A Feast for Crows

A part of me is seriously starting to feel like I live in Westeros and that I personally know Arya, Sansa, Tyrion, Jaime, Cersei and the rest of the crew. A Feast for Crows is the fourth very long book in the series by George R. R. Martin. I still like Book #1 the best. I still like Book #2 the least. I thought 3 was  a tad better than 4 because I got to read about ALL the characters and I felt like shit got done. This one drug things out a bit. It almost seemed like a whole new back story was beginning as he starts the book with a bunch of new characters that you don't hear about again until the very end.

So what happened here George? Did you change your mind on how this story was supposed to go and it just took on a life of its own or what? I swear every time I start to feel like the apex is approaching, I turn the corner and see another bigger mountain to climb. And I will admit that I was quite p.o.'d when Tyrion did not even make an appearance. George explained why at the end, but I spent a lot of time while reading building up some serious resentment.

I'm getting a little irritated by this series just for the fact that it's taking a long time to tell a very good story. And I really don't think it needed to be quite as wordy as he does it, but hey, he's the novelist not me. I will start book #5 next. I will finish it. I will probably like the twists and turns which he does a nice job of doling out. But I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be left feeling a little aggravated when the last book does not finish the story. I've already heard that there is going to probably be another book or two.

Good grief!

Bottom line: I wouldn't start this series unless you are a serious reader. They are good. They are addicting. They are long. I hope the HBO series continues for several more seasons as I am very much enjoying watching it!

Storm of Swords

Well, George sucked me back in with his third book A Storm of Swords. It was much better paced than book #2 and had a lot of plot thickenings going on. It also had some big surprises in the last fourth of the book. I started A Feast for Crows a few days ago and hadn't gotten a chance to write my post until now, so of course all the things I was thinking about the book have slipped my mind!

As anyone reading my blog has certainly noticed by now, my thoughts and comments regarding the books I read are in no way meant to be any sort of professional review. I have discovered a plethora of websites that do a very good job of that and I know my limitations! One thing I have learned from reading all those reviews is that of the *spoiler alert*... so there are several things I would love to mention about this book, but won't because if you do decide to read it you will definitely not expect them!

The only other comment I can remember, now that I am halfway through, is I'm seriously wondering how in the world the author is going to wrap this series up.... I mean it really seems like a medieval/fantasy soap opera in some ways (a little foreshadowing there for you Stefano fans) and I have a sneaky suspicion that the ending won't be very satisfying.

So there you have it. I give this book an 8 out of 10. Very long, but he keeps you wanting to read more!

One more little thing that I really dig about how he organizes his books - he titles each chapter (at least in the first 3 books) with the name of a character. This really helped me follow all the different plot strands he created. When I would see the next chapter start with a favorite characters name, I knew I wouldn't be putting it down right away.