A Feast for Crows - George R. R. Martin

The fourth entry in the series, and the worst so far; unlike its andrenaline pumping predecessor, A Feast for Crows focuses more on the aftermath of the war, and the struggles of the smallfolk. Fans may be disappointed with this transition to a slower paced volume, particularly given the five year wait before publication. With many of the major players dead or in hiding, the character pool is considerably smaller, and the book suffers for it. Favourites such as Tyrion, Danaerys, and Jon Snow are completely absent. The POVs of secondary, arguably less interesting characters, are presented instead, many of which appear for one chapter only. The result is jarring and clumsy, and the inclusion of the Ironborn and Dornish chapters which add nothing to the narrative, could easily have served as backstory. Characters travel aimlessly across a devastated, war torn world, subplots crop up only to fizzle out without resolution, and story arcs end at cheap cliffhangers.

One gets the impression that waiting so long between novels, and wasting six months on an unused draft caused Martin to lose his edge. He admits himself in the acknowledgements that 'this one was a bitch' to write, and it certainly feels like a slog to read at times. An editor would have served well; one as ruthless as chopping pages as Martin is with heads. His decision to divide the characters into two separate books, rather than cutting the timeline in half, was misguided in my opinion. The language also leaves much to be desired, being at once repetitive and flat. My biggest complaint was the simple lack of anything significant happening: Cersei plots and schemes, Jaime mopes around in doorways, Brienne walks and walks, Samwell vomits over the side of a boat during a voyage which lasts the duration of the book. In some ways, Feast can be seen as Martin recharging himself, yet abandoning one's main characters is a major felony in storytelling. Here's hoping for better quality in the next instalment.

Rating: 2/5