A Feast for Crows is likely the most divisive part of the ongoing A Song of Ice and Fire series of books. In developing the sequel to the widely loved A Storm of Swords, George R.R. Martin realized that he wouldn't be able to do the five-year time skip he originally envisioned because there was just too much plot in this deep series. However, because he wanted the fourth book to be shorter than A Storm of Swords (which was the longest book yet, an accomplishment of its own given the door-stopper length of these books), the fourth book in the series would need to be split into two more: A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons. Each needed its own complete story, though, so George R.R. Martin decided to split the plot of the books on geographic location: A Feast for Crows would follow King's Landing and the Riverlands, while A Dance with Dragons would follow the North and across the sea in Essos. This meant that each book would have different point of view characters, and many of the fan favorites ended up in A Dance with Dragons, such as Tyrion, Danaerys, and Jon. However, although some of the fan favorite characters are missing, A Feast for Crows is still definitely an entry in this amazing series, and a worthy one at that.
A Feast for Crows follows directly from the end of A Storm of Swords and follows many point of view characters on the south end of Westeros as the War of the Five Kings winds down. Cersei and Jaime are dealing with the loss of their father and taking care of the kingdom, Brienne is sent through the Riverlands to search for Sansa Stark, the Iron Islands lose their king and must find a new one, and Prince Doran in Dorne is also dealing with the loss of his brother in the events of the prior book while other machinations are occurring under his nose. With the expansion to Dorne and more detail in the Iron Islands, a large amount of new point of view characters are brought into play in those areas, though most take up only one or two chapters. Other recurring characters like Cersei and Brienne are now given their own chapters as well, further developing their characters. The plot moves forward in its own way, though it is apparent that this is a middle book. There are no big twists like previous books (the big death of the first book or the Red Wedding of the third), and the plot does often feel like build-up. However, those who enjoy the characters of the series will still enjoy their arcs over the course of the book, while the latter act of the book does build up to some thrilling final chapters that set up the forward progression of the series nicely.
Where A Feast for Crow proves that it is still a worthy member of the series, even if not the best, is its characters: they are still deep and wonderfully written. A vast amount of characters exist in this book, but all of them are rich and believable, from point of view characters to side characters like Robert Arryn, Genna Lannister, or Septon Meribald. The point of view characters are well-developed, often in ways that give us new insight into their characters. For example, we get a better idea of Brienne's upbringing and life back home, and we finally learn what goes on in Cersei's head as she rules the kingdom. Cersei is a highlight of the book, not just because she has the most chapters, but because we learn a new perspective on her and learn why she is the way she is, but in a way that still takes care to keep her as unlikable as ever, if not more so. Character interactions and relationships are also still strong, especially the growth of Jaime and the way his relationship with Cersei develops, or breaks, over the course of the book. The deep characters are one of the series' greatest strengths, and that doesn't change here.
Another of the series' strengths is strong writing and excellent world building, and both are here. A Feast for Crows continues to have well-written dialogue. Martin is a master at crafting wonderful monologues that hit hard and scenes that close out a chapter leaving us wanting more (only to have to wait until the next chapter from that character). The prose is great as well, whether it is describing drool-inducing meals, gorgeous fashion, or imaginative locations. The world of A Song of Ice and Fire is rich in a way that takes the best cues from Tolkien, but understands what it was that made Middle-earth such a beautiful setting without just cloning Middle-earth. We get new developments about Westerosi culture, from Dorne to the Iron Islands, and even a little bit across the Narrow Sea. This cultural development also continues the intelligent themes and motifs of the series while focusing on some new ones. A Feast for Crows delves into how a medieval society treats women and the roles it puts them, religion, the mystery of magic, and the ever-present politics in ruling a kingdom ("the game of thrones").
This is a hard book to rate and review, because many may still have different feelings. Mechanically, the pieces are still there, the characters and the world are still well developed in a truly Martin way. However, the absence of characters like Tyrion, Jon, and Danaerys and lack of or minimal progression on some of the overarching story lines of the series (such as the Wall or Danaerys' journey back to Westeros) may leave this book as "that one you have to get through" for some readers. However, those willing to wait for those characters, and take in this book as it is, will still find a book that is definitely a part of the series and well worth a read.
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Popular Highlights in this book
He spoke of dreams and never named the dreamer, of a glass candle that could not be lit and eggs that would not hatch. He said the sphinx was the riddle, not the riddler, whatever that meant.Highlighted by 4,518 Kindle readers- “I prefer my history dead. Dead history is writ in ink, the living sort in blood.”Highlighted by 3,629 Kindle readers
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Tiny Book
Odd complaint, but this book is tiny, and does not match the dimensions given in the description. The description says it is 9” tall, which would make it the same height as my other books from the series. However it is much smaller than that. This makes it look awkward on a bookshelf.
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- Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2015
- Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2013
Top reviews from other countries
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- PlaceholderReviewed in India on September 14, 2022
Feast for the crows mass market !
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Daniel JuárezReviewed in Mexico on December 27, 2019
Genial ejemplar de la saga 'A Song of Ice & Fire'
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