hard to bear because in addition to the one-dimensional world, Dany herself was behaving really really one-dimensionally.

Spoiler ** QUESTION---Did anyone else pick up the possibility that Dany was being bespelled by the wizards and that was the reason she locked her dragons and lost her way? There are numerous hints in the book.

4. Finally, the books could have used editing. Indeed, with good editing, Books 4 & 5 could have been one book of about 800 pages max. Nearly all of the Brienne chapters of Book 4, for instance, could have been omitted. In this book, several Dany chapters could have been omitted with zero negative repercussions.

Positives: So what's good about this book?

The tone, scope and breadth of this book was outstanding. If you view this as a tale in which Westeros and the outside world are CHARACTERS themselves, the story becomes much more interesting.

GRRM, I believe, is attempting to make this a story about a whole world rather than a mere story about Westeros. Because he decided to do this, he had to follow several story strands he didn't anticipate he would follow. This is also primarily a story about power---how to get it, how to lose it, what you do when you have it and what exactly it is. In this case, the story centers mostly on the 'how to use it,' with Jon and Dany really struggling.

As with all great writers, GRRM takes story arcs and goes FAR past the predictable--Tyrion kills his father. But the story doesn't end at all. Dany frees the slaves. Then what? Jon gets power. Then what? Arya trains. But now what? Bran finds the Children of the Forest. Now what?

What I find particularly great about the book is how GRRM refuses to categorize good or evil (with the exception of a truly evil person like the Bolton thing). Even with the Others it is not clear entirely what their purpose is, or what they are. Is the 'kind man' Arya trains with evil or good? Does it matter? Which of the religions are 'true'? All? None? Are they really one?

These questions are examined in even more detail and depth in this book than in others.

It is a 'dance' and the dance goes nowhere. That is part of the point.

I may be wrong, but I think GRRM had the most difficulty writing these books, 4 & 5, because he didn't originally anticipate having to write them--they are mostly a bridge between 'here' and 'there,' both of which he seems to have mapped out. It's the bridge part he's had trouble with, figuring out just how to get the characters from here to there, and what the point of the journey was. I do think the next two books will come quicker and will have a lot more action now that all the chess pieces are in place.

I would definitely recommend reading this, particularly if, like me, you know ahead of time that it's not extremely action packed (although it definitely has its moments). Worth your time.

Fans have been looking forward to this one for a LONG time. A Dance with Dragons completes the story begun six years ago, when A Feast for Crows was published in October, 2005. In Feast, fans were given the full story, but only for half the characters. Fan favorites like Tyrion Lannister, Jon Snow and Daenarys Targaryen were noticeably missing from the chapters of the book. Martin's now-infamous claim that Dance would be finished within a year ended up haunting him relentlessly until the day that A Dance with Dragons fell into everyone's eager hands. A Dance with Dragons not only completes the story of that missing half, but also continues the story forward. In fact, Dance is the largest book in the series, weighing in at 1,040 pages.

So how does this fifth entry in the Song of Ice and Fire series match up to the rest? Read on to find out.

Note: It's presumed you've read the series up to the ending of A Feast for Crows, so if you haven't, don't read on.

The Prologue certainly draws comparisons to that in A Game of Thrones, taking place far north of the Wall, and giving us glimpses of the White Walkers. This serves to continue the inexorable march of the undead towards the rest of Westeros. Martin is most certainly taking his time drawing out the inevitable confrontation with the Others, however, and some readers may wonder if he'll ever be able to complete this saga, much less in the two books he claims remain. Nevertheless, it's a promising start to the novel.

TYRION LANNISTER

Finally, after ten long years, fans get new Tyrion material. His story begins perfectly in Dance and we see the Imp wallowing in self-pity and taking careless chances, his life no longer important to him. It doesn't take long for that attitude to change, with the help of some unlikely allies, and rather unexpected revelations.

Tyrion sees his ups and downs in this novel, and his luck continues to hold, especially near the end. He's matched up with another dwarf, but where this pairing is going is hard to say. Tyrion's line that he has a heart for "cripples, bastards and broken things," is never so apt as in this novel. His story does wander a bit, and he's not as endearing as in his previous forays, but he's still very much Tyrion Lannister, and he entertains us nonetheless.

DAENARYS TARGARYEN

Unfortunately, Daenarys Targaryen's return after a decade-long hiatus does not go as well as the dwarf's. She is certainly a willful young woman, but she borders on annoying and insolent throughout the novel. She seems to disregard every piece of advice her advisers give her, always questioning herself, but then stubbornly refusing to reconsider. Though she's the mother of dragons, we unfortunately see very little of them until the latter parts of the book, which is frustrating, considering how integral they seem they must be to the series.

There are some truly exciting portions of the novel in this book, however; One scene in particular seems to be what fans have been waiting for since the moment the dragons were brought to life in the burning embers of Khal Drogo's funeral pyre. It should bring a chill to readers' spines, and was perfectly written-leaving the reader wondering about the fate of the character, of course.

JON SNOW

Jon arguably has the best plot line in the novel, both fleshing out his character further, as well as one of the most surprising final chapters of the book. Strange how the Starks all seem to have the best stories.

There's also an early scene where Jon dispenses justice Eddard-style. It's an unexpectedly welcome scene, not only makes for good reading, but also draws the reader back into the story, which until then founders a little bit.

DAVOS SEAWORTH

In A Feast for Crows we learn that Davos is dead. Since Dance takes place during the same timeframe, we get to see his actual situation play out. Without spoiling things, let's just say that Davos' parts are rather boring, most of the time, though Martin leaves things sufficiently appropriate for Davos Seaworth.

THEON GREYJOY

It's been 13 years since we last got into the head of Theon Greyjoy, all the way back in the second book of the series, A Clash of Kings, published in 1998. Martin seemingly killed off the young kraken, but readers have heard bits and pieces about him throughout the series. In A Dance with Dragons, fans finally learn the fate of Theon. Theon's storyline is one of the most interesting of the book, second only to that of Jon Snow.

BRAN STARK

Bran has a very interesting story in the novel, but one that seems to end much too quickly. His almost feels like a dropped story thread, and fans will wonder what's happening with him later in the book without ever finding out. This is presumably one of the characters who will see more time in the next entry in the saga.

QUENTIN MARTELL

Quentin Martell is the son of the Prince of Dorne, and fans are given quite a bit of time with this character. Ultimately, his part doesn't feel that important to the story, and one is left wondering why he is even a part of it. The importance of Dorne's storyline is becoming more apparent throughout Dance, but it still feels like it's late to the party.

ARYA STARK

Still very much in Braavos, Arya was left blind in her last outing. Hers is one of the most involved stories in all of the Ice and Fire saga, and it continues to be no less enveloping in this latest entry. It's still unclear exactly where her thread is leading her, but fans shouldn't be disappointed by her brief appearances in Dance.

VICTARION GREYJOY

It's not very clear how Victarion will ultimately play into the saga, but his parts are not at all dull.

JAMIE LANNISTER

When the book finally catches up to the end of A Feast for Crows readers are reunited with Jamie, and his quest to unite the riverlands. He only appears in one chapter in Dance, but it's a fantastic one, with a very suitable cliffhanger ending.

CERSEI LANNISTER

Fans will be very pleased with Cersei's chapters in A Dance with Dragons. The queen has already been brought low, and will sink even further before things are through. Fans may even begin to feel sympathy for her in this round, though they'd be hard-pressed to ever forgive her. Cersei has been the character that fans love to hate, so Dance is all the more shocking for making her seem more human.

BRIENNE OF TARTH

Another character that only appears once, and not as a viewpoint character. Fans won't get a lot of information about what's been happening with her, or what her ultimate fate is, but her presence is crucial to the chapter, feels unexpected, and is perfect.

THE RED PRIESTESS MELISANDRE

Readers are welcomed into the mind of Melisandre for the first time in A Dance with Dragons and given a look at what her plans might be. It's revealed that she's not infallible, and can doubt herself after all. There are some reasonably surprising events revolving around Melisandre in this novel as well.

STANNIS BARATHEON

Readers have still not seen events from the viewpoint of the truly legitimate King, and after A Dance with Dragons, it's uncertain if it will ever happen. Indeed, Stannis has a lot to do in this book, with very little to show for it. He appears a few times early in the book, then mostly those that surround him allude to him for the remainder. It's fitting that readers should spend more time with his subjects than with the King himself, however.

SER BARRISTAN SELMY

Selmy is still with Daenarys and serves as the sole member of her Queensguard. Throughout the saga, he's been a bit of a secondary character, but with A Dance with Dragons, he leapfrogs right into major character status. His parts are interesting, treacherous, and fitting for the aged knight. Fans will have much more respect for Ser Barristan before the Dance is through.

VARYS THE EUNUCH

Appears only once, and very briefly, but is the most shocking and enjoyable chapter in the book.

MISSING CHARACTERS

Ultimately, there are a few characters that do not appear in the novel, their fate uncertain.

• Catelyn Stark
• Rickon Stark
• Sansa Stark
• Samwell Tarly
• Peter Baelish (Littlefinger)

SUMMARY

A Dance with Dragons does indeed feel much like A Feast for Crows did, though is certainly a better novel; it feels dark and gritty. Winter is most certainly coming, as evidenced by Martin's use of the weather throughout the book. Once it snows in King's Landing, it's quite clear how winter is going to affect events in the series.

Once Dance catches up to the ending of Feast, things move along a little faster, but this book still doesn't live up to the greatness of A Clash of Kings and the chaos that was A Storm of Swords. There are moments that drag along, and there are characters included that feel unnecessary or confusing. Fortunately, Martin moves the story along nicely in this book, and it truly feels like there's an end-game coming, though it's still unclear what exactly that is.

The author has stated that there are at least two more books left in the saga, currently titled The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. Though those titles are intriguing, A Dream of Spring doesn't sound like the title of a book that would wrap up this amazing series. It seems like in a song of Ice and Fire, things should end in a blazing inferno, and fire should be a part of the title. Mayhaps there will be another entry in the series. Time will tell, of course, but with the delay between these books growing longer, let's hope not too much time is necessary.