No one has been more adamant about the genius of George R.R. Martin than I have.  Sadly, I think he was a little off of his game on this one.  Maybe part of the problem was waiting so very long for this book.  I may have gotten too much anxiety and expectation built up over the years as I waited for this book to come.  Maybe another problem was that it seems this book was a transitional or "calm-before-the-storm" type of book.  The first three books in this series while having multiple characters and multiple storylines, usually always had at least one important story that came to at least some sort of conclusion at the end of the book.  This book was absent of any great climax.  I THOUGHT there was one coming that events seemed to be leading up to for most of the book, but that storyline abruptly dies and left me feeling cheated.
Don't get me wrong, the book was great!  The characters are superb.  I've grown to love many of them over the last few books.  As always, Martin does a wonderful job of telling a story through the eyes of various characters each in a unique way.  Rather than a 3rd person story that gives the readers facts and some insights into a broad range of characters, we see the events unfold via a personal viewpoint of different people.  I think it does a better job of drawing the reader in as you experience events through each person's eyes, and feel their emotions as the drama unfolds.  Sometimes we get to experience a common event through two different characters' eyes which is quite interesting.  One complaint though is that the story is almost getting too big.  The author keeps adding more characters, and I'm starting to reach my maximum amount of people that I care to keep track of.  Also, some of the names in parts of the story such as Hizdahr Zo Loraq, Skahaz Mo Kandaq, and Reznak Mo Reznak start to run together after awhile.
As usual with a Martin book, the world he creates is full of depth and detail.  Every kingdom, city, family, etc. has a unique feel.  It's so easy to become immersed in the story as if each place were a city that you visit all the time and every character is an old friend you've known all your life.
It's surely a sign of good writing if my biggest problem is that I have grown to love the good guys so much and hate the bad guys so much that I'm getting a little impatient waiting for justice to finally come.  I find myself continually hoping with each event that THIS is where the tide finally starts to turn, only to have my hopes crushed. If I look at the book as this setting in motion a string of events that will come to climax in the next book, I can be much more forgiving.  However, if the storylines continue to veer off in ever-increasing paths with no end in sight, my patience is going to begin to wear thin.  I have danced with the dragons long enough.  It's time for this song to end and let the final battle begin!
No one has been more adamant about the genius of George R. R. Martin than I have. Sadly, I think he was a little off of his game on this one. Maybe part of the problem was waiting so very long for this book. I may have gotten too much anxiety and expectation built up over the years as I waited for this book to come. Maybe another problem was that it seems this book was a transitional or "calm-before-the-storm" type of book. The first three books in this series while having multiple characters and multiple storylines, usually always had at least one important story that came to at least some sort of conclusion at the end of the book. This book was absent of any great climax. I THOUGHT there was one coming that events seemed to be leading up to for most of the book, but that storyline abruptly dies and left me feeling cheated. Don't get me wrong, the book was great! The characters are superb. I've grown to love many of them over the last few books. As always, Martin does a wonderful job of telling a story through the eyes of various characters each in a unique way. Rather than a 3rd person story that gives the readers facts and some insights into a broad range of characters, we see the events unfold via a personal viewpoint of different people. I think it does a better job of drawing the reader in as you experience events through each person's eyes, and feel their emotions as the drama unfolds. Sometimes we get to experience a common event through two different characters' eyes which is quite interesting. One complaint though is that the story is almost getting too big. The author keeps adding more characters, and I'm starting to reach my maximum amount of people that I care to keep track of. Also, some of the names in parts of the story such as Hizdahr Zo Loraq, Skahaz Mo Kandaq, and Reznak Mo Reznak start to run together after awhile. As usual with a Martin book, the world he creates is full of depth and detail. Every kingdom, city, family, etc. has a unique feel. It's so easy to become immersed in the story as if each place were a city that you visit all the time and every character is an old friend you've known all your life. It's surely a sign of good writing if my biggest problem is that I have grown to love the good guys so much and hate the bad guys so much that I'm getting a little impatient waiting for justice to finally come. I find myself continually hoping with each event that THIS is where the tide finally starts to turn, only to have my hopes crushed. If I look at the book as this setting in motion a string of events that will come to climax in the next book, I can be much more forgiving. However, if the storylines continue to veer off in ever-increasing paths with no end in sight, my patience is going to begin to wear thin. I have danced with the dragons long enough. It's time for this song to end and let the final battle begin!