A Dance with Dragons - George R. R. Martin

A marginal improvement over Martin's disappointing previous volume, A Dance with Dragons is split into two digestible instalments: 'Dreams and Dust' and 'After the Feast.' The story focuses on Tyrion, Jon, and Daenerys, with the welcome return of Theon Greyjoy, now a half mad captive known as Reek. As before, new characters are given POV chapters, but these only serve as needless diversions which slow down the action. Not an awful lot happens over the course of the two books and Tyrions' endless travelogue will have even the most patient of readers twitching in boredom. At the Wall, Jon Snow's flimsy alliance with the Wildlings spins on without going anywhere interesting, whilst in Meereen, Daenerys is having problems with marriage suitors, her dragons, and enemies amassing outside the city walls. The predominant question at this point is: how much do we still care?

The spark of the first three books has all but departed, and for myself, the chapters of Theon and his sadistic torturer, Ramsay Bolton, were the only ones I got excited for. More of these were definitely required, with much less of Tyrion, who seems to suffer from clumsy character inconsistency. The fifth volume does repair some of the damage wrought by Feast, although not nearly enough to restore the series to its former prowess. Martin's stilted prose continues to irk, along with his mock Homeric repetition of stock phrases and sequence of action. This was a problem for me from the beginning and continues to dull the enjoyment of what could have been a more concise and exhilarating fantasy read. If I wanted staggering heroic literature, there were more majestic beasts out there. Having reached the end of what has been written thus far, I await the next book: The Winds of Winter. Whether it appears in this lifetime or the next, remains to be seen...

Rating: 3/5