A Feast for Crows
1 journaler for this copy...
This was definitely my least favorite book in the series, and by reading other reviews, it seems like I'm not alone.
--Spoilers below--
I only wish I would've figured out what was going on with this book before I read half of it. And by "what was going on", I mean that the vast majority of the characters most people love are NOT IN THIS BOOK. I can appreciate what Martin meant when he said, in the Epilogue, that the original book was to large, so he split it into two, so he could tell "all the story for half the characters, rather than half the story for all the characters". Still though, never was it so apparent for me which characters really carry this saga (hint: Jon Snow, Tyrion, and Daenerys -- none of which are in this book!).
My random comments/questions about the different characters are:
- I loathed every single chapter from Cersei's POV (and those are the majority). I don't care how complex her character may be, she's a total bitch and I can't stand her nor any of her horrid schemes. She needs to get what's coming to her, in a big way.
- I absolutely skimmed all the chapters in the Iron Islands and Dorne, because all the minor characters were a snooze-fest and it felt like they were just useless filler.
- It's good to see Arya growing up a bit (kids are so boring), but it would be nice if we learned more about how she trained to be an assassin, not just how she sold cockles on the harbor (and is "the kindly man" Jaqen? Sad if we never see him again).
- Similarly, it's nice to see Sansa finally leaving behind a bit of her meekness, although literally everything with "Sweetrobin" makes me want to vomit. Similarly when Littlefinger always tries to kiss her in a non-fatherly way. Blergh.
- Sam/Gilly's chapters were alright, but Sam is such a whiner in the books - I like him better in the show where he at least shows some gumption in between his bouts of sniveling.
- I actually liked Beric Dondarrion, so am not happy that he gave his life for Lady Stoneheart, who then took his place leading his brotherhood. I was never a fan of Catelyn, so would've been happy for her to stay dead.
- I'd really love to know what actually happened to The Hound, because it seems the incident at Saltpans wasn't really his style, and it's hard to believe all the reports of where he was seen and who killed him and who's wearing his helm now.
- Did they really kill Ser Davos? It was mentioned once, but seemed unlikely as it didn't really match with where I *thought* Davos was at the time (but who knows, with Martin's timelines).
- That leaves the chapters from Jaime and Brienne being the only ones I really enjoyed. I love that Jamie is turning into less of a villain, and although I know Brienne is on mostly a pointless quest (we know Sansa isn't where Brienne is looking), but I still love her character and root for her and Pod to succeed (if they're not truly hanged, of course).
Fortunately, I didn't have to wait years and years for the next book to come out, as I'm a late-reader in this game. So now I can immediately start the new book, with character POVs I actually like, to see what happens next.
--Spoilers below--
I only wish I would've figured out what was going on with this book before I read half of it. And by "what was going on", I mean that the vast majority of the characters most people love are NOT IN THIS BOOK. I can appreciate what Martin meant when he said, in the Epilogue, that the original book was to large, so he split it into two, so he could tell "all the story for half the characters, rather than half the story for all the characters". Still though, never was it so apparent for me which characters really carry this saga (hint: Jon Snow, Tyrion, and Daenerys -- none of which are in this book!).
My random comments/questions about the different characters are:
- I loathed every single chapter from Cersei's POV (and those are the majority). I don't care how complex her character may be, she's a total bitch and I can't stand her nor any of her horrid schemes. She needs to get what's coming to her, in a big way.
- I absolutely skimmed all the chapters in the Iron Islands and Dorne, because all the minor characters were a snooze-fest and it felt like they were just useless filler.
- It's good to see Arya growing up a bit (kids are so boring), but it would be nice if we learned more about how she trained to be an assassin, not just how she sold cockles on the harbor (and is "the kindly man" Jaqen? Sad if we never see him again).
- Similarly, it's nice to see Sansa finally leaving behind a bit of her meekness, although literally everything with "Sweetrobin" makes me want to vomit. Similarly when Littlefinger always tries to kiss her in a non-fatherly way. Blergh.
- Sam/Gilly's chapters were alright, but Sam is such a whiner in the books - I like him better in the show where he at least shows some gumption in between his bouts of sniveling.
- I actually liked Beric Dondarrion, so am not happy that he gave his life for Lady Stoneheart, who then took his place leading his brotherhood. I was never a fan of Catelyn, so would've been happy for her to stay dead.
- I'd really love to know what actually happened to The Hound, because it seems the incident at Saltpans wasn't really his style, and it's hard to believe all the reports of where he was seen and who killed him and who's wearing his helm now.
- Did they really kill Ser Davos? It was mentioned once, but seemed unlikely as it didn't really match with where I *thought* Davos was at the time (but who knows, with Martin's timelines).
- That leaves the chapters from Jaime and Brienne being the only ones I really enjoyed. I love that Jamie is turning into less of a villain, and although I know Brienne is on mostly a pointless quest (we know Sansa isn't where Brienne is looking), but I still love her character and root for her and Pod to succeed (if they're not truly hanged, of course).
Fortunately, I didn't have to wait years and years for the next book to come out, as I'm a late-reader in this game. So now I can immediately start the new book, with character POVs I actually like, to see what happens next.
