"A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

"A Dance with Dragons" is the fifth book in Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series.  I believe it was published last year.  There should be two more books to close this series, but even the author isn't sure about that.  If you want to see what an immense industry this series has spawned, click here.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: if you haven't read these books already, you should.  Yes, they can be a bit intimidating ("Dance" alone is 1,051 pages long), but they are a rewarding read.  They feature a cast of hundreds, and the plot embraces many peoples, nations, and cultures.

The first half of "Dance" covers familiar territory.  The previous book in the series, "A Feast for Crows" also dealt with a time period followed in the first half of "Dance."  In "Dance" we get this same time period from several different perspectives, and we also learn what happened to Tyrion and Danerys after "A Storm of Swords."  Many people have complained about this approach, but I think it works well, and morever adds another dimension to the previous book.

After the first half, many characters from "Feast" reappear.  As the title promises, Danaerys's dragons also become more prominent, and Jon Snow assumes a role more central to the overall story.  I'm thinking that in the next two books he's going to emerge as the hero of this thing, though I am always rooting for Tyrion.  How could you not like Tyrion?

In my humble opinion, the only weakness in this book is the constant reappearance of characters seemingly "killed" in previous books.  After a while this motif becomes repetitive, and I think it might have helped my suspension of disbelief if certain characters had stayed dead.  Without death as a very real threat, it is difficult to feel as much for characters in mortal peril.

Just the same, this is a great book, and I am more than ready for a sequel!

"A Feast for Crows" by George R.R. Martin

"A Feast for Crows" is the fourth novel in George R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire."  The title could refer to the brothers of the Night Watch, who are rescued by King Stannis at the beginning of the book, or it could refer to actual crows, who feast on the numerous corpses that populate this novel.

If you haven't read this or any of the other five published volumes in this series, you need to go out and read them NOW.  Believe me, you will not regret it.  I am just now starting the most recently published book, "A Dance with Dragons," and I am eagerly anticipating the sequel to that one.

"A Feast for Crows" is a lot more gruesome than the other novels, and there were many violent moments in those books as well.  Only half of the characters from the previous novel, "A Storm of Swords" make an appearance, and the absent characters are to be found in "A Dance with Dragons."  Danaerys in not to be found in this one, nor is Tyrion.  Davos is mentioned in passing, but his fate remains uncertain.  Some people might find this split between two books a cause for complaint, but I found it to be a nice change from the first three novels.

Much of "A Feast for Crows" is narrated from Cersei and Jaime Lannister's points of view, and while this is slightly off-putting at first, the misfortune that befalls Cersei before the end of the novel more than justifies this approach to the story.

In "A Feast for Crows" Cersei more closely resembles the despot she so desperately wants to become.  Her estrangement from her twin brother Jaime also continues, and we learn more of what happened to Sansa and Arya Stark.  My one complaint is Samwell Tarly.  He can be - at times - a difficult character to relate to.

Fan's of Martin's "Ice and Fire" often complain over how long he takes to write his novels.  Given the complexity of what he is writing, however, I can't see how they have cause for complaint.  If you want fantasy books written faster, I direct you to the remainder of the fantasy aisle.  If you want fantasy books that challenge you, then you, like me, will be waiting patiently for the book after "A Dance with Dragons."  Books like "A Feast for Crows" don't come out so often, but they are well worth the wait.

"A Storm of Swords" by George R.R. Martin

"A Storm of Swords" is the third book in Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series.  At the time of writing, the first five books in this series have been published, with two more books awaiting publication.

The first book in this series, "A Game of Thrones," inspired HBO's TV adaptation.  That television series has since exhausted the material in "A Game of Thrones," and has moved on to the second book in the series, "A Clash of Kings."  I've seen bits of the TV show on YouTube, and despite some stellar performances by the cast, I can't say that I enjoyed the show half as much as the books.  The books paint pictures on a much larger canvas, and I'm sure the producers of the show were limited by budgetary constraints.

With this said, however, I must add that HBO has been relatively faithful to the source material.  Anyone who likes the TV show will love the books, and anyone who likes the books will probably find the TV show somewhat interesting.  Peter Jackson and Co. may have butchered Tolkein's novels, but Martin's creation translates so well to television that no one had to disfigure "A Game of Thrones" and its sequel.

So far, "A Storm of Swords" is the longest book in Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire," and that in itself is no mean feat.  The first two books weren't short novels, either.  The plot encompasses the land of Westeros, as well as certain eastern kingdoms visited by the heiress to the Dragon Throne.  Westeros is threatened by a wildling invasion to the north, and by the machinations of five men striving to displace the recently deceased king of Westeros, Robert Baratheon.

As with the first two books, the Starks of Winterfell are at the center of the action.  In the wake of Eddard Stark's death, Sansa is still a captive of the Lannisters, Arya still wanders through the kingdom, and the four sons of Eddard Stark face treacheries on every side.  In addition to the Starks, there are also chapters focusing on Catelyn Stark, Jaime and Tyrion Lannister, Stannis Baratheon's "Onion Knight" Ser Davos, and the above-mentioned Danaerys, heiress to the Dragon Throne.

My favorite part of this book had to be the death of two main characters, about 2/3 of the way through.  Their death came as a complete surprise to me, and was handled perfectly.  I also enjoyed Tyrion's trial at the end, and Ser Gregor's unexpected revenge.

I would recommend this book to anyone who would enjoy a more realistic approach to swords and sorcery.  In his "Song of Ice and Fire" Martin hasn't just created an interesting fantasy world, he's also created a world where the characters live, breathe, and suffer at one another's hands. It isn't a world where good triumphs over evil every time, but it is a world where humanity takes center stage.