Obviously, many readers have been seriously disappointed in this volume of the hugely sucessful 'Song of Ice and Fire' saga.  A number of reasons have been given for this less-than-pleased response to  A FEAST FOR CROWS, including: a loss of focus, absence of some popular characters,  the focus on less popular characters, a seemingly aimless direction of the story, a general lowering of the quality of writing, and the perception that Martin has fallen into the Jordan-WoT trap of endlessly expanding the story without maintaining its intensity.  Also, for more recent reviewers of this book, a major gripe has been over the long delay (coming up on 4 years) without publishing the 'companion' volume&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/A-Dance-With-Dragons/dp/0739375970/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">A Dance With Dragons</a>.  Some of these complaints are valid, while others are simply not.

Firstly, the growing delay with the publication of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS is completely maddening.  This is especially true because it is supposed to serve as a sort of parallel book covering the same timeline as FEAST FOR CROWS, but focusing on some of the most interesting and entertaining characters (including Jon, Daenerys, Bran, and Stannis) that were missing in FEAST.  Remember, FEAST didn't come out for nearly 5 years after the publication of<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/A-Storm-of-Swords/dp/055357342X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">A Storm of Swords</a>. That means that we haven't heard anything from our favorite characters for going on NINE YEARS!  I doubt anyone (including Martin and his publishers) can say now that it was a good idea to divide this part of the story into two books focused on certain characters only.  I am a patient person, and would rather wait for an excellent book than be delivered a steady stream of only-adequate ones that would bring down the quality of the story, but five years between books is excessive.  I just pray that the rumors going around saying that Martin has just lost interest in this story aren't true...

As for most of the other complaints, I don't think they hold much water.  The writing quality is certainly at the same awesome level that we've seen in the previous three books.  While the story does seem to wander a bit here, it definitely continues to progress the plot, and much of the wandering serves to further expand this already massive setting.  Exploring Dorne, the Iron Islands, Oldtown, and Braavos help to make this world even bigger and even more real.  Its debatable whether continuing to expand the scope of the story was the right move or not, with no end in sight, and plenty of story to tell, but personally, I didn't find those sections irritating.

While I certainly missed my favorite characters, I still enjoyed following the ones in this book.  Jamie's continued development is excellent and Arya's journey promises to be monumentally important.  While I didn't like Martin's take on Cersei's seeming mental meltdown, it was still entertaining watching my most hated character destroy herself.  The only thing I found less than appealing about the POV characters here was Martin's decision to start using secondary characters for single chapters with descriptors like "The Captain of Guards" or "The Queenmaker".  Not sure where his decision to move away from telling the story through a specific set of characters' viewpoints came, but I don't think it improved the cadence of the book and I do think it took away from his ability to develop certain characters through their perspectives.

Finally, I don't think Martin has become the next Jordan (needlessly expanding the story simply to milk the cash- and fame-cow for all its worth).  While this story might have grown too big for him to handle, and while he might pull a Jordan by dying before it is finished (God forbid), I think he really does want to make this tale the best fantasy story of all time and is following some sort of overall master plan towards his desired outcome.  I hope that with A DANCE WITH DRAGONS we will see a much more pointed effort to bring all of the storylines together, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Regardless, for fans of A Song of Ice and Fire, A FEAST FOR CROWS is just one more step along this breathtaking journey through what is perhaps the most loved setting in all of fantasy literature.  Readers that claim they will never come back to Martin because they are so mad about this book can only justify their anger by admitting they loved the story so much that waiting for it to be completed is unbearable.  While I share the frustration of not knowing the rest of the story, I stilled loved reading nearly every page of this enormous tale up through this point.  And while I am in agony over not being able to pick up the next book immediately, it is a sort of exquisite agony that I only feel because the story is just so damn good.
Obviously, many readers have been seriously disappointed in this volume of the hugely sucessful 'Song of Ice and Fire' saga. A number of reasons have been given for this less-than-pleased response to  A FEAST FOR CROWS, including: a loss of focus, absence of some popular characters,  the focus on less popular characters, a seemingly aimless direction of the story, a general lowering of the quality of writing, and the perception that Martin has fallen into the Jordan-WoT trap of endlessly expanding the story without maintaining its intensity. Also, for more recent reviewers of this book, a major gripe has been over the long delay (coming up on 4 years) without publishing the 'companion' volume&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/A-Dance-With-Dragons/dp/0739375970/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt? ie=UTF8">A Dance With Dragons</a>. Some of these complaints are valid, while others are simply not. Firstly, the growing delay with the publication of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS is completely maddening. This is especially true because it is supposed to serve as a sort of parallel book covering the same timeline as FEAST FOR CROWS, but focusing on some of the most interesting and entertaining characters (including Jon, Daenerys, Bran, and Stannis) that were missing in FEAST. Remember, FEAST didn't come out for nearly 5 years after the publication of<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/A-Storm-of-Swords/dp/055357342X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt? ie=UTF8">A Storm of Swords</a>. That means that we haven't heard anything from our favorite characters for going on NINE YEARS! I doubt anyone (including Martin and his publishers) can say now that it was a good idea to divide this part of the story into two books focused on certain characters only. I am a patient person, and would rather wait for an excellent book than be delivered a steady stream of only-adequate ones that would bring down the quality of the story, but five years between books is excessive. I just pray that the rumors going around saying that Martin has just lost interest in this story aren't true... As for most of the other complaints, I don't think they hold much water. The writing quality is certainly at the same awesome level that we've seen in the previous three books. While the story does seem to wander a bit here, it definitely continues to progress the plot, and much of the wandering serves to further expand this already massive setting. Exploring Dorne, the Iron Islands, Oldtown, and Braavos help to make this world even bigger and even more real. Its debatable whether continuing to expand the scope of the story was the right move or not, with no end in sight, and plenty of story to tell, but personally, I didn't find those sections irritating. While I certainly missed my favorite characters, I still enjoyed following the ones in this book. Jamie's continued development is excellent and Arya's journey promises to be monumentally important. While I didn't like Martin's take on Cersei's seeming mental meltdown, it was still entertaining watching my most hated character destroy herself. The only thing I found less than appealing about the POV characters here was Martin's decision to start using secondary characters for single chapters with descriptors like "The Captain of Guards" or "The Queenmaker". Not sure where his decision to move away from telling the story through a specific set of characters' viewpoints came, but I don't think it improved the cadence of the book and I do think it took away from his ability to develop certain characters through their perspectives. Finally, I don't think Martin has become the next Jordan (needlessly expanding the story simply to milk the cash- and fame-cow for all its worth). While this story might have grown too big for him to handle, and while he might pull a Jordan by dying before it is finished (God forbid), I think he really does want to make this tale the best fantasy story of all time and is following some sort of overall master plan towards his desired outcome. I hope that with A DANCE WITH DRAGONS we will see a much more pointed effort to bring all of the storylines together, but we'll just have to wait and see. Regardless, for fans of A Song of Ice and Fire, A FEAST FOR CROWS is just one more step along this breathtaking journey through what is perhaps the most loved setting in all of fantasy literature. Readers that claim they will never come back to Martin because they are so mad about this book can only justify their anger by admitting they loved the story so much that waiting for it to be completed is unbearable. While I share the frustration of not knowing the rest of the story, I stilled loved reading nearly every page of this enormous tale up through this point. And while I am in agony over not being able to pick up the next book immediately, it is a sort of exquisite agony that I only feel because the story is just so damn good.