DANCE WITH DRAGONS

The book needs no introduction or review. Although George Marting didn't write a book that people wanted him to write, the plot, the character journey are as good as they were in The storm of swords (my favourite book of all time). Given the groundwork, he has done in Feast and Dance it will be very difficult to write a poor Winds of Winter. I am patiently waiting for it to be published. Now, as usual, the packaging was not up to the mark. The corners of the hardcover were bent and there was a slight tear on the spine (which I have fixed by glueing a white paper). I didn't replace it because I wasn't expecting any better and I wasn't prepared for a protracted dance with the seller (who are no less formidable than a dragon). Amazon and many sellers are afflicted by the strange inability to realize that a 1.6 kg book can't be shipped without proper packaging. Finally, even though my experience with the shipping was less than ideal. I would recommend the hardcover edition wholeheartedly to any reader of A song of ice and fire.

I'd rate ten stars if I could. This is a pretty big and hefty book, so it was quite surprising to see the book arrive in such good condition. As for the book itself, this is my favourite in the series, a little longer than needed and maybe too slow and dense, but a great read nonetheless.

This book has around 1,100 pages. I hungrily devoured every page of it. I think that is the best review I could write for this tomb.

Faster paced than the last one, really interesting! Can't wait to read more...... Really hoping that the winds of winter comes soon!!!

This Harper Voyager HC edition may be costlier than the paper back version but for a thick volume with nicely textured paper and clearly legible font size, this would definitely be recommended for those who want a long-lasting edition for their book collection ! Thanks a lot Amazon !

This review comes after my second re-read. The first time I read this book, I gave it 4 stars. After re-reading it as A Feast With Dragons, my opinions have changed. Combined it is as good if not better than ASOS. Now on to my 3rd reading. PS. Harper Editions excessively big. Go for the Bantam ones. I have the Bantam Hardcover for Feast and it is more readable.

The 4th book was just bad and a low point for the series. This one is slightly better. Interesting characters make a comeback which is good. The narrative moves forward at some pace. Of course, the overall story arch is still up in the air and the ending is just as ambiguous as the last book. It's not as boring as the 4th book is all the praise I can muster for this book.

Words Are Wind says R R Martin in A Dance With Dragons, Indeed Words are Wind but can Wind will carry storm with it in next book ‘The Winds of Winter’? we have to wait and see and this wait may go on for years and years until Martin wakes up from his hibernation mode. Reviewing the epic fantasies are always a difficult task and reviewing A Song of Ice and Fire is much more difficult, because this series involves many different POV characters with different plot lines which are spread across the Westeros and Essos. Like in previous book A Feast Of Crows, A Dance with Dragons also suffers from problem of not lot happening in story. Both A Feast Of Crows, A Dance with Dragons builds up a lot and resolve nothing. On the other hand the book is very dense and pacing in pretty slow and frustrating, especially when characters are introduced who doesn’t add much to the story except making book more dense. In previous books, lots of things happened specially in A Storm Of Swords and few in A Feast Of Crows and as a fan I was expecting lot more will happen in Dance but again Martin disappointed us as in last book. Though things happen in this book but not in a face you would have expected. This book builds up to a couple of battles but those battles are not included in Dance and Martin told they will be part of ‘The Winds of Winter’. Arya Stark who lost her eyes in previous book is now being trained as blind girl and using her other senses to overcome her enemies. Tyrion Lannister after killing his father flees kings landing and is en-route to Meereen to meet Dragon Queen but ends up in other lands, dependent on others for safety and shelter. Bran Stark is en-route to wall to meet mysterious three eyed crow but ends up face to face with wargs and discovers new powers of his skinchanging ability. While on the Wall - new Night Watch commander Jon Snow is confronted with incoming horde of wildlings who seek shelter at wall, as well as king Stannis and his wife and red priestess Melisandre. While Jon Snow faces new enemies not only outside but inside the Wall, he is determined to do what he thinks is right to save Seven Kingdoms from Others because ‘Winter is Coming’. Daenarys having conquered city Meereen now faces new challenges in-terms of controlling/taming her growing dragons and gorilla war from slave lords of Meereen. Meanwhile a new dragon is rising to claim the Iron Throne. Really it’s hard to sum up A Dance with Dragons without giving away far too much of story or without going into countless subplots. This book moves pretty slow and nothing much happens compared to first three books but it might be the ‘silence before the storm’. Let’s see whether ‘Winds will carry storm along with them’ in ‘The Winds of Winter’. Will I recommend this book to other – off-course I will. Will I read new book in installment? Off-course, I will because once you get on Westeros and Essos train it’s very difficult to get down until you reach your destination.

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!

The longest book from the novel so far. Absolutely amazing plots, new caracters, twisting turn of events. Its a pity that many might read the book and finish when is on the climax, and no one knows , not even George knows when The Winds of Winter will finally blow... Can't way for the next book...

"A song of ice and fire" sarà ricordata come la saga che ha cambiato lo stile del genere fantasy dopo i libri di Tolkien. Un mondo fantastico ma allo stesso tempo più "terreno", denso di sfaccettature umane e psicologiche, privo di cliché stereotipizzati, come il buono, il cattivo, ecc... Ogni personaggio ha le sue ragioni, la sua storia, può compiere gesti nobili e importanti ma anche machiavelliche cattiverie, con la contraddizione che è insita in ogni essere umano. E i personaggi non sono eterni. Muoiono. Anche quelli cui ci possiamo legare emotivamente, quelli che altrove arriverebbero alla fine del libro "e vissero felici e contenti". I primi 2/3 del libro viaggiano in parallelo col precedente (A Feast for Crows), ma analizzando gli altri personaggi lasciati temporaneamente da parte. Poi le storie si ricollegano. E come una partita a scacchi con lo schieramento dei pezzi, qui si prepara lo scenario per il sesto libro (ancora inedito) che - promette l'autore - inizierà subito con due grandiose battaglie. Il più corposo dei 5 libri, sottovalutato da alcuni che lo trovano "lento", secondo me è invece il cliffhanger giusto per alzare la tensione in attesa del sesto volume.

great book

Obviamente si has llegado hasta el 5º volumen de esta saga no lo puedes dejar pasar, a pesar de ser mas largo que el anterior me lo he leído en menos tiempo, te engancha desde los primeros capítulos, muy buena continuación, esta saga no pierde intensidad ni carisma con el paso de los libros, lo recomiendo, sobretodo si os pasa como a mi que no podéis esperar a la versión en castellano. Simply, an incredible book.