So I made my way through the fourth book of George RR Martin’s epic fantasy series.

I have had trouble evaluating each book as a book because, unlike Harry Potter, there doesn’t seem to be much that distinguishes one book from another (at least through the first three books). Scheming/politicking, fighting, wandering around in the woods on or off horseback, rinse, repeat.

The biggest difference in A Feast For Crows is that we see some different character view points, the most awesome of which is Cersei, who progressively deteriorates through the book into a paranoid lunatic. By the time the book ends, she has been arrested on all kinds of charges, but prior to that was coming up with ways to kill everyone but her immediate family members minus Tyrion, who she is trying to kill actively.

AND SAM GOT LAID! HOORAY!

That said, new character view points at this juncture are troubling. It’s not that Martin is introducing new characters, but a lot of this is beginning to feel like filler. I’m not one of those people who likes to tell authors how to do their work, and I don’t expect any author to cater to any of my demands except that they entertain me with their story, but this series is very long and doesn’t really seem to be going anywhere. In fact, if what I read is true and the real conflict of the series is humans vs. the white walkers, not humans vs. other humans, we’re nowhere near this conflict at all. The white walkers haven’t even made that many appearances. They’re barely mentioned by anyone who isn’t on The Wall or beyond it.

Martin’s writing pace also isn’t what you’d call speedy. It was 5 years between A Storm of Swords and A Feast For Crows and 6 years between A Feast For Crows and A Dance With Dragons, which my mom still complains about, and he seems in no rush to get The Winds of Winter out any time soon. 3 years since the last installment, there is still no publishing date (or even a vague estimate) for the next. While it is tasteless for fans to speculate about Martin’s health and obnoxious to demand he be writing instead of doing other things, it IS irritating to wait the better part of a decade between volumes. He complains that fans are afraid he’ll die before he finishes? WHAT ABOUT FANS, GEORGE? THEY MIGHT DIE BEFORE YOU FINISH. Anyway, yeah, he’s touchy about people who ask he write faster.

Plus, there are rumors that maybe there will be MORE books (rather than the planned seven).

So maybe I’ll be 40 when they’re finished. Sigh.

Anyway, yeah, while A Feast For Crows was good, I continue to have reservations about the series as a whole. I will, of course, hold off final judgment until the series is over, but while I’ve enjoyed the political intrigue thus far, it’d be nice if we had some indication of where this series is going.

Tagged: authors: george r.r. martin, books: a feast for crows, books: song of ice and fire series, genre: fantasy