Book Review: A Dance with Dragons

A Dance with Dragons is the fifth book of the series. I reviewed the last two here and here. The last one was a bit slow and this one was a bit slower, but I still enjoyed it and can't wait for the next book.

I've read some pretty hilarious and spot-on criticisms of this book, mostly that nothing happens. While this book doesn't need to be as long as it is (there are some excruciatingly elaborate descriptions of traveling through grass, snow, and river), there is a lot happening here. A new villain emerges (so much worse than Joffrey), Cercei must deal with her imprisonment, and new sides in the battle gather strength.

Some of the chapters read like filler, but it could be reasonably called character development. Martin is setting the stage here, moving the chess pieces around the board, and getting us ready for the next installment.

Book Review: A Feast for Crows

A Feast for Crows is the fourth book in George R. R. Martin's series of novels that the HBO television series Game of Thrones is based on. Though this is not a genre I typically read, I was a huge fan of the last book, A Storm of Swords, which I reviewed here.

This installment was a bit slower. If it had been my first introduction to these characters, I might have been bored - but since I already love them, I was willing to follow them on long voyages across the sea, through the woods, and down icy mountainsides. If I had one complaint, it would be that there were so many Cersei chapters. While none of Martin's characters are wholly good or wholly bad, Cersei remains wholly unlikeable.

What I realized in this book is that Martin is a feminist. All his female characters are powerful women confronting a society that isn't ready for them to be leaders. The women are all challenging traditional gender roles- some are learning to swordfight like knights and others are trying to change the laws of inheritance so they can rule kingdoms on their own.

The next book, A Dance with Dragons, will be available in October. If you can't wait, it's already available on Kindle.

Book Review: A Storm of Swords

Okay, so I never read fantasy. Like, never. I mean, I read The Hobbit in the sixth grade because it was required. Since then, nothing. As you know if you've read the reviews on this blog, I gravitate toward relatable, character-driven, contemporary fiction.

But I got hooked on the HBO series for Game of Thrones. I watched the first two seasons on Netflix and then I suffered through the Facebook updates of people watching the third season. But I don't have HBO. So I decided to read the third book instead.

It amuses me to listen to debates about whether George R.R. Martin is a "good" writer. This seems to mean very different things to different people and readability (as evidenced by popularity and awesome sales) isn't always enough. I wonder if some people put the writing down specifically because of its broad appeal. The fact that it's accessible to a majority means it can't be "good". For these readers, a book is only "good" when indecipherable to most.

For me, it was in one of the first chapters of A Storm of Swords, when a low-speed sailboat chase had me on the edge of my seat, that it occurred to me that I was in the hands of a "good" writer. Martin's technique of killing off lead characters isn't a risk most writers are willing to take and it definitely ups the stakes. I also love the fact that these characters are so complicated. Morality is murky here and virtue often does not achieve external reward - much like in real life. Perhaps that realism is why I'm able to enjoy a book about dragons and magic. The fantasy elements are superficial; at its root, this is a story about people, relationships, and human nature.