Lisa (Harmony)

I had a bit of a problem really getting into this book at first, at least compared with my favorites thus far, the first book, <i>A Game of Thrones</i> and the third book, <i>A Storm of Swords.</i> Basically, it was an issue with point of view. Up to this book, Martin had established a pattern. Some viewpoint characters would leave (often shall we say, in a violent and definitive way) and some new characters would gain a point of view, but there was a definite core of characters we were following. It was one way Martin kept interest, even suspense, in the way he'd rotate those characters, because especially given an expansive cast and his way with a cliffhanger, you'd keep turning the pages anxious to find out what happened with Jon or Dany or Arya next.

This book leans heavily on points of view that were <i>not</i> explored up to now, and even one-off and minor characters getting their say. Some familiar and beloved characters are left completely off the stage. Martin explains at the end of the book that his manuscript got so unwieldy he decided to split the book. But he didn't do that chronologically. Rather, <i>A Feast of Crows</i> focuses on events and characters near King's Landing. It makes me fear that this series is becoming an unfocused mess and Martin really has no idea how to end it. Especially since many a reviewer who loved this series and whose opinions I respect--well, let's just say their ratings for the next and latest book, <i>Dances with Dragons</i>, tends to drop precipitously.

And as I said, I had a problem really getting into the characters focused on in this book. Compared to other characters, Cersei and Brienne, who we spend a LOT of time with in this book seem flat to me--too evil, too good, even if both are rather pitiable and rather ironically parallel--Cersei who depends too much on her looks and Brienne constantly damned for them. Cersei did grow on me--not in the way say her brother Jaime did--more in the "oooh, look at that train wreck in the making" love-to-hate sense. That, in the end, is why this book earned four stars and not two. Because even if relatively less involving, this still kept my interest through the massive story, still had some surprises, and the writing and world building is still first rate.

So here's hoping <i>Dances with Dragons</i> isn't as much a mess as reviews seem to indicate--or that Martin can recover, make a course correction and come to a strong finish--because after becoming enraptured with this world and it's characters, it would be a shame to see it collapse into weak porridge.