A Feast for Crows: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Four (Martin, George Rr)
If you like: Mayhem * King’s Landing * Surprise endings
A Feast for Crows is the fourth book of A Song of Ice and Fire.
After the death of his brother, eight-year-old Tommen is now the king
of the realm, and his mother Cersei is the acting Queen Regent. Much of
the book is dedicated to her schemes to gain more power and eliminate
Margaery, the beautiful wife of Tommen and widow of Joffrey.
The
scope of this series is becoming daunting for the reader. The numerous
characters, especially those with smaller roles, become difficult to
recall at times without the use of the character index located in
Appendix 1. The addition of the numerous would-be-kings of the Iron
Islands only increases this. Many of the players at the Iron Throne have
changed as well, but their names are hardly worth remembering since
most expire by the end of the book. In the earlier books, this amount of
turnover and treachery added intensity and suspense to the story, but
now it is hardly notable. With no gold, jewels, crops, or valor the
reader is left to wonder what about the Iron Throne is worth fighting
for.
A Feast for Crows almost feels like a spoof of the rest of the series. It lacks the careful plotting and strategy that comprised A Game of Thrones.
Now the story has become MURDER MURDER MURDER with little reason behind
it. This is due in part to the change in focus of the story. When a
plot would not be touched on for chapters at a time it would at least
give the illusion of careful planning. When we revisit Ceresi every few
chapters her mad ravings become all the more ridiculous. In fact, A Feast for Crows
focuses almost exclusively on the least likeable characters, with few
exceptions. After the final chapter it is revealed that reader is not
imagining that something is missing – half of the book is. Rather than
subject readers to a 1,600+ page book, it was split in two. Splitting it
by time instead of location would have been preferable. The story would
have felt more complete and contiguous with the previous books.
If you would do anything to wear a crown, read A Feast for Crows.
Martin, George R.R. A Feast for Crows: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Four. New YorK: Random House, Inc., 2005. Kindle Edition.
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